YMCA CAMP SLOPER - 2021 - HALL OF FAME CEROMONY

at Smokin With Chris

YMCA Camp Sloper has announced the inductees for the 2021 Sloper Hall of Fame. Individuals who were selected from the list of nominees are: Sue and Keith Larson, Jill McAloon and Mike Tedesco. The 2021 Sloper Hall of Fame Inductees will be honored May 19^th in an outdoor ceremony at Smokin with Chris. Tickets for this can be purchased online at ymcacampsloper.org. Tickets are 25$ and includes a meal and all funds go to our YMCA Camp Sloper Staff Scholarship Fund. “All four of the 2021 recipients have made a huge impact on camp and we are excited to honor them as part of the Sloper Hall of Fame” stated Justin Hubeny, Outdoor Center Director at YMCA Camp Sloper.

To purchase tickets please use this link: YCS - 2021 Hall of Fame Ceromony Tickets

Our 2021 Hall of Fame honorees are:

• Keith Larson – From 2008 to about 2015, Keith Larson was one of our most dedicated volunteers on the Outdoor Center Committee, Building and Property Sub-committee and Saturday Morning Workday group. He spent countless hours repairing, renovating, rebuilding and constructing many of the cabins, pavilions and other camp facilities for many years. Keith is an immensely talented carpenter and shared his time and talents with us for many years. Some of the projects Keith helped with were the full renovations of the McLeod Family Pavilion, Arts and Crafts Cabin, East Coast Cabin, Nature Center many others. Keith helped improve the structural integrity of all our buildings during that time by doing things “the right way” during all our projects. As you walk through Sloper now, you see all our buildings with matching siding and a consistent clean look; Keith’s work has had a direct impact on the way we look now. We have a nicer, cleaner and stronger facility because of his efforts.
• Sue Larson – Sue has served as a valued member of our Outdoor Center Committee as well as a volunteer, donor and overall supporter for several years. Sue’s gifted grafic design skills helped turn our marketing materials into a more professional and user-friendly tool to recruit campers, members and groups. Sue has been designing our Day Camp Brochure since 1996 and continues to do that for us today. She has helped to revolutionize our marketing efforts. Her creativity, vision, understanding of our goals and ability to bring our camp to life on paper or a screen has truly helped increase our day camp enrollment. Sue has also designed many of our other print and graphic needs at YMCA Camp Sloper; many times giving us heavy discounts or a donation of her time and talents. She has been an advocate in the community and has helped connect us to other businesses and partnerships. She has been a great partner for YMCA Camp Sloper and we are thankful for all Sue has given. We attribute much of our success at YMCA Camp Sloper to her efforts.
• Mike Tedesco – Mike began his work at YMCA Camp Sloper in the year 2000 as a camp counselor and continued for many years working at our High Ropes course and finally ended his time at Sloper as the Trailblazer Director in 2005. Mike’s fun-loving attitude and connection to our older campers made him a popular camp staff. What escalated his notoriety at camp were the many energetic and humorous performances on stage at LOGS which made him a favorite amongst the campers. Most notably, Mike was one-half of the popular Mike and Pat Show at LOGS that kids looked forward to all week. For many summers, it was the Sloper version of Saturday Night Live, with most of the jokes and comedy aimed at playfully teasing the Camp Director at the time, Mark Pooler. Mike went on to lead YMCA Camp Quinnipiac for several years before moving to the Waterbury YMCA where he currently holds the Operation Director positon and continues to do great things in the YMCA movement.
• Jill McAloon – Jill started as a camp counselor in 1999, and led our Extended Care Camp program for several years. She went on to become the Tower/High Ropes Director in 2001. After a short pause in her Sloper career, Jill returned to work at camp in 2008 as our Special Needs Coordinator for the summer. This is where Jill’s impact at YMCA Camp Sloper really grew as she shared with us her expertise, experience and overall strengths in working with kids with special needs. Making these campers feel welcome and supported was Jill’s main priority and she did that very well for many years. In addition, her patience and professionalism dealing with the families was extremely helpful. Jill always understood the balance of what was going to be best for not only the special needs campers, but also what we could realistically handle as a camp. Her work has helped so many families and children over the years and for that we want to recognize her as a member of the Sloper Hall of Fame.

The Sloper Hall of Fame was created in 2005 as a way to recognize and reward some of the past camp staff and volunteers who have helped to make YMCA Camp Sloper the great facility it is today. “Remembering those who have paved the way for our present and future generations at camp is very important to us at the YMCA” said Pooler. The Sloper Hall of Fame is a way to honor those who have made a lasting impact on the program, facility and people who have enjoyed this special place for many years. And of course, none of this would be possible without the amazing generosity of Cornelia Sloper Neal who donated the property to our YMCA in 1949,” stated Pooler who was the Camp Director from 1996 to 2015.

If you would like more information on the YMCA Camp Sloper Hall of Fame please contact Justin Hubeny at 860-621-8194 or jhubeny@sccymca.org