Dateline Earlton

Written by Richard Lerner Monday, 17 December 2012 00:00

Dear Friends of Tranquillity Camp,

Tranquillity Camp has just completed its ninety-fourth successful summer! In 1919, Elias A. Cohen rewarded ten outstanding students by bringing them up to his family’s farm in “Urlton”. They slept in the bungalow, helped out on the farm, played in the fields, and were able to spend a few gratifying weeks in the country away from the city. From this humble beginning, Tranquillity has grown into the camp that has touched the lives of thousands of men, women and children. Yet we remember Mr. Cohen’s simple message of “Noblesse Oblige”, being good citizens, respecting one another and caring for the land. Although we have increased in numbers and size, we recognize that new ways are not always the best. We realize that the lessons taught by Mr. Cohen and Pearl are timeless and we continue to be guided by their wisdom and foresight.

2012 was a rewarding and memorable time for everyone who shared all or part of their summer at TY. Campers and staff, as well as the many Alumni who came to camp to help throughout the summer, had the opportunity to share in the unique Tranquillity experience. “Noblesse Oblige” is alive and well at Tranquillity. On Visiting Day unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, a barbeque on the Henry Miller/Carnival field was out of the question. How were we to feed over one-thousand campers, parents, Alumni and guests? Our Alumni rolled up their sleeves and took charge. They cooked, cleaned and served lunch in our dining room. It was a special moment, and I want to thank all those who helped. Visiting Day turned out to be a great time for all and the weather even cooperated the latter half of the day; the rain stopped and we were able to enjoy our beautiful camp.

This summer we had several new enhancements to TY. Thanks to Paul Cohen and his entire family we were able to add a horizontal climbing wall to our ropes challenge course at Devil’s Den. It proved to be one of our most anticipated activity for the children. I would like to Thank Michael Cembalest for our new Nature House. We had frogs, salamanders, snakes, turtles all caught by our children who then fed and cared for them. We also have a new boat dock thanks to the generosity of Penny Cohn. Boating on Lake Pearl was a fun activity for all the kids. It is through the efforts of these people as well as Richard Lawrence, Marc Cohn, the Elias A. Cohen Foundation, The Charles Cohn Foundation, The Schlang Foundation and The Friends of Tranquillity Camp that we have continued to thrive.

Tranquillity Camp adheres to its original mission as set forth by Elias A. Cohen – to help those less fortunate. Whether for financial hardships, from broken homes, or a myriad of situations, Tranquillity continues to offer children a safe haven away from the problems so many families face, regardless of their ability to pay even our modest fees. As we have for the last dozen years we awarded scholarships to children whose parents serving in the military. It is Tranquillity’s way of thanking them for the sacrifices they have made for our county. We intend on continuing this program with your support.

Your efforts are critical to our success. With expenses constantly rising, it is becoming more difficult each year insure an affordable Tranquillity experience for our children. Please help in our worthy endeavor. Whether financially, with goods and services or dedicating your time, we count on the generosity of all Tranquillity-ites.

This year I am enlisting your help. If you know any children and families who are deserving of the Tranquillity experience please have them contact me. There are many people who presume they cannot afford to send their children to camp. Our mission is to make camp affordable to all and no child is turned away for financial reasons.

Sherrie and I look forward to seeing you on Alumni/Visiting Day Sunday July 28, 2013. It is a great opportunity to see Tranquillity at its best, filled with happy children as well as a chance to reunite with old friends. Best regards to you and your family from Sherrie and me.

-Richard and Sherrie

Greetings from Harold

Written by Harold Weinman Saturday, 15 December 2012 00:00

On behalf of my family, the entire board of directors and myself, I‘d like to wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year.

I’m delighted to report that this past Alumni Day was a success. I woke up at 6:00 AM, looked out my window and saw the torrential rain coming down. I then drove over to our Director, Richard Lerner’s office to discuss the alternate plans for our rainy Alumni Day. He told me he had it all planned out for the parents and the children to continue despite the weather. So we followed Richie’s directions on how to greet the six hundred parents, park their cars and meet their children. My thanks to all the board members who helped in the kitchen to serve lunch to all of our guests. Everyone had a serving station whether it was hamburgers, franks, knishes, salads or soda. They were truly “the best,” We served lunch to a thousand guests and campers in less than an hour and a half and had fun doing it . That is the Tranquillity way. After lunch the sun came out and everyone was able to go to their bunks and walk around the campgrounds and see the new additions for this year. Some of the parents and campers went to see the new fishing pier. Others went to see our new climbing wall (which everyone totally enjoyed this summer). I might add that while everyone was having lunch they got to see our new modern kitchen. It really turned out to be a beautiful day. My heartfelt thanks to all of our members, old and new for their membership and donations. These donations of course are used for new projects, maintenance and scholarships.

This past summer flew by. The children came over to me and told me what a wonderful time they were having this summer. They stressed the fact how they enjoyed the new additions such as the rock climbing wall and rink for the “gaga” game. Tranquillity Camp is a unique place. We teach our campers how to respect each other and to enjoy a great life whether at camp or at home. My thanks to Richard Lerner, his wife Sherrie and Ira Altman for making sure that our staff and children are safe and have a wonderful summer.

It is my pleasure to announce that our 61st Annual Dinner, Dance and Casino Night will be celebrated again at the beautiful Carltun at Eisenhower Park in Nassau County on Saturday, March 9th, 2013. This event is our major fundraiser of the year. It is an elegant evening of fine food, great music and dancing and gambling. The cost of the affair is still $300 per couple. You can sell ads in our journal and the amount towards the cost of your tickets. Contact the people who you do business with, i.e. dry cleaners, hair salons, favorite restaurants, insurance broker, stockbroker, etc. to purchase an ad in our journal. You can win TV’s, IPods, IPads and many other great gifts by buying raffles and participating in our casino games. Call your friends now to start putting together a table. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me at 718-468-0514.

I’m pleased to welcome two new board members, Wendy Seslowsky and Tracy (Lerner) Reina. Wendy has been an Honorary Vice President in our organization and she now moves up to a position on our board. Wendy never says no to any task for Tranquillity Camp or for Friends of Tranquillity Camp. She has continued to help Robin Kessler and Cheryl Janer make successful luncheons for our Florida Chapter. This year she helped launch our Facebook page that is getting so much attention. My best to Wendy in this very important position. Tracy is very familiar with the needs of Tranquillity Camp. She grew up as a camper and a counselor and was an important part of the musical shows at camp. She is a very special person. Her love for Tranquillity will be a great asset as a board member.

My sincere appreciate to the Florida Chapter, headed by Robin Kessler, for their continuous financial contributions. Keep up