Meet a Director: Laura
Ready to meet another member of our year-round team?
Say hello to Laura (or LaLa, as her grandchildren call her!). She has been at camp for decades and has the notebooks of knowledge to prove it! Her husband, Gervais, and her daughter, Leland, run our incredible Kitchen and together they will make sure you are prepared and well-fed all summer long.
Hear from Laura in the video below and make sure to read her Q+A for a few more fun facts. You can even to her today!
Get to Know Laura:
- Years at camp: This is my 50th summer!
- During the year, I…. Work for Greystone and love on my 6 grandchildren.
- Here’s what you can find me doing during the summer now: Making announcements, keeping camp straight, and talking to campers, counselors and parents.
- The most random/wacky thing I’ve done at camp is: That time Sarah made me act like a chicken in the Dining Hall.
- Come find me if… you need anything or have any questions - I am at camp for YOU!
- These are a few of my favorite things: At camp, I love Apple Cart, the Salad Bar, and Evening Programs.
- Something I’m loving right now: My new granddaughter, Emma Claire. She is so smiley and snuggly. You’ll get to meet her this summer.
- One thing you wouldn’t guess about me: I say it on repeat and no one ever believes me- I am a huge introvert!
- Something I want you to know about this summer: It is going to be the greatest summer ever. There will be times when you are exhausted and stretched, and yet, doing meaningful work is life changing to you and the girls!
- My best advice to counselors is… Trust that whatever comes up, God is with us and will use it for good!
- Working at Greystone as a counselor is… The BEST!
Preparing for Camp
In March, we’ll start sending you some very practical ways to get ready for the summer (think filling out your staff forms, ordering from the Staff Store, signing up for a Staff Penpal, and more fun stuff!), so February is a great time to read up on all things Greystone.
We’d encourage you to use this month to explore all of the information and resources we have available to you. The more you know about camp, the more confident you’ll feel on that first day of Orientation! Have questions? That’s what we’re here for!
- Explore our website and the staff website. Here you’ll find everything from our daily schedule and special events to cabin life and food at camp. You can also learn more about what we believe at Greystone and the incredible history of camp that you are now a part of! It’s a great way to spend a study break.
- Check out our New Camper Blogs. We do this series every spring, and while (of course!), it is targeted towards new campers and their families, it also has a lot of good information that could be helpful to you as a staff member. You may be interested in how Opening Day works, food allergies, a cabin tour, or other details like cabin cleanup and mail. Wondering about how any of these details work as a staff member? - she’d love to tell you more!
- Watch some videos. Our Vimeo page has years worth of content to keep you entertained and give you a glimpse at all the fun in store this summer. A few of our favorites are our staff highlight video, why we love being tech-free, and this Penpal friendship story. Oh, and a helium-filled Christmas!
- Check out our devotions site for spiritual growth even before you arrive. You can subscribe to get a devotion emailed to you each morning and listen to Morning Assembly and Sunday church messages from past summers. This Blog shares a few of our favorite devotion resources!
- Read through the Staff Manual. As you’ve seen, we add a few pages each month, and we recommend that you read them as you go instead of waiting until May to cram it all in! February is a great time to start.
Hiring Spotlight: Videographer and Men Staff
Our staff team is filling up fast, and at this point, we can confidently say that this is one of the best groups of counselors that we will ever have! We already love you, and we know that you are going to love each other!
Spots will fill up soon (for real!), but for now, we still have a few final positions available. We’re going to be spotlighting specific roles we’re looking for over the next few months, and this month, we’re highlighting the videographer and Men Staff roles!
Our counselor videographer captures and edits video instead of teaching regular camper classes and is responsible for producing a few social media shorts each week. This is a great chance for an aspiring social media video editor to gain experience and build her portfolio, while still participating in all of the joy of being a camp counselor!
We are also looking for a few more guys to serve on our Men Staff this summer. Men Staff teach classes, serve behind-the-scenes, and have a ton of fun as a group. We could not do the summer without this great group of guys!
