MEET THE STAFF
I am always impressed by the spirit and maturity of the young men who serve as counselors here at Geiger. On many occasion, we've seen them sit with a boy who is down, or disappointed, or lonely and within a matter of minutes they have that boy's pilot light relit and he's excited and ready to go again. A year ago, we all witnessed the kind of unselfish love that I think defines this place in many ways - and what I think Scouting is largely about. Last summer during our session, there was a young man from another troop who was born crippled. A month before camp he had gotten the last of a series of operations that allowed him to walk with crutches. One of the things he wanted more than anything else was to get tapped into the tribe of Mic-O-Say which happened while we were here. The camp offered to drive him around, but he wanted to do this on his own. For two days, he did the best he could with his crutches but when it came time to tackle the hills, or he was simply too tired, the counselors in the tribe picked that boy up and carried him on their backs. I still tear up writing about it but that's what being here means to these young men. It's also the answer to the question, "Why do you drive 20 hours to go to camp in Missouri?" Meet another outstanding member of this year's staff.
Tribal Name: Small Night Whippoorwill
Hometown: Chillicothe, Missouri
School: North Central Missouri
Studying: Secondary Education
Scout Rank: Eagle
Yrs. at Camp Geiger: 11 (6 as a camper, 5 as a counselor)
What's your favorite part of camp? Being involved in all the programming like the game shows at breakfast and the Wednesday night skits for Family Night. I like to take what could be boring otherwise and dress things up to make them really fun.
What makes you want to be a counselor at Camp Geiger? When I was younger, I needed a good role model and I found that at Camp Geiger. I thought the guys on staff like Matt Becker (the program director in '07 & '08) were really cool and provided that example I wanted to follow. When I got on staff, Matt was the Program Director and he pushed us to be the best and to set great examples for the boys coming to Geiger, most for the first time. I want to be the Matt Becker for these kids and be the role model they are looking for.
What keeps you coming back summer after summer? Geiger gives me the chance to better myself by helping other people. Out here you have the chance to own something and take charge of it. All you have to do is look around and say "How can I help?" I think I'm going to have the same opportunities as a teacher to look for ways to make a difference. There's also a great band of brotherhood here. These guys are my best friends. They're the guys I'm calling no matter what it is I need and I know they'll be there. It's also a lot of fun.
What's the best part of working with the boys? They keep it exciting. They always have a very interesting perspective on everything and they help keep me in check with who I am as a person and where I want and need to be. The kids are great.
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