Thank You, Ellen-Anne!

Today is the definition of bittersweet - we get to celebrate a dear friend and the incredible impact she’s had at Greystone, while also announcing her departure from our year-round team.

After 12 years of hard work and dedication on our year-round team, Ellen-Anne is wrapping up her time as our Program Director. While we’re cheering her on in her next steps, we speak for our entire community when we say that she will be VERY missed here at camp!

Ellen-Anne has spent her entire life bringing joy and creativity to our camp community. Starting as a staff kid, then progressing through her camper years and serving as a counselor, if your path crossed with EA’s, we know you were impacted as much as we have been. Her years as Ceramics Department Head and Program Staff Head are legendary (who remembers that “No Air” dance from the 2000s?), and she was a phenomenal cabin counselor, still keeping in touch with many of her campers today.

When we needed a Program Director 12 years ago, she was our first interview, and looking at the work she leaves behind, it’s clear to see why! During her time on our year-round team, she introduced many camper-favorite activities (Mahjong, Mountain Biking, and Cooking in the Garden, just to name a few!), hired thousands (!) of fantastic staff, launched our new pennant program, and served as a listening ear, welcoming all to sit and stay for a while on her comfy couch.

Through countless late nights and Doordash cheese dip deliveries, she gave her all to this place - we couldn’t have asked for a single thing more. Ellen-Anne is a data whiz and a big-picture thinker, able to take a thorny problem and make it concrete. She ran our activity program through Covid protocols, staffing changes, and every kind of weather imaginable - always keeping fun and safety at the forefront. More than anything, Ellen-Anne is a people-person, and the way she supported our staff through feedback and encouragement made our team better.

If you ever loved your activities, received a patch at Council Fire, bonded with a counselor, laughed at the EP hosts, marveled at the camp facilities, perfected your camp schedule, or had the best summer of your life, you have Ellen-Anne to thank, and we do too! Her impact over the last 12+ years is unquantifiable, but one thing is for sure - she has some very big shoes (and tall socks) to fill.

Ellen-Anne is stepping away from year-round camp life in order to focus on her family and start the next adventure the Lord has planned for her. We are excited for her next steps and will be her biggest fans forever!

We know this news is bittersweet for our community too, and we welcome you to join us in wishing Ellen-Anne all the very best as she heads back out to the “real world.” We wish she could linger a little longer, but we are grateful this is goodnight and not goodbye. EA, you are very loved by all of us at Greystone!