Meet Our New Outdoor Adventure Coordinator: Kelli Talley!
Meet CMW’s new Outdoor Adventure Coordinator! We are thrilled to have her join the team this year as we prepare for the 2016 summer. Kelli will work alongside JP through Pre-Orientation and will replace him at the end of May. She is looking forward to this weekend’s staff training at the Charlotte Whitewater Center where she will get to know a few members of our boating staff. We are so excited for all of you to meet Kelli this summer and we know you will all give her a warm Merrie-Woode welcome on Opening Day! In the meantime, I’ll let her introduce herself to you…
A Message from Kelli:
Hi! My name is Kelli Anne Talley. I go by Kelli or Kelli Anne, either will do. I am originally from Pickens, SC, but have primarily been living around Greenville, South Carolina for the past few years. My time there began with my undergraduate education at North Greenville University. I graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree in Outdoor Leadership from NGU in 2013. Since then, I have been guiding and teaching for several companies and camps as well as enjoying the outdoors as much as I can. I moved to Spokane, Washington after graduation, where I primarily led rock climbing and mountaineering/backpacking trips for a non-profit organization called Peak 7 Adventures. I loved it there but it did not take long for the southern Appalachian Mountains to beckon me back home. I came back and was an intern instructor for the Outdoor Program at North Greenville as well as instructor/trip leader for Camp Merri-Mac and Camp Timberlake. Later that fall I was able to get Ethan Talley off of the river long enough to get married. We will have been married for two years this October. Since then, I have been working as a part time instructor for the Asheville School, kayaking and rappelling guide at Green River Adventures, and youth climbing team coach, all the while waiting tables in between. I am so excited to be working at camp again. Camp is a place where girls get to be themselves freely, challenge themselves in a supportive atmosphere, and have fun with friends in nature. To say that I am looking forward to being a part of Camp Merrie-Woode is an understatement. I cannot wait to meet each and every member of the Merrie-Woode family!
–Kelli
And just for fun…Find out a few fun things about Kelli below before you arrive to camp!
Favorite ice cream flavor: Cookie Dough
Favorite Girl Scout Cookie: Caramel Delights
Birthday: April 18
First job: At an ice cream shop
Currently reading: Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Favorite Pixar movie: Finding Nemo
On her bucket list: Finish hiking the Appalachian Trail