Years as a Camper:  8 summers (1994-2001)

Years as a Staff Member/Positions held:  4 summers (2002-2005); Junior Counselor and Senior Counselor in Camps 2, 3 and 4.  Motorboating Staff. 

Current Profession and Title/Years in role:  AVP, Golf with Wasserman (seven years) – Global Sports & Entertainment Agency

Can you provide a brief overview of your job responsibilities?  I primarily serve as an expert consultant for some of biggest brands in Golf, I also drive new revenue for our Gold Division’s Athletes, Events, and Consulting & Hospitality clients. Prior to joining Wasserman in 2016, I developed 10 years of experience in marketing and business development that included work in the NBA with the Charlotte Hornets franchise.

Do you have any career advice for members of our Camp community? Perform to the best of your abilities and achieve at what you’re doing; while you’re doing it in order to give yourself the best shot at what you’d like to do next. Results rule!

What do you believe have been some of your greatest personal and professional accomplishments? Is there a goal toward which you are currently working? Being a Father to two amazing children (Mary Rush, 2014 and Hunt, 2017); and a Husband to my wonderful wife (Morgan, 2011).

Triad Business Journal Top Forty Leaders Under 40 (2023). The largest projects I’m working on currently involve both brand clients and talent. First, with Travelers, a longtime client that has the Travelers Championship on the PGA TOUR. Given the heightened competitive landscape of the golf space over the past year, we have worked to drive strategic solutions to help Travelers position in becoming a Designated Event on the PGA TOUR this year. The most important element continues to be the relationships we help Travelers build with PGA TOUR players, their families, and Caddies to work towards the best field possible during tournament week. The player programming around the Travelers Championship we help develop features the best players in the world, including Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau, Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele and many more. Additionally, we have a new client as of last year in Baker Tilly, who we are helping build out and maximize an ambassadorial team for the first time. As of Q1 in 2023, we have successfully launched partnerships for Baker Tilly with Cameron Smith (golf), Coco Gauff (tennis), and Jimmy Chin (photographer/climber/producer). The common thread is that each is an explorer, pushing the boundaries in their own space which is an archetype consistent with the fabric of who Baker Tilly is as a company.

​How do the values or skills you learned at Camp show up in your everyday work and/or personal life? They are present every day. There are skills we learn on land, on sea, and in the cabin, both as campers and counselors, that show up in helpful ways throughout many walks of life. Most important, are the lifelong relationships. Camp friends are some of the most important in my life and, like many of you, seemingly everywhere I go, I connect with someone with ties to our great Camp family. For our kids at home, we have four basic rules that will be familiar to all in the Camp Sea Gull & Seafarer Family: Listen, Share, Try Your Best, and Do What’s Right. I can still hear Captain Lloyd saying, “If you Listen, Share, and Try Your Best…you’re probably going to Do What’s Right.”Needless to say, our children have heard it framed that way many times as well.

Is there a person or a situation that had a huge influence on you while you were at Camp? How and why did they/it impact you? Captain Llyod Griffith and I had a special relationship. He was an impactful role model and leader to me from celebrating my nine-year-old birthday at Camp in 1994, to working on staff with him before he retired.  I’m also proud to have worked alongside and for John Hyde during my years at Sea Gull and share a great relationship with him. CSG could not ask for a better leader currently at the helm. Also, the relationship I had with my Head Counselor in Camp 4, Hayes Permar, meant a great deal to me while on staff.  The belief he instilled, empowering me to lead and be a successful counselor in Camp 4 meant more than he probably realizes.  Those were my favorite years on staff (2004-2005). I’m grateful for his leadership, and friendship, and for remaining in good touch with Hayes.  During those two years in Camp 4, Hayes placed Colby Wright and I side by side as counselors in Cabin 53 and 54, respectively. We dubbed that Cabin building “DuPlex” as the first two Cabins in Camp 4. Hayes embraced it and we created lasting memories for campers and each other that still make us laugh (until we cry) to this day. Important to note is – they don’t make many people like Colby Wright – he’s as good of a person and a friend as you could find anywhere.  I’m lucky to count him as a friend found at Sea Gull.

All of the lifelong friendships made at Camp are special. For me, Jeff Nolan and I went to Camp together since 1995 and were in a cabin together as campers then and each year following. He remains one of my best friends. Jeff was an Usher in my wedding and he and his family are important people in my life. We are making new memories now as our kids are getting to know one another which is great fun!

