DUBOSE CONFERENCE CENTER'S NEWSLETTER

MOUNTAIN VIEW

From the moment you arrive, you become a part of the history.

Winter/Spring 2004

Inside this Issue:*Recognition and Appreciation  *Election Results from the Board of Directors at DuBose Conference Center *New Additions  *Announcements from DuBose Conference Center *Outstanding Employee Award *Camp Gailor-Maxon Announcements and Summer Schedule for 2004 *Camp Gailor-Maxon Hiring Staff  *Sometimes it is the Small Things *Categorical Breakdown of Our Visitors *Our Future

Recognition and Appreciation

The Board of Directors, the administration and the staff at DuBose Conference Center would like at this time to express our warm appreciation to the Board Members who are rotating off the membership.  Those long standing members are: Bob Puckett, Charles Carpenter, Bill Hiles, Gareth Aden, Jack Ewing, Tom Burgess and Ann Denson.  We sincerely thank you for your time and dedication to DuBose Conference Center and truly appreciate the many hours of hard work you have committed to making DuBose the best it can be.  Thank you, for our lives have been enriched just by knowing you.

Election of Officers on the Board of Directors for DuBose Conference Center

The following nominees were elected to office by acclamation at the last board meeting.  We would like to take this time to congratulate them, and we look forward to having a great new year!

Mr. Bob Van Cleave, President - Mr. Van Cleave is from St. George's Episcopal Church in Nashville.

Mr. Evans Clements, Vice President - Mr. Clements is also from St. George's, Nashville.

Mr. George Bishop, Secretary - Mr. Bishop attends St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Franklin.

Mr. Andy Pate, Treasurer - Mr. Pate is from St. David's Episcopal Church in Nashville.

New Additions . . .

We would like to give a very special and warm thank you to the many people who helped make possible the addition of two brand new cabins at DuBose Conference Center.  The Board of Directors of the DuBose Conference Center on behalf of the New Century Campaign gratefully acknowledged the benefactors with four beautiful granite plaques.  Each  names the donors responsible for these additions and are located on the cabins.  We now have six cabins that will be facilitated during Camp Gailor Maxon.

The two new cabins have large seating areas, are temperature controlled and have the capacity to hold 24 persons each.  They are finished with linoleum tiled floors and have spacious shower areas. 

The four plaque inscriptions are:

"Harry A. Joyce Family Cabin, Given in Glory to God by The Joyce Foundation - Nashville"

"Given in Glory to God and in Thanksgiving for Camp Gailor Maxon, The Laymen of   St. David's Episcopal Church, Nashville, Tennessee 2003"

"Given in Glory to God and in Thanksgiving for Camp Gailor Maxon, The Laymen of St. George's Episcopal Church, Nashville, Tennessee 2003"

"Given in Greater Glory to God and in Thanksgiving for Camp Gailor Maxon, The Board of Directors of the DuBose Conference Center on behalf of the New Century Campaign Gratefully Acknowledges: Gareth Aden, Joe B. Brown, Charles Carpenter, Helen B. Dance, Jack Ewing, David B. Graves, Jr., William Hines, Jr., Morse Kochtitsky, Henry Lodge, Connally Davies Penley, Robert Puckett, David R. Ramsey, James Ramsey, Buist Richardson, George W. Sampson, Robert D. Tuke, William M. Van Cleave, Marie C. Woods, Dr. Charles P. Wofford, Richard Young, Charles and Diana Crump, Rod Kochtitsky and Jane Hardy, The Rev. William T. Patten, The Rt. Rev. William E. Sanders, Robert R. and Lea W. Van Cleave, The Joyce Foundation-Nashville, St. Paul's Episcopal Church-Chattanooga, The Church of the Good Shepherd-Lookout Mountain, Trinity Church-New York, 2003"

Announcements from DuBose Conference Center

We would like to welcome Mr. Pratt Patterson, a new member of our staff at DuBose Conference Center.  Mr. Patterson will be our new Summer Director for Camp Gailor Maxon and Director of Food Services.  We are very fortunate to find such a qualified person to fill these diverse rolls.

Mr. Patterson grew up in Montgomery, Alabama.  He attended the University of Alabama with a major/minor in history and English, where he was also a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.  He previously worked for Camp McDowell as Head Counselor, Youth Minister at St. Mary's on-the-Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama, appointed to the Diocese of Alabama Jr. High Ministries and appointed to the Vulcan Park Historical Foundation for Youth.

He and his wife, Allison, moved to Sewanee in 2002, when Allison accepted a teaching position at St. Andrew's School in Sewanee, Tennessee.  They are both dorm parents.  Mr. Patterson's most recent position, before his hiring at DuBose, was as Assistant Manager at The Blue Chair Bakery, Coffee Shop and Restaurant.

We would like to welcome him to our staff!  If you have any questions about Camp Gailor Maxon, or any questions about our wonderful meals, or food service, he is the one you will call.

Mr. Pratt Patterson: (931) 924-2353 or

Outstanding Employee Award

We have a very special employee at DuBose Conference Center, whose warm heart and spirit will make you smile.  We would like to congratulate Ms. Mary Tucker for earning the Outstanding Employee Award.  Ms. Tucker works in our kitchen, and can usually be seen preparing one of her beautiful salads.  She is always smiling and willing to work.  It is an absolute pleasure to work along side of her, for you will never hear one, even small complaint.  That spark in her eyes gives you a hint of the warm beauty within her.

