HISTORY

effort to reunite? What if there were a way to connect staff from years gone by to the staff that serve now? What if those of us that have served before could be an encouragement to those serving after? What if we could give back to a place that gave us so much more than a summer paycheck? These idle questions eventually turned into what we see now, the Riverbend Staff Alumni Association. 

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This all began on July 4th 2019 at a mass, one-day alumni event hosted by the Directors of Riverbend. And at that gathering Cameron Fricke, Brad Lambert, and a few others proposed to set aside some time from the fun and games to see if a concentrated effort could be made to bring the idea of the Association to life. A general announcement was made that day that we would be meeting in the Chapel at 2 (during open waterfront time) to talk about it. Those of us who had talked beforehand were all committed to show up, and genuinely, we weren’t expecting much of a turnout. But much to our surprise, nearly all the alumni present came to our little meeting.

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The brainstorming began with lots of questions and ideas and eventually culminated with the first group of officers being elected and charged with a list of things to do to make the Association legit. Those officers were:

• Nick Ferguson - President 

• Emily Kunkel - Vice President

• Kayla Yates - Secretary

• Cam Fricke - Staff Liaison 

• Trevor Graeber - Volunteer/Project Coordinator. 

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This group would go on to write the first draft of the Constitution and Bylaws, and create and fill the positions of Treasurer and Membership Coordinator with Jamie Andrews and Kerri Watts respectively. 

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Of course, life happens and life outside of the Association is important, so due to unforeseen circumstances, Nick, Cam and Kerri had to step down. The Executive Board held a special session and decided unanimously to have Trevor Graeber take over as President. After that the Association was reorganized and two new members were brought on board:

• Trevor Graeber - President & Interim Membership Coordinator

• Emily Kunkel - Vice President

• Kayla Yates - Secretary

• Jamie Wright - Treasurer

• Rene Wallace - Volunteer/Project Coordinator

• Hannah Tapper - Staff Liaison

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This group went on to create the Association as it exists today, organizing efforts and events specially designed to make life at the Bend better. They also organized the First Annual Alumni Retreat in August 2021! It was there, at the first annual business meeting that the final draft of the Constitution and Bylaws was ratified by the Alumni gathered together in the conference room of cabin 10, and the missing position of Membership Coordinator was FINALLY filled by our returning officer, Cameron Fricke. 

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It’s been a lot of hard work to get things rolling the past couple of years. However, despite all the work it takes to make an Alumni Association functional, the staff at Riverbend, the Executive Board, and every member the Association has have banded together to create what we have now. And this is only the beginning…

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2022 Board Members:

 

Caitlin Arnold- President

Emily Kunkel- Vice President

Kayla Yates- Secretary

Ashlie Wood- Treasurer

Hannah Tapper- Staff liaison

Sam McKinnie- Volunteer/Projects Coordinator

Nadia Lambert- Membership Coordinator

 

In 2023 Emily ended her post as VP and Christian Berrier was voted in. At the end of 2023 Kayla could no longer continue as Secretary so Shannon Peterson was voted in by the board in her place. In May 2024 Caitlin stepped down from her position as President and Christian volunteered to step in and hold both that role and VP temporarily until a new person could be voted in at the retreat. Hannah is stepping down at the end of August from her position as Staff Liaison, and Meghan Briggs will join the board in that role at that time. We have had a very active board the last couple of years. They have been heavily involved in many of the special events for the summer staff and have been continuing the Prayer Partner Initiative that Emily Kunkel started and is now branded as Team 5:11 (named after 1Thessalonians 5:11). 

 

2024’s alumni retreat moved to Labor Day weekend. At which 4 other positions were up for vote: President, Treasurer, Projects Coordinator, and Membership Coordinator.

 

The new board voted in at the 2024 Alumni Retreat:

 

Neal Tawater- President

Christian Berrier- Vice President

Shannon Peterson- Secretary

Kevin Morrison- Treasurer

Meghan Briggs- Staff Liaison

Paige Kissinger- Volunteer/Projects Coordinator

Michael McGarry- Membership Coordinator

 

At the 2024 Retreat, alumni helped with a variety of projects for the improvement of Riverbend. The following months also included opportunities for alumni to help with some demolition in the beloved Cabin 9, before its facelift during the 2024-2025 retreat season. 

 

After the completion of their terms, Christian, Shannon, and Paige stepped down. Opening the position of Vice President, Secretary, and Volunteer/Project Coordinator at the 2025 alumni retreat.

 

At the 2025 Retreat, alumni helped with the demolition of the Canteen in preparations for the construction of the Swank Education Center that opened in April 2026. 

 

Board members as of 2025 Alumni Retreat:

 

Neal Tawater- President

Brian Morrison- Vice President

Cammy Wright- Secretary

Kevin Morrison- Treasurer

Meghan Briggs- Staff Liaison

Zoe Taylor- Volunteer/Projects Coordinator

Michael McGarry- Membership Coordinator

 

The current board is planning a great retreat this coming September, over Labor Day Weekend. Along with that, they are looking forward to a Summer that will allow for more interaction with Riverbend’s current summer staff, in order to help grow the association.