Board of Directors

My connection to the Michiana YMCA and Camp Eberhart dates back to the 1970's. My family was a member of the Michiana YMCA where I learned to play basketball, swim, and participated in day camp. I was a camper for one summer in the early 1980's and worked on staff in 1992 as a senior counselor, 1993 as the CIT Director, and 1994 as the Summer Program Director. I stayed at camp until December of 1994 working outdoor education and maintenance. I experienced approximately nine years of absence from camp. Camp Eberhart never left me during that time, but I was consumed by new life experiences.

I began my career as a probation officer in December of 1994 and continue in that capacity to this day. I returned to camp in 2004 as part of the Camp Eberhart Advisory Board. I joined the Camp Eberhart Alumni Association Board some years later and continue to sever.

My marriage brought into my life a beautiful wife, Janine, and full of life step-daughter, Jada, who attended camp for nine summers. My marriage has produced another beautiful and full of life daughter, Addison, who talks of her experiences at camp and wants to know when we will be going back for the next visit. My wife was never a camp girl, but has taken to Camp Eberhart and shares in the love we all have. My in-laws have both found their way to camp and have volunteered their time as well. All of the staff, both summer and permanent, have always made us feel welcome and appreciated for what we do.

My mother, brothers and I have been part of Eberhart since the '20s. My mother was picked up from the train station and brought to camp in a buckboard. My brothers and I were driven to camp by our parents and left there for the summer. I've been part of camp in one fashion or another since 1954. Camp has given me so many lessons about life and friends that have been part of my entire life. Today I'm blessed to have passed on these lessons, experiences and independence to my children and my grandchildren. There are a few families that can say they have been a part of camp for 4 generations. I can't thank the Camp Eberhart families for all they have done for me and my family. I owe much of my life to Camp and those that made it all possible. So this little blurb about me is more of a thank you note because camp was my ultimate mentor - and made me what I am today. I've learned much from my wife and children, but the basics were all learned at Camp.  

Hello, I am Rachael McDaniel, 3rd generation of campers in my family. My grandmother Jeanette Levy and my father Edward Levy precede me! I started summer camp in 1982 and continued to 1996 which was my CIT year. I was on summer staff for many years and worked as Environmental Outdoor Education Director full time from 2000-2003.  Now, I live in Westfield, IN with my husband (who worked as the Ropes and Challenge Director from 2000-2003) and 3 children.  My two oldest go to overnight camp and my youngest at Day Camp in the summers. Camp has always been part of my life since I was born and same goes for my kids! 

I attended Camp Eberhart as a camper starting in 1964. I still have the camp patch from that year. I was never a Jr. camper as I had attended a church camp and Boy Scout camp for a couple of years prior to EB. My first year I was in 9&10 as a 10 year old.

In 1968, I was a CIT and we had a huge group, filling all three hill cabins with counselor wannabe’s. Rick Doolittle was the CIT Head that year.

I started as a Junior Counselor in 1969 in Cabin 13 & 14. Senior counselors were Dave Vance and Tom Wolfe. I do not recall who the other Junior Counselor was.  Lyman “Curt” Curtis was Director. I was assigned to the Waterfront, run by Mike Yoakam from Bloomington, IN. (Mike’s younger brother Steve was Sr. Counselor in 15 and 16 with me a year or two later, and older brother Rick is my brother in law today. An EB connection for sure.) Mike distributed clipboards to the staff to keep lesson plans and notes on campers together. I still have and use mine today, although it has very rounded edges and still carries the water spots from the numerous time it went into Corey Lake over the years. I spent a few years as cabin counselor, swim instructor and during girl’s camp, I worked on re-roofing the low road cabins.

I did not work at Camp in the summer of 1974, getting a job exploring the health care field as I was majoring in Biology/Chemistry in college. But I was back in 75, to lead the Boy’s Sr. Camper program. We lived in Morris, took offsite camping and canoe trips, and tried to add some special programming to the regular programs available at EB. We also did lots of pranks, like rigging all the dinghy sailboats and putting them up on the swim area docs, putting the nurse’s Volkswagen bug inside Klinger (and setting it for breakfast with plates and silverware) and raiding the girls staff cabins and hoisting their underwear up the flagpole. We paid for that one, as upon returning from one of our out of camp trips, we found the ENTIRE floor of Morris lodge covered with material appropriated from the riding ring. Payback must have been sweet for them. With an assist from Pat McGann, we further retaliated with a night raid where we silently removed the speakers from the tower and hung them outside the staff cabin windows facing in. Reveille must have been pretty loud, but we were safely in our bunks at that time so as not to incriminate. Steve Waxman was one of the campers and as I recall, was pretty creative in coming up with the prank ideas, very few of which we vetoed as counselors. All harmless, hopefully.

