Phil Smith

My name is Phil Smith and I am an assistant Principal Teacher at a Primary School here in Dundee, Scotland. I have been married to my wife Stacey, also a teacher, for 2 and a-half years and we are extremely fortunate to have a fantastic 10 month old son, Ethan I also coach the soccer team at school and have been lucky enough to win the championship for the past three seasons. I developed my skills as a soccer coach at Owego and learned much about coaching in a positive, encouraging way.

My first summer at camp was 2001 and I am proud to say that I have never missed a summer yet. At camp I have led biking trips, coached soccer and have also been a unit leader in the senior division. However, most of my summers have been spent working with the youngest campers in Pioneer Village as the head counselor. In my opinion, there is no better feeling than helping a new camper settle into life at camp and then watch them flourish into a confident, happy camper who looks forward to each and every summer with more eager anticipation than the one before. This wonderful job allows me to listen to and watch campers and counselors share experiences that will help them to form lifelong bonds.

My favorite camp memories are many but if I had to single out one for this post then it would be the end of the summer of 2014. Campers who I had watched drive through the gates as nervous, unsure 3rd graders in 2007 had developed into fantastic young men and led the entire camp through Frontier Week. This gave me immense pride and left me in no doubt that I want to give little Ethan the immensely valuable gift of becoming an Owegan in the future. The best thing about camp, for me, is the almost unspoken culture of everyone being treated as they deserve to be treated, like a best friend, like a brother.

Phil Smith has been Head of the Junior Division (Pioneer Village) at Lake Owego. He took last summer off as a new Dad, but we are ready to welcome him back. He is a legend at camp and is a huge asset to our Key Staff.