A Camp Day for Echelon in New Jersey

by Hugo Bravo

Camp Tecumseh in Pittstown, N.J., hosted Camp Echelon, a day of networking and information sharing for Echelon members of The Salvation Army’s Eastern Territory.  

The young professionals who make up Echelon are dedicated volunteers for the Army’s programs in the community. But territorial Echelon liaison Major Vicki Berry says that as informed as they are about The Salvation Army, there’s always more for them to learn.  

“I was at a meeting in Morristown, N.J., talking to some Echelon members, and I heard a conversation about one of them having attended a Salvation Army camp when he was younger,” says Berry. “He guessed that it might have been Camp Tecumseh, and he was right. He even remembered the specific cabin that he was in. But despite that, most of them had not heard about the Army’s summer camps.” 

Berry organized a day for Echelon members from chapters in Philadelphia, Trenton, Morristown, and Greater New York, and one that is developing in Camden, to meet and experience a side of the Army that might be unfamiliar to them. 

At Camp Echelon Day at Tecumseh, Susan Barton, national headquarters consultant for Echelon, talked about the early days of the Echelon program, which began 12 years ago in Dallas and moved into other territories through the Army’s National Advisory Board.  

Bob Myers, territorial Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) director, Romina Morton from EDS at Territorial Headquarters, and Seth Ditmer, director of EDS in the New Jersey Division, also gave a presentation on the Army’s response during fires and natural disasters. 

Despite the rainy weather, Echelon members also got to enjoy a scenic wagon tour of the campgrounds, equipped with ponchos to stay dry. Once the skies cleared, some took advantage of the improved weather by playing disc golf and hiking along Tecumseh’s trails. 

“There are parts of The Salvation Army that you need to experience personally to understand, not just read about them,” says Berry. She hopes to have more Echelon camp days in the future, including one for chapters in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kentucky.  

“We have great chapters in Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and a developing one in central Kentucky. Those are five chapters that we could bring to Camp Allegheny or NEOSA for an event like at Tecumseh,” says Berry. “The Eastern Territory is very fortunate because geographically, we can do events like this. It’s much harder to get Echelon chapters together like this in the Western or Southern Salvation Army territories.” 

There are Echelon chapters in almost every Eastern Territory division, and events like Camp Echelon are crucial. By gathering to network, socialize, and share the successes and challenges each chapter faces, Echelon aims to make an impact for the future of The Salvation Army.  

“These Echelon members are the future of our advisory boards. In fact, some of them are already taking on that role,” says Berry. “We need community leaders like them and their influence to make sure that The Salvation Army is always doing the right things in the right communities.”