Tyler Hill Camp — Local services in Damascus Township

A STORY WORTH TELLING

On July 5 my 7 year old son was asked to leave sleep away camp. Since July of last year, my family has been so excited for Andrew to go to camp. We looked at multiple camps. Based on what we saw and discussions we had with the directors and head counselors, we thought we had found the perfect fit in Tyler Hill Camp. When we first visited Tyler Hill my husband and I asked all the usual questions. We also asked if they could accommodate a boy with attention deficit hyperactive disorder. We explained what Andrew’s trigger points were and what systems had worked in the past. Andrew has been evaluated by his pediatrician, school, and therapists. He showed no reason why he could not have a successful summer at sleep away camp. Tyler Hill assured us they had similar children in the past and would have no issues. From day one Andrew was not put in the bunk with the children he had prior relationships with even though we had made the request. Camp started on Saturday and the first phone call came in on Tuesday from the group leader stating “she was unsure camp was going to work.” When asked what the issue was she was “afraid that the other campers were excluding Andrew because they felt he was annoying”. When asked what he was doing that was “annoying”, the examples I was given was: he shined a flashlight in a child’s eye, threw a child’s belonging across the room, and he would continually ask about a bunkmates locked box (which is not a recommended item on the packing list.) We gave recommendations on how to handle the situation. Call number 2 came in on Thursday from the group leader saying that things were improving and there were no issues. Andrew was scheduled to call home on Sunday between 1-2pm. At 2:30 no call had come so we called the office and was told we were scheduled for a call on Monday (we have the email confirmation for Sunday.) On Sunday we wound up receiving a call from the director stating they were having issues with Andrew and did not know how to handle him. No new examples were given. However, the director stated parents had called in with complaints from their children. We made the suggestion that we could come up there and talk to him. The director agreed. On Monday we sat down and spoke with Andrew. We came up with suggestions, role played, and had a frank discussion about age appropriate but annoying behaviors. That same day Andrew reviewed this with the director. Andrew was asked to apologize to his fellow campers for his behavior. That same evening the director again called and said Andrew was being challenging and would not take a shower. He stated to us that it didn’t look like thing were going to change and that we should plan to pick him up from camp. Tuesday late afternoon we received an email (not a call) from the director saying it wasn’t working and that we would need to come and get our son as soon as possible. We could consider bringing him back if he agreed to try medication for 5 days, or attempting again next summer. We called the pediatrician who stated that was a ridiculous request and that the camp should do better; provide a shadow; medication was not the answer for a child like Andrew. Andrew was picked up from Tyler Hill Thursday morning (director was not present) after multiple calls went back and forth between the CEO and the director. We are documenting this situation because we feel that our son was discriminated against because of his diagnosis. Tyler Hill misled us to believe they could handle a child with ADHD and clearly they are not capable of this. The staff and children were not tolerant of someone different even though one of their core values is Tolerance. We are trying to prevent a family from going through a similar ordeal. This has been very stressful on all of us. Tyler Hill was simply not willing to help my son succeed and we were in the way of them earning potential future dollars with...

I’m about to gush so bear with me.

Tyler Hill Camp was the perfect venue for our wedding.

The wedding weekend was perfect, the weather held out to be a mostly sunny 70-75 degrees. The staff was phenomenal and was accessible to our every need. They have a great workflow set up that runs seamlessly with communication between the bride/groom/planner/Mike and the rest of his team to ensure that all of our guests needs were met. Notably, they have a Welcome set up on Friday afternoon to stop and greet each car as it entered, staff would tell them where they would be staying, and then lead them in a golf cart to their bunk to unload and then again to the parking area on the other side of the camp and back to their bunks, so that our guests couldn’t get lost at all and could be driven right to their doors. That would have been confusing for us to do, but the staff have it all down pat so that the greetings and sign ins was completely taken off our plate.

