Marnie Thompson Miller- Co-Chair - My name is Marnie Thompson Miller (’81-’85, ‘87,’89) and I now live in New Canaan Connecticut (after a life-time of New York City living) with my husband, Matt, and three girls, Lindsay (10 years), Katie (8 yrs) and Isabelle (6 years). Alford Lake Camp has been such an important part of my life that when each of our perspective ALCers where born, the old Alford Lake Camp song book was the first thing I packed in my hospital bag, and much to Matt’s embarrassment the one thing I used, to belt out every line of “Moose Mister” to the “Wood fires in the Camphouse!” Even my preschool students at The New Canaan Nature Center proudly sing “I know someone you don’t know, Yogi–Yogi…”
I am over-overjoyed to serve on the Alumnae/i Board to help reconnect people to the spirit of ALC as WE grow as adults. It is amazing to me that in this fast-paced world, Alford Lake’s campus still looks the same, upholds the values of fostering self-esteem in young girls while teaching them life-skills in a beautiful setting, while constantly extending the ALC community to towns all-over the world. Oh to be in tent #11 again…..
Phoebe Chase – Co-Chair - Brookline, MA – (1991-1998, 2000, 2002) Currently, I work as a social worker in the neonatal intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital Boston, where I regularly practice my ALC “flexing” skills and have even been known to sing ALC songs (both silly and sweet) to the patients on my slower days (if only my employers knew they were paying me to be singing about loons and yodeling Austrians and stolen BVDs!). The enduring friendships with women of all ages, unconditional support, leadership opportunities, days filled with side-splitting laughter, and the ability to shower from head-to-toe in three minutes are just some of the many aspects of camp that have had a lasting impression on me. I hope that the ALC Alumnae/i Network will give fellow alums increased opportunities to reconnect and stay connected with each other, and to continue to maintain and spread ALC spirit both among alums and out in the world.
Lisa Hamblin Naylor - I am living in Hull, Massachusetts with my husband Adam and daughter Grace (she is 1 1/2). I teach technology/engineering part time at a middle school and spend the rest of my time playing with Grace! I spent 13 summers in camp and my favorite activity was always sailing. I joined this committee to reconnect with camp and hopefully help others to reconnect and stay connected with the camp community.
Maggie Williams – Brooklyn, NY – (I987-1993, 1996-1997, 1999-2002) When I’m not humming camp songs on the subway platform or hanging out with Alford Lakers in Brooklyn, I work on reforming the criminal justice system in New York State–most recently, as legislative counsel to State Senator Eric Schneiderman. When not working, I enjoy growing vegetables at the Hollenback Community Garden, cooking dinner with friends, and riding my bike. My 13 summers in Maine included character building of the best and, sometimes most humorous, kind– from falling out of a canoe on our JR CT trip, to learning how to extract 15 passenger vans from ditches, to performing countless embarrassing skits in the dining hall. I’m hopeful that the ALC Alumnae/i network will help us all stay better connected with Alford Lakers past, present, and future, and remember that “your skin is your best raincoat.”
Elisabeth Snell – (picured far right) My name is Elisabeth Snell (1991-1999, 2004). I currently live in Brooklyn, NY with two amiable Maine Coon Cats (who earned their first year Pine Tree in 2004). By day I work for WebMD, and by night I pursue a Masters in Public Health, and in between there my phone bill is filled with “minutes used” on ALCers past and present. There are too many highlights of my time in camp to pick just one favorite memory, but a few that stand out are playing a stoic yet exuberant Daddy Warbucks in the full session musical, and canoeing down Chesuncook Lake, Mt. Katahdin in the distance, on the 2004 Jr Ct Trip. I joined the Alumnae/i Committee because “always remember who you are and what you represent” rings in my ears on a daily basis. And I firmly believe that I grew into my best self because of the experiences I had and people I met at Alford Lake. I want to strengthen the connections we continue to share, even if we’re not always on the tentline, in the dining room, or on the docks. Oh Alford Lake Camp spirit!
Kate McConnell
Laura Paine Beebe – Boston, MA – It’s been many years since I was a first-year ALCer in Tent #19 in 1977, yet the memories are so vivid that it feels like just yesterday. I returned to Alford Lake for a total of 7 summers (1977-81, ‘85′, ‘88) and then took a hiatus during which I taught English for ten years, got married, and had two children. Once the children were old enough, I trotted them off to Family Camp for three years so they too fell in love with Alford Lake. Last summer my daughter (now 11) earned her first pine tree as a Ranger and now she, like me, dreams of Alford Lake, of the familiar sights, smells, and sounds that transcend time. Helping her pack her trunk last summer and dropping her off at camp in June was a thrilling time for me; I’m so grateful that she will have much the same experience I had 30 years ago. When not dreaming about Alford Lake, I spend my time in Boston volunteering in the children’s schools and teaching two days a week at a school for economically disadvantaged kids in grades 5-8.
