John Latimer grew up ‘through the ranks’ at Kilcoo and became its Director and owner in 1956. John was director until 1981 when he passed the leadership of Kilcoo to Hal Hannaford. John remained a big part of Kilcoo and the camping community at large, he was known as “Chief”. Sadly, John passed away in 2003. His wife Peggy shared his deep understanding of young people, and continues to provide guidance and support to their son David, who celebrates his 35th year as Director in 2019. David continues to demonstrate the passion and leadership that Hal, John, and Charlie Plewman implemented in the years before him.
The key to the success of a summer camp is the staff. Each staff member at Kilcoo is chosen with the utmost care. In addition to the essentials of ability, character and skill, all Kilcoo staff must possess the magic qualities of good leadership. They must also have a highly developed sense of responsibility and feeling for the welfare of the boys entrusted to their care. The majority of the 70 counselors and instructors have themselves been campers at Kilcoo. They follow Chief’s tradition of “up through the ranks”. A summer at Kilcoo is more than a summer job, it is passing down the values, memories, and experiences that you enjoyed, to the current campers.
As part of our commitment to leadership, our eldest campers are invited to participate in extensive and practical two-year in-camp courses as Leaders-in-Training.
