The Blue Spruce Bulletin- November 2025
Dear Camp Blue Spruce Community,
This is Jake Prodzinski aka Snake. As we move into another year of Camp Blue Spruce, I would like to give you some updates in what is sure to be a very exciting year for CBS! Firstly, I want to thank Sharon Rhodes and Steve Duston for their hard work over the past year in executing a successful camp season this past summer. As we transition leadership and move forward, I will be carrying the torch forward as Executive Director, and I am so excited for another safe and life-changing camp season for our community in 2026! We will be back at Panhandle 4H camp in Shelton, WA, August 13-18th, 2026!
After a tough 2024 with no CBS, it was amazing to see so many smiling faces, old friends reuniting, and outpouring of gratitude at final campfire by campers and staff. I was especially impressed by our high-school aged LITs (Leaders in Training) for setting such a great example and supporting our younger campers. One of my favorite moments was when several of the LITs asked one of our younger campers, Mac, what impressions he could do before his Variety Show performance, because, as he told the crowd after asking for suggestions, “I can only do the impressions that I can do.” These LITs then made some “well-chosen” suggestions to make sure he got to do his signature impressions (Minecraft Zombie was my personal favorite). Upon finishing his incredible performance, Mac was greeted with a standing OOOOOO-vation; a Camp Blue Spruce tradition for great performances. This was one of many moments that reminded me just how incredibly special and supportive our Camp Blue Spruce community is.
As a long time CBS camper, counselor and staff member, I am honored to take us forward with such an incredible team of long-time friends, many of whom met right here at Camp Blue Spruce. The team not only loves camp, but it’s made of highly-skilled people who have gained professional experience in a wide range of fields. If you’ve been to camp before, you will probably recognize these familiar faces (see website for bios). Our team has come together on a completely volunteer basis outside of our week together at camp. It is the love for CBS that leads our staff to regularly volunteer their time, despite having full-time jobs, school, and other life-commitments.
While the past year was all about successfully hosting camp in 2025, our team ultimately didn’t have the bandwidth to do all of the things we envisioned for the organization. This season, our expanded team is energized and extremely excited to use our diverse set of skills to take Camp Blue Spruce to the next level, with a priority on year-round engagement with our community.
Our goal this year is not only to create a safe, enriching, and life-changing camp for our campers in 2026, but to create a sustainable path for CBS to make sure camp can exist for food-allergic kids for decades to come. Lolo Dan (Junco) has already been working hard writing grants and Clayton Weichbrodt (Fjord) will be hosting our winter fundraiser Why Camp Blue Spruce? where we look forward to hearing from our community on how Camp Blue Spruce has made an impact on their lives.
In addition to building a sustainable future, we are constantly working to improve the experience for both campers and staff. We will also be hosting a number of Cabin Calls this year (1-hour zoom hangouts with campers and staff), for both registered and prospective campers to learn more about camp and connect with long-time friends. We will be improving the training and experience for staff and volunteers by adding two additional on-site days. One day will be for training, to ensure our staff are as prepared as possible. The second day will come post-camp and will be used for staff reflection, feedback, and site cleanup.
We are looking to hear from our community as well, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions about overnight camp, year-round opportunities and more! This community means so much to all of us working year-round, and any opportunity to connect and receive feedback is always appreciated.
Thank you all so much for supporting this community over the years – we wouldn’t be here without you all, and we hope you’ll join us for this awesome ride moving forward!
Jake Prodzinski (Snake)
CBS Executive Director
(Our camp phone number is in the process of changing! – if you email me, I’m happy to give you my personal phone number for a call)