You’ll never see Roderick Russ walking at Alpine. At his slowest, you might catch our 2nd Term Program Director at a brisk jog. He’s like the Energizer bunny of camp directors. You should have seen him on the last day of second term this summer. Roderick baked up a scheme to cram almost every Alpine activity into a single afternoon–a camp wide relay of epic proportions. It was a masterpiece. Campers and counselors alike sprinted from Team Sports to Basketball to Tennis to Crafts and on and on with a startling level of organization. Only Roderick could pull something like that off, and he did it neither breaking stride nor a sweat.

It comes as no surprise then, that our own Roderick Russ has been awarded High School Cross Country Coach of the Year by The Tennessean. In his other life–the one he leads the other 11 months of the year–Roderick coaches and teaches at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, TN. This year, Roderick led the team to their second consecutive Division II-AA title, and the team set a new state record with a perfect score of 15.

Roderick’s passion and enthusiasm has always shined at Alpine, so it is exciting for us to hear of his successes back in Nashville. If you happen to see him running, shout out a “Congratulations!” He may not slow down his pace, but I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.

Camp Alone from Alpine Camp on Vimeo.

Merry Christmas from the Alpine Family!

September 27, 2010 – Birmingham, AL – 6:30 PM CDT
September 28, 2010 – Athens, GA – 7:00 PM EDT
October 4, 2010 – Memphis, TN – 4:00 PM CDT & 7:00 PM CDT
October 5, 2010 – Tupelo, MS – 4:00 PM CDT
October 6, 2010 – Clarksdale, MS – 5:15 PM CDT
October 7, 2010 – Oxford, MS – 3:15 PM CDT
October 11, 2010 – Hattiesburg, MS – 7:00 PM CDT
October 12, 2010 – Gulfport, MS – 4:00 PM CDT
October 12, 2010 – Mobile, AL – 7:00 PM CDT
October 13, 2010 – New Orleans, LA – 4:00 PM CDT
October 21, 2010 – Jackson, MS – 7:00 PM CDT
October 25, 2010 – New York, NY
November 1, 2010 – Nashville, TN – 5:00 PM CDT
November 2, 2010 – Lookout Mountain, TN – 6:30 PM EDT
November 3, 2010 – Meridian, MS – 3:15 PM CDT
November 3, 2010 – Atlanta, GA – 6:30 PM EDT
November 8, 2010 – Dallas, TX – 7:00 PM CST
November 15, 2010 – Shreveport, LA – 6:30 PM CST
November 16, 2010 – Monroe, LA – 5:30 PM CST
November 17, 2010 – Lafayette, LA – 6:30 PM CST
January 13, 2011 – St. Francisville, LA – 4:00 PM CST
January 13, 2011 – Baton Rouge, LA – 7:00 PM CST
January 20, 2011 – St. Petersburg, FL
February 1, 2011 – Greenwood, MS – 3:30 PM CST
February 21, 2011 – Austin, TX

Check back soon for more updates!

First Term: June 13 – July 8, 2011

Second Term: July 11 – August 5, 2011

Applications will be mailed in late August to all families on our mailing list, including all waiting list, cancellations, and prospective camp families who have inquired in the last 18 months. To be added to our mailing list please call 256.634.4404 or email office@alpinecamp.com.

New this year: Online registration with credit/debit card payment (for returning earlybird campers as well)

Second Term Opening Day from Alpine Camp on Vimeo.

The Rev. Bill Boyd on Camping from Alpine Camp on Vimeo.

A word from the Directors about Opening Day from Alpine Camp on Vimeo.

In addition to our other closing day information, we’d like to make certain that you are aware of our Medications Retrieval Policy.  If you brought any medication to Camp for your son, you must stop by the left porch of the Offices to collect your son’s medications from our Nursing Staff.  Please note that this is a change from last year. We made this change to ensure that medications are secure and your son’s privacy is protected while leaving camp. Thank you for your help with this.

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Regards,
Glenn Breazeale
Director

Junior Camp Closing Day Information 2010 from Alpine Camp on Vimeo.

The Rev. Bill Boyd on Camping from Alpine Camp on Vimeo.

Untitled from Alpine Camp on Vimeo.

Untitled from Alpine Camp on Vimeo.

All the warmth and color at Alpine is getting us pretty excited about the Summer, and ready for all our friends to be back on the mountain. That’s why our Father Son retreat this past weekend couldn’t have come at a better time. The weather was perfect, and we took advantage of the sunshine.

We kicked off Friday night with s’mores cooked over an open campfire. Camp was buzzing with boys telling their dads about each activity, and catching up with their buddies from the summer. On Saturday the fathers and sons got chance to enjoy the classic Alpine experience. Meals in the dining hall, activities all over camp, and even the traditional Slaughter-ball game lead by the legendary Bill “Tree” Jameson after dinner. Some of the older campers and their dads even got to go on rappelling and climbing trips a couple miles from camp property. On Sunday, we wrapped up with a couple more activities, and a worship service in the gym. Ben Shaw, the campus minister from Reformed University Fellowship at Southern Miss University, delivered our morning message.

