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Campers and staff linked arms with their villages and departments and lined the road to the waterfront to conclude session A with the candlelight sing ceremony.

Each group walked down the road until they arrived at their seats by the waterfront. Once each group took their seats, the ceremony officially began. The community started singing “Merrowvista Our Camp,” while the fire tenders canoed in to light the fire. Throughout the event, each village introduced themselves and sang a song as their exit from camp and the community until next year.

Before this tradition ended, American Youth Foundation President Anna Kay Vortseg and Merrowvista Director of Camp Programs Steph Dasman introduced the founder medal.

The founder medal is a small medallion with a long history at the AYF. Each year, campers receive one at the end of their camp session in recognition for all they’ve achieved during their summer. One side displays the AYF Founder Fire and the other shows the four-folds design: social, physical, mental, and spiritual/religious. The medals are meant to remind campers of their best selves discovered at camp when they return to their home communities.

Campers received the founder medals with their cabins as they exited the ceremony. Staff members circled the fire and sang the campers out as they journeyed towards their cabins for their last sleep at camp.

Candlelight Sing and the founder medal commemorate and close a wonderful session. We wish these Founder Friends safe travels home and dare them to continue to discover and celebrate their best!