As campers move into their teenage years, they are called upon to perform duties which will help develop them into future staff members.

The first level of development is the Program Aid, or P.A. This year three cabins have the job of being P.A.s. They are Shawnee, Arapaho, and Apache. A Program Aid’s job is to do odd jobs, such as setting up for movies and landscaping. Each P.A. is also given a cabin group in which he helps out a times when the counselors are busy. As privileges, the P.A.s receive one night off per week and one day off each session. In addition, the Program Aids are allowed to use the Pepsi machine after the evening program, and have a later curfew than the younger campers.

After Program Aid, the next level of development is is Counselor In Training, or C.I.T. When a P.A. shows that he has handled his responsibilities well, he is invited back the next year as a C.I.T. As a Counselor In Training he moves into a cabin as more or less a real counselor. He lives in the staff room and gains more responsibility. In addition to his cabin responsibilities, the C.I.T. also assists in activities. With the added work load the C.I.T. also gains more compensation. He comes to camp at a reduced rate and has more time off.

Many people consider the P.A. and C.I.T. years as their favorites because they get the best of both worlds, camper and staff. This year’s crop of P.A.s and C.I.T.s is considered the best in several years at Timberlane. As is the camp’s tradition, the staff will come up through the ranks. So the P.A.s and C.I.T.s of today will be the staff of the 1980s.