Thank You, 2026 Staff

Though words feel inadequate to express all the gratitude we have, we still want to say a huge thank you to our 2026 staff team.

From the moment they arrived at camp on June 3rd through the final day of Family Camp in August, our staff poured their time, energy, creativity, skills, patience, and heart into Camp Foley. They taught activities, led adventures, solved problems, dried tears, celebrated victories, sang songs around campfires, and somehow managed to make even the longest days fun.

We are in awe of the passion, dedication, hard work, and love they brought to Foley and to every camper who arrived this summer.

A Few Staff Highlights

There were countless moments throughout the summer that made us stop and think, “We have some pretty incredible people here.” Below are just few examples…

From counselors going above and beyond for their campers, to staff sharing their talents and passions, to the people who stepped up when plans changed, there were so many moments worth celebrating.

And perhaps most importantly, they showed our campers what it looks like to be a leader, a teammate, a friend, and someone who is willing to try something difficult.

The Hero’s Journey

There was a little bit of foreshadowing before the summer even began. Our Staff Week theme this year was The Hero’s Journey. We spent our days preparing for the adventures ahead, learning about leadership, building our team, and getting ready to become the people our campers would need us to be. Every morning during Staff Week, before breakfast, we gathered to listen to The Hobbit, read aloud by Ally Daily. At the time, Ally was trying to use the story as examples of steps of the Hero’s Journey. But looking back now, it was the perfect story for the summer we were about to have. Like Bilbo, our staff stepped out of what was familiar and into an adventure. They faced challenges, learned new things about themselves, relied on their companions, and returned home changed by the experience. And by the end of the summer, they had become heroes, too. Being a camp hero is not always big dramatic gestures like saving a ski boat from sinking, or planning the perfect lip sync for your cabin. They can be smaller moments too, a camp hero is the counselor who sat beside a homesick camper and listened, who encouraged someone to try waterskiing one more time. To so many campers this summer, our staff became the people they looked up to, and will remember for years to come. To make it truly a full circle moment for our staff hero’s journey, the Closing Campfire theme for 3rd session was The Hobbit. Complete with Gandalf with a mop head beard (counselor Angel pictured above)! The same story that had started our mornings together during Staff Week came back around at the end of the summer.

There would be no Camp Foley without the people who choose to spend their summers here. Our campers may come for the lake, the activities, the adventures, and the friendships, but it is our staff who bring it all to life.

And so, to our 2026 staff team:

You came to camp ready to begin a Hero’s Journey. You leave knowing that you became a hero in someone else’s.

Thank you for an incredible summer. We are so grateful for every one of you.