Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D., is a parent, parenting educator, researcher, and psychotherapist. She has written many bestselling books, is an internationally sought-after speaker, and focuses on neurodevelopment. In this interview, she shares a neurodevelopmental perspective on the power of summer camp.
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A 501c3 Organization | EIN 56-1934081 | ©2023 Chief and Calla Bell Scholarship Foundation | PO Box 1192 Flat Rock, NC 28731 | info@chiefandcalla.org | 828.693.7446
Arden, NC
As a third-generation camper, Wesley spent his childhood summers around Mondamin and Green Cove. Both his grandmother Suzette and his father Day Shelmire were campers and counselors before him; so it’s fair to say that camp is in his genes. Wesley followed suit as a camper and counselor at Mondamin where he honed his skills in kayaking, mountain biking, and climbing. He earned his BA in Sociology from the University of Colorado Boulder, and he is currently the Outdoor Program Director and Assistant Dean of students at Christ School in Arden, NC. Wes still loves to paddle, bike, and climb, and is inspired by the wild and wondrous creativity of humans in the mountains!
Fairview, NC
Alice spent six very happy summers as a camper at Green Cove, where she discovered the
intoxicating beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains and escaped the unbearable summer heat of Tuscaloosa, AL. She later attended Bryn Mawr College and returned on summer breaks to Green Cove as a counselor, initially on the mountaineering staff and later as a Line Head. After six summers on staff, Alice attended the Wake Forest University School of Medicine and remained there afterward to complete a residency in Ophthalmology. During training she met Jim Crandall, a fellow Ophthalmologist and dear friend who soon became a loving husband. Alice completed a fellowship in Pediatric Ophthalmology in Atlanta, after which she and Jim moved to Lexington, KY to serve on the faculty of the Department of Ophthalmology at UK. Alas, the inexorable pull of western NC was strong. Alice and Jim moved to Asheville in 2007 where they continued to practice medicine and have raised two children, Ginny Beth (Green Cove camper for five summers) and James (Mondamin camper for six summers). The family recently moved just out of town to a 20-acre farm, where Alice has room to play with her dogs and is busy with preparations for keeping a couple of horses. Alice and her family spend a good deal of time in the very woods where she grew and thrived as a child, to which she will always return to feel grounded and centered.
Charlotte, NC
Coming soon!
Boston, ma
Originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Campe now calls Boston’s South End neighborhood home. His journey with Mondamin spans seven memorable years as a camper (1983-90) and two as a counselor on the riding staff (1992-93). Eager to pass on this legacy, he’s proud that his daughters are third-generation campers at Green Cove. Campe holds an AB in Mathematics from Harvard College (1995) and spent four years in a PhD program at MIT. Campe has been with Wellington Management Company LLP since 2000, where he manages fixed income portfolios for institutional investors. Beyond his professional work, Campe is actively engaged in community service in Boston, serving on several boards and previously dedicating time to tutoring middle school students and adults pursuing their GEDs. In his free time, Campe enjoys hiking and skiing with his family, especially in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. His involvement with the Foundation is driven by a desire to offer future campers transformative experiences that foster independence and a love of nature, values that Mondamin has imparted to him.
Chattanooga, TN
Suzie was born in April 1950. That June she and her mother, Timmie Miller, were at Green Cove, and her father, Chuck Miller, was at Mondamin. So began a life-long (literally!) love, appreciation, and dedication to the place she always claims had the greatest influence on her life. Through the years, she was a camper, CT, counselor, Mama counselor, Activity Head, Line Head, and Program Director. Suzie grew up in New Orleans but has called Chattanooga her home for 45 years. She graduated from Agnes Scott College (she applied because an admired counselor had gone there) with a degree in biology, and she swears it was that first hike in the Back 40 as a Middler when she found Indian Pipes that determined her love for the science of the natural world. She earned a graduate degree in Special Education from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. From that point on she has been a teacher. She teaches biology and is the Director of the Learning Center at McCallie, an all-boys school in Chattanooga. She has three daughters – Hope, Meg, and Michal – and five grandchildren. It was through the kindness and generosity of the Bells that she and her children were able to attend Green Cove summer after summer. She wants so much for every child to have the opportunity she had to build self-confidence, self-reliance, and a positive sense of self through all that Green Cove and Mondamin offer: the outdoors, friendships, excitement, adventure, good fun, freedom, skill building, challenges, and successes. She is honored to be a member of the Board.
