Alumni Spotlight...Carl Collins

Here we are. Another "Alumni Spotlight" post. One of the best things about this blog is that it is a way to help Deer Runners connect with people they developed relationships with during their time at Camp. One goal I have is to spread out the posts to include people from all 52 years of Camp. Last week we "spotlighted" someone from the 1990's-2000's, and this week we will learn about someone from the early 1970's.

Carl Collins was the Camp Director from 1970-1972.

CDR Alumni: What brought you to Camp Deer Run as a camper or staff member? How did you find out about camp?
Carl: Ward English, a coworker at Dallas Christian, "invited" us to work at the camp for a summer job.

CDR Alumni: Share a favorite memory from your time at CDR.
Carl: So many memories ... Billy Ray Dean as the "Masked Marvel", The "Hermit in the Woods" during Hoche campouts, John Richard and Jay being such enthusiastic leaders , Scott Homesley falling in love with "Brooks" ... most of all the incredible staff ... wonderful christian young men and women. We loved them all.

CDR Alumni: How did your time at CDR impact your life?
Carl: The Phrase ... "you get to" , rather than you have to ... became a theme in my classrooms, on the sports field and in my parenting.

CDR Alumni: Tell us everything you would like people to know about your life since camp. What do you do for a living, are you married, do you have kids, etc.
Carl: We left Texas in 1975 to return to the northwest and help work in a new church and return to my old school district. I felt that God wanted me, as a science teacher, to work in the public school arena. I have enjoyed over 30 years working with wonderful teachers and great students. Some of my students have become my spiritual brother and sisters as well ... what a blessing. After we both retired in 2006, Kathy and I sold our home, said good bye to our grown sons and moved to Taiwan to serve as teaching missionaries for the Morrison Schools which educates children of Asian missionaries. We called our Dallas Christian and Camp Deer Run experiences as the Camelot of our lives. The Morrison experience has been our mountain top experience. We now live in Vancouver, Washington , and extend an open invitation to all of our CDR family.

Carl is just another example of the way God blesses the lives of all the people who get the chance to experience Camp Deer Run. There are so many people spread throughout the world who work for God's kingdom, and are happy to say that their time at Camp helped them to develop a great relationship with God.

Please continue to spread the word about this blog so that all Deer Runners are able to come here and be able to spend a few minutes "At Camp". If you haven't done so already, please fill out our "Alumni Spotlight" survey.

If you have any suggestions for things you would like to see on this post, just email me at cdralumni@gmail.com . Until next time, God Bless!