“To enlighten and evolve through the art of Kenpo”
| Volume 11 |
June - September 2006 |
Issue 2 |
From The President...
Food for Thought: Another Mike Pick Seminar
Kids Summer Camps 2006
Instructors' Party: Generations Together
Kids Summer Camps 2006
by Bryan Hawkins
Our Kids Summer Camps this year were everything I anticipated — and more. We did eight weeks of Day Camp and one week of Sleep-Away Camp which turned out to be longer than any of our previous summer programs. As usual we had a terrific group of kids for our Day Camp but what made it even more enjoyable for me this year was the fact that I had two of my own four children (Frank and Johnnie) attend camp with us. Between field trips, beach days, hiking, pool days, gymnastics, magic shows, arts and crafts, and a variety of sports activities we all had a very full summer of Kenpo fun.
As always, I would like to give thanks to all the parents who helped with transportation and supervision and without whom the Camp would not be possible. I would especially like to thank Aviva Levin for her wonderful arts and crafts program, which the Camp kids enjoyed this year more than even and Norma Garcia for her almost daily help with rides and “kid counseling” with a style that is uniquely her own.
Our Sleep-Away Camp was once again up at the Kern River and although it was hotter than usual the heat didn’t slow down the Camp kids one bit. The river itself was running a littler higher than usual, which made for more challenging rafting and swimming. The hike through the giant sequoias was breathtaking as always, especially for kids that had never seen the “largest living things on the planet”. We present four awards each year for special achievement or performance during the week-long camp. This year’s recipients were Tadashi Gietzen - Best Diver, Diego Benedetti - Best Hiker, Tori Chayes - Best Discipline, and Philip Weisberg - Best Assistant Instructor.
A special thanks to Mr. Khalsa, Mark Hammer, and Chris Hammer for their help in keeping the camp safe and adventurous, which at times is a difficult balance.
We have some exciting changes planned for next year’s camps and I look forward to Summer ‘07 with great anticipation!