Camp Cherry Vally Summer 2002 Update

We finished up our summer 2002 season and things have been going very well. Dave Minnihan ran his first Cub Resident Camp program this year and it looks like the kids had a great time. Dave Hopkins, the Summer Resident Camp, Camp Director, had a very good summer and is looking forward to returning next summer. Tina Renzullo had a great spring program, her official first season as Program Director and she did a wonderful job. Buddy Renzullo will direct this falls weekend program which begins this coming Labor Day Weekend and will run program on the weekends until the end of October. Andy Balindy is also beginning is second season at Cherry as the Program Director for Catalina Island Marine Institute, Cherry Cove program.

I should also mention Karen Hartley’s efforts as the Food Service Director for both the SGVC spring and fall weekends and Summer Resident Camp. In my bias opinion and that of the Program Directors she works with she has done an incredible job. She and her staffs have provided excellent food, kept the kitchen and Dining Hall as clean as possible, and smile at campers, while producing up to as many as 5,000 meals a week.

Mark (Bear) Serratt, our Camp Ranger for over six years, has been busy around camp. Following a very productive winter and spring building and development phase he shifted his focus to program support, repairs, and facility service. He is currently shifting back to improvement and development for the up coming fall. He is one very talented man. He is also a very good friend to every program staff member that works here.

Speaking of what we are planning on doing this fall. We are very close to receiving L.A. County’s approval for our water storage tank and will begin on it as soon as we do. We also have been working on the permit to replace one of the Commissioner Cabins and hope to start on that very soon. We our in the planning phase to start make some improvements on the waterfront. Decking, walkways, program equipment storage, boat racks, and more are being work on. We also will need to spend some time on the regular camp maintenance needs like painting, landscaping, equipment maintenance, and on and on and on.

Following the water tank project completion we can really begin to make the bigger improvements. Beginning with getting the “New” Camp Store on line then relocating the Warehouse and housing improvements. I would like to make a point at this point in the story. The costs of these improvements are way off the charts. Fire suppression alone will cost us close to one million dollars to complete. The anticipated cost to replace the Dining Hall was $350,000 in 1993. Today the proposed Dining Hall is around two and a half million and I’m confident that when it is competed we will have spend over three million, assuming we are able to start within the next couple of years. My point is that by the time you have a plan, raise the money, get the permits, and begin the construction, the project will already cost more than you planned.

On August 1, 2002 we had the dedication ceremony for the new lighthouse. Thomson’s Light has become a great asset to the camp and everyone is most grateful for it. The Alumni visited CCV twice this year and each time the staff waddled out of the Dining Hall. Thanks everyone.

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One Response to Camp Cherry Vally Summer 2002 Update

  1. I was on staff at Camp Cherry Valley around 1961-62, after attending the 1960 National Jamboree in Colorado Springs, CO. I made my Eagle Scout rank in Oct 1961, at the age of 14, and retired from the U.S. Army as a Chief Warrant Officer after 20 plus years of service. I heard that there was an Alumni Association, but after looking at this web site, I question if there still is an alumni. I see no activity since 2002, so I would like to know if the Alumni Assoc. is still functioning? Please write and clarify! All my Best,
    JT Stevens

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