When you choose a summer camp for your child, you must make sure that, above all else, you feel comfortable with the PEOPLE who will care for your child. That feeling of trust is essential! PLEASE take time to learn more about the people at Camp Champions - our owners, our directors, our counselors. If you decide that Champions is the right place for your child this summer, we want you to feel great about the people who will help YOUR child grow into a CHAMPION!!!
Owners and Executive Directors Steve and Susie Baskin (pictured above) live right at Camp Champions year round, along with their children Wiley, Liam, Terrill and Virginia. After attending business school (Steve at Harvard and Susie at Kellogg), they have committed themselves to creating an extraordinary place to serve families.
Full Time Staff:
Assistant Director, Michael Moak, or to us, Moak sir, grew up way out west in Midland, TX. He first fell in love with summer camp while attending Laity Lodge Youth Camp for three summers after 7th, 8th and 9th grades. Moak sir attended Texas A & M and Hardin-Simmons University seeking a degree in recreation, hoping to work at a camp someday. His dream came true! In 1997 he joined the full-time staff of Camp Champions as Sports Director, was the Head Counselor in '98 and became Assistant Director in '99. Moak sir serves on the Board of Directors for the Texoma Section of the American Camp Association, is trained in Emergency Medicine and enjoys his aquariums when not busy at camp.
Girls' Upper Camp Director Stella Samoska was raised in Tomball, TX. She graduated from Oklahoma State University with a BS in Leisure Studies, and an emphasis in Service Management. While in college she directed Camp Cherokee in Houston, TX, worked for Camp Redlands in Stillwater, OK and also served on the leadership staff and directed the Leadership Training program for Camp Balcones Springs. After graduating college, she worked as a Recreation Coordinator for the City of Tulsa, where she coached the city swim team. Stella enjoys camping and hanging out with her dog Laci Lou! She is looking forward to her second summer as Girls' Upper Camp Director. So, “GET EXCITED” about 2007!
Girls’ Lower Camp Director, Bridget Eichorst, flees each Summer from teaching in The Woodlands, TX to enjoy the Camp Champions experience of a lifetime. She earned her BS in Kinesiology at Texas A&M University, but continues her lifelong education by enrolling in classes at her local community college and recreation center. She fell in love with Summer camp while serving as a counselor and head of soccer at Trails End Camp in Pennsylvania. She fell in love with Camp Champions during the Summer of 2006 and eagerly looks forward to future Summers as the Girls’ Lower Camp Director.
Boys' Upper Camp Director, Matt Wiggins (aka Wiggy, sir) came to Camp Champions for the first time as a counselor in the summer of 1996. Originally from Houston, TX, Wiggy attended Trinity University where he majored in Business and Psychology and also played four years of college basketball. He went on to earn a master’s degree in Sport Management for Florida State University. Wiggy is currently serving as the Boys' Upper Camp Director and will be entering his 6th summer as a member of the Champions leadership staff. He is engaged to LaQuinta Neely and will be married this fall.
Boys' Lower Camp Director, Jonathan Shirley, hails from the great neighboring state of Louisiana. After spending five Summers at different camps in Maine and Michigan, he arrived at Camp Champions in January of 2005. "Camp is my passion, and I am looking forward to making the next 40 years at Champions better than the first. I enjoy staying active, which is easy to do at camp, especially with the recent addition of our underground climate controlled pickleball facilities. Ha! Every day that passes gets us closer to next Summer, and that gets me excited!"
Intern, Faye Sager comes from the cold state of Minnesota where she graduated with a degree in Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Studies from the University of Minnesota. This will be her 4th summer working at summer camps, but her very first at Camp Champions and in the state of Texas. This summer Faye will be working with the fine arts and go carts of Camp Champions. She is so excited for the summer to start!
Intern, Jessica Werlein, or Jessica Ma'am, is currently finishing up her internship here at Camp Champions and come May, she will be graduating from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse with a double major in Recreation Management and Pre-Professional Physical Therapy. Although Jessica ma'am is a midwestern girl, who has grown up in Wisconsin and loves the snow (!!), she has decided to stay with us after graduation to test out our excrutiatingly hot summers! Jessica ma'am will be working with us this summer as the director of the CAMParent website and as the manager of the Kneeman Markus camp store. So, if you ever see someone walking around camp with a Wisconsin t-shirt on... be sure and say Howdy!!
Intern, Vernon Green, is head of the Champions intern staff. He just became a member of the full time staff in the fall of 2005, but has been a camp counselor since 1998. He is often called to most popular counselor at camp. In 2000 he received a Bachelor of Arts in History from the esteemed Grambling State University. Vernon worked in the Dallas Independent School District, as a World geography Teacher for years until grasping his passion to work at Camp Champions. He is looking foward to being the Rookie Divison leader this summer. He has a gift for working with all types of children and we the Staff are blessed to have him. Vernon, the man, the myth , the legend.
Doug Ferguson, our “computer guy”, is the System Administrator for Camp Champions. He takes care of all our computers, our networks and servers, and maintains our web sites for us. As a child, Doug went to camp every Summer from age 7-12 in Michigan, and moved to Texas at age 17. He worked for Motorola in Austin for 21 years, then managed a local internet company until he came to work for us in 2004. He is married to his wonderful and beautiful wife Lily, the father of 3 boys, and is a proud grandpa to his 4 year old and 8 month old granddaughters. He has a passion for helping people of all ages and takes the time to not just help us, but to teach us about our computers and technology.
As a parent, there’s a lot you need to know before you decide to send your child off to camp! Our hope is that, in this section (created just for you!), you’ll find answers to all of your questions. BUT, if we’ve missed something, please call or E-Mail Us - we’d LOVE to talk to you!
