June 2013 Camp was a blast and July’s reunion camp is in less than a week!

June 2013’s camp session group!

In case you missed it, June 2013’s camp was a whole lotta fun! There were lots of things to keep us occupied at June’s camp.  Aside from the camper’s insatiable, competitive fishing excursions, they did other activities like remote control cars (complete with a slalom course), arts and crafts, flying indoor drones, and the highlight of the camp….life-size Jenga!   Yes you heard it right.  This Jenga set is huge and is made out of 18″ long 2×4 pieces.  There were some tense contests between many of the campers.  The exciting thing about Camp Craig Allen’s version of Jenga is that the campers took time to write questions on each and every block.  These questions are designed to educate, enlighten, and advocate for the physically disabled community.  Such interesting questions included everything from “What is the ADA and when was it adopted?” to “Can disabled people have children?”  Look for this monster game at our 7th Annual CCA BBQ….yep it’s hittin’ the streets for a road trip!

Here are some pictures of the action packed competition!

SAVE THE DATES! ***7th Annual BBQ Cook Off Sept 27& 28th 2013***

Upcoming camp reminder!  In less than a week, during July 26 – July 28, 2013 will be our July reunion camp!  We look forward to seeing everyone that signed up.  I’ll be there and if the sky is clear I plan on bringing my telescope.  This time of year we should be able to see Saturn around 10pm on Friday and Saturday and the moon an hour or two later.  If you’ve never seen the moon through a telescope, it is something to behold!  We will also have fishing for those brave souls that can handle the heat, a Spa Day on Saturday, July 27th from 1-5pm in the Dining Hall, and other activities like life-size Jenga and art and crafts for those who want to beat the heat indoors.  Saturday at 6pm there will be a hamburger cook-out by the pool.  If you tried the hamburgers at last camp, they were fantastic!  See you there!

This blog has gotten fishy…

It sure has!!

I’d like to introduce myself.  My name is Chris Fish.  I have been a volunteer and camper for Camp Craig Allen (CCA) for several years now and absolutely love everything they stand for.  The President and founder, Dawn Cruzan, has a heart of gold and the CCA family is committed to realizing her vision of building a place in which adults with physical disabilities can attend a fully inclusive, fully accessible, barrier-free facility where barriers are no longer an issue and the person’s spirit and talents can shine through.  As part of my continued service to this great organization, I am taking over writing for the Camp Craig Allen blog.

A little about myself…I was born with the third most common form of muscular dystrophy, Fascioscapulohumeral MD (FSHD for short).  I did not start having problems with my strength until junior high school.  In college I began using a wheelchair which was one of the hardest transitions that I had to come to grips with.  Despite my difficulties, I was able to complete college with a degree in architecture.  After many years of internship and some very difficult licensing exams, I finally achieved the prestigious personal goal of becoming a registered architect with a passion for making the built environment more accessible for those with disabilities.

I look forward to bringing you news of the exciting things happening with Camp Craig Allen including updates on upcoming and recent camp sessions, breaking news, community activities that CCA is involved with, and of course giving you the latest information about our yearly Annual Amateur BBQ Cookoff…which by the way is coming very soon!  Save the date for September 27th and 28th at Bass Pro Shops in Grapevine, TX!

Check out our webpage for additional information at: http://campcraigallen.org/

If you have any questions or suggestions for blog topics you can reach me at fish@campcraigallen.org.