I was fortunate to share great experiences at Camp with family that included my sisters, Mary Cullen Bills Dixon and Elizabeth Bills Weaver; as well as my cousin, Molly Bills Ostmann along with Sean Ostmann; and Julia Fariss Smiles and Bill Yates from our Supper Club family in High Point, NC. In addition to those mentioned, I’m also fortunate for many other close relationships from Camp to include Moss Withers, Chance Van Noppen, Will Peete, Charlie Holderness, Matt Shankle, Carlisle Rankin Harper, Maggie Dillon McGraw, Amanda Golmont Schneider, and many from the SEA Venture Australia 2001 crew, among others. There are so many impactful people from our Camp family who remain important in each of our lives.  For that, I am forever grateful.  

Favorite Camp meal: Cook-out night

Favorite mess hall entry song:  Desperado

Favorite special event at Camp:  Camp Night (C4G’s Capture the Flag)

Devotion you best remember from Camp: “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.”

If you had to have an intro song every time you walked into a room what would it be?  The chorus from C.R.E.A.M. – Wu-Tang

Do you have a hidden talent?  Poetry

Years as a camper: 4 summers + 1 CILT

Staff: Motorboating (2 summers)

Current profession: Philanthropy Manager, The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital & Co-Founder, Sad Dads Club

Tell us about what you’re working on professionally? Since January 2022 I’ve been working at The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital as their Philanthropy Manager. I think people inherently understand the never-ending need for funds at a hospital. But I love actualizing the impact for donors. Telling the story of the difference that their support makes. It's easy to invest emotionally in the cause. So far, it’s been great.  

A passion project, soon to be turned official 501©3, that I’m heavily invested in is Sad Dads Club. My wife and I lost our daughter, Lila, five years ago. She was delivered stillborn on December 13, 2017. Meeting her (holding her, singing to her, kissing her) and immediately having to say goodbye was, and continues to be, really complicated for me. Since she passed away, I’ve connected with other dads in similar situations. I had the fortunate misfortune of having a close friend from college who suffered the same tragedy 11 months earlier. Then, the two of us were put in touch with another dad in Maine who’d also had a stillborn daughter. The three of us became an outlet for one another, and that connection inspired us to create a support group for loss dads (though, anyone is welcome) all over the US and beyond. Our aim is to eliminate alienation for loss dads as they navigate their grief journeys. Feeling alone as you grieve is dangerous, and there hasn’t been anything out there catered toward dads who’ve lost children. We knew we could create a unique, and needed, space – a community. We’d conceptualized Sad Dads Club for years but it launched formally on March 1, 2022 with a website (www.saddadsclub.com) and Instagram (@sad.dads.club). We also have a twice monthly “Loss Dads Open Hour” via Zoom that has evolved into an incredible group of profoundly supportive, and insightful, loss dads. It really has blossomed into a community. It’s rewarding, emotionally heavy, and therapeutic. We want to break the stigma that men must be tough – meaning they can’t openly mourn or grieve. Feeling sad doesn’t make you weak. No one should suppress genuine feelings, ever.

How did your time at Camp help grow your emotional intelligence and desire to find connection? You get into a rhythm at Camp Sea Gull. That groove you feel by the end of week 1 is undeniable. You're settled in and starting to connect with one another on a level beyond musical or athletic interests. It becomes a place that’s comfortable and feels like home – you're sandy and sweaty all the time, and that feels good. Then, you get into more serious devotions and your cabinmates let you in on a deeper level. I think those devotions created moments where collective cohesion was palpable, and that’s a uniquely special experience.

Young dudes often feel as though it’s not cool or OK to be emotionally vulnerable or to share their difficult personal experiences. When they do open up, and that openness is met with support from cabinmates, a bond is unlocked. That’s exactly what I'm doing now, creating a supportive space with Sad Dads Club. A space that invites openness and vulnerability. A space where you feel certain that you’re not the only one struggling through something. And a space where you can feel certain that you have the support of those around you – your neighbor or your bunkmate or your cabin mate. What an interesting parallel. 