Once guests were settled we had our BBQ on the beautiful lakeside picnic tables and lawn, followed by an after party in the Gymnastics pavilion by the lake where we rented a Grateful dead cover band and had a bonfire with smores and a canoe full of beer that the staff kept stocked for us. Staff offered rotating golf cart rides to all our guests to and from their cabins and anywhere else they needed to go. It is far walking from one end of camp to another so do bring some good walking shoes for sure if you don’t catch a golf cart ride.

Saturday was perfect. We allowed unstructured activity time for guests to enjoy the camp and the beautiful weather/lakes/activities. We did have a pickleball open play on the 8 pickleball courts as my husband and I are big pickleball fans. Our dog got to run around the entire camp and was living his best life. The food, both breakfast and lunch, was GREAT. It was served buffet style on the porch of the dining hall and all of our guests felt it was very very good for being “camp” food!

The accommodations were also fantastic. The bridal suite was everything we needed, next to the canteen with large private bathroom, a private deck overlooking the lake, and a sitting room where we could hang with friends. The rest of our guests were spread out between the cabins (which have tons of beds and arrangements to choose from), condo style rooms, and the “hotel style” rooms in the Wayne Hall. It was so amazing for our guests to be able to stay out late, let loose and then walk or get a ride back to their room and not have to worry about driving.

The reception and after party were awesome. We felt so taken care of by everyone even when I was getting bridal stressed out, Mike, Rob, Sara, everyone was so helpful and made sure to handle any issues. We ended the night with a big karaoke after party in the Canteen and it was just absolutely perfect.

I felt so safe knowing there was security onsite, Andy and Mike staying around to help out with any issues if need be, but felt fully free and able to have the loud, fun party of a wedding that I wanted to and that was exactly what Tyler Hill allowed. I had 3 nights to be able to have fun and party, and two days to be able to explore the beautiful camp, walk the golf course in the morning with my dog, swim in the lake, play sports, and then go marry the love of my life next to a beautiful lake, with so many wonderful genuine people that are the THC staff there to make it EXTRA fun.

My friends are still talking a month later about how it was the best wedding they’ve ever been to and while I’d like to think we could have had that anywhere, I know for that that it is due to the uniquely beautiful, great setup, fun amenities, and ultra personalized attention and service we got from THC. Could not...

Tyler Hill Camp was the perfect venue for our wedding.

Venue: 10/10 The location is HUGE, beautiful, and so much fun. 2 lakes, tennis facilities, basketball facilities, soccer fields, water slide, heated pool, massive dining halls, the list goes on and on. It is the perfect fit of natural beauty in the woods with clean/new facilities.

Housing: 10/10 the housing accommodations are by far the best we've seen from any similar type camp. There was appropriate housing accommodations for the younger crowd and the older crowd.

Staff: 10/10. The staff was so friendly and helpful. They transported everyone around on golf carts and were there for any issue/question. The best part - they are awesome people who are fun and personable. Haley is incredible! You need to hire her as your weekend coordinator.

Food: 10/10 Peter and his staff are amazing. We were surprised about how good the food was for each meal. 2 breakfasts, welcome dinner, lunch, cocktail hour - do you know how much easier it made our lives to have them do all of this instead of getting multiple vendors??

Price: For everything this venue has, they are charging a very affordable price for couples.

Our family likes do a rose (favorite thing), thorn (least favorite thing) and bud (what we are looking most forward to.

Rose: the ceremony was done at our rain contingency plan - and even thought it didn't really rain, we were glad that we did it this way because it ended up being perfect Thorn: that we didn't have another day Bud: Booking THC for a 5 year reunion/vow renewal

Tips for future couples: -Most simply, choose Tyler Hill Camp -Tyler Hill Camp is like the most amazing wedding canvas you can find. You did need a vision to make what you want happen - otherwise, hire a wedding planner to help you. -You will need a plan for decor, but with a venue this beautiful you don't need all that much -There are so many facilities that having a rain plan is super easy and you can still do most of the things you would've done otherwise -We got a coach bus that transported out of state guests, and would recommend doing this and working with Michael to go through the company...