Camp Chief Hector YMCA is one such camp. Since it first opened in 1930, the camp has dedicated itself to being a place where youth can belong, grow, thrive and lead.
It was these formative experiences that drew Georgia Ens back to Camp Chief Hector year after year, from her first summer there when she was eight. “I challenged myself in ways that I didn’t ever think I would have if I had not been out in that environment of independence, learning and tackling challenges,” says Ens, now 30.
Camp Chief Hector became a second home to Ens during her childhood summers, which were filled with horseback riding, canoeing, rock wall climbing, campfires, arts and crafts, and friendships that continue today. As she grew older, Ens delved further into the canoe-focused programs with overnight trips along the North Saskatchewan River systems. The countless hours and weeks paddling along the rivers and exploring Alberta’s backcountry became foundational memories and skills that shaped Ens into who she is today.
“The joy of taking those risks, to try something that scares you and see that you’re capable of doing it or being able to cheer your friends on and then celebrate, those are core foundation experiences,” says Ens. “You can really come into your own and flourish as a young person.”
FROM CAMPER TO COUNSELLOR
During Ens’ last summer as a camper, she felt a growing passion to support the next generation of campers. So, Ens took the Leadership program and became a camp counsellor in what she described as a “full circle moment.” “Being able to recognize the camper experience as a counsellor, getting the opportunity to embody the qualities of counsellors I used to look up to as a kid, and then seeing my old campers become counsellors themselves is all just incredibly special,” says Ens.
Ens led her own canoe expeditions as a counsellor, including Sac Dene, a trip on the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories, which she had dreamt of doing one day as a young camper. Ens isn’t the only past camper to return to camp, either. This past summer, of the 146 counsellors, 40 are past campers and 51 are returning staff from previous years. Ens has now hung up her counsellor hat but continues to stay involved with camp as a volunteer of the Love, Camp Campaign, a project aiming to raise $17 million to provide camp with essential upgrades.
The planned upgrades include new yurts to extend the camp season, new tipis made by the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, new universal washrooms, upgrades to challenge courses and more.
REUNITE AND RECONNECT AT CAMP
As Camp Chief Hector approaches its centennial year, the Love, Camp Campaign also provides a chance for camp alumni to stay connected and play their own roles in helping future campers have the same experiences at camp they themselves had. Part of the campaign includes a Camp Chief Hector Homecoming event on September 21, 2024, hosted as a mountain getaway that will feel like those cherished summers away at camp. Homecoming invites alumni and their loved ones to gather just as they did in their camping days to reconnect, engage, reminisce and feel like a kid again.
It’s also the chance to be a part of the Camp Chief Hector Alumni Network, where those who are camp inspired can stay in touch with other alumni, stay up to date on what’s happening at camp, provide support and pass on the torch to the next generation of campers. “Camp Chief Hector really shaped who I am today,” affirms Ens, who today works as a mental performance consultant for Canadian Sport Institute Alberta and is the owner of Paragon Peak Mental Performance Consulting. “To be on the other side where we can support the next generation of kids with the same really positive, beautiful experience is incredibly worthwhile.”
Tickets to Homecoming are $40 and include lunch and all activities. Children 9 and under are free. Click here to learn more about Homecoming.