Do you have a particular devotion that was impactful to you? Our last devotion when I was in Cabin 29 (Camp II – “silver, and black: camp II pack attack, HEY!”) – “What was the best day of your life, and what was the worst day of your life?” Interestingly, I adopted this devotion theme when I became a counselor, but did it a little earlier in the session. It was amazing as a camper. I remember people sharing things that were so intensely personal. The willingness of my cabinmates to be so open was unlike anything I’d experienced as an 11-year-old dude at that point. When you create a space where people can share that type of thing, it blows the proverbial doors off all expectations and stereotypes. The willingness for someone to be that open about their life is an invitation for connection amidst a group. I still remember being out on the dock during that devotion. There were tears, there were hugs, and there was a greater understanding of how complicated and difficult life can be for some people. It was beautiful and, honestly, a bit surreal.

What skills, values or lessons have you taken with you from Sea Gull that have aided your work? The importance of community. The people I connected with at Camp had a lasting impact on me. I understand that everybody has something of value to offer and the power of what people can do together is important. I remember becoming so incredibly attached to and fond of the people I met at Camp. Camp encourages you to be a genuine, thoughtful, and considerate human being. Work hard, be nice, embrace your neighbor, and create that community that you want to be a part of.

Who did you see as mentors or role models during your time at Camp? Ray Mao and Dave Stolldorf are two close friends of mine to this day. I just think the world of them. I can’t imagine not knowing them. They were peers when we were counselors and made everything immensely enjoyable (and hilarious). Brandon Blackman was a leader on motorboating and nailed it when it came to creating the right balance of laughter and professionalism. He took his role seriously, inspired others to do the same, and made sure we were having fun. Kind of the perfect boss if you ask me.  

Years as a camper: 2-3  

Current Profession and Title: Conductor/Music Director 

Can you provide a brief overview of your career path?  

I studied engineering at Princeton University, but I played in the orchestra there. I had a lot of experience playing in an orchestra so that was a very natural environment for me. I migrated into music and conducting, and that’s what I’ve been doing for 25 years. I’m very excited to now be working with the North Carolina Symphony, which serves every county in the state. It has a strong educational focus as an orchestra that really serves the community, more than any other I’ve known. I’m a very strong believer in music education. The North Carolina Symphony really provides an amazing service to the state.  

What goals are you currently working on?  

I have a goal to establish a strong footing in North Carolina like I have in New Orleans. To learn - from the people, the culture, the history of the place - and make it part of my life and take it elsewhere. I’m a firm believer that music is an opportunity to connect people. I believe in the social component of music. I do a lot of outreach and education, helping underserved communities and bridging the classical and popular. Doing what I do well more effectively is a goal – bringing the joy of music, using music to bridge boundaries. I did a tour in Ukraine that included musicians from the U.S., Latin America, Russia and Ukraine. It was hugely successful and positive. Learning for me is an obsession. If a place has a rhythm I don’t understand, I jump in and find out what makes it unique in order to understand and incorporate it into my language.  

Can you describe your leadership style?  

I like giving people the opportunity and freedom to realize projects. There shouldn’t be one person deciding everything. I’m very open and collaborative and take suggestions. I like finding people who have something to say and empowering them to be creative. An orchestra is an extraordinary collection of talent and I work to ensure that collective can flourish. There’s nothing like empowering people.  

Do you have any career advice for members of our Camp community?  

If you have a dream, believe in it with a vengeance. Never think that there are limits. Most of the limits we have are self-imposed. Pursue your own dreams and believe in yourself. Our minds are so much stronger than we imagine them to be. 

Favorite Camp food? “American tacos”  

Hidden talent? Soccer - in Mexico I wasn’t necessarily good, but at the time no one was really playing soccer in the U.S. I remember scoring 25 goals and being very proud.  

What three words best describe you? Curious, workaholic, active 

Years as a Camper: 2 

Years as a Staff Member: 5 years. Powerboating Staff Member, Assistant Head Counselor (C3 Goonies),  andCamper Services (C2 Rockstars).

Current Profession and Title: Actor 

How do the values or skills learned at Camp show up in your everyday work or personal life?  

Camp taught me the value in the marriage of hard work & patience and that I never had to do it alone. My entire career is based upon that relationship; it could take me months of going back and forth to see the same director for the same show before they offer me the job. In some instances, I still don’t get the gig, but I move on to the next thing and continue to build my craft while growing and learning along the way. Everything is a process, and I really enjoy making friends with the people with whom I share these experiences. 

