By Jeff Wadley

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (Nov. 6, 2017) -- Holston Conference Foundation awarded Camp Bays Mountain (formerly Buffalo Mountain Camp and Retreat Center) a grant of $75,000 with a caveat that the Board of Directors used the grant as a challenge to ask new donors to support camp.

With the closure of Buffalo Mountain camp due to the 2012 flood and landslides, the challenge was delayed until the property was sold and the new property was secured. Director Jeff Wadley and Development Officer Mary Boehms led the campaign and the challenge grant was fully funded in August.

"This wonderful gift was not only a source of funding for construction of a new cabin but enabled the Board to meet new supporters of camp and engage them in development of the facility,” said Wadley. "We were able to leverage the grant as a means of getting the word out about the camp, attracting new donors and eventually receiving over $152,000 toward the down payment of a cabin. We hope to have blueprints by the first of the year and will break ground when we have the remaining necessary funding in place." 

On Oct. 30, Wadley also announced that a $250,000 gift from the Fred and June Childress Foundation had been received to fund the construction of a new cabin at the camp.

"Once we finish the architectural drawings, the construction will go out for bid and construction will begin when all the funds are secured," he said. "Future generations will be impacted by this generosity."

Camp Bays Mountain is a ministry of Holston Conference and will open for summer camp in June 2018. For more information, visit CampBaysMountain.com.