Coming Full Circle

By John “JGB” Burton

“Day is done, gone the sun . . .” The first time I heard those words (the start of Taps) I was 11, a Junior camper at Camp Mondamin, just up the road from the site of Falling Creek Camp. It was June, 1958. My father had been a camper and counselor for seven years starting in 1927. My brother and sister were campers at Camps Mondamin and Green Cove starting somewhere in the mid-1950s. They all liked camp and benefitted from the eight-week summers at Main Camp, but none of them took to it like I did.

I was a kid from the suburbs of Chicago who couldn’t compete in contact sports due to a shaky elbow, but could swim, paddle, sail, play tennis, hike, and ride horses (no mountain bikes or climbing walls back then), and I did them all as much as I could, every day. Such pursuits then dictated my life’s work in outdoor adventure and education.

I remember every single counselor I had during my first eight years at camp, including the cool guy I had for two years in a row at ages 14 and 15. He was strong, funny, good at bear hugs and pats on the back as well as keeping us in line. He had thick coke-bottle glasses, could grow a beard twice a day (or so it seemed to us puberty-challenged early teens), was friendly but stern, concerned but trusting, wise and encouraging. His name was Henry Pharr—yep, Yates’s dad. One of the truly influential men in my life, of which I have been lucky to have many.

And now I have Yates, Henry’s son, and Marisa, our co-Directors, and Frank Tindall, and the other remarkable leaders at Falling Creek, who are the latest inspirational mentors in my life! I joined the FCC staff this year as “Senior Advisor,” whatever that is, also mysteriously described as “Greybeard.” In my “other life” I have run small businesses, helped people start businesses, coached executives and teams at non-profits, engineering firms, airports, hospitals, universities, national parks, etc. I competed around the world on the U.S. Whitewater Team for 13 years. It is with pride and joy and not a little reverence that I describe Falling Creek as the model for an aware, intentional, value-driven, accountable organization.

The FCC leadership team lead by example, hold themselves accountable, hold the staff accountable, and ask of the kids an appropriate amount of self-direction and responsibility. The leaders consider themselves stewards of the place, the people, and the traditions. They lead with reverence, compassion, and the long-term health of everyone in mind. They are attentive to every camper, every counselor, every activity, every building and trail and vehicle and boat so that the campers have the best possible experience, every hour of every day. After every day or event or trip, they ask “what went well today, and what could we do better?” Counselors, directors, line heads, the maintenance crew, the kitchen geniuses, all are expected to ask and answer those questions. They are self-analytical, they listen and take feedback beautifully, they are humble and curious, and they are inspiring.

Each cabin engages in a tradition known as “Evening Embers,” in which the campers are asked to contribute to a meaningful conversation about their day. What went well, what they learned, who was kind or helpful to them, how they may have given of themselves to someone else or to camp in some way. It is a powerful first step into self-awareness and other-awareness.

I have worked for and in many great organizations since my first job at Camp Mondamin as a clueless 18-year-old counselor. I have been lucky and am now intentional to work with great leaders who run value-driven organizations. My luck has been continuous: to have parents who sent me to camp at age 11, to have embraced outdoor activities as great learning vehicles, to reconnect with the camp community in Henderson County, to connect with the fine leaders at Falling Creek. Finding great mentors may not be all luck — I seek out folks like them who lead the way I want to be led.

“. . . from the lake, from the hills, from the sky: all is well, safely rest, God is nigh.” The end of another great day at Falling Creek. I am grateful to have come full circle.

-John Burton (“JGB”)