Alumni Spotlight...Mandy Beard Brooks

Time to highlight the very first person who ever filled out the Alumni Spotlight survey, Mandy Beard Brooks. Mandy was a camper from 1989 through 1999 was served on staff in 2000.

CDR Alumni: What brought you to Camp Deer Run as a camper or staff member? How did you find out about camp?
Mandy: I came as a camper in 1989 when i was only 8 years old and was allowed to stay the two week session because my sister, Mary Beard, was also with me. We LOVED it, and became obsessed with camp. I don't think we quit talking about it the whole year; we still talk about it! The very next summer my mom, Linda Beard, was the camp nurse during our 2 week session. She too got to experience first hand mud sliding! It was her only year to go, but Mary and I camped together every year after that, always 4th session...we made some lifelong friends and after being a camper for 10 years I joined the staff in summer of 2000.

CDR Alumni: Share a favorite memory from your time at CDR.
Mandy: WOW where do i begin I have soooo many wonderful memories! Camp is not just somewhere I spent 2 weeks every summer, it is a part of who I am today.

CDR Alumni: How did your time at CDR impact your life?
Mandy: Tremendously! I still think about what I learned there and the people that made an impact on my life. And I hope soon that my kids will too get to experience the joy that CDR brought me.

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.
Mandy: I live in Rusk, am married to a great man, have 3 wonderful boys, and I am a part time ultrasound tech in the east Texas area specializing in OB/GYN.

CDR Alumni: Please tell us more about your family, names, ages, anything you would like to share.
Mandy: Husband: Aaron Brooks for almost 9 years Boys: Keller 8, Garrett 5, and Tanner 3 Ultrasound tech for 5 years and I really enjoy my job.

Thanks so Mandy for filling the survey out and being willing to update all of us about your life. I worked with Mandy for a year, and I can tell you that it is a lot of fun for me to be able to see where people I camped with or worked with are in their lives today. I hope everyone else is enjoying it as much as I am.

There are a couple of announcements that will be made in the next week or two that should be very exciting for many of you. They have to do with some possible gatherings that will be happening at Camp this summer. I'll post those announcements soon.

Hail, Dear Ol' Deer Run,
Sparky