I had two goals my first year at Camp: to become a Tiger Shark, and to achieve the level of “Captain” in Powerboating. I didn’t realize just how hard it would be, and often found myself frustrated and giving up. It would take a simple pep talk and an icee from Karen Pruett in the Health Center to get to me back up and at it. We figured out that I was feeling overwhelmed because I wasn’t enjoying the little moments, and I was trying to do it all by myself. She had a keen way of breaking stuff down to little stubborn me. She was right, of course, and by the second year, I reached my goals and made some meaningful connections along the way. I know life isn’t this simple, but it’s a darn good blueprint! 

What person or situation influenced you most at Camp and why did they/it impact you? 

Hayes Permar. Hands down.  I never had the chance to have him as my Head Counselor (he was the Land Chief my year as a Camp IV Gator), but the energy and love that he had for Camp was infectious and remained consistent. I definitely thought he was odd at first, because how could ANYONE be this happy all the time, but the man is a gem! There was one time where we just sat in the rocking chairs outside of the Mess Hall, eating ice cream and shooting the breeze, and at some point, the thought “I want to be cool just like him” passed. I have yet to reach that level of cool, but I did get the opportunity to work with Hayes outside of Camp years later, and I truly consider myself lucky to be able to call him a friend. 

Favorite Camp food: CHICKEN. TENDERS. I would eat myself SICK!!!  

Favorite sports team:  Carolina Panthers and the UNC Tar Heels 

What would be your intro song for every time you walked into a room? 

“Takin’ It To The Streets” by the Doobie Brothers 

Who is your hero?

The late Dr. Joseph A. Moylan. His ambition and determination to provide an opportunity for our young minorities was so admirable! I wouldn’t know Camp Sea Gull without him. 

Name: Arthur Golden

Years as a Camper: 4

Current Profession and Title/Years in role: Author, Memoirs of a Geisha

Hometown: Chattanooga, TN

How did you first arrive at Camp from Tennessee? My two older brothers attended Sea Gull and my older sister attended Seafarer. I was the youngest and followed at age 8. I spent four summers starting in Cabin 3 and ending in Cabin 30-something.

What lessons, values of memories from Camp do you carry with you? There was always a challenge.  There was always something you could learn or do beyond what you had already done. I feel like I learned a lot while I was there. I remember Wyatt in his golf cart, and whenever you saw him you would say ‘Ahoy there, Wyatt!’ and he would throw fireballs and sugar dadies. It’s a great tradition, it was great fun. I have such fond memories of Camp Sea Gull. I’m charmed to hear it has remained so unchanged.

What advice would you give campers who are interested in writing as a career? I always liked writing, but I’d never imagined I’d be a writer. I guess a part of me thought to be a writer you had to have ‘talent’, and I didn’t have any reason to imagine I had ‘talent’.  What I really think makes a writer is something I discovered along the way, but it’s not talent…the real trick is persistence, that’s what really makes a writer.

At some point, you’re going to hit this moment where you’re going to think ‘I can’t do this.’ And you’re going to have to get past that. I remember when that moment came for me. I decided to stick with it and start all over from scratch. It took me about a decade to write Memoirs of a Geisha. There is no guarantee that you’ll succeed even if you do but you are guaranteed to fail if you don’t.

Is there a goal toward which you are currently working? Right now I’m working on something on something different which I started about five years ago. Which I’m very excited about, it excites me as much as Memoirs of a Geisha. I can’t talk about it but I can say it’s going well and I don’t think it will take forever. I think it will be done in a year, year and a half, but who knows.

Favorite novel:  The Story of the Stone by Cao Xueqin

Favorite Camp Memory: One of the most incredible memories I have of Sea Gull was watching the moon landing. All of us sitting there in absolute silence watching this happen.

Meredith has a long history with overnight camps. Her favorite part is watching the young campers grow and try new activities and earn advanced ranks. 

Years as a camper: Six summers (1981-1986)

Years on summer staff: 1987-1993, JC, SIC, Sailing UA (2), Sailing UA at Seafarer, Head Counselor of Camp I (2)

Professional Staff:1994 - 1995, Program Director; 2003, Associate Director, 2004 - 2013, Camp Director; 2014 - 2018, Executive Vice President, Camping Services

Please provide a brief history of your Camp story. How were you first introduced to Sea Gull? How has it fit into your professional life and career path?

My father grew up in the mountains of Virginia but loved boats. He was a camper at Sea Gull, then a counselor and a sailing UA. When Seafarer opened in 1961, Capt. Tom made him the Sailing Master of Seafarer, which he did for the first six years the camp was open. With only a brief break to serve in the Vietnam War, he then became a volunteer physician at Seafarer. My first year ever coming to Camp, I was in utero. I never had a year that we didn't spend at least a week at Camp. Then I became a camper, counselor, etc. Now, my two children have completed their time as campers and were both on staff this summer.

