As the weekend comes to an end, I want to share some special moments from last night, today and tonight.

Last night’s special memory:
Campers and staff arrived to the Playhouse last night for Song Night wearing two shirts. Their team color shirt was on the outside, the other color shirt was worn underneath. Why, you ask? Because as soon as the score was announced, the shirts came off, and colors no longer defined nor divided us.

This morning’s memory:
One of my favorite Green and White traditions is the burying of the hatchets. When captains pick their jellybean, and the team’s color is established, Color War Tzar Dick Roberts hands each captain the hatchet the color of the opposing team. Once the war ends, a notch is cut into the winning team’s hatchet, they are exchanged and buried. Literally. Each group captain assists with the process by throwing in a shovel-full of dirt.

Tonight’s memory:
This evening we celebrated our founder Andy Friedman’s birthday. As is tradition, on this special “Founder’s Day,” each group presents a gift to camp, and the administration honors first-year campers, third-year campers and staff, five-year campers and staff, ten-year campers and staff; and, tonight we paid tribute to a staff member celebrating twenty years in the Realm, Executive Chef Nicky Boehm.

In life, we believe it’s important to remember and honor your roots. Founder’s Night insures that we all take a moment to pause and give thanks to the man who made Robin Hood a reality.

It is also important to celebrate people’s commitment and love to a place we all cherish. It is these long-standing relationships that continue the legacy. From generation to generation, our culture and traditions remain steadfast. Nicky embodies Robin Hood. She got married in The Realm, raised her son Kris here, and adapted her cooking as times and facilities changed. Nicky has served we estimate over 15,000 people in her tenure. That’s a lot of bellies she has filled – not just with food, but with love. Thank you Nicky for your exquisite culinary skills, your fantastic leadership, and your devotion to the Realm.

After a “lazy morning”, a relatively quiet afternoon, team cookouts (steaks for the White Team; burgers and dogs for the Green Team), the day finished early and we look forward to a wonderful night’s sleep with perfectly cool temperatures.

Sweet dreams from the Realm.