In 76, I had just graduated from Earlham College and was the Program Director. Bob Kinney was the Director. It was a good summer for me as I got a taste of being in charge and dealing with counselor problems (staff preferred talking to me as I was familiar and an EB guy.  Bob Kinney was not.) In 1977, I was actually employed in Kalamazoo at an independent lab that tested Upjohn Pharma products. Biology degree at work. Hated it. I did work part time, and for free, as the CIT director, working with a grand total of three: Paul Marsh, Dan Cassady, and a guy named Mitch, who after that summer we never heard from again. Kal Waxman was interim Director that year, as the Y had fired Bob Kinney. That’s a whole other story.

In 1977-78, I went back to school, for a masters in Environmental Resource Administration. I worked summer of 78 as a camp planner in Minnesota. The Wilder Foundation owned 1000 acres on the St. Croix River and wanted to build a camp there. I was the youngest and non-experienced staff, and it was quite intimidating, especially at first. I lived onsite in an old farmhouse, but the other staff drove 35 miles from St. Paul each day for work. Weekends were glorious, as I had the run of the entire 1000 acres to myself. In the end, very rewarding. I finished the summer as a “consultant” for the United Way of St. Paul, charged with visiting and reporting on camps in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that were run by agencies supported by United Way. Incredible experience. I stopped in many more places that were not even on my list (there are dozens of camps in these states) and there was always a coffee pot going and a staff member to share camp stories with. Anyway, I graduated in 18 months and took a job in January 1979 with the YMCA of Burlington, Iowa running their camp, Camp Hawkeye. In March of 83, I got a call from Lyman Curtis, now a Camp board member, asking if I would be interested in applying for the newly opened EB Director post. Duh. I began my work in late April. By then, the camp staff was mostly in place, and I concentrated on getting camp ready to open and designing the program along the lines of what I experienced as a camper. This was not my idea, but the desire of the Camp board, and probably the reason I was hired. We had very talented folks on staff, but the prior Director had given them too much leeway, and there were 13 dismissals that first summer, for violations of the non-negotiable variety. (Sex, drugs and alcohol) The next summer was better, I believe I only dismissed 8. (LOL) After that, we had developed some leaders on staff who kept things under control, partly by teaching younger staff how and when to participate in the extracurricular without jeopardizing their jobs. Paul Marsh and Dan Cassady were two of them. For 5 years, I was the Eberhart Camp Director, another “boy’s dream come true”. I assume you are aware of my family’s legacy. W.O. Davies is my great grandfather. IF you haven’t seen his info before, I am attaching it to this email.

Anyway, those 5 years were unusual in that I had a boss for only a couple (Tom Pagna of Notre Dame Football coaching fame) and he was not interested in Camp Eberhart in any way, shape or form. Fine, I was okay with that. The Camp board was very supportive and I didn’t have problems getting things for camp. After Pagna departed, it was two years with nobody in charge of the Metro Y. When they finally hired someone January of 1987, he started cleaning house, firing the South Bend branch director (22 years in positions with the Y of South Bend) the Mishawaka Director came next, and I figured I was not long for the same fate, the timing of summer camp being the only thing that saved me. I put out resumes and accepted a job with the YMCA of Central Ohio (Columbus) running Camp Wilson. It was much larger, and a bigger job. I left EB at the end of summer camp 1987.

I am an anxiety-ridden advocate for diversity and inclusion. As one of the few or the only Black camper(s) and staff member(s) for 15 summers, I am dedicated to making the spaces I love be inclusive and welcoming to all. My passion to root out inequities has taken me from law school and working in legal aid to the YMCA as an Associate Executive Director. As the founder and CEO of Resilient Resistance, LLC, I work to help others activate their hearts for justice and create inclusive environments for all to thrive. I share my life with my husband and two kids, both of whom spend at least one week at EB each summer.

Let me introduce myself. I am, thankfully, retired from a

42-year career in Hi-tech and Performance Consulting –

Mostly in Chicago – and loved every minute of it! Quite

fortunate to attend Camp Eberhart back in the 60’s and

again as a Camp Counselor and Staff from ’72-’76.

A lifelong learner, Camp Eberhart made an indelible mark

on my future life and career. Camp taught me much that I still think of daily: the need

to balance individual achievement AND teamwork. The importance of self-discipline,

respect, and leading by taking responsibility for myself and others. I have so many

lifelong friends made while at camp. I attempt to leave things better than I found them

and that is what I commit to do as a member of the CEAA board.

I live with my husband, Michael Klein, on Little Fish Lake (about a 20 min drive from

camp). With a passion for travel, cooking, golf, and gardening – I attempt to keep

myself out of trouble!