  Day Two Continued At about 3:15 on Sunday afternoon, everyone lined up in their districts behind the dorms. From here, they were walked to The Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center for the Opening Ceremonies. Paige Brown, the Director of the Camp, introduced the Commandant, Kim Wolfe, Sheriff of Cabell County, Todd Cole, Assistant Commandant, Sheriff of Roane County, Jim Terry, Chief of Marshall Police Department and the rest of the Staff. Lead Seniors Michael Bennett and Jill Gore lead the camp in the Pledge of Allegiance. Paige spoke to the kids about the history of the Sheriffs' Academy and the Commandants gave their welcoming speeches. After the welcoming speeches came the time to go over the rules of the Academy. Jill Gore and Mike Bennett read of the rules and Cpl. Kendra Beckett, of the Huntington Police Department, explained each rule so there was no question as to what was expected of each person while they were at camp. One of the more important ones was this: Boys are BLUE...Girls are PINK...we will have NO PURPLING!! ~grin~ Parents, and those who did not attend camp, should note that the name tag given to your child at registration could be taken away from them at anytime for breaking a rule. If the name tag is taken, the camper must come to the front of the entire camp and "perform" some small tiny task in order to get the name tag back. And, as we all know, SOMEONE is bound to break a rule or have a birthday or do some Because we all know it is bound to happen, the Staff decided to call every Senior Counselor up on the stage and have them sing and perform their all time favorite "song"...Grey Squirrel!! We then had the rest of the camp perform it along with them so they could get the hang of it. And, this broke the ice a little. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the kids were walked back to their dorms where they had dinner. Next, the kids were taken to the Walter "Lefty" Rollins Track where Johnson's Photo was waiting to take Academy/Group/District/Staff photographs. While the kids baked in the sun after having their pictures taken, we waited for the PowerQuest Team to set up their equipment. If you have never seen these guys and you get a chance to, I suggest you RUN..not walk..to see their show. Sgt. Mike Davis of the Upshur County Sheriff's Department, along with his partners, put on an incredible performance of mind over matter. These guys tore phone books in half, tore license plates in half, bent steel bars, crushed full cola cans, drove nails into boards, bent a horseshoe into an "S" and broke a chain...ALL WITH THEIR BARE HANDS!! Sgt. Davis sends a very positive message throughout his show and emphasizes how important it is to be a leader and not a follower and what a drastic impact that drugs and alcohol can have you your life. I look forward to seeing these guys each year! By now the kids were pumped up and we had to provide them a way to use that energy. It was time for the Welcome Party!!! The kids were sent back to the dorms to change and then brought out back to line up and march to the Student Center where DJ Thunder was waiting. The kids got to dance and socialize while DJ Thunder played all the favorite music! This was a great time for the kids to start to get to know one another. 11:00pm...LIGHTS OUT! We headed back to the dorms so the kids could shower and get ready for bed. Will they be ready for tomorrow? Day Three |