The Dakotas Camping program has embraced a new leadership model and is busy planning for the 2016 camping season.  Keith Shew is currently serving as the Interim Director of Camping for the Dakotas-Minnesota Area of The United Methodist Church.

"It has been really great to work with the camping staff and leadership in the Dakotas and I’m so encouraged by where we are headed together," Keith Shew, Interim Director of Camping, Dakotas-Minnesota Area. "Camping and Retreat ministries are alive and well in our conferences. I hear stories each day about how camping has been touched the lives of many through spending time at one of our sites. It is an exciting time to be in camping!"

It will be just a few short months before the 2016 camping season is here. Here are some important things you need to know.

Staff change at Wesley Acres

Dan Kellander has submitted his resignation as director of Wesley Acres Camp and Retreat Center. He will remain on-site, working through January 13, 2016. We are grateful for Dan’s service to the camping ministry and wish him well in his future endeavors.

A search process to identify a new director will begin soon, with the goal of having a new director in place by April 1, 2016. Keith Shew, Interim Camp Director for the Dakotas-Minnesota Area, will work closely with staff and volunteers to provide oversight of the camp during this transition.

Select a camp ambassador for your church

For the first time this year every church is being asked to select a camp ambassador. Camp ambassadors share camp and retreat opportunities with children, youth, and families in their local churches and communities and provide information about how to become involved in this life-changing ministry. More specifically, camp ambassadors act as the Dakotas United Methodist Camps spokesperson within their churches. So now is the time for each church to designate who their camp ambassador will be and get them connected with resources. Contact Diane Weller in the Dakotas Conference Camping Office by e-mail or phone 605-990-7780 with the name and contact information of your camp ambassador.

Get your church discount codes for camp

Camp discount codes are an easy way for churches to help their young people get to camp. You can set up a code by specifying how much your church will pay, either a percentage or a certain dollar amount. You will then be assigned a discount code to distribute to your campers. Families can then register online with this code and pay just the portion they owe. The remaining amount will appear on your church’s monthly camp statement. Churches may choose to pay their camp fees monthly or in one payment due by August 31, 2016.

If you had a church discount code last year, it will remain the same unless you call the camping office. If you’d like to set up a new code for this year simply e-mail the following information to Diane:

• Church name.

• Percentage or amount of discount (i.e. 50% of camp fee, or $150 per camper.)

• Specify whether the discount will be for camp fees only or if you’d like to offer the discount for Shepherds and bus fees also.

• Camp Ambassador’s name, e-mail address and phone number (person in charge of promoting camp at your church.)

• E-mail address you’d like the monthly statements sent. This could be the camp ambassador, the church office or church treasurer. Statements will be sent by U.S. mail if no e-mail is provided.

Dakotas Camping Office staff change

Diane Weller, Dakotas Conference Camping Assistant, will be changing positions in the Conference Office to serve as the Donor Coordinator for the Dakotas United Methodist Foundation. The target date for this transition to take place is March 1, 2016. 

"We are grateful to Diane for her faithful service to camping. She has guided the camping office through a new online registration service and been the face of camping to many who register and have questions about various camps and youth programs," said Rev. Rebecca Trefz, Dakotas Conference Director of Ministries.

The Dakotas Conference will seek out a replacement for Camping Assistant in the near future.