Open Letter to Staff Parents

Dear Parents and Families of TVRC Staff,

This note may be a little unexpected. It’s not common practice in the summer camp world to communicate directly with the families of our staff members. But at Teton Valley Ranch Camp, we’ve come to see this as not just appropriate—but essential. Many of you have walked alongside your child for years, and that support doesn’t stop when they go off to college or become a summer staff member. In fact, it becomes even more important.

Your TVRC staff member is stepping into an incredibly meaningful and demanding role. Camp life is fun, spirited, and full of adventure—but there are also long days, hard work, and deep responsibility. They’ll be helping shape the lives of our campers while growing in enormous ways themselves. Whether this is their first summer on staff or their fourth, we know that their connection with you—whether it’s through a quick text, a late-night call, or a moment of reflection—is part of how they make sense of the world they’re stepping into.

So today, we want to do something a little different: introduce ourselves to you and invite you into partnership with us. Because when your child Staff member thrives at camp, it’s often thanks to a full team behind them—us here at TVRC, and you at home. For the new folks, let us tell you a bit about where they are going to be spending their summer.

Teton Valley Ranch Camp has been operating since 1939. In the early 2000’s we became an independent nonprofit rooted in a strong wilderness vision and a deep love of the American West. Our camp sits on 2,600 acres outside Dubois, Wyoming, and our program centers on Western Adventure: backpacking, horseback riding, wilderness skills, and a powerful camp culture built around character and community. We operate in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and our campers and staff explore some of the wildest and most beautiful places in the country. Beyond the adventure, we teach Grit. Resilience. Leadership. We believe in giving young people opportunities to grow into their potential by facing challenges head-on. That includes our campers—and it especially includes our staff.

We often say around here that the Senior Leadership Team is the “counselors to the counselors.” We view our job as supporting and mentoring the staff as they take on one of the most formative roles of their lives. A summer at TVRC builds transferable skills: communication, time management, decision-making, conflict resolution, and above all—confidence and character.

However, Ranch life isn’t always easy. There will be hard days. There will be moments of homesickness, exhaustion, or frustration. That’s part of the work. When those moments happen—and they will—we ask for your help.

When your child reaches out with a tough day or as they are going through a rough patch, we encourage you to listen, encourage, and remind them why they took this leap. Gently nudge them to talk to their supervisors or connect with Cora, myself, or any member of our year-round team. That conversation might be the turning point. Often, just being heard and supported is all it takes to regain their footing, or to overcome a challenge.

We understand that sometimes leaving camp early is the right decision but we believe—and have seen time and again—that the most profound growth happens on the other side of struggle. We want to help your staff member walk through those moments, not around them. Your voice, your encouragement, and your trust in the process will make all the difference. We want to be sure we have left no stone unturned, before the decision to depart camp is made.

Thank you for believing in your child and in the work we do here. We’re honored to be part of their journey this summer. And if you ever need to talk—whether you have a question, a concern, or just want to check in—Cora and I are always just a call or email away.

With gratitude and excitement,

Jim and Cora Ligori

Executive Director / Camp Director

Teton Valley Ranch Camp