06/01/2026
Dear Kanuga Community,
As you read the announcement about Elise Croak’s transition from Camp Kanuga to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, I hope you will join me in holding both gratitude and blessing together.
Few people leave such a deep imprint on a community. Through her steady leadership, creativity, compassion, humor, and fierce care for young people, Elise has helped shape the spirit of Camp Kanuga for countless campers, counselors, and families. Her ministry here has not simply been a job; it has been a vocation lived fully and faithfully.
While we will deeply miss her presence among us, we also celebrate this next chapter in her journey. The same gifts that have blessed Kanuga so richly will now bless a wider community beyond these mountains.
I invite you to surround Elise with the same encouragement and love she has so generously offered to others over the years. Please join me in giving thanks for all she has planted here and in praying for the new ground she is preparing to tend.
With gratitude for Elise and for this remarkable community,
The Rev. Michael R. Sullivan, President
Dear Camp Kanuga Community,
There are certain people whose presence becomes woven so deeply into a place that it’s hard to imagine the landscape without them. For Camp Kanuga, Elise Croak is one of those people. With a mixture of deep gratitude and a heavy heart, I share that at the conclusion of this summer, Elise will be stepping down as Program Director to relocate to New York City, where she has accepted a position at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine as Sacristan.
I still remember meeting Elise years ago in Utah during her college internship at Camp Tuttle. It didn’t take long to recognize something extraordinary. The first time I watched her facilitate a large group game, I was stunned. She possessed a rare, effortless ability to command a chaotic room, teach with clarity, and lead meaningful debriefs. It was obvious that outdoor ministry was her calling.
Over the last five years, Elise has left fingerprints on nearly every corner of our community. Her compassion, steadiness, humor, creativity, and relentless care for campers and staff have shaped the culture of Camp Kanuga. Her footprints have trod across trails, cabins, campfires, and chapels. Campers found confidence because Elise believed in them, counselors became leaders because she challenged them, and traditions exist because she imagined them.
Recently, Elise shared a song with me that she used to play every morning to wake up her campers: "Take Up Your Spade" by Sara Watkins. The chorus feels incredibly fitting: "Take up your spade, and break ground..."
Camp Kanuga has been ground that Elise has lovingly tended. She has broken ground on new programs, cultivated a supportive staff culture, and ensured every child felt seen, known, and loved. Now, it is her turn to take up her spade in a new wilderness.
In the coming weeks, we will share ways to celebrate Elise before summer ends. In the meantime, I invite our community to join us in honoring her legacy.
Elise, thank you for the joy, wisdom, imagination, and heart you have poured into this place.
With camp love and gratitude,
Ingrid VanZanten
