Cornerstone of Character

Birch Bay Ranch is a very important place for me. While I myself was never a camper there, it was where my High School, Vimy Ridge Academy has held its Outdoor Pursuits camps for the better part of six years. It wasn’t until my friend and I heard they were looking for summer staff in 2009 did I first get involved with an organization that would change my life. As an individual who has served in the Canadian Forces and taught High School I have had a variety of life changing experiences, but getting involved with Birch Bay Ranch stands with many of them as one of the most important decisions I’ve made in my life.

At the time I was at the University of Alberta working towards my Education degree and like many students, was unsure if I was ready for all the challenges of teaching. Birch Bay gave me a place to reaffirm my calling as an educator. Not only was I able to give my time and abilities to this great place, but it gave me gifts in return: friends, laughs, stories, experiences, trials and knowing you were making a difference in a very real way in the lives of those campers.

Birch Bay Ranch has and always will be a place to experience positive life change and I will gladly stand and attest to this great and wonderful place to being a cornerstone of building my character.

Thomas Rogers