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Letter from The Camp Directors Fall 2023
Dear Friends of Teton Valley Ranch Camp,
With the turning of the leaves and the willows in our pastures, we feel immense gratitude for the summer season and for how all of you joined us in celebrating this place and program that we all hold dear. In the wintertime, the Leadership Team often laughs at the question, “What do you do all winter?” Over the next 9 months, the TVRC team will travel and meet with our peers and other camp professionals to share ideas and knowledge on how to improve camp programming. We will interview staff members and speak to numerous campers and families, and we will travel around the country to meet with alumni and deepen our community relationships.
This summer we had a total of 122 Boys and 138 Girls join us, along with around 110 staff. We operated 26 Pack Trips and 42 off-campus Backpacks. We had 27 campers complete their time as Trailblazers, and had 46 Yearling campers join us for their first year. Of our 110 staff, 62% were returning staff and/or former campers while the balance (37%) were first year staff. As of this writing, our 2024 season is already approaching 47% enrolled, with Girls Trailblazers already approaching a waitlist.
We revisited our motto of “It's our Ranch”, but expanded on that with themes of Bravery and Gratitude this summer. We personally saw significant growth in both our camper and staff populations through the challenges and adventures of our summer program. It remains clear to us that now more than ever the youth of today need to practice doing hard things and learning how to overcome challenges; be that a steep hike, a disagreement in a cabin, or working through inclement weather.
We celebrated our 85th summer this season at the close of Boys Season, with an expanded social hour after the Rodeo. We welcomed over 100 guests, along with Boys’ Season families and our TVRC staff. We kicked off our 85 for 85 campaign with a generous $20,000 match, and are hoping to wrap that up in the coming months.
Our newest addition to the program is our on-camp Yearling Pack Trip site complete with wall tents, corrals, and a solar water well. Aptly named, “Grizzly Gulch” and underwritten by a camp family, this area allows TVRC to run on-camp Pack Trips with Yearlings and expand barn programming with a dedicated training and overnight spot. Reports I had from campers and staff on the “GG” trips were nothing but positive all the way around.
On the facilities side, we completed many of last year's projects including the purchase of 30 new saddles, significant willow removal in the upper pasture, and expanding the TVRC herd. These four horses (Bingo, Tucker, Grace, and Smokey) are proudly wearing the TV brand for the first time in many years!
Thank you for celebrating with us this summer and for continuing to be friends and champions of TVRC. While the place may be different, we are proud of the 2,300 acre ranch we call home. The TVRC Spirit, which welcomes campers on arrival days, hosts rodeos in the arena, and cheers on Rough Riders and Wranglers returning from their ceremonies is alive and well.
