After dinner, Richard Stockton, GHV Council Executive and last year’s Read Reservation Director, thanked the 2025 Staff for a great year. He hoped that most if not all were signed up for the 2026 Staff.

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Will Langham, VP Membership for CRA, had been busy signing up Staff to join our Association. He received a half dozen or so sign-ups.

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Will was one of four Board Members who presented a new Camp Read Songbook to the Staff during Staff Week in July. To continue “promoting” the Songbook, Will recruited Dave to help lead 2 songs from the book: “Here, Here, Us Cheering”, and “We Welcome You to Old Camp Read”. All joined in and filled the cabin with “vocal reverberation”!

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We were happy to learn from Gregg Dick that the Songbook was used at the opening Campfire each week and by the individual troops during the week.

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Tom Liberati, Fishing Committee Chair, GHV Council, and Member of the CRA Volunteer Staff Committee, provided a presentation on the committees, their purpose and accomplishments. His presentation was short and to the point and even solicited some Volunteers. He can be reached on 1 (914) 261-7579.

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Tom Dietz, CRA Past President, was standing in for Bailey Pitonza, CRA VP Activities, and thanked Bailey for a job well done planning and organizing the event. Bailey will be busy soon doing the same for the Eager Beaver Work weekend, June 5 – 7, 2026. “For the Good of the Camp” hope you can join us help get Camp ready for the Summer of ‘26.

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Tom D. was also one of the four who presented the Songbook to the Staff. The others were: Peter Scott Oberdorf, CRA Past President, and Simon E. Langham Riker, CRA Song Program Leader, Songbook Editor and Web-Master. Tom explained that the purpose of the Songbook was to preserve some of the traditional Camp Read songs, and to provide a vehicle to add new songs from the current staff and those going forward.

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In our Songbook Introduction, Simon says it best: “For generations of scouts, music has played a core part of the experience at Camp Read. From campfire rituals to hiking tunes to dining hall antics, singing passes the time, creates unforgettable memories, and brings us together like no other activity quite can.”

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Tom heard that the ’25 Staff’ created a song and got excited about having a new song for the book. As the story goes: while waiting for lunch in Newton Hall one day this past Summer, the ‘25 Staff broke into song to stall for time. It started: boom, boom, clap; boom, boom, clap; and turned out to be the intro to “We will, We will, Rock You” by Queen. Tom was very interested to hear the lyrics that the staff had created so he asked if the person or persons who “invented” the Camp Read version of the song was present. That request was met with much laughter, hooting, cat calls and all assorted happy noises. Of course, no one admitted to being the catalyst behind the song, but the group did coax one young man from the back to get up and lead it. I believe his name was John.

 

Now Tom was really excited and thought that the song would start out something like “Read will, Read will, Rock You! But the vision and lyrics he pictured and heard in his head were way off.

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John, a bit reluctantly, came forward and started the boom, boom, clap; boom, boom, clap beat and then with great enthusiasm, the group broke into “I’m a Little Teapot” sung to the rhythm and cadence of the Queen song.

 

Tom stood there in amazement and then started to laugh. The staff showed outstanding coordination and did a great job singing and keeping the beat. At the end, resounding applause was given in approval of a job well done. This was not at all what Tom had expected. However, it brought back fond memories of working at Camp Tomahawk in the mid-sixties that ignited his laughter.

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Back then we all took turns leading a song after meals. You could do an easy one at first but then you needed to move on to a more challenging tune. There was a staff member, we’ll call him Benny, who was very energetic and enthusiastic, and a bit of an actor. He led the same song each time it was his turn, but the campers loved it mainly because of the way he acted it out.

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You guessed it, Benny’s song was “I’m a Little Teapot” and he was forever known for singing that song.

Could history be repeating itself? Will the 2025 Camp Read Staff be forever known for the “Queen version” of “I’m a Little Teapot”. If someone can provide the music and all the lyrics we can publish it in the Songbook.

What Will, Tom and the ‘25 Staff did was bring us all together as one with the songs. A lot of fun and a lot of laughs!

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Bill Daley, CRA President, spoke next and thanked the Staff for a job well done this past Summer. Although being at Camp Read in the picturesque Adirondacks is a wonderful experience, it is the Staff, and program they provide, that make Camp great and successful! 

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Each year CRA sponsors awards for those Staff Members who have performed above and beyond their duties. Award recipients are chosen by the Camp and Reservation Directors.

 

Bill (on the right) proudly presented this year’s awards to:​