SERVICE AREAS
Zone staff serve in a wide variety of ways all around Sky Lodge. Every day we are keeping kids safe in the swimming pool, taking campers out on horseback rides, serving up slushies in the Hitching Post, setting up our dining room for meals, and more. Each service area of camp is managed by a foreman, our college aged hires, who lead and work for the full summer season. Each week while here, our high school staff (referred to as crew) rotate through our service areas, giving them the opportunity to gain an assortment of job skills and to experience different sides of camping ministry. Below you can find brief descriptions of each of the service areas that crew serve on during their time at Sky Lodge.
BARN CREW
If you love horses and have barn experience, then barn may be the perfect crew for you! From morning to evening, barn crew takes care of our beautiful herd and facilitates horse fun for Sky Lodge campers. We have about a dozen horses and we take a variety of trail rides through our thick pine forest. Click here if you are interested in learning more about our horse program.
General Responsibilities
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Feed and water horses.
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Groom and saddle horses.
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Supervise trail rides.
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See that fences and corrals are kept in proper order and repair.
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Work on barn projects and/or other areas of camp as requested.
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Special Training: While there isn't specific prior training required, we do put together a crew with a certain level of horse experience each week. Unlike other crews, high schoolers are considered for barn crew ONLY IF they specifically request it in their top 3 service area choices on their crew application and after a skills assessment by our Barn Manager.​
HITCHING POST CREW
Sky Lodge's snack shop and rec room is called the Hitching Post. It's a popular place, so we put some of our biggest smiles and fastest working staff in here. Mornings on Hitching Post crew are usually spent sprucing up around camp, and ensuring our guests have all the supplies they need. The Hitching Post snack shop is then open for business in the afternoon and occasionally later in the evening as well. To see pictures of our Hitching Post click here.
General Responsibilities
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Keep snack shop clean and orderly throughout the day.
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Follow approved procedures for keeping inventory up to date.
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Clean the public buildings and meeting rooms.
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Wash/Dry Sky Lodge laundry.
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Work on Hitching Post projects and/or other areas of camp as requested.
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Special Training: No specific prior training required!
KITCHEN CREW
This hard working crew puts on happy faces to serve meals to happy campers. Our kitchen staff works an atypical schedule from the rest of Zone. They report each morning for prep work approximately an hour before breakfast is served and stay 1 to 2 hours after supper to complete clean up. Because of these extended hours, kitchen crew generally gets 30 - 60 minute break in the morning and approximately 2 hours off in the afternoon. Students on this crew usually create a special bond because of how much quality time they spend together hustling hard in our bustling kitchen and dining room.
General Responsibilities
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Serving meals to our campers, staff, and guests throughout the week.
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Washing and putting away dishes.
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Occasionally assisting our Head Cooks and Kitchen Foremen with food preparation.
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Taking care of the dining room, both set up ahead meals and clean up afterwards.
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Work on Kitchen projects and/or other areas of camp as requested.
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Special Training: No specific prior training required!
LIFEGUARD CREW
Our lifeguard crew has a sunny and very important job! Typically their mornings are spent completing a list of daily chores that includes maintaining and cleaning the pool area among other things. Throughout the afternoon, the lifeguards guard the pool and canoe dock. Click here to see pictures of our pool.
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General Responsibilities
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Be responsible for safety whenever anybody is involved in pool activities.
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See that the posted pool guidelines are followed.
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Supervise the safety of the canoe dock.
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Test campers for swimming ability for certain camp sessions.
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Work on Lifeguard projects and/or other areas of camp as requested.
Special Training: Lifeguard and CPR certification are required. Sky Lodge provides a training session near the start of the summer for our potential lifeguards. The certification is done through the American Red Cross and may be used at other aquatic centers and pools. If you're interested in becoming certified, or are already, let us know on your crew application.
MAINTENANCE CREW
Maintenance crew members will find themselves working on a wide variety of upkeep and construction projects all around Sky Lodge. There is a decent possibility of getting fairly messy and sweaty. It is a hard work service area, no doubt about it, but they receive the blessing of getting to spend most of their days out in God's beautiful creation.
General Responsibilities
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Keep the lawn areas mowed and trimmed.
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Empty outside trash and recyclables all around Sky Lodge.
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Work on Maintenance projects and/or other areas of camp as requested.
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Special Training: No specific prior training required!
