Forecasted Weather Shortens Camporee Programs, Clubs Plan Their Exit

Prentice Park Pathfinder Braise Ellis packs up her tent.

August 09, 2024 ∙ by vmbernard ∙ in Columbia Union News, Allegheny East Conference, Pathfinders, This Month's Issue

Story by V. Michelle Bernard (and more stories below)

With another potential strong storm forecasted to come through Gillette, Wy., tomorrow, International Camporee leaders had to make the hard logistical decision to cancel the Sabbath morning and Saturday evening programs previously scheduled to conclude the event. “Every effort is being made to keep Pathfinders safe during the next few days,” say event leaders.

Ron Whitehead, executive director of the camporee, announced that the Friday evening event will be the last large meeting. Clubs who choose to stay on the Cam-Plex campus will host their own Sabbath-morning worship services on their campsites. Some Sabbath afternoon indoor activities will be available, including some honors and the Adventist Youth Ministries Museum, among others. Vendors will also be open Saturday evening to purchase last-minute pins and other items.

Local and conference leaders have left it to local clubs to choose if they want to leave before the forecasted storm or wait until Saturday evening/Sunday morning, as previously planned.

Speaking to conference Pathfinder leaders at a meeting early this morning, Frank Bondurant, Columbia Union vice president for Ministries Development, said there are good reasons to stay at the camporee and good reasons to leave early—but the number one priority is safety.

This leadership team has been overseeing Columbia Union campground logistics all week, such as road openings and closings—some of which are still muddy following Tuesday’s storm. Today and tomorrow, clubs will have to decide when it’s best to depart, considering airline bookings, hired bus reservations, RVs, moving trucks and road limitations.

“When making this decision, safety of the kids is always a top priority,” says Sammy Theodore, director of Pennsylvania Conference’s Heaven Bound club from the Boulevard church in Philadelphia. Their club started the 26-hour road trip home on Friday afternoon. “It hurts me really bad to leave today because we had a Pathfinder who wanted to be baptized tonight and three others who wanted to commit as well,” he says. “But we will make sure [to give them the same] option once we’re home.”

Chesapeake Conference’s Triadelphia Sparks club is leaving Sabbath morning, says Director Ian Burrows. “The kids are definitely going to be a little down,” in reference to the Saturday evening program that isn’t following the typical schedule of past camporees, he says. “But for the most part, the kids still had a lot of fun.”

Joel Johnson, executive secretary and youth director of the Allegheny West Conference (AWC), says most of the AWC Pathfinders are leaving after the program tonight around 11 p.m. and heading to the airport. “It’s better to be in bad weather inside the airport than out here. So that is the plan. They can still have fun, even though everything that was planned isn’t going to happen. … Our kids are resilient!”

Some Pathfinders who traveled to the camporee via plane couldn’t switch their flights so close to their original flight times. Other clubs have contracted with bus companies who cannot arrive until later to take them home.

For those clubs staying put, the camporee leadership team has communicated a plan to ensure their safety if a strong storm does come.

Whitehead notes that a benefit of being in this complex is the many buildings that can provide shelter, if needed.

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