SOUTH SHORE YMCA

South Shore YMCA Camp Gordon Clark celebrates 20th anniversary

Posted: Aug. 20, 2021

On Friday, August 20, 2021, South Shore YMCA staff, leadership team, campers, board members and Y community members gathered at Laura’s Center for the Arts in Hanover to commemorate the 20th anniversary of SSYMCA Camp Gordon Clark.

South Shore YMCA Camp Gordon Clark was named twenty years ago to honor the legacy of W. Gordon Clark, a third-generation South Shore YMCA leader who served the Y for 50 years as President of the Quincy YMCA, a member of the South Shore YMCA Board of Directors, and an extremely generous donor and volunteer.

Gordon Clark’s Son, Alex Clark, who serves on the South Shore YMCA Executive Board, attended the event along with his wife, Davis, his sister, Nancy (Clark) Edwards, her husband, Larry Edwards, and their families including, Alex Clark Jr., Caitlin Clark, Cole Clark, Noah Clark, Eden Clark, Sarah Kenyon, Lochlan Kenyon, and Ryland Kenyon.

“We want to welcome and thank the entire Clark family for their continuous support,” said South Shore YMCA President and CEO, Paul Gorman. “That support started at the beginning of the South Shore Y, 128 years ago, where Alex’s great-great-grandfather signed the original charter for this Y.”

“From a young age growing up in Quincy, my dad was born into the YMCA family,” said Alex Clark of his father, Gordon. “He spent every weekend, every day after school at the YMCA. The Y was always in his blood. Dad was a very active, involved citizen. He sat on many boards, but his real passion was his involvement here at the YMCA. That was where his heart and soul had always been.”

Since 1892 when Alexander Clark helped found the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, five generations of Clark family members have passed the community leadership torch from one to the next. “Today, we are joined by the current and next generation of Clark leadership,” said Camp Gordon Clark Director, Christopher Crossen-Sills. “This camp has the power to change lives. As campers turn to counselors, the torch is passed from one generation to the next. Just like Gordon Clark had the torch passed to him, then passed the torch on to future generations.”

Paul Gorman stressed that camp has never been more important in the lives of our children than now, during the pandemic. “You can just imagine what it has been like for these kids, to spend a year at home in front of a screen, trying to learn, trying to socialize. To have the opportunity to come to a camp like this, face to face, meet old friends, make new friends, develop leadership skills working with great role models like our camp counselors. It is going to make an impact that they’ll remember forever.”

Camp parent Lynne Ford shared how Camp Gordon Clark positively impacted her family over the years. As a working mother of two adopted teens, one who struggles with learning disabilities, Ford expressed her gratitude for the inclusive nature of Camp Gordon Clark, and thanked the Clark family and camp staff for helping her sons grow and thrive at the Y.

“I want to share with you how proud I am that my son had one of the best camp experiences this year at Camp Gordon Clark as a Leader-in-Training,” said Ford. “He has matured, he has become more independent, he has found his sense of self-worth and self-confidence, thanks to all the great counselors he has worked with. For that I will be forever grateful for all of you and this year in particular, we are grateful to be a part of it.”

“At Camp Gordon Clark, we strive to create a space where everyone is provided the opportunity to succeed,” said Crosen-Sills. “Our inclusion program assists campers in need of a little extra support. Thanks to the generosity of the Emilson family, we have the beautiful Laura’s Center for the Arts, which allows our Arts Camp to reach a totally different set of campers. I have watched as generations of campers turn into staff members and take the lessons they have learned and impart it on a new generation coming forward.”

Camp Gordon Clark Counselor and former camper, Matt Mulkerrin, took the stage to thank the Clark family for his journey from camper to camp counselor. “I started camp at six years old, and just really fell in love with it. My parents worked, so I always had to come to camp. In the beginning, I was not always the best camper. But every day, no matter what, I was surrounded by phenomenal people who really made me feel special. This is my fourth year as a counselor, and each year I feel like a role model to my fellow staff. It makes me feel special when I see them shine.”

“Camp is one of our most impactful core programs,” said Gorman. The day camp here at the Emilson YMCA has developed into our largest day camp with over 400 kids per day. That’s a huge number of children and families that we serve in this community. The Clark family has been important in making the South Shore YMCA and our camps among the most successful in the country.”