My Camp Wannaklot Journey: From Camp Director to Camp Fundraiser

By Vic McCarty, Director of Development

In January 2003, I began working for Hemophilia of Georgia as the Camp and Activities Coordinator after I had volunteered and completed an internship at HoG.  From my very first interaction with the organization, I knew that it was a great organization and one that I wanted to be involved in.  I grew up camping with my family, so the Camp and Activities Coordinator position was a perfect match for my interests and well suited to fit my professional career goals.  I had a great experience being the camp director at HoG and watching and growing with the campers in my three years as the director of Camp Wannaklot.  The job required a lot of responsibility and many long hours but it was well worth it in the end to see the campers develop a greater independence in the treatment of their bleeding disorders and gain a better understanding of their diagnoses. 

In November 2005 I accepted the Director of Development position at HoG.  This was a good career move for me as I was then able to use all of my camping and program experiences to help raise money for the organization.   Besides coordinating the annual Hit 'Em for Hemophilia Golf Tournament each fall, I also am responsible for various fundraising initiatives at HoG. 

Raising money for Camp Wannaklot is one of the major fundraising campaigns that I coordinate each year.     The passion and dedication I have for the Camp Wannaklot program comes naturally and I take great pride in raising money for such an awesome program.  As I reflect on my years as the director of Camp Wannaklot, the great memories make it really easy for me to promote, encourage and support donations to help fund Camp Wannaklot each summer. 

Even now, I often get to go back to Camp Wannaklot to help with some of the camp programs.  One year I was the “livestock judge” for the county fair livestock show and got to have a lot of fun judging the animal costumes that the campers created.  I know personally the tremendous impact the Camp Wannaklot program has on campers and how very important it is to continue to get support from loyal and dedicated donors.

So from someone who has been “there done that” and has worn two very different and unique hats at HoG, I can’t tell you how thankful I am for both Camp Wannaklot and the donors who support the program each year!  THANKS!