Brandon Dennis, executive director of Quaker Haven camp, says his favorite week of the summer was the one he spent at Quaker Haven. He started out as a summer employee, joined the staff full time in 2000 and has been the executive director since 2006. The bell he’s standing next too is a well known fixture at Quaker Haven and is still used to call campers to meals. Photo by Lauren Zeugner

By Lauren Zeugner
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — Ask Brandon Dennis what his favorite part of summer vacation was when he was a kid and he’ll tell you the week he spent at Quaker Haven Camp in Syracuse.

Through elementary and middle school a portion of his summer vacation was spent at Quaker Haven. After a brief break while in high school, Dennis returned while in college, as a camp counselor and life guard.

Quaker Haven was where he met his wife, Amy, in 1994. It was where they celebrated their wedding in 1996 and it is where his daughter, Hannah, recently celebrated her wedding.

“In fourth grade, I knew I was going to be a scientist,” he said, adding he won the school science fair that year. “In eighth grade, I knew I would be a scientist.”

Dennis’s original career plan was to be a teacher, but he felt God was calling him to return to Quaker Haven.

In the spring of 1998, Dennis had graduated from college and was prepping to go off to grad school. He came up for spring break and began questioning whether he should go back to grad school. He felt God wanted him to come back to camp.

He felt someone had to come and learn from the then current directors how to run the camp. So he inquired about full-time work.

Nothing was available at the time, so he got work in doing research and design lab work while Amy finished up her degree.

In 2000 he joined the Quaker Haven staff full-time and then in 2006 applied for the executive director’s position.

“I’ve raised my kids here,” he said, referring to daughter Hannah, 23; son Ethan, 19, a freshmen at Ball State; and son, Caleb, 13, a seventh grader at Wawasee Middle School.

“This has been their back yard,” he said looking out at the view of the lake from the dining hall.

Amy, who is the assistant director of the North Webster Community Public Library, directs a camp during the summer, as does Hannah. The boys also help out during the summer.

Dennis oversees a year-round staff of seven. He just hired a new food service director who will be joining the staff after Thanksgiving.

“There’s an event or retreat here every weekend of the year,” he said. “We’re (still) way busier in the summer.”

Quaker Haven hosts everything from home school basketball, family reunions, outdoor education classes to church camps.

“It’s awesome for us. It’s during the week. We’ve found ways to keep the calendar full,” Dennis said.

This time of year, Dennis is busy with maintenance projects as well.

Dennis said he’s very different than most executive directors in that he doesn’t have an office. Noting he wears a lot of hats, he directs Quaker Haven from his phone, saying he’s happiest being on the roof of a building doing maintenance.

Now as Quaker Haven begins preparations to celebrate it’s 100th anniversary in 2025, he’s looking at fundraising and developing a master plan. “That’s been new for me,” he said.

Part of those plans include building some year-round facilities to allow more kids to come to camp.

He hopes to be at Quaker Haven for another 20 years.

This year, Dennis is also president of the North Webster Kiwanis Club.