Friday, October 19, 2018

It's Officially Event Season

It is officially fall, and we are making the transition from being down at camp to being back in our offices in Mendon.

We had one of our last programs October 13-14, our Fall Fest weekend program.  Our Rochester campers were invited to come down and have a Halloween weekend with their friends from camp before our facility closes until spring. 



We have our last program of the year this weekend, our Men’s Prostate Retreat.  I am very committed to this program and want to see it continue to grow every year.  We get wonderful support from some of the best Urology doctors in Upstate New York including Dr. Jean Joseph who is the Chief of Urology at Strong, and Dr. Louis Eichel who is the Chief of Urology at Rochester General Hospital.  I have heard doctors say that if every man lived to be 100, all would have prostate cancer, and if every woman lived to be 100, all would have breast cancer.  The information given during the talks at this retreat is very helpful, and the entire program is free of charge to the participants. 

As our 39th season comes to a close, I find myself thinking about how wonderful it is that so many people have been impacted by our programs and have been able to share the experience with others just like them. 

On Saturday, September 29th, we had the 14th annual Courage Bowl.  The game was between the St. John Fisher College Cardinals and the College at Brockport Golden Eagles at the College at Brockport.  We had a wonderful crowd of over 7,000 people and it was a chilly, but perfect night for football.  This game gave children from Camp Good Days the opportunity to be part of a college football team and cheerleading squad.  The event has truly become more than just a game. While there had to be a winner and a loser, the real winners were the children from Camp Good Days who participated, and all of the student athletes from Fisher and Brockport displayed great sportsmanship. Brockport also put on a wonderful luncheon where the honorary coaches and cheerleaders met their teams, and where Monroe County Sheriff, Todd Baxter was presented with the Father Joe Lanzalaco Memorial Courage Award.  I greatly appreciate Dr. Macpherson and the College at Brockport for hosting such a wonderful luncheon. The game could not have taken place without President Heidi Macpherson, Athletic Director Erick Hart, Coach Mangone, and the other wonderful staff and players at Brockport, along with President Gerard Rooney, Athletic Director Bob Ward, Coach Vosburgh, and the great staff and players at St. John Fisher. I have never, at another sporting event, seen hundreds of football players, who have given it their all on the field, be able to come together at the end of the game to cheer on the honorary coaches and cheerleaders; these college football players are TRUE student athletes. This is a credit to the staff at both schools for instilling good sportsmanship in their players, especially on the night of an event that is truly “more than just a game.”






As we look ahead to ending the year of 2018, we have the 18th annual Camp Good Days Wine Auction Dinner on Saturday, November 17th, this year with a Winter Wonderland theme. There is no better place to enjoy a wonderful meal and taste medal winning wine from the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition, as well as bid on medal winning wine and other unique items. If you or someone you know likes wine, there will be plenty of wine available to drink and purchase to add to your wine collection.  Thanks to JCPenney, we also have our annual Kazoo Fest starting on Black Friday all through Christmas, where we will be selling kazoos and other items at the area malls (Eastview, Marketplace, Greece Ridge) to raise money to help fund our programs. Anyone can sign up to volunteer on our website! During Kazoo Fest, we will also be selling our car raffle tickets.  Thanks to Vanderstyne Toyota and Toyota Motor Company, we have a 2019 Toyota Corolla SE that will be raffled off during the Teddi Dance for Love at St. John Fisher College on Saturday, February 9th, 2019.  Tickets are 1 for $20 and 3 for $50 and all proceeds go directly to fund our programs and services.

As we move forward into the holiday season, I wish you all a safe, happy and healthy holiday season, and I hope to see you at the Wine Auction Dinner or volunteering at Kazoo Fest.