Ms. Mary Tucker was raised in Sewanee, Tennessee and still resides there with her son, Freddy.  She has been a long standing member of Otey Parish and a distinguished member of the community.  She tells beautiful stories of her life there, some reflecting the changes throughout the years.  We are very fortunate to have her with us at DuBose.

Congratulations Miss. Mary, we have become richer just by knowing you!

                              Thank you for your years of dedication and loyalty!

Camp Gailor-Maxon 2004

Let the announcements begin for another exciting year at Camp Gailor-Maxon!  If you would like to worship, swim, cave, hike, cook smores at a campfire, sing, play, create, learn and make tons of new friends, then Camp Gailor-Maxon 2004 is the place for you!  We are already looking forward to one of the best summer camps ever!  Our new Camp Director, Pratt Patterson, has already begun hiring and receiving campers for this summer.  Our grade appropriate, one week sessions are for grades four through graduating seniors in high school.  The schedule is as follows:

CAMP I - Friday, June 4th - Friday, June 11th (Rising 10th, 11th, 12th graders and graduating seniors)

CAMP II - Saturday, June 12th - Saturday, June 19th (Rising 8th and 9th graders)

CAMP III - Sunday, June 20th - Saturday, June 26th (Rising 6th and 7th graders)

CAMP IV - Sunday, June 27th - Saturday, July 3rd (Rising 4th and 5th graders)

To Request an Application:  Please call DuBose Conference Center 1 (931) 924-2353 or email your request to: or

We Are Hiring Camp Staff

We are looking for college age, outstanding men and women to become counselors with us this summer.  We have been providing mountaintop fun and worship in this beautiful setting since 1956.  Teaching and working with youth can be a life-changing, life-enhancing experience.  Staff training will begin May 29, 2004 and Camp IV, the final session, will end on July 3, 2004.  Your responsibilities include providing a fun-filled, educational environment in an Episcopal setting for youth in grades four through twelve.  If you have great energy, love children, and would like to be on our summer staff, please contact Pratt Patterson at 1 (931) 924-2353 or email or

Sometimes it is the Small Things . . .

The other day I heard the most beautiful prayer about life. At the end of the prayer there was a most important message; "Thank you, for this ordinary day."  For some of us an "ordinary day" is taken for granted. An ordinary day usually has our pattern of routine, unbroken. It is a day filled with normalcy, without any life threatening, or life changing occurrences. But, as the prayer made me realize, "Can any day be considered just ordinary?" Sometimes, recognizing and appreciating the small things can bring peace and a smile to our faces. Is it ordinary to wake up healthy? Is it ordinary to see that brilliant sunrise? Is it ordinary to take that first sip of deep, warming, rich coffee? Is it ordinary to smile to yourself while you are driving to work, looking at the school child, so bundled in winter clothing he can barely walk?  Is it ordinary to see your dog jumping and wagging at your arrival at the end of your busy day?  So, this newsletter is dedicated to the small things, the small ordinary things, that make our day extraordinary.

Here are some small, extraordinary things that might make you smile:

A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.  A crocodile can not stick its tongue out.  Almonds are a member of the peach family.  A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.  Butterflies taste with their feet.  Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, dogs have about ten.  "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt."  In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.  In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.  In America, you will spend an average of 6 months waiting at red lights in your lifetime.  In most advertisements, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10.  Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.  Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.  No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple.  Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.  "Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand.  "Lollipop" is the longest typed with your right hand.  The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.  The cruise liner, QE2, moves only 6 inches for each gallon of diesel fuel.  The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."  The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.  The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is "uncopyrightable."  The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." uses every letter of the alphabet.  There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar.  There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.  Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.  There are only four words in the English language that end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous and hazardous.  Women blink nearly twice as much as men.  Your stomach has to produce a new layer every two weeks, otherwise it will digest itself.  Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey.  A group of geese on the ground is a gaggle; a group of geese in the air is a skein.

These are a few small, ordinary things, that make our life extraordinary!

CATEGORICAL BREAKDOWN of OUR VISITORS

* EPISCOPALIAN—Churches, Retreats, Seminars, Conferences, Cursillos, Lay Leadership, Deaconry Leadership, Seminarian Leader ship, Cultural and Recreational: 

* OTHER DENOMINATIONS (Including: Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Church of Christ, Church of God, Lutheran, Christian Church, Non-Denominational Churches, and BaHai.) Same scheduling breakdown as listed above under Episcopalian. 

* COMMUNITY and CIVIC LEADERSHIP

* CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS

* SCHOOLS (Instructional, Leadership, Motivational, and Skills Orientations)

* CAMPS

* REUNIONS

* WEDDINGS

Our Future . . .

Our future looks bright, looking forward to a great Camp Gailor Maxon, and another spectacular Tennessee Episcopal Men's Conference!  We sincerely appreciate all of our groups, churches and committees who return to us year after year.  Many of them have truly become a rich part of the history of DuBose Conference Center!

Have you planned your event yet?

Any Church (Any Denomination), Any Community or Civic Leadership, Any Non-Profit Organization, Any Cultural Organization, Any Private or Public School, Any type of Youth Activity, Any Camp, Any Family Retreat, Any Wedding, or Any Professional Group . . .

 WE WELCOME ALL!

DuBOSE CONFERENCE CENTER

Highway 41 and College Street

P. O. Box 339, Monteagle, Tennessee  37356-0339

                                           Phone: 1 (931) 924-2353        Fax:  1 (931) 924-2291