Mark Parker named Camp Whitley's 2011 director
(Talk of the Town file photos by Jennifer Zartman Romano) Camp Whitley attendees prepare for their water derby in June 2010, above. Mark Parker, below, who directed the camp from 1986 to 1993, has been named Camp Whitley's director for 2011.
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It is quiet now, but plans are being made for the not-so-far off future when the shores of Troy Cedar Lake in northwest Whitley County will once again resound with the sounds of young campers swimming, boating, and enjoying the programming, both old and new, that Camp Whitley has provided since 1928.
Part of those plans includes an old new face at the helm. Mark Parker, who headed Camp Whitley from 1986-1993, will again assume the director’s duties beginning this coming summer. Parker, a lifelong resident of Columbia City, and educator for the past 25 years, has already been planning for this summer’s camping season. With an eye to providing a traditional summer camp experience with some modern twists, campers are sure to bring home lifetime memories and stories for family and friends.
“In the past, Camp has served generation after generation of campers with a traditional summer camp experience,” said Parker. “Campers come expecting the same swimming, boating, archery, crafts, games and outdoor experience that their parents had, and in some cases that their grandparents had at Camp Whitley. We want to continue to provide that, along with some new twists each summer that make the experience a new and fresh experience every year.”
Parker notes that there have been quite a few improvements to the facilities at Camp Whitely since his first tenure as director. The addition of the Shower facilities, and renovation of the kitchen facilities, new cabins and bunks, improvements and new equipment at the waterfront are just some of the improvements that Parker mentions.
“The programming at Camp will continue to be familiar to almost anyone who has attended Camp in the past,” Parker said. “That is a part of the tradition that we want to continue. Campers come here because of the friends that they make and the activities that they enjoy. They continue to come back because of the relationships that they build with other campers and the counselors and staff that they come in contact with. Our goal this year is to recruit qualified and enthusiastic staff, whose first and foremost goal is that the campers have the absolutely best experience possible, one that makes them want to come back year after year.”
For more information about Camp Whitley, visit the website at www.campwhitley.com