Our Director, Ryan Siver, is ending his time here with us at Skye Farm. The Sivers will be moving to Camp Fontanelle, a United Methodist camp in Nickerson, Nebraska, where Ryan will be serving as Camp Director. Ryan, Amanda, and the kids became a part of the Skye Farm Family in 2016, and have blessed our site with their love and hard work for the past five years.
Our other year-round staff, Hannah Lasher and Brandi Olejarczyk, will see Skye Farm through the first phase of our leadership transition, continuing to prepare for our spring and summer programs. Hannah will be stepping into the role of Seasonal Summer Camp Director, and Brandi will be continuing her work as Office Manager that has seen Skye Farm through several past leadership transitions. In early May, they will be joined by Jess Schload, who will be serving as our Interim Director for this camping season. Jess has many years of experience in camp and retreat ministries around the country, and is now helping camps like ours transition between permanent directors smoothly. We look forward to welcoming him to the team!
We are excited for Ryan, Amanda, Grace, Noah, Toby, and Micah as they embark on their new adventure. We will miss their presence here at Skye Farm, but we know that just like other members of the Skye Farm Family who end up all over the country and all over the world, they’ll remain connected to our community through the bonds they’ve made, the love they’ve shared, and the moose songs that will never leave their heads.
Click here to read the Upper New York Conference’s announcement of Ryan’s departure.
A Thank-You from the Siver Family:
Dear Skye Farm Families,
When we arrived at Skye Farm 5 years ago, we did not know how quickly our family would grow to include so many wonderful members of the Skye Fam. We have come to love this place and the people who make camp what it is. So mixed with our excitement for a new adventure is also sadness in saying goodbye to all of you. We have accepted the position of Camp Director at Camp Fontanelle in Nickerson, Nebraska. This opportunity gives us the blessing of being near family who we have been far away from for many years. We will always cherish our time here but we feel strongly God’s call on this journey.
As we reflect on these last 5 years, we want to take the time to thank those that made our time here so special. Thank you to the invaluable, dedicated, kind, and caring members of the Thursday Crew. Without your constant dedication, encouragement, and support of camp, but also us personally, we could not have accomplished all the amazing things we did. We will miss your wisdom and your humor.
Thank you to the generous donors who made possible the major building projects that were completed; a new maintenance building, a renovated office space, a new lodge, the basketball court, the new parking lot… and not the least of which, seeing Skye Farm through the pandemic in 2020. Your willingness to give has given Skye Farm a brighter future. It allowed us to help make the vision for Skye Farm a reality.
Our family has been blessed each summer by the amazing staff who not only make camp the best it can be but who also care for our family. To those of you that pushed the stroller up the hill, found lost pacifiers and shoes, blew countless bubbles, taught them how to swim, and just plain loved on our kids, we are forever grateful. Special shout out to those that helped nap time happen. Our kids will always remember the awesome examples they had in you and the impact you made on their lives. So thank you to the staff, both seasonal and year-round, for your commitment to giving campers and groups the best experience they could possibly have. You shared the message that there is a God, God loves you, and God wants a relationship with you, and in so doing many kids came to know Christ at camp. There is nothing better or more important than that eternal reward.
We will miss opening campfire behind Kessler Hall filled with the expectation of the week ahead, hearing the singing in the dining hall before and after meals, the laughter from the waterfront. Maybe most especially, we’ll miss the sights and sounds of closing campfire on Thursday nights, from the procession down the hill with tiki torches, to the floating cross, to singing the good night song. Those were precious moments each week that we will treasure forever.
We hope that as we depart from this sacred place you will continue to pass on the love of the Skye Farm Family to the next director in the same way you did for us when we arrived. Welcome them into this amazing family and show them what makes Skye Farm so special. Pass It On.
Blessings,
The Sivers
