Sunday, August 12th, 2007
DAYS THREE AND FOUR OF AUTHOR QUEST!
Man . . . what can I say? I just spent four days with 32 of the brightest young authors I have ever met. Not to mention a staff and faculty that is top-notch! I can't tell you what a privilege it has been to be in the company of such great people this past week.
Yesterday (Saturday) the writing began first thing in the morning . . .
Of course, you can't write all the time. Keisha spent her free time catching water snakes . . .
Kyle caught a dangerous, man-eating snail . . .
Perry braved the seaweed to catch this frog:
One of the highlights yesterday was when our Young Authors were encouraged to go into the woods and catch a rattlesnake. Hannah, Rebecca, Autumn, and Destiny succeeded . . .
Wait a minute! Let's have a closer look at that 'rattlesnake'. . .
David LaRochelle conducted a great illustration workshop!
Shelly, Camp Counselor Extraordinaire, teaches us to WRITE NOW!
A special presentation on Saturday featured Carmen Scharffe from the Cheboygan County Humane Society, who brought her dog, Raja, and a couple of very cute kitties. Carmen talked a lot about animal adoption and care. Everyone enjoyed her presentation, as it seemed that everyone had pets of their own. Thanks, Carmen!
Raja loves the attention he's getting . . .
Jessica and 'Pumpkin' . . .
Astra and her pal . . .
Saturday night wrapped up around the campfire with the story about the dog man, which freaked everyone out. In fact, here's a picture of the infamous dog man, taken just the other day . . .
I got up around five this morning and walked down to the lake. A thunderstorm was coming, and the distant lighting was really cool. By seven, the sky tore open and a heavy rain came down. It didn't last for long, though, and Authors began gathering in the mess hall by seven thirty. Everyone was still a little sleepy . . . but what's going on with Max in the Middle?
Let's zoom in for a close-up . . .
The Sleepy Table . . .
Prince William the Tenacious and Cole Rens were first in line for morning grub . . .
Brianna and Autumn are sleep-eating . . .
Graduation ceremonies got under way at 9 a.m:
Rebekah Phillips read some of her writing . . .
. . . and so did Cole Rens . . .
Special award winners are (from left to right) William Valentia, Genesis Clark-Inman, Astra Tucker, Meg Bauer, Keisha Pendery, and Laura Hidalgo. Congratulations!
And that wraps it up from . . .
I must say: I was so very impressed with all of our young authors. We had a great group of kids, and I personally want to thank each and every one of you for making our first Author Quest a huge success. Next year's camp is already in the planning stages. Watch this website for all the details!
A special thanks to Tracy Meisterheim and Cheboygan County 4-H! 4-H provided staff and counselor training, along with valuable resources to make Author Quest the success it was. Camp went smoothly, thanks to their assistance and guidance. Thank you, Cheboygan County 4-H!
Lastly, I want to thank camp director Ann Rowland and our great counselors and staff for all of their help. Needless to say, Author Quest wouldn't have happened without YOU!
Best wishes, happy reading, and . . . WRITE ON!
