From the Director
In about a month we will all be together for the first time. I'm really excited about our staff and am glad you are part of this summer's staff community. I am looking forward to getting to know you as we together serve Christ in the ministry of Lutherans Outdoors in South Dakota.
Last week, we mailed all staff the “Pre-summer Staff Mailing”. If you didn’t receive it, call or e-mail the office and let us know. However, you can find everything we mailed to you now posted on this staff training website. We are only sending out one mailing this year, so please take time to look through all the pages and forms. There is information that will help you in your planning for summer.
Here are a few things to remember as you prepare for the summer:
Time of Arrival
Staff training begins Sunday, May 30, at OUTLAW RANCH. Plan to arrive any time after 3:00 p.m. Please let me know immediately if you cannot be here by the 30th. Please make note of your situation and your arrival date/time on the “Time of Arrival” form.
Some staff expressed interest in volunteering a few days before May 30 to help get Outlaw and AMR ready for summer. All willing to lend a hand are welcome. If you would like to do this, please indicate on the “Time of Arrival” form.
There will be Wilderness First Aid Training prior to staff training on Friday and Saturday May 28-29. All AMR counselors, all wranglers, and anyone who works with campers off-site, on trail rides, and the more remote areas of the Black Hills are asked to take this course. Assistant Director Mary Stutz will contact you if you are one of these staff members. Please note that you need Adult CPR and AED BEFORE you come to take the Wilderness First Aid class.
CPR/FIRST AID: Please find a First Aid and CPR class to complete BEFORE you come to camp this summer. For most people, the First Aid Class is Standard or Community First Aid. The CPR class is Adult, Infant, and Child CPR and AED. These classes may be offered at your school, by the local Red Cross, or YMCA. Staff who took CPR last year must renew every year, so you need to take another course. (We will have these courses at staff training for those few people that are unable to find a course.) Those of you at AMR who have been asked to take Wilderness First Aid do not need another First Aid Class, but you do need Adult CPR and AED BEFORE you come to take the Wilderness First Aid class.)
Health Form
The health form needs to be completed before you come to camp. You can have this done by a family doctor or at your college campus medical center. If you have had a physical since June 2008, the doctor's office may complete the back side of the form without having another doctor's exam. You may mail it to Outlaw at any time, or bring it with you to staff training. If you have already sent your health form in, please ignore this.
Weekends/Time Off/Special Dates
Days Off: Your days off will be limited to the weekends -- from the time campers leave and the camp is cleaned up on Friday afternoon (approximately 3-4 p.m.) until Sunday mid-morning. You will need to be at camp all other times.
Staff Training Weekend (June 5-6) is an exception to our normal time off as we will use much of this time for continued pre-camp preparation. You will get some personal time off, but not the whole weekend.
Service of Installation: Please mark Saturday, June 12 on your calendar. Pastor Layne Nelson, new Executive Director of Lutherans Outdoors, and I, new Director of OR/AMR, will be installed at the 4:30 p.m. Closing Worship of the South Dakota Synod Assembly at Calvary Lutheran Church in Rapid City. Staff are required to attend, wear their staff T-shirts, and sit together at the worship. This is a unique and rare opportunity to offer support and prayer for the leadership and ministry of Lutherans Outdoors in South Dakota (LOSD).
Family Weekend will be July 9-11. This is a great time for your parents or family members to come and visit you at camp. We have reduced rates for family members and a relaxing weekend planned. Remember to tell your family about these dates. The Community Worship at Outlaw Ranch will be that Sunday, July 11 at 10:00 a.m. Staff are required to be at the Community Worship.
Weekend Staffing: In your contract you agreed to serve as staff for one other weekend to help host weekend retreat groups or to assist with other needed projects. You will be given a time to sign up for your weekend to work.
Other Time Off: Some of you have spoken to Mary or me about special situations (weddings, graduations, etc.) where you need some additional time off. Please help by reminding me. You need to make these arrangements with me before you arrive in May. Call or email me first, then if I O.K. it, fill out the lower section of the “Time of Arrival” form on the web-site so I have a written record for your file.
In about a month, you will be greeting old friends and meeting new ones. We have a talented, faithful group of servant hearts coming together this summer. We will share a life transforming experience in Christian community and creation. Each week in our staff meetings here at Outlaw, we pray for all of you. Please pray for us and for all the campers we will meet this summer. God’s Work, Our Hands.
In Christ,
Rev. Molly Sasser-Goehner