Jennifer "Nnifer" Schlick Emily "Butterfly" Garrick Ro "Ro" Woodard Inducted onto the Wall of Fame on April 6, 2024. Tribute by Jo Nelson
I’m not sure how many of us are left who were “a part of Timbercrest” when we first began in 1963 with Day Camp and 1967 with Residence Camp but I do remember leaving camp in 2017 after our 50th reunion/anniversary with many happy and sad thoughts. Happy because I had seen and enjoyed so many friends, staff, and campers from those first 12 years I worked there, and sad because I, like so many others, saw that our beloved camp was in dire need of both routine and major maintenance and, for me, did not come close to the pristine and beautiful camp I had last worked at in 1978.
That sadness that I felt did not last long because a little more than two months later on October 6-8, 2017, Jennifer Schlick, her daughter Emily Garrick, and their friend Ro Woodard organized, publicized, and ran the first Friends of Timbercrest Work Weekend! Good food, lots of laughing, singing, energy, and enthusiasm was prevalent as the Lake Trail was worked on, the infirmary painted, the “buddy board” refurbished, firewood cut and stacked after trees were cut down to create a viewscape from Strawberry Hill Pavilion to Keyser Lake, and much, much more!
Friends of Timbercrest with a mission “to preserve, enhance, and promote Camp Timbercrest in partnership with GSWNY” was born that weekend because of Jennifer and Emily who, with their good friend Ro, began a venture that today, 7 years and 12 work weekends later, has dramatically and positively preserved, enhanced, and promoted Camp Timbercrest. Over 100 campers, counselors, other staff, and friends make up the FOT mailing list now with small and large projects completed every work weekend. Demolishing and building lean-tos, repairing latrines, clearing trails, putting up signs, organizing spaces with hooks and shelves, painting/staining/refinishing buildings and furniture, organizing the library and the boat shed, building foot bridges, blazing trails, and dozens of other things have been done and will continue to be done for years to come because three women cared about our camp and did something.
The members of FOT have a passion for Camp Timbercrest and live all over the United States. That passion is exemplified in Jennifer, Emily, and Ro who are responsible for all of the work and wonderful things that FOT has done, and they absolutely deserve to be installed onto our Wall of Fame. I am very happy to be a member and to help however I can and very, very pleased and proud of Jennifer, Emily, and Ro, three Girl Scouts who stepped up when the need was there and have such a powerful and positive impact on the camp that we all love.
Joanne E. "Jo" Nelson Camp Timbercrest Director 1969-1978
To be continued... All three of us were so surprised and overwhelmed by the tribute and induction onto the Wall of Fame. I will add more to this page from that wonderful day over the next few days. - Nnifer