From Mark Frank and Shannon Cornwell, Holliston Parks and Recreation Department
Christian Lorenzen and Meg Halpern, Goodwill Camp Co-Directors:
Christian and Meg are in their third summer as the tandem behind our popular and growing Goodwill Camp serving ages 4-6 at Goodwill Park. Together, they lead a team of talented and enthusiastic young counselors and campers through a day filled with games, splashing, crafts and sports. Their dedication to the programming is undeniable and their attention to detail, as well as the way they connect to the children in their care is exceptional and Holliston is lucky to have them.
Christian and Meg set high expectations for our counselors, and CITs and help them achieve those standards, by giving timely direct feedback and supporting them in their planning and management efforts throughout each day. They meet challenges head on, and they provide exceptional programming at a great value for Holliston Families.
Sam Wells, Camp Patoma Director:
If you’ve had a child at Camp Patoma over the past five summers, you have undoubtedly seen Sam running the show down by the lake. Sam has missed a single day of camp in five years, through a pandemic, and ever-changing circumstances over the past three years. Sam is involved at every level of camp from training, to planning to organizing and executing our goals. He is an exceptional mentor to our young staff and a leader who has brought a great deal of progress to our camp in the time he has been with us.
Sam has dedicated more time and effort into this program than anyone can imagine, and all of the children that come to us for a fun summer experience benefit from his tireless efforts. Holliston hopes to be working with Sam for a long time to come.
Brendan O’Connell, Senior Camp Patoma Supervisor
Brendan has been with Parks and Recreation in various roles (including camper and CIT) for fifteen years! As a camp supervisor in the summer and 5th grade teacher at Miller School during the year he in a pillar of this community, providing steady guidance and modeling integrity for the older children that come to Camp Patoma. Brendan is also a spark-plug of energy and enthusiasm. If anyone has ever picked up a camper from Patoma, you’ve likely seen Brendan leading a pack of counselors in a dance routine or traveling from group to group giving the campers encouragement, putting smiles on faces wherever he goes. On Fridays, you can count on Brendan to bring his infectious attitude to our weekly counselor competition, in which the kids cheer on their favorite counselors while cooling off with freeze pops.
Brendan leads our field trips as well, which is no small task. He provides leadership and guidance to our counselors who look up to him for his experience at Patoma and his commitment to ensuring a positive experience for our staff and campers.
Cayla Olson, Junior Camp Patoma Supervisor
Cayla returned to Patoma this year after serving as a counselor at both Goodwill and Patoma for four summers finishing up three years ago. Holliston is extremely lucky to have her back. Cayla has provided veteran wisdom and guidance to our staff on a daily basis. She supports our staff with a quiet confidence and a keen eye for how staff can make the best connections with their groups.
Cayla works with many of our young counselors on strategies and tools that can help make them stronger and more- sure of themselves in the variety of roles that are required at camp. When it comes to making connections with the campers nobody models that better than Cayla, if any camper has had her as a group counselor will attest, she just makes camp fun! Our staff is lucky to have Cayla to bounce ideas off of, and to help support them when they need it.
Delaney Bolton, Inclusion Director
Delaney is a new member of our staff, in a new role we introduced for 2022. In an effort to make our Camp as inclusive as possible, Delaney has helped guide our staff on behavior management strategies and helps support them in those efforts throughout the day. If a camper needs accommodations, Delaney helps coordinate those efforts and prepare our staff to do so as well.
It’s always a challenge coming into a new role that hasn’t been occupied before and Delaney has embraced the challenge with enthusiasm and positivity. She has helped grow and define the position as well, and we look forward to continuing the process she has helped us start. Delaney approaches every day and every challenge with a smile and has made an exceptional impact on our programming in the short time she’s been here.
Haley Carey, Waterfront Supervisor
Haley is back with Parks and Recreation for a second summer, after running our extended day program last year. In the camp offseason Haley obtained a waterfront safety certification from the American Red Cross, and now leads our exceptional waterfront staff. Haley has a contagious positivity that has radiated through our lifeguards and has provided a shot of energy and creativity into our camp swimming lessons for the season.
Haley and her team provide a safe and fun environment at two of our most important stations at camp, swim lessons and free swim. You can frequently find her in the water with the groups teaching, playing and having fun! She models the behaviors we hope to encourage at camp every day, and our incredible waterfront staff have gelled this year as a result of her leadership.
All of our supervisors and directors wanted it to be known that none of their hard work would mean anything if we didn’t also have an incredible staff working for them. While there are too many seasonal employees to highlight everyone, we cannot thank our staff enough for everything they put into our programs. The families of Holliston are lucky to have such a strong group of role models leading the children enrolled in our programming this summer. We look forward to years of working together to keep these programs going strong.
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