Lunch with the ranch staff

Hi Circle F family,
Jay and I went to the ranch yesterday to take Cindy, Sherri, Denielle and Alan out for a holiday lunch. We had a great time together. We don't get to hang out very often and just talk. The ranch keeps us busy when we are there. I hope that you have a wonderful holiday and spend it with the ones you love and who love you!! That is what it is all about. Love from your camp mom, Diana

Jesse Update

Hey Everyone!
Can you believe Jesse? He got to go home for Thanksgiving and his mom emailed us this picture of him and his cousin. Jesse with no hair... that is a new concept. He looks so mature...that sure sounds like a mom comment, doesn't it? It is hard to believe that he left camp this summer and went to Michigan for Boot Camp a few days later.

Jesse is going to Bahrain which is a tiny island in the Persian Gulf between Iran and Saudi Arabia. I'm sure he will charm everyone with his amazing personality. Everyone loves Jesse! Let's all keep him in our thoughts. We can't wait to see him again at camp soon.
Much love,
Your camp mom, Diana

Meet Roger

Hey everyone,

We are really excited that Roger Hanafin will be coming to camp as our new Assistant Director in February! He and his wife Emily will be making the move to Florida from Colorado in the middle of February. Right now they are spending time in Central America visiting Guatemala and other countries in that area.

When he was a kid, Roger attended Camp Stevens near San Diego. He eventually became a counselor and then an administrator. He and Emily met at camp and they even got married there.

Before we hired Roger we wanted to get to know him a little better. So we flew him out to Orlando for a weekend in October. When I picked him up from the airport, I learned that this was actually the first time he'd ever been in Florida. After he got settled at his hotel, I took him to dinner with Gil and Paisley so that he could meet some counselors. The next day we went to the ranch to facilitate a group of dads and their daughters. That weekend ended up being our biggest weekend of the year with 364 people there. There were tents set up all over camp!

Roger got to meet a ton more people when he got to the ranch, including the rock wall staff. That's us in the above picture. From left to right, that's Roger, me, Lisa and Beau right behind Bo the dog. You'll recognize Matt B., Arthur, Joe, Brian and Diana in the back. We had a great time on our break hanging out on the front porch of the office getting to know Roger and enjoying some Pizzano's.

Roger is looking forward to meeting all of you this summer. And I know you guys will look forward to meeting him, especially if you are coming to 2nd session because Roger's birthday is during that session. IN THE LAKE! IN THE LAKE!

I am going to miss you guys like crazy next summer. The good news is that I plan on being there for banquets, rodeos and other days throughout the summer. And camp mom to all, Diana, will be there all summer along with Roger. Diana and I agree that Roger will be a great guy to have at camp and we are lucky to have him as a part of the Circle F family.

Hope to hear from you soon,
Jay

Brochures are on the way!

Hi guys,

Diana and I were both at the ranch for another Family Weekend. Matt B., Jamie, Gil, Brian, Shannon and Reiss came as counselors this time around. On Saturday morning, Reiss, Gil and Matt B. stayed busy running paintball while Jamie, Brian and Shannon took care of stuffing and sealing brochures to send to all of the campers from the last three years. Here are some pictures from that adventure:

Brian, Jamie and Shannon getting the brochures ready on the front porch.

Ready to go! We put all of the brochures in the trunk of Diana's car to bring them back to Orlando.

Jamie and Brian taking a nap after working hard all morning.

We will be putting the brochures in the mail today and tomorrow, so keep an eye on your mailbox. Be sure to check out the first two pages for something new. If you can't wait to sign up for camp until then, you can download the registration form on the website.

Hope that you had a fantastic weekend.

Jay