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The Directors
of ILC: Dan Gould, Anne Gould and Nigel Watson
Dan
and Anne had 10 children, and therefore had no choice
but to found a summer camp. Wouldn't you?
The vision, programming and conceptual block-busting
which it took to create Independent Lake Camp are Dan's
original and ongoing gifts to the industry. He came
to this work via every possible avenue: personality,
job experience, volunteer work, education (M.B.A. in
Business Administration and M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology
with emphasis on children), and even DNA-his parents
owned or operated several of the most notable camps
of the last three decades. (Ironically, he will tell
you that it was observing a few aspects he didn't like
about his parents' camps that taught him the most about
how to give a child the gift of an immortal summer.)
Appropriately, it was during his stint as camp counselor
that he met Anne, and he has coached young athletes
in various sports for over
32 years. The camp directing experience Dan loves most
occurred at the beginning and end of each session: Welcoming
and calming the nervous first-time campers, then watching
them leave two weeks later, begging parents for extra
sessions and having to be dragged the their cars. "My
biggest joy," says Dan, completely failing to contain
a satisfied laugh, "is the transition."
Anne's bailiwick is the informed care and nurturing
of each individual camper's health, heart and social
progress. When you have concerns or questions in these
areas, call her. It is Anne, who takes your child for
the strep test, encourages the couch potato to try tennis,
does tuck-ins for younger bunks, and oversees the infirmary
and personnel. Having studied nursing and sociology
(B.A.) not to mention being the serene mother of more
kids than most of us can hand a glass of water to, she
is a pro in emergencies and is scrupulous about communication
with parents. As a certified Master Gardener, she is
responsible for horticulture at ILC. Under her care,
the rose and kitchen gardens, the moving memorial called
the Forget-Me Not Garden, and all your children bloom.
Nigel read a newspaper advertisement
22 years ago: "Come to America and work on a summer
camp." Beginning with a job as bunk counselor and
progressing through positions of department head, head
counselor, program director, everything in-between,
and on into his current directorship, Nigel holds an
unparalleled range of hands-on experience which equips
him ideally for being in charge of camp operations:
managing the facility, bunking, session changes and
day-to-day planning and implementation. Mies van der
Rohe said his famous, "God is in the details"
about architecture, but that was because Mies never
ran a summer camp. At ILC, Nigel is the earthly detail
person, which is how the grand philosophies of creating
one's own summer and celebrating human diversity are
finally actualized.
A Note on Grand Philosophies: They are never grand if
they are grandiose. ILC is able to celebrate human diversity
daily and naturally because that is how Dan and Anne
have built their personal, family, camp and non-camp
lives. And because Nigel (whose itinerary reads "Europe-Indonesia-the
South Pacific-India-Russia-Asia-Central and South America-Orson
PA") possesses a level of work, travel, and cultural
experience unsurpassed in the camping industry. And
because ILC counselor-hiring criteria are exacting:
dedication to children, a passion for a field of expertise
and a passion to share it, and the gift of their own
diversity-counselors come from all over North America
and many other continents. |
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