Who at Camp was most influential and impactful to you? How so?

Lloyd Griffith was definitely the most impactful person to me during my time at Camp. He became Camp Director when I was a counselor. I worked closely with him as a head counselor, and he encouraged me to join the full-time staff. He has been a professional mentor of mine all along my professional journey. Pete Morasca is a close second. Through my years as a staff member and then a UA, but also when I was his supervisor as the Program Director and Camp Director. He taught me a great deal about responsibility, focusing on what is most important, and good management. He also taught me critical lessons about intentionally recruiting future staff and the importance of staff morale. Plus, we laughed a lot.

Which lessons, values or skills have you carried forward from Camp into your personal and professional life?

It is an impossible task to separate the lessons of Camp from who I am today. Camp has been so central to my life experience that I cannot separate out who I would be without Sea Gull and Seafarer.

What is your greatest Camp accomplishment?

While it would be easy to mention the ranks and recognition I achieved while at Camp, or even just becoming the Camp Director, I really think about something else. I was only a Senior in Charge for one session. That session, we had some challenges in our cabin, but we worked through them and really bonded as a group. That group of boys won Honor Cabin. The role I played in helping that group create the bonds and community they did really stood out for me.

Tell us about your favorite Camp memory.

I could write a book. That being said, Taps is my favorite bugle. After Supper Hour is my favorite time of day. The sound of all the Sunfish slapping the waves at mooring is my favorite sound, along with the raucous Ahoy There in the Mess Hall at dinner on opening day. However, standing on the end of the pier at sunset with the breeze, the sound of the waves, and the sun setting behind the sounds of laughter and fun at cabin nights. That is something truly special.

Years as a Staff Member/Positions held: 4 summers, Junior Counselor in Camp 4, Senior Charge in Camp 2, Powerboating (Fishing staff and Coastguard driver), Family Camp boat driver 

Current Profession and Title/Years in role: Paramedic, 4 years

 Can you provide a brief overview of your job responsibilities? I am currently a Paramedic with WakeMed Mobile Critical Care Services where I take high-acuity patients from one destination to another in order to receive a higher level of care. I have also worked for a 911 EMS service for the last 3 years responding to emergency calls in my community.

Do you have any career advice for members of our Camp community? Don’t take the road most traveled, find what makes you happy and do it every day! Doing what fuels your heart and makes you feel fulfilled is more important than money. 

What do you believe have been some of your greatest personal and professional accomplishments? Professionally, having three cardiac arrest saves under my belt are some of my greatest achievements. But as far as current goals. I am working towards becoming a certified flight paramedic.

How do the values or skills you learned at Camp show up in your everyday work and/or personal life? Camp taught me confidence and how to be a light for others. In my job I show up on what may be the worst day of someone’s life, and I am the person they look towards to fix it. Being confident in my decisions as well as being able to brighten someone’s day even in the hardest times are both traits that I believe Camp helped me develop. 

Is there a person or a situation that had a huge influence on you while you were at Camp? How and why did they/it impact you? Overall, the Camp community has had the biggest influence on me. While I was never a traditional camper, I would go to father/daughter weekends as a little kid and ever since then I couldn’t stay away. I was really nervous my first summer on staff because I went in not knowing anyone, but everyone was so welcoming and made Camp feel like home from the moment I walked into Taylor Lodge. The Camp environment is unlike anywhere else, and I have found some of my happiest memories to be there. 

What advice would you give your younger self? Don’t be in such a hurry to get to the next part of life. Slow down, enjoy where you are, and let life take you where you are meant to go. 

Favorite Camp meal: Flick-fil-a or silver bowls 

Favorite special event at Camp: Fourth of July! I love seeing all the campers dress up and there is nothing like watching the fireworks off the Seagull pier! 

Do you have a hidden talent? I did gymnastics for 13 years so I can flip at any time.

What profession other than your own would you like to try? Travel Blogging. I love to travel so being paid to do so would be a dream! 

What would you eat if you could only have one food for the rest of your life? Sushi or hot dogs

Grayson has been working for Camp for a few years running Community Programs such as Summer Day Camp, Youth and Government and the annual Toy Drive benefitting local kids in Pamlico County.