Houston, TX
Britta resides in Houston with her husband, Rusty, and two sons, Russell (10) and Marshall (8). Britta’s journey to the Chief and Calla Bell Scholarship Foundation is deeply rooted in her transformative experiences at Green Cove, where she spent eight summers as a camper and an additional seven as a dedicated paddling counselor and line head. A proud alumna of Middlebury College, Britta continued her academic pursuits with an MBA from Emory University. Over the span of the next 15 years, she contributed her skills and passion to the fields of sales, marketing, and social media. These days, Britta and her family find solace and joy (and an escape from the Texas heat) in spending their summers back in North Carolina where they enjoy mountain biking, hiking, and climbing adventures. For Britta, Green Cove remains more than just a cherished memory; it’s a guiding force that shaped her into the person she is today. The camp holds a special place in her heart, not just as a source of enduring friendships but as a crucial influence in her personal development.
Green Cove Lumni
“Camp was my first experience leading a team (I was an activity head) and I learned some very important lessons (some the hard way) in how to make every member of a team feel valued/heard, how to have difficult conversations (not everyone can go on the trips they want – staff and campers alike) and how to create an aspirational vision for the team (I wanted GC mountaineering to be all women led rather than us relying on Mondamin staff to take the “advanced” trips – we accomplished this and I remain forever proud of that) and what it meant to be accountable for what you commit to doing. These skills I learned being an activity head directly translated to my first “real” jobs after graduation where I was a people manager within my first couple of years. And in my current role at Coca-Cola, I am leading all kinds of teams on various projects as well as directly managing a team of five people. The leadership skills I learned at camp enabled me to step into my first professional role with much more confidence. And it also gave me really robust examples to use in job interviews that helped me stand out among my peers.”
Lookout Mountain, TN
Raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Charlotte spent summers as a camper, counselor, and Line Head at Green Cove. She graduated from Sewanee, The University of the South where she met her husband, Doug. His work took them to South Carolina and Maine before returning home to Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. Charlotte has twenty years of professional fundraising experience for non-profits and independent schools. She currently serves on the Board of Boys & Girls Clubs of Chattanooga and as the PTA President for her children’s school. Charlotte loves being outdoors, running, practicing yoga, cooking, and traveling. Recently, Charlotte finds herself lucky enough to return to camp as a Line Head while her children, Fiver and Lellie Cullom, are campers.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Margaret “Munny” Munford was a camper and counselor at Green Cove for almost a decade, starting in 1995. At Green Cove, Munny not only acquired her nickname (which has somehow stuck for almost 30 years), she also discovered her love for hiking, biking, being on the water, and playing music with friends. Munny is originally from Mississippi and left to attend Bowdoin College in Maine, where the only two people she knew on the first day were two Green Cove friends. After earning an AB in History from Bowdoin, Munny spent several years working for a nonprofit in DC, traveling around as a musician, and working in a leadership consulting firm in Portland, Oregon. Munny’s love for North Carolina helped draw her back to the south to attend Duke University, where she received an MBA in 2016 with concentrations in Finance and Strategy. She has worked for the management consulting firm Bain & Company since 2017, with a specific focus on growth strategy for retail and consumer products clients. Munny currently lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands with her wife, Luise. While the Netherlands is delightful and offers plenty of biking opportunities, it is a bit too far away from the mountains, and they plan to relocate to Atlanta, Georgia soon.
Charlotte, NC
Jennings was a camper and counselor at Mondamin for 13 years. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he majored in Spanish. After graduating from UNC, he worked for Bank of America in Real Estate finance before ultimately joining Synco Properties, an investment real estate company, in 2006. Currently, Jennings serves as the CFO and COO of Synco Properties where his responsibilities include management of the company’s accounting department, oversight of all financial reporting both corporately and at the property level, and underwriting for new acquisitions, financings, and development projects. In his free time, Jennings enjoys traveling with his wife and two children, playing golf, and any activity that involves the outdoors. He will always be grateful for the summers he spent at Mondamin, which he considers to be some of the most formative, character-building times of his life.
The impact of camp
Without a pre-set daily schedule, I had to make a plan for each day and follow through to reach my activity goals. I reflected with my cabin counselor nightly on how well that plan did or did not work and how to adjust. This helped me focus my week to work towards goals I had set at the beginning of the summer. Starting at age 7, mapping out my goals, charting my progress and making decisions about what activities to do each day taught me valuable lessons. As a result, I had a tremendous sense of ownership of my success or lack thereof. Opportunities like this for kids are increasingly rare in an over-scheduled competitive world.
– Aza Downs Bowlin, Green Cove Camper/Staff Alum + Parent
The impact of camp
“The two most powerful parts of the camp experience for me were the non-competitive nature of programming and the opportunities for self-determination.”
– Frances Clayton, Green Cove Camper/Staff Alum
The impact of camp
“The best friendships in life are based on shared experiences. Camp has allowed me to build and maintain a group of friends, and our shared time on the river has fueled our growth as individuals and friends.”
– Shelton Steele, Mondamin Camper/Staff Alum + Parent
The impact of camp
“Having grown up in Louisiana, our parents sent us to camp to escape the summer heat. Little did they know, they gave the four of us the best gift ever: the chance to appreciate nature and a love of outdoor adventure.”
