Over the past 30 years, George and I have grown with our family and with our own experiences.  We founded Coleman Country Day Camp in Merrick, New York in 1982, when our two sons were young.  I was then finishing a stint as a newspaper editor for a local community paper, having previously been an educator before our children were born.  Conversations around the dinner table, during their growing-up years, more often than not focused on the camp experience, and Jordan and Ross were soon adding their own points of view and opinions!

As Jordan and Ross became counselors-in-training, junior counselors, counselors, supervisors, and camp directors themselves, our family, which had been running a day camp and travel camp, made the decision to add a resident camp, Camp Echo in Coleman High Country, to its quiver of camp offerings.  Soon thereafter, Jordan met his bride, Jessica, at an American Camp Association Standards Visitors course, and it wasn't long before she joined the family's camp endeavors.  As if we needed any affirmation of Jessica's previously chosen professional field, the couple was married at camp!

In 2006, Jordan, who had been the director of the sleep-away camp, decided to pursue another field. While Ross continued to direct the day camp with George providing assistance, Jessica and I ran the overnight camp together.

Most recently, our family decided to refocus our energies so that we could spend more time together.  With tremendous pride of ownership and accomplishment, we passed Echo's legacy on to another family who was committed to its principles and values.  This transition has left me time to pursue my passion of working with parents.