Rich Deering
Rich Deering is currently Birch Rock' Alumni Director, a position he has held since 2002. Before that Rich has held many roles on campus. He was the assistant director to Brad Smith for a couple summers in the mid-'90s and was Head Counselor in the mid-'80s but he probably enjoyed his Waterfront Director years in the '80s the most. Since being Waterfront Director, Rich can still often be found on the waterfront helping with Instructional Swim.
In the mid-'90s, when the Board of Directors hired Director Brad Smith, Rich was the perfect man to assist Brad in settling in and recovering the somewhat dwindling Birch Rock. Rich's business savvy and amazing sales ability have always been strengths for the camp, but it is his love for the Rock and knowledge of its history that was of great use to Brad and the community in the '90s.
Rich will likely be best remembered for what he did during his own summers as Camp Director. Brad did a terrific job of keeping the camp numbers up enough to stay afloat, but it was Rich who took the camp to the next level. He did this in so many ways from ACA accreditation, to hiring the right staff and more importantly paying them appropriately for their service, to working closely with the Board of Directors on facility management, and so much more.
Rich has always said that,"...camp is a place of life-long learning for all, no matter what your age."
Rich's Summers at the Rock
| Year | Cabin | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Camper | with Counselor ? | |
| 1974 | Camper | with Counselor ? | |
| 1975 | Camper | with Counselor ? | |
| 1976 | Camper | with Counselor ? | |
| 1977 | Camper | with Counselor ? | |
| 1978 | Counselor-in-Training | with CIT Director ? | |
| 1979 | Junior Counselor | ||
| 1980 | Counselor | ||
| 1981 | Counselor | ||
| 1982 | Waterfront Director | ||
| 1983 | Waterfront Director | ||
| 1984 | skipped | ||
| 1985 | Head Counselor | Program | |
| 1986 | skipped | ||
| 1987 | skipped | ||
| 1988 | |||
| 1989 | skipped | ||
| 1990 | skipped | ||
| 1991 | skipped | ||
| 1992 | skipped | ||
| 1993 | Assistant Director | worked with Director Brad Smith | |
| 1994 | skipped | ||
| 1995 | Assistant Director | worked with Brad Smith | |
| 1996 | Swordfish | Camp Director | |
| 1997 | Swordfish | Camp Director | |
| 1998 | Swordfish | Camp Director | |
| 1999 | Swordfish | Camp Director | |
| 2000 | Swordfish | Co-Director | Ran Camp with Mike Mattson |
| 2001 | Swordfish | Co-Director | Ran Camp with Mike Mattson |
| 2002 | Swordfish | Alumni Director | |
| 2003 | Swordfish | Alumni Director | |
| 2004 | Swordfish | Alumni Director | shared cabin with Dave Jenkins |
| 2005 | Swordfish | Alumni Director | |
| 2006 | Swordfish | Alumni Director | |
| 2007 | Swordfish | Alumni Director | |
| 2008 | Swordfish | Alumni Director | |
| 2009 | Swordfish | Alumni Director |
