Administrator’s Corner

What a crazy, upside down world! The COVID-19 pandemic never made it into my mind’s “worst case scenario” planning, but here we are, moving through it and forward. And of course, Eliot camps were affected; we couldn’t meet in person, there were no polar bear swims or hugging. No choir singing or Friday night dance or Creative Arts Extravaganza. But Eliot camps did happen online; deep connections were made, joyful laughter rang out (some of your neighbors probably wondered what the heck was going on at your house!), and we belted out songs like we were in the shower.

There were games and puzzles and conversations and PEP talks and storytelling by two of the best storytellers in the country: Will Hornyak and David Novak. Was it as good as an in-person camp experience at Seabeck? Nope, but online camp was WAY better than I ever imagined, and provided meaningful connections as we stayed isolated in our homes.

Winter Eliot will also be online this year, and I encourage all of you to give it a try. We’ll ring out the New Year from our homes, but we’ll be together in spirit and on Zoom. Guy Nelson, our theme speaker, has gained valuable experience in presenting his program online, and he is eager to join our Eliot community. The cost for camp is $50/person, which you’ll pay when you register for camp. Such a bargain! Please join us!

Another way to connect with your Eliot community is by joining our informal online Eliot EVEs. EVE stands for Easy (or Educational or Entertaining or Elaborate or Exotic or…) Virtual Event. Volunteer to host, pick a date and find some tech support, and I’ll provide the logistics. The first event was held on October 24 and featured camper costumes and random breakout rooms for chatting with new and old friends. Easy-peasy. We had over 60 people gather. I hosted the inaugural event and Janelle & Peter Durham supplied the tech support.

Seabeck Update: Seabeck hosted their first guests since March 8 over the October 9-11 weekend! Yahoo! Two groups came: 4 quilters and 6 gospel singers. Chuck delivered their meals to them in their meeting areas and everything went smoothly. Click here to read Seabeck’s Covid Plan. The Eliot Board is exploring opportunities for very small groups of Elioteers to spend some time at Seabeck. This exploration is still very much in the early stages, but do reach out to me if you’d be interested in going with your family or quarantine pod to Seabeck. Because of Seabeck’s nonprofit status, Washington state law doesn’t permit them to operate like a hotel or resort.

As I write this, construction on New Pines has been halted, awaiting further funding. The building is weather tight, with mostly interior work to finish. Once construction can be re-started, work will proceed quickly, and we expect to use the building for the summer 2021 camp season.

Registration for summer camps and Online Winter Eliot is online at www.eliotinstitute.org. Click on the big blue button to register, and you're on your way!

See you at camp,
Bev Hesterberg
206-395-8111
EliotRegistrar@gmail.com