Trustees announce Sam Punderson to be Director of Mowglis
The search for the next
Director of Mowglis is complete. Our
eight-month process attracted 147 applications. The search committee,
after much study, selected ten semi-finalists for two days of grueling
interviews in Boston. Then three finalists traveled to Mowglis to be
interviewed by the entire board, which is pleased to introduce Sam
Punderson as the next Director of Mowglis.
Sam comes to us with
impressive credentials. He was a camper for three years before his
interest in ski racing diverted him to other summer programs. He is an
accomplished outdoor educator who managed programs at Carrabasset
Valley Academy and Adventure Quest. And of course, the Punderson name
is well known to Mowglis. His father, uncle, brother, and cousins were
all campers and staff.
Sam knows the outdoors and he knows
boys. I hope you will all join me in welcoming Sam Punderson to the
Mowglis family. If anyone wishes to drop him a note, his new email is
sampunderson@mowglis.org.
Charlie Walbridge
President
Holt-Elwell Memorial Foundation
A note from Sam Punderson
Dear Parents, Campers and Mowglis Alumni,
Mowglis has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. As a
young child my older brother attended Mowglis which prompted my
enrollment when I came of age. The real impetus was that my father and
uncle had been campers, with my uncles first year being 1938. The
summers I spent at Mowglis were some of the most memorable, formative
summers of my life, and the experience remains to this day a big part
of who I am. There were lessons of respect, hard work, brotherhood and
adventure that I’ve carried throughout my life.
After years of coaching and mentoring, working with athletes, students
and campers in many arenas, I have developed skills valuable for
working with future generations of campers, as well as reconnecting
alumni with their Mowglis roots. I am ready to work with a new
generation of Mowglis campers, delivering the rich history, traditions
and values while ensuring that their experience is filled with days of
memorable fun.
I am both humbled and elated that I have been chosen to work with all
of you and hope that we can all come together and deliver Mowglis into
the second hundred years in such a way that will ensure its success for
many generations to come. I can’t wait to meet and/or reconnect with
you all.
Sincerely,
Samuel Ide Punderson
Director Emeritus - K. Robert Bengtson
(Laconia, NH)
Bob was the Mowglis Camp director from
1983 to 1994, and after a brief retirement, he returned to lead the
camp in the summer of 2001, serving through the summer of
2009. As a camper, his Den year was 1969, and he served on
the Junior Staff and as a Senior Counselor for a total of 15 years.
Bob is a native of Ansonia, Connecticut,
the same town and church as long-time Mowglis director William B.
Hart. One Sunday morning in 1968, Mr. Hart asked Bob’s mother,
Jean, if she would consider becoming the camp's registered nurse.
She accepted and the Bengtson era began. Bob began as a camper in
Panther, then Den, and afterward moved through the staff ranks until he
was appointed Camp Director in 1983. His two brothers, Craig and
Rick have remained important to Mowglis. Rick served many summers as
Assistant Director, and Craig formerly served a term as a trustee.
Bob earned his Masters degree in Music
from the Hartt School of the University of Hartford, CT. During
the off season he is the Director of Music at the Congregational Church
of Laconia, NH, a post he has held since 1987. He is also a
skilled pipe organ builder and repairman. Bob’s wife, Jaylene, is an
accomplished arts teacher. She has joined him at camp as the Mowglis
Crafts Shop instructor.
^ Top
