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The counselor profile for today is our new paintball director, Samantha Gutierrez.  Paintball is typically a male-dominated sport so we were totally thrilled when Sam applied for the position.  

Samantha Gutierrez

Our very own paintball pro.

Call her Samantha, Sam, Sami, or whatever!  Sam is 18 years old and a current student at San Jose State University.  She loves to be excited, make up silly dances, and meet new people.  Sam will be our paintball director and is looking forward to teaching all of the campers new games and improving their skills.  This is Sam’s first Birch Hill summer and she says that she cannot wait to meet all of the campers!

Here is the first of many posts to highlight our ‘09 staff.  Each day I will be posting a blurb about one of our new or returning counselors.  These guys and girls are just as excited about the summer as the campers are and I cannot wait for all of you readers to meet them in a short few months!

Joe Rider 

Joseph Rider

Joe Rider, one of our returning counselors, literally bursts with energy each day of his life.   Joe will be teaching football, lacrosse, and most other land sports.  He will also be helping out down at the waterfront, on the ski boats, at the rock wall, and even some arts and crafts.  Joe is in his final semester at University at Buffalo and will be graduating on May 10th with a BA in Psychology and an Athletic Coaching Certificate.  He has recently been accepted into the Graduate School of Counseling at the University of New Hampshire.  Joe says he is “amped” to get back to Birch Hill and have a phenomenal summer with all the campers!  YAHOO!

We were so lucky to have been given the opportunity over the past weekend to host a group called Operation Military Kids for their two day theater camp. The campers and adult leaders were spectacular and everyone had an amazing time. It was especially nice given the extraordinary weather and the fact that it was for an awesome cause, which I hope you all read about on their website (http://www.operationmilitarykids.org).

If this was any kind of preview of the summer to come then all of you campers are about to have the best Birch Hill summer ever!

So it turns out that Mother Nature lulled us into a false sense of security and we have been left soggy and cold in a rather dreary first few weeks of spring.  We did manage to get a few projects off the ground, however.

Although not planned for, we discovered that the infirmary was in need of some love.  The downstairs bathroom received a new roof as the old one was pretty rotten but admirable for an over seventy year old structure.  

The Birch Hill Infirmary...getting some much needed attention.

While tearing out the old roof we encountered a nest of newborn squirells which we relocated to the nearby woods.  They had created their home out of what was left of the insulation around the infirmary walls and left some large holes in the walls and some of the sheetrock.  

The exposed roof joists, prior to some reinforcement.

Another project which we had just enough time between storms to complete was some new drainage for the deck at the lodge.  Not a huge endeavor but much needed nonetheless.  The picture below shows some of the BH crew getting their hands dirty and showing off their amazing construction skills.  

Rich, Jake, and special guest Holly busy working.

Next on our list: new ceiling in the Rec Hall and the long awaited Go Kart course…let the fun begin.