– Nancy McKnight, Green Cove Camper/ Staff Alum + Parent
Brooklyn, NEW YORK
A Green Cove camper and counselor for 12 years, after graduating from the University of Virginia, Frances returned to Green Cove as the Assistant Director for three years. She is the third generation in her family to spend summers in Tuxedo. She eventually moved to NYC for graduate school in Social Work at NYU and Child Development at Sarah Lawrence. Following graduate school, she worked at a non-profit first as a clinician and then as director of both a residential treatment and early childhood program. Though she is not sure about trading dirt roads for subways, she is able to find the magic of the natural world on every city block. She and her wife are moms to two future campers. Having experienced first-hand the unique impact camp can have, Frances enthusiastically served on the C+CBSF board of directors for over a decade including as President. She currently provides consulting support as the Executive Project Manager.
Frank Durham “Chief” Bell, Sr. was born in Henrietta, NC in 1898 and moved with his family to Tuxedo in 1906 where his father, J.O. Bell started the Green River Manufacturing Company which produced cotton yarn. Chief grew up in and around Tuxedo, running errands for his father, home-schooled by his mother, and eventually attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He dropped out of college to join the army during World War I with the goal of going to flight school, but was first sent to France to drive ambulances behind the lines. He received his orders to flight school the same day the war ended. Chief always claimed the Germans quit when they heard he was coming.
In the early 1900’s, Chief’s father was recruited by the Blue Ridge Power Company to quietly buy up land for Lake Summit. Land was expensive then, costing as much as $5 an acre. He couldn’t help buying some land of his own which became Camps Mondamin and Green Cove. The lake was completed in 1921 and in the spring of 1922 Chief came up with the idea of starting a camp as a hobby to satisfy his love of the outdoors and adventure. Chief’s mother suggested the name Mondamin from Longfellow’s epic poem Hiawatha. Construction started on the dining room in April and attendance at Mondamin’s first session was 30 boys in the summer of 1922.
It was assumed that Chief would be a cotton mill executive with camp as a hobby, but the mill went bankrupt in 1925. Chief found himself in the camp business full time and loved it. During the depression of the ’30s however, survival hung by a thread. Chief taught school, acted as the local postmaster, ran a country store, did some surveying and traded in land.
It was during the ‘30s that Chief and Calla met. Calla Clement was born in Chesnee, SC in January of 1910 where she grew up on a small farm. She graduated from college and moved to the mountains to work for Nantahala Power and Light Company near Bryson City. She then moved to Tuxedo where she met Chief and the two were married in 1939. In 1945 under the direction of Chief’s daughter Pat, Camp Green Cove had its first summer at Camp Rockbrook in Brevard. In 1949, Green Cove moved to its present location on Lake Summit and Calla became director in 1952.
Chief and Calla spent their summers directing Mondamin and Green Cove respectively until their children Frank and Nancy took over in 1973 and 1980. In their time as directors, long before a formal scholarship fund was established, Chief and Calla would cover much of the cost of camp for children whose families didn’t have the resources to send them. Camp alumni were often the link between these families and the Bells. There was also a Tuxedo School scholarship, given to a local boy and a girl each year, who were recommended by the school’s teachers and principal.
Tuxedo, NC
The son of the founder of Mondamin and Green Cove, Frank is a non-voting Board member. He graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT and was an RF-4 pilot for the Marine Corps. Following Chief’s retirement, Frank took over as Director of Mondamin from 1973 through 2013. Frank has three children, one of whom now directs Mondamin and another Green Cove. He loves paddling rivers, backpacking, sailing, biking, and flying, and he currently teaches pilots at a nearby flight school. Retired and enjoying his six grandkids with his wife Nancy, Frank is a lover of remote places, whether they be rivers, mountaintops, canyons, or lakes, and sharing adventures with whomever will go along.
*Bell Family Board Member is non voting position.
Oct 21, 1976
Once upon a time, we dealt out more than our share of cups, medals, ribbons, plaques, – factitious device awards. I believe it was by a vote of the campers, with just a bit of guidance, that we dropped them all. And in a camper discussion some years later, the vote was about four to one to keep them out.
When we hold up a symbol, an emblem, a recognition, an award, to a child he sometimes is tempted to pursue it instead of the real content he should get. So – our only reward for being a good canoeist is a run down a challenging river – not a ribbon; for being a good horseman, a week in the woods on a horse, helping with the needs of horses and people – not a cup.
The fact that others can reach the same or a higher skill level, and join us, interferes not at all with our participation and enjoyment. If he is better, we learn from him; if weaker, we help him. Beating him is unnecessary, and a cup ditto. If we have the ability, we enjoy and use that. Boasting about it with an emblem becomes unimportant. The idea seems to have worked. We have watched the development of some gratifying woodsmen and citizens.
Chief