Do you have friends who would be perfect for these positions? Refer them to us, and if we hire them for the full-summer, you’ll get an extra $500 on your paycheck! Questions about either of these roles? and she can tell you more!
FAQ Corner
You are not alone - so many staff feel this way before their first summer. Many of our 2025 staff are brand new to camp (special shoutout to those who found us on Google!), and some of those who were once campers haven’t been back in a long time. Every year, some of our very best staff members are those who come into Orientation brand new to Greystone, so don’t fear!
In the meantime, you can know for sure…
- You will make friends so quickly once you’re here! Camp people are the best around, and your fellow staffers wouldn’t be working here if they weren’t ready and eager to make a new bestie.
- We are going to teach you everything you need to know to be a great counselor. Between the materials we’ll send you before the summer, packed Orientation sessions, and the one-on-one guidance you’ll get when you’re here, you will be fully prepared for your job. We hired you because we know you’re going to be great - trust us!
- We are your biggest cheerleaders in this job, and we want you to lean on us! Reach out and ask questions. Tell us if you’re feeling nervous. Or just send us an email to say hi. We are going to take care of you, and it is going to be a great summer!
Spotlight: How to Make Friends on Staff
Ask any of our campers what the best part about Greystone is, and we bet you’ll hear about all the friends you make at camp! Camp friends really are lifelong friends, and the structure of camp (living all of life together!) means that you get close to the people here quickly. But what does that look like on staff?
- Come in with the mindset that everyone here is a future friend. One of the things we love most about being on staff is that everyone here is on equal footing. You may be really different from someone, but you are working together for a broader mission at camp and that makes becoming friends even easier than it would be back at school. Even if you have tons of friends from when you were a camper, some of your best friends in the world will be made on staff, so arrive at Orientation with an open mind and with eyes looking for the next person to befriend.
- Smile all the time! Jimboy tells the campers this at Breakfast Club, and it can feel a little silly, but it’s so true. A smile tells the people around you, “I’m glad you’re here.” “I want to get to know you.” “I am a safe person to talk to.” This is so important when the campers finally arrive, but we’d encourage you to go ahead and get in the habit during Orientation.
- Stretch yourself during Orientation. That week is the most time you’ll be able to spend with your fellow staff members, so it can be the perfect time to meet people and start new friendships. Orientation makes all of us a little nervous (yes, including the Directors!), but try to push yourself a little. Sit beside a new person during a staff meeting. Walk up to a group of people chatting on the first day. We think you’ll find out quickly that camp people are nice people, and everyone is looking for a new friend.
- Take advantage of the resources we offer to our staff during the summer. You’ll find out more about all of these while you’re here, but we won’t forget about you after Orientation! We offer Great Day Groups (basically a chance to spend time with other counselors doing an activity you love), Counselor Bible Studies, fun staff events, and lots more during each session. If you’re craving community, just jump in! Making friends at camp is easy, but it’s all about taking the initiative and putting yourself in a position to make connections. You’ll be thriving in this community in no time, we promise!
You can start making friends now! Join our Staff GroupMe and look out for more opportunities for connection coming soon.
Staff Manual: February Edition
The Staff Manual is our hub for all the general information you need to know to do this job well. This month, we’re narrowing in on what it looks like to be a great counselor and the characteristics we strive to cultivate as a staff every year.
Pray with us!
This month we’re inviting you to pray along with us for a very important group: our camp parents! Over the next few months, they will be filling out forms, making Target runs, labeling clothes, packing trunks, and hugging their sweet girls goodbye. We never want to take for granted what a big deal it is that they entrust us (and you!) with their daughters.
So let’s pray together this month for all the parents who will be bringing their girls to Greystone this summer. Pray that they would feel completely confident with their decision and know that it will be a great experience for their family. Pray that they would have the words to use if their campers get a little worried about what’s to come. Pray that they would communicate openly with us beforehand, and pray that God will prepare their hearts, as well as their daughters’, for the summer to come.
Verse to meditate on:
“The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence, there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”- Psalm 16:5-11
