Yes, the water is still as chilly as ever, but this summer there will be even more yells heard as boys plunge into Lake Chillywater at McCall Royal Ambassador Camp.
Scott “Op” Brice, past board member of Friends of McCall, presents a check for $2,280 to Eddie Pettit, camp manager, to be used to provide more than a dozen scholarships for campers this year. In the other photos, former staffers construct a 65-foot water slide into Lake Chillywater, which was drained while the project was being completed.About 25 staffers and former staffers gathered April 29 to construct a 65-foot-long water slide with a 90-degree turn at the end that empties into the second swimming area.
This marks the first time that all of the cost of a major work project, approximately $23,000, and labor were furnished by the Friends of McCall, an organization of about 40-plus former staffers and friends of the RA camp, noted Michael “Barney” Barnes of Easley, a member of the FOM board.
“Friends of McCall continues to mean a great deal to the ongoing ministry at McCall,” said Cliff Satterwhite, Royal Ambassador and disaster relief director for the South Carolina Baptist Convention.
“These former staff spent years at camp while they were growing from being boys into becoming men. My heart is blessed to see them come back and make a difference in the very special place that helped groom them into Christian men,” Satterwhite said.
In addition to now providing more than a dozen scholarships for campers, the organization has also been involved in several capital improvement projects at the camp, including construction of rifle and archery ranges, an addition to a bath house, finishing rockwork on the activity building, enclosing a store on the canteen porch, building a waterslide on Goat Mountain, and contributing $9,000 toward dredging the lake.
Friends of McCall also purchased multiple DVD burners to supply every church that sends campers with a promotional slideshow of their group’s week at McCall, Barnes said. The group also provides gifts of appreciation, such as ball caps and shirts, to current staff members, he added.
Other members of the FOM board include David “Grinch” Barfield of Anderson, Barry “Kooter” Kinard of Clinton, Chet “Drip” Horton of Kershaw, and Dwayne “Skwar” Trotter of Easley.
Noting that this is the camp’s 48th year of ministry to boys and young men across the state, Satterwhite said, “All the work and long hours are quickly repaid when you see a boy walk the aisle and give his heart to Jesus. As I travel the state, I regularly come upon men who remind me that at camp in that chapel on the hill is where they gave their life to Christ. I thank God for Friends of McCall and all of the wonderful staff who have come through those gates for the past 48 years.”
For more information about FOM, contact Barnes at (864) 306-0707.