The weekend passed in a flash, and got everyone fired up for opening day this summer. I’m already itching to get back outside in this beautiful weather and enjoy camp life, and I get the impression a few of the campers this weekend have had just about enough schoolwork for this year.

Check out our Facebook page for more pictures of the weekend, but be forewarned: you’re going to want to go play outside instead of doing your homework. I guarantee it.

Personal Update
I got married about 10 years ago to Marcela Sandoval from Texas whom I met while working in Washington DC. We have 3 children: Zoey who is 7, and 5 year old twins Carter and Emma.

I’m working as a Diplomat for the United Nations and currently serving as the Representative to Nepal for the UN World Food Program. Oddly enough for a boy from the Mississippi Delta, I’ve become a high altitude climber and big mountain snowboarder so Nepal, which is home to 8 of the 14 highest mountains on earth, is Nirvana! Over the years, we’ve lived in China, Zambia, North Korea, Nepal, and the Philippines.

The Alpine crew headed out to the team sports field on Monday morning to build giant Alpine-style snowmen. A few snowball fights erupted in the process (mostly between Glenn and Carter). Still, we managed to make some pretty amazing snowmen.

We took lots of pictures, so be sure to check out our Facebook page (you can just click the link at the top of this post).

After we built the snowmen, a few brave souls sledded down the hill by the pool. Bully even got on a snowboard that belongs to Jason Owen, one of the maintenance guys, and managed to make it down the hill without falling in the pool. It was pretty amazing, and you can check out a video of that on Glenn’s previous blog post.

Untitled from Alpine Camp on Vimeo.

12 Days of Alpine Christmas from Alpine Camp on Vimeo.

Our friend Niles is featured on a CNN news special that is supposed to air today. We knew Niles was scrappy on the team sports field, but now America gets a chance to see him on the football field. Good job Niles!

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/12/05/callebs.home.school.saints.cnn?iref=24hours

Of course, I’m not making any trips to Mississippi without some solid time in Oxford. Peter and I got to grab dinner at The Pizza Den with about 20 guys from Ole Miss, and then made our way over to the RUF wednesday night service, where Alpine alum Les Newsom preached. It was a wonderful time, and it gave us a chance to catch up with a few more friends. We didn’t interview in Oxford this time, but we’ll be back the week after Thanksgiving to interview.

The following week we went to Auburn, where we had a nice dinner at the Mellow Mushroom with former staff members George Hamm, Austin Terrell, Drew Allison, Connor Cheshire and Matt McDonald. Unfortunately, Glenn missed the Mellow Mushroom, his favorite restaurant ever on this entire planet. We interviewed some really cool guys at Auburn in the lobby of the Auburn Hotel and Conference center, which was easily the most swanky interview setting I’ve ever experienced.

After the Auburn interviews wrapped up, we headed to Athens, Georgia. Andrew Terrell, Harrison Rogers, Kelsey Cox, Doug Chapin, Jonathan Franklin, and Nathan Bosshardt, met us for dinner (Mark Ellis came for dessert). We had an excellent dinner, and laughed pretty much the whole time. We went to their RUF, which included a short film that got me pumped up about Christmas, and then a great worship service. After a day of interviews in Walker’s coffee shop, Peter and I headed back to Mentone for some much needed rest.

Somehow, Peter and I found the strength to enjoy Knoxville, despite the sickening sea of orange that surrounded us (sorry, it’s just hard for us Alabama fans to take). Actually it was very fun. We spent the day interviewing guys in the student union, then got a chance to take some old friends out to dinner at Litton’s in Knoxville. Weston Duke, Carter McCall, Steven Thompson, Evan Warner, Garrett Smith, Taylor Stewart, Thomas Hendrix and Philip Gilman all came by to see us at dinner. Steven strongly recommended the pimento cheese “Thunder Burger” to me, but it was only after the monstrous hulk of a sandwich came out that he mentioned he had never tried it. Thank you, Steven.

After, Litton’s we headed over to RUF, where we got to hear a riveting sermon and meet up with even more old friends. Evan, Steven and Carter agreed to pose for a picture with me, which Carter seemed pretty excited about:

From Knoxville we journeyed over to Nashville, to meet some guys from Vanderbilt. What a gorgeous drive. The only thing more beautiful than the changing leaves was this beauty standing proudly by the highway:

Next time I’m voting for that instead of the Hampton Inn.

Nashville was awesome. We ran into Carver Morgan at lunch, then started up with a few interviews that afternoon. We got to see Carver again that night, along with Stephen Maroda and Margaret Pless (my sister). The three of them joined Peter, Glenn and me for dinner at Panera Bread before we went to Vandy’s RUF service.

Traveling around and seeing friends is certainly my favorite part of this job, and the people we got to see in Knoxville and Nashville made the trips worthwhile. Our next stop is Starkville, MS on Tuesday, where we’re meeting up with our Bulldog friends for some Barbecue at The Little Dooey. Wednesday we’ll drive over to Oxford and meet our friends there for a hot meal at the Pizza Den. Any former staff members in the area are welcome to join us. We’d love to see you!