CSM STAFF ALUMNI

January 2022

Vol 1, Issue 1

THE CSM STAFF ALUMNI NEWSLETTER

Happy 2022 and thank you for being one of the 100+ registered members of the Camp Stella Maris Staff Alumni Association!

We’re sending this newsletter as the first of what we hope to be a regular (targeting quarterly) communication to members to keep you up to date on Alumni Association Events, provide relevant updates on Camp and share Alumni highlights and content (some initial ideas include Staff Alumni Profiles, Staff Memories and a ‘Then and Now’ feature) . We’d love to get your thoughts on additional ideas (just reply to this email)!

ALUMNI EVENTS

2021 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

95th Anniversary Celebration

Our big event for 2021 was the 95th Anniversary Celebration which we hosted at Camp on July 24th. We had ~100 people attend and celebrated Camp’s Past, Present and Future, including dinner, ‘General Camp’ time and wrapped things up with a Wine Tasting on the newly renovated Waterfront (Thanks Colleen Hardy and Living Roots Wine & Co. for hosting!)

2022 PLANS

Given the success of the 95th Anniversary Celebration, we’ve decided to plan a Camp-hosted staff alumni event each summer leading up to the 100th Anniversary Celebration!

Save the date! This year’s event is scheduled to be Saturday July 23rd and will include a celebration for Armando Toppi’s 50th year (!) on staff.

We're also in the early planning stages for a Holiday Event (targeting post-Christmas) - more details to come.

CAMP UPDATES

FACILITY UPGRADES

Outdoor Chapel

New this year will the Outdoor Chapel located next to St. Jude's Chapel. Completion and ribbon cutting will be early summer, before camp starts.

ACCOLADES (Thank you all for voting!)

NON-PROFIT of the YEAR by the Livingston County Chamber of Commerce,

City Newspaper’s, Best of Rochester – Best Camp for Kids,

2021 Best of the Finger Lakes – Summer Camp.

ALUMNI HIGHLIGHTS/UPDATES

For those who didn’t already know, one of our own, John Porcari was appointed early last fall by the White House to serve as a new “envoy” to the nation’s ports.

CSM Flashback

He’s come a long way from his days of being Prince Charles for the CSM Royal Wedding!

Rising Star

Staff alum, Chris Wolfe, stared in two movies that came out recently. The critically acclaimed, HIDEOUT and AIRBORNE. Chris' performace in HIDEOUT has been recognized with various nominations and awards including Tabloid Witch Award's "Best Dramatic Actor".