Last Whistle 2025 Dedication

Written and presented by #18801 Drew Rider on the final night of Camp, Saturday, August 16, 2025.

Awarded at the end of every summer, the Last Whistle Dedication is one of the highest honors one can receive at Camp Dudley. It is presented to a member of our community who shows devotion and love toward others and this place we all cherish while living with an unwavering commitment to our motto: “The Other Fellow First.” It is a tradition that honors someone who has given themselves fully to Camp Dudley — and to all of us who call this place home. And tonight, I’d like to begin this dedication by talking about one of our four core values: stewardship.

Stewardship is a noun, defined in the dictionary as “the conducting, supervising, or managing of something… especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.” At Dudley, stewardship means taking responsibility for what has been entrusted to us — this land, this community and its people, our motto, our mission and, most importantly, the well-being of each other.

It is caring for what we love so that it thrives long after we are gone.

And there are few people that embody stewardship more fully than tonight’s dedicee, #16999, Jess Storey.

Congratulations Jess!!

Many of you know Jess best from her role at Swim Point. Morning dips. Swim meets. Swim parties. Lessons. Water polo. Choice time. Extravaganzas. Evening dips. Swim Point is one of the busiest areas of Camp, with something seemingly happening almost every waking minute of the day, and Jess is there for all of it. She is the steady, tireless presence that makes it all run. She trains and manages her team thoughtfully, with diligence and care, while ensuring that every camper, leader, and staff member feels safe and encouraged in the water, and more broadly at Camp.

But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Behind the scenes and all year long, Jess is Camp’s Stewardship Director.

In the summer, she turns over cabins for visiting chapel speakers, board members, and volunteers—often with only an hour between departures and arrivals, and during the year, she does the same, while she also plans menus, shops, and cooks for board weekends and a myriad of other off-season events. Last year, she came up with the idea for, and executed, the “Family Guide” that you all receive prior to coming here, giving everyone a comprehensive place to find the answers to any of their questions, doing what she can to ensure a positive experience at Camp. The list goes on and on, and while she does all of this and more all year long, she somehow manages to do it all in the summer while also keeping Swim Point humming. That’s Jess. She makes sure that anyone living at or visiting Camp feels comfortable and at home.

Jess is also a steward of people.

Fitness and well-being are her passions, and I mean that in a deeper way than just “going to the gym and trying to eat well.” All year, she leads multiple workouts a week for our team, in addition to running her own studio up the road. She encourages everyone to stay active in every season, modeling how movement, diet, togetherness, and being outdoors are essential to living well. If you’re ever up here in the winter, don’t be surprised to see a group of us bundled up on a run, or a “wog,” on the Dudley Road in February, with snow and wind whipping through the rolling fields. And despite what that visual might make you feel, it’s actually pretty great.

Her passion for food — and its health and community benefits — is what led Jess and Matt to start the Dudley Garden and the Farm to Plate program early in Matt’s tenure as director, which has become one of our most popular activities and program areas, quite literally “growing” in size from summer to summer. Jess was also a driving force behind Camp’s decision to move to self-operated dining, in an effort to work more closely with local farms and have more control over the quality and sourcing of our food. And I think every adult here can agree: the food we had as campers was nothing compared to the phenomenal cuisine Joey and his team have been serving us all summer.

And most importantly, Jess is a steward of spirit.

She leads quietly. With kindness. With humility. With deep care. While some leaders are loud and larger-than-life, especially at Camp Dudley where that number is probably more than just “some,” Jess reminds us of the power of quiet leadership — of strength rooted not in volume, but in consistency, compassion, and heart. While we are grateful for all that Matt has given this community and Camp as Director during his tenure, we are even luckier that he has had Jess by his side — shaping, supporting, and strengthening Dudley every step of the way.

As a closing note: a few years ago, Jess’s son Carter started a sweatshirt and t-shirt company called “I Love My Mom.” Maybe you’ve seen some around Camp this summer. A simple but powerful message — and great-looking sweatshirts.

Carter, and Ellie and Rachel, we all love your mom, and to the whole Storey family — thank you for sharing her with us. We are all better for it.

With that, it is my great honor to dedicate this 87th Last Whistle to our friend, a model of kindness, a phenomenal steward, and an extraordinary member of the Dudley family: #16999, Jess Storey.

Congratulations Jess!