LTC 2012 took place at Lions Camp Pride In New Durham, New Hampshire, on the week of August 12-18 and I believe a good time was had by all. The young men who attended from Connecticut can all agree that the adventure started in the car ride up to LTC. Some of the CT DeMolays who went on this trip didn't know some of the others who went up with them so they had the opportunity of meeting them on the way up. When they reached LTC, they were shocked to realize that making friends from out of state wasn't that hard of a task. They settled into their cabins and got acquainted with their cabin mates as well as the other fellow conferees. And from the start of the week, they forged friendships that would last a lifetime.
The cabins had to elect a Master Councilor of their cabin that would last throughout the duration of the week. These Master Councilors would see that their cabin would accomplish everything they were told and make sure that they arrive to every event on time and ready to participate. The Master Councilors elected from Connecticut were Noel Womack and Nick Szewczul, both from Milford chapter, and they did a great job! Some of the younger DeMolays were scared at the thought of memorizing office parts and positions, but they soon realized that they had nothing to worry about. The bulk of them stepped up to the plate and took it upon themselves to learn their parts with the assistance of their fellow cabin mates and brothers. The enthusiasm portrayed from each member throughout the week was amazing and there wasn't one person who didn't want to participate.
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The athleticism of the week was shown by the number of kids who had sun burn from staying outside too long, or maybe it was a lack of proper protection from the sun. Whether or not what the cause was, every member of each cabin was more than happy to participate in all of the sporting events. Even our own Evan Ruczszyk showed to everyone what he's made of when he defeated an entire team of 8 all by himself, and as a witness, it was quite impressive. The most popular sport at camp was Water Polo with Volleyball at a close second, but regardless of which sports were most favored, every camper had a great time outdoors with each other.
On Tuesday night, The preparation of the DeMolay Degree began, and the nights following up until Friday night were busy for the Degree team. As the week progressed, the search for the perfect actor for the part narrowed down and by Wednesday, the parts were assigned and the pressure started to set in.
With the small amount of time they had, one would think that to pull of this Degree would be close to impossible, but to many peoples surprise, the Degree went flawlessly. They did a great job and set an example as to how people who barely knew each other from the beginning of the week can work together and make something great work.
All in all, LTC 2012 went off without a hitch. Between the brotherhood and teamwork aspects of the sports and the ideas that the staff of LTC taught to this years campers, this weekend showed us what we need to bring back to our own chapters and make something great of it. Those young men who went to LTC from Connecticut had a good time and look forward going again someday.
Pictures of the guys at LTC can be found here.