Alpine Announcing New Staff

Alpine excitedly announces the hiring of three new staff members to our year round staff.

David Gilbreath joins as our new Retreat Coordinator. David has a passion for getting young people into the outdoors, having been involved in the Boy Scouts most all of his life. He’s an Eagle Scout and served as Scoutmaster for Troop 106 in Mentone for 25 years. David is an Auburn University graduate and is retired from a successful career in management with V.I. Prewett Hosiery Mill. He’s also a board member for Landmarks of Dekalb County, a 501c3 dedicated to preserving important historical and cultural places in our county. Born and raised in Dekalb County, he and his wife (and high school sweetheart!), Diane, live in Mentone year round. They are actively involved with their church, First Baptist of Fort Payne,AL. David is a kind servant who loves getting to know new people. He’d love to talk with you about a retreat for your school or church!

At the same time, we are sad to see Mike Fielder, our Retreat coordinator of the last few years, move on. His customer service and attention to detail were second to none. We wish him the best in retirement as he enjoys more time for hunting, fishing, and travel.

Jennifer McCall is on board to take over as our Office Manager. Like Monique, she’ll be available to parents to answer all your camp questions! Jennifer is no stranger to Alpine. She and her husband Joe, sent their two boys, Carter(27) and Matt(22), as campers. And both boys worked on staff as counselors and then head counselors during their college years. And their daughter Sarah Douglas(24) has taken a similar route with our sister camp, Desoto. Jennifer hails from Jackson, MS and adds to our list of Mississippi State grads working at camp! She and Joe have been married for 30 years and lived in Chattanooga since 2001. She comes to us with extensive experience in several fields including banking and preschool administration. Most recently she has worked at the McCallie School in Chattanooga, serving in the Advancement office as Parent Program Coordinator. She and Joe attend Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church, where they volunteer as small group leaders for the youth ministry. Jennifer is compassionate and fun and excited about helping you with all facets of getting your son to Alpine!

Of course this means that Monique Fielder will be leaving us in just a few short months. There is no way to express our gratitude for all the contributions she has made to the organization and operations of camp. We are grateful that she’ll get to join Mike and make new memories in their travel adventures together.

Since his first summer at Alpine in 1986, Bill Boyd has served in the following roles: cabin counselor, horseback instructor, head counselor, travel coordinator, program director, camp minister, camper and staff recruiter, staff trainer, and general consultant. Bill maintained a working relationship with Alpine while attending Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO and while becoming an ordained minister with the Presbyterian Church in America. Bill has served the Presbyterian Church in America as the founder of Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) at The University of Texas in Austin, the founding pastor of All Saints Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX, and Senior Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, AL. Bill recently stepped out of his role as Senior Pastor in order to pursue writing and camp consulting. This coming year Bill will head our recruiting and staff training efforts, which also will allow Bill to serve as Camp Minister for the upcoming summer. Bill and his wife Martha have been married for twenty-four years and have four children, William (19), August (16), Betsy (12) and Richard Claude (7). All three boys have camped at Alpine and William has completed his first summer as a counselor.

We are grateful for Ben Kenna’s contributions as our hiring coordinator over the past 3 years. Ben’s Masters in Sports Administration led him to a wonderful new opportunity in Charlotte, NC this summer working with the office that puts on the ACC Championship, Belk Bowl, and other sporting events. We wish Ben full success with his new gig!