Senior Summer Staff
Our senior summer staff make each summer on Canoe Lake possible. With their help each summer brings forward it’s own magic, memories and adventures!
Camp Wapomeo and Camp Ahmek are both staffed with their own senior summer staff: a director, an assistant director, multiple section directors, a program director, a CIT section director and a head guide. Stay posted for the names of our senior summer staff for 2021!
Camp Ahmek
Director: David Jefferies
David first attended Ahmek as a Bantam camper in 1980. He went on to serve in various staff positions including CIT, Head of Sailing, Program Director, Assistant Director of Ahmek, Assistant Director of September Camp and most recently, Director of September Camp. David has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Taylor Statten Camps for the past 7 years. His family roots at TSC run deep- his grandfather Bill Jefferies was a cabin mate of ‘Dr.Tay’s’ in 1921 in the Inkie Section. His grandmother, father, uncles, sisters and cousins all attended Ahmek and Wapomeo as campers and staff. Ahmek provided David with an outlet to develop a range of skills that have served him well in his professional life outside of camp. His initial leadership, social, and problem-solving abilities grew out of the TSC camping experience and lead to a challenging career at a management and executive level in the ICI construction industry after spending a number of years in the academic world attending Queen’s University, University of Toronto and University of British Columbia.
David’s wife Andrea will be joining him at TSC during the summer season and they have one daughter, Aria, both of whom are avid September Campers, and who have also grown fond of Canoe Lake. Their family canoe trips in Algonquin, Kipawa, Temagami and Killarney are born of the TSC tripping spirit that David’s Dad helped reinforce with annual father-son spring canoe trips throughout Northern Ontario. The social setting and outdoor experiences at critical development stages of young people’s lives is exactly what served to provide David with his everlasting and most cherished friendships- almost all of David’s close friends are Ahmek and Wap alumni. He truly feels that there is something magical about TSC, to forge these bonds and set the stage for these all-important life-long connections. The TSC setting offers a wide range of sporting, outdoor, musical and counselling opportunities like no other place and David attributes much of his own wide range of talents to the opportunities Camp Ahmek provided him for decades.
The canoe, the paddle, the lakes of the Canadian Shield and Algonquin Park have provided a spiritual home for the Jefferies’ family for decades. Their family cottage on Lake of Bays was chosen for its proximity to Algonquin. He is very excited to help facilitate and develop similar experiences and personal growth for new generations of staff and campers.
Kate Vaughan
B.A., B.Ed.
Director, Camp Wapomeo, Taylor Statten Camps Co. Ltd.
Fondly known as Kate’O, Kate Vaughan (nee O’Hara), started as a camper at Wapomeo in 1990. Her deep family roots with the Taylor Statten Camps run back to the 1930s when her great aunt was a camper on Little Wapomeo Island. Her mother attended as a camper and staff in the 1950s and the family camp legacy continued as her own children spent their summers on Canoe Lake as campers and staff. Kate met her husband, Kurtis, at the Taylor Statten Camps, and together have 2 daughters, Emma and Natalie. They can also be known to some as the O’Vaughans! Kate was a camper, Section Director, long trip canoe staff, C.I.T. Section Director, and returned to Wapomeo in 2016 after having her family, as Program Director. Upon completing 4 years as Assistant Director, Kate is now looking forward to moving into the role of Director at Wapomeo. Kate, Kurtis, Emma and Natalie have a strong connection to Canoe Lake, spending every Labour Day weekend at September Camp with their cherished camp forever friends. Together, they hold their relationships with camp friends dear to their hearts as they continue to foster humour, friendship, and an appreciation for nature with those who share the same fondness of camp.
Kate’s favourite aspects of camp include sunsets over Whiskey Jack while the loons call, watching canoe trips come home whether it be a Kiosk overnight, a 50 Day, or even a new-to-Canada staff from a day off, and listening to the laughter throughout the island from a distance.
During the off-seasons, Kate is an elementary school teacher, graduating from Queen’s University and Lakehead University. She is an outdoor enthusiast, spending her time on their property in Caledon always exploring what nature has to offer and is looking forward to sharing her love for the outdoors, and for camp, with others.