EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR OVERNIGHT SUMMER CAMP!
 

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Dimitri has been Director of Camp Orkila since March 2005, following ten years as Executive Director of YMCA Camp Collins in Portland, Oregon.  Dimitri holds a Bachelors Degree in Music Education from Western Washington University.  He lives at YMCA Camp Orkila with his wife, Lorena, who is a teacher, and their teenage daughter, Daria.  When he is not at work, hauling horses for his daughter or cheering for her at her basketball games, Dimitri plays trombone in the Orcas Horns & Orcas Island Community Band and tuba in the Turtleback Brass Quintet.  He has just completed a 3-year term as a Trustee of the Orcas Center and currently serves as a trustee for the Orcas Island Community Foundation. 

 

Dave Affolter, Senior Program Director

Going into his 18th year at Orkila - 7 years as a camper and 11 years on staff - Dave loves and lives Orkila!  You might catch him saying "hello" to the LDI campers on President Channel, cooking food with the elves in the Enchanted Forest, or singing The Jellyfish Song at line-up.  Dave loves smiles, laughing, high fives and hearing what’s going on with you!

Dom Vellucci, Summer Program Director

Originally from New York, Dom is excited for his 3rd summer at Camp Orkila. He loves to learn and practice all kinds of skills, like hula hooping, playing the kazoo, and making lanyards. There are also lots of things he can’t do, like flying, or breathing fire…Basically, he’s not a dragon. He’s looking forward to lots of great stories at campfires and many beautiful summer days outside at Orkila. “Hope to see you soon!” says Dom. 

Maya Webber, Summer Program Coordinator

Maya is going into her fourth summer at Orkila and loves everything about camp! Besides epic Gaga Ball tournaments, dock jumps, and smelling the horses, Maya likes to run around camp with her trusty pal, Diana the Dog.  They both love high-fives, veggie-burger lunch, and Campfires!

Marty Emmes, Teen Program Coordinator

Tessa has been having a blast at camp since she was 13 years old! Even her Dad and Grandpa went to camp!  She loves screaming on the giant swing, crafting friendship bracelets, and singing at campfire. Be sure to show her your grooviest moves at the dork dance!

Laura Bruhns, Site Director for OEE

Laura started her Orkila career in the summer of 2004 as a cabin counselor and early morning Polar Bear Swim enthusiast.  Nowadays, you'll find her at camp year-round, where she plans unforgettable and transformative outdoor experiences for visiting students.  When she's not enjoying the beauty of Orkila, you can find her on the slopes of Mt. Baker or swimming in Cascade Lake.

Beth Wangen, Conference & Retreat Director

Beth has been Orkila’s Director of Conferences and Retreats since 2005. She facilitates family camps, women’s retreats, Adventure Guide weekends, and various other fun retreats for private groups. When not doing camp stuff, she enjoys bicycling with her husband, gardening with her special-needs doggies, making stuff with her kitty cat, and volunteering as an EMT with Orcas Island’s finest.

Lynda Sanders, Orkila Office Manager

I’ve been the Office Manager at Orkila for the last five years but my favorite role is camp mom!  I love having so many kids, it keeps me young and honestly I get so much more than I give!

Interested in hearing more about our counselors and staff for this summer?  Check out the Orkila Blog, where Staff Spotlights will be listed as staff are brought on for the summer.  Staff Spotlights focus on one staff member and highlight his or her camp history, favorite camp game, song, and meal, and his or her passions and strengths.  

THE HEART OF OUR CAMP​

Camp Orkila's carefully selected staff are the heart of our camp.  All program staff who run camp activities have individual areas of expertise to share with campers and visitors.  Staff are selected for their experience working with children, judgement, maturity, and their fun and caring attitudes.  We have one staff member for every five campers.  We recruit staff who serve as proper role models for campers by demonstrating strong leadership skills that reflect the core values of the YMCA of Greater Seattle.  Through role modeling and by creating challenges that foster individual and group development, we provide campers with the opportunity to leave Orkila with a better understanding in the values of respect, responsibility, honesty, and caring. 

All staff must complete the application and interview process as outlined by the YMCA of Greater Seattle.  They must have current First Aid and CPR certifications, and pass a National Background check.  Phone interviews are conducted with two references.  Leadership & Expedition applicants are also required to have complete 24 or 80-hour Wilderness Medicine Training.  Summer staff are required to complete nine days of training upon arrival at camp.  All directors complete a six-day "Director's Training" in addition to "Counselor's Training."  Topics include: child behavior management, positive discipline techniques, all camp activities, games, age appropriate programming, emergency procedures, values-based programs, bully prevention, and health and safety management.

SERVING OUR COMMUNITY FOR OVER 100 YEARS!​

YMCA Camp Orkila has been serving youth and families for over one hundred years! The YMCA of Greater Seattle set up its first permanent camping home in 1906 on a property on Orcas Island, starting what would later be named “Camp Orkila.”  The property was owned by the Colman family, who founded Orkila’s sister-camp, Camp Colman, several years later.  Its first summer, 30 boys spent four weeks on the property.  In its early days, the camp was structured as a “city government,” in which the boys elected a Mayor, Council, Chief of Police, City Engineer, Judge, and Prosecuting Attorney, and a month of camp cost only $35. 

Until the early 1920s, campers would travel to camp on steamer ships from the Colman dock in Seattle.  Campers transferred to smaller launches for the trip between Anacortes and Westsound and hiked the last six miles to the property.  Regular ferry transportation to Orcas Island was established in 1923, and has been the primary form of transportation to and from camp ever since.

In its first 20 years, the camp grew quickly.  In 1927, the YMCA Annual Report noted that 441 boys and 40 leaders had attended the property for six sessions that summer – a huge leap from the mere 30 boys that the camp had started with.  In the 1930s, Ruth Norman and Ed Kilbourne created the name “Camp Orcila” while adapting the words to a popular campfire song.  Orcila was misspelled so frequently, however, that the spelling was changed to “Orkila” in 1937. 

Kenneth Colman gifted the property title to the YMCA of Greater Seattle in 1938.  In 1939, developments began and volunteers were asked to raise $3,140 for capital improvements – the most exciting of which was electricity.

Advertised as “A Training in Self-Reliance – A Godsend in Wartime,” a 10-14 day session in 1943 cost only $15-$20.

In 1947, Robert Moran and Laurence Colman donated the Twin Lakes Property to Orkila, donating the rest of the surrounding land to make what is now Moran State Park.  In the same year, Camp Orkila also purchased the 107-acre Satellite Island for $10,000.  Both properties are still used today to give Orkila campers special "out-of-cabin" camping trips and by Orkila’s many expedition groups. 

Larry Norman Memorial Lodge was built in 1953 and dedicated in memory of Larry Norman and the nearly three dozen other past campers who perished in WWII.

It wasn’t until 1965 that the first session of girls attended Camp Orkila.  Only a few years later, in 1968, the Camp’s facilities were in such bad shape that Orkila nearly didn’t open for the summer.  Volunteer work parties and dedicated camp staff managed to fix up the property in time to open for the summer.  This wasn’t the end of Orkila’s rough patch, however.  In the late 60s and early 70s, the recession brought the camp close to closing again when the YMCA considered selling the property to bolster programming in the urban areas.  Once again, Orkila was saved by its passionate volunteers, who worked to keep the camp open that year and for future generations.  Under the leadership of Don Anderson, Orkila focused on character-building and values education.

In 1970, the first co-ed camp session was offered, and in 1973, all sessions became co-ed.  Orkila soon acquired the farm property, which provided space for sports fields, the barn and horses, the demonstration farm, and high ropes course.  Outdoor Environmental Education programs also became an increasingly important and growing part of programming.  Orkila continued to develop quickly – including the building of the craft shop in 1976, the Dederer Family Conference Center, the launch of the Patsy Collins Adventure in Leadership for Girls of Promise program in 1997 (now called Girls LEAD), and the construction of the Marine-Salmon Center in 2002.  In 2006, Orkila celebrated its Centennial and welcomed 16,000 visitors to camp that year. Since the Centennial, Orkila has grown and prospered – adding the Alumni House and the Challenge Tower and Zipline to its many wonderful facilities. 

While Camp Orkila’s been through a lot of changes in the last 100 years, our dedication to strengthening community has been unwavering.  The Colman family was rooted in nurturing the potential of youth, promoting healthy living, and fostering social responsibility, and these same goals still drive our Y staff and volunteers every day at Camp Orkila.  Continuing to build on such a strong foundation, we look forward to serving our community long into the future.

ARE YOU AN ORKILA ALUM? 

Are you an Orkila alum?  We'd love to hear from you!  Join the Camp Orkila group on Facebook and stay in the loop with what's happening at Orkila now on the official Facebook page.  Interested in finding out more about alumni events - join our Alumni Registry!

Please contact Magill Dickerson-Lange, Branch Development Director (and proud Orkila alum!) at mlange@seattleymca.org or 206.839.8916 with any questions, stories, ideas, feedback, etc.

WE'RE JUST A CALL OR CLICK AWAY!​

Administration and Registration Office:
YMCA Camping Services
909 Fourth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104

P 206.382.5009
P 206.382.5001
F 206.382.4920

M-F, 8-5

Please contact the Camping Services office regarding registration, Health & Safety Packet, and program questions.

Please feel free to contact the following staff with questions and comments:  

Registrar
206.382.5009
206.382.5001
colmanorkilainfo@seattleymca.org

Lynda Sanders - Camp Orkila Office Manager & Day Camp Registrar
360.376.2678
lsanders@seattleymca.org

David Affolter - Senior Programs Director
206.382.5009 x4508
daffolter@seattleymca.org

Dimitri Stankevich - Camp Orkila Director
360.376.2678 x111
dstankevich@seattleymca.org

Cheryl Rau - Associate Executive Director of Operations
206.587.6114
crau@seattleymca.org

Meredith Cambre - Overnight Camps Executive Director
mcambre@seattleymca.org

Beth Wangen - Conference & Retreat Director
360.376.2678 x105
bwangen@seattleymca.org

Christy Shiers - Director of Environmental Science Programs
C 206.949.9825
cshiers@seattleymca.org

Laura Bruhns - Site Director for Outdoor Environmental Education
360.376.2678
lbruhns@seattleymca.org