2023 Fall Movie Shows and Camp Reunions Highlights

Every Fall when the campers and counselors have returned home, the activity supplies are put away, and the mountain is quiet, camp reverts back to its dormant phase, patiently waiting for another exciting summer to begin in May. You might think that the same is true for the year-round team. Don’t they quietly retreat back to their homes for the long winter too? Actually, it’s the opposite – the “off season” for camp can sometimes feel busier than when the campers are here!

That’s because Fall and Winter are when we prepare for another big Summer. It’s the time to recruit great staff, interview, complete work projects and repairs, plan the session programming, and travel all over the country to camp family homes and colleges! While our staffing team was busy visiting schools for our College Tour (see those dates here), Yates was on the road in November for the 2023 Fall Movie Shows & Camp Reunions!

He visited Birmingham, Atlanta, Charleston, Raleigh, Alexandria, Houston, Dallas, and Bronxville. We’re especially grateful to our camp families who hosted in each of those cities. These were not only great opportunities for alumni, staff, and current campers to reunite, but also a wonderful chance for new families to find out more about Falling Creek.

Birmingham, Alabama

The first stop was Birmingham, Alabama on November 6th. Thank you to Sumner and John Rives for kicking off the Open House Tour at their beautiful home!

The boys had the opportunity to eat pizza and play basketball together before the movie. A huge thank you to Davis and William for helping host, and to all of the returning campers who attended, for helping explain what makes Falling Creek such a positive camp experience.

Atlanta, Georgia

We had a great time in Atlanta, and thank you to Nicky and Nathan DeLuke for hosting at their beautiful home. Yates was thrilled to reconnect with so many FCC families, staff, and alumni.

The group photo at the top of this page includes all the boys who were there, as well as the dads who have joined their sons at Father/Son Weekend. In the photo below, Pellerin, who is returning to FCC for his 4th summer, and John, who is returning for his 2nd summer, helped Yates and the DeLukes welcome families.

Alumnus Grant Pinkston was in attendance, and has been a part of the FCC community for 14 summers. He was a camper, FLINT, STEEL, DASH, counselor, and the STEEL leader this past summer. Grant has recently graduated from Dartmouth and has joined the Bain & Co. ATL team.

Also pictured below are JW G. and Andrew R., who are both returning to FCC for their 5th summers in 2024. Andrew’s dad Sam went to Falling Creek with Yates.

Charleston, South Carolina

The next stop was Charleston, South Carolina! It was great to connect with such a solid group of veteran Falling Creek folks and new families in Charleston.

A huge thanks to Beezer and Emily Molten, the owners of Half-Moon Outfitters, for hosting us at their West Ashley store in Charleston, SC. It was a perfect spot to mingle, eat some pizza, and talk about camp.

Pictured below is Charles W., who is returning to FCC for his 4th summer. It was his birthday, and he came to see camp friends and spend his birthday evening with us! His dad, Morgan, was an FCC camper when Yates was a counselor, and they went on paddling trips together.

Jane Harper Dollason, Anne Jackson, & Liza Layfield (pictured below) are alumnae from Camp Illahee, and their boys are now FCC campers.

Raleigh, North Carolina

Thank you to Emily and Pat Funderburk for hosting at their beautiful home in Raleigh, NC. Emily is a Camp Merrie Woode alumna, and loves to share her enthusiasm for camp with everyone.

The photo on the right shows all the boys in attendance, plus the dads who have joined Father/Son Weekends, and those who have been part of Family Camp.

Pictured below, Veteran FCC campers Patrick F, Wells F, Jackson M, Paul M, & Jack C, enjoyed the opportunity to share stories tonight with their peers and with the new families who came to learn more about Falling Creek.

The bottom left photo below features a family with 3 generations of Falling Creekers! Joe was a founding counselor in 1969, and Mark and Eli will be joining us at Father/Son Weekend in May.

We were excited to see Tor Ramsey, who created several versions of the camp movie over the years, and alumni Lee Walker and Mac McAulay whose boys are now campers too.

Brothers John and “Nemo” Niemeyer pictured below on the top right. They are both long-time campers and counselors, and their dad Chuck (also a former camper) serves on our summer medical staff. Their grandfather Charlie has also served as one of our weekly summer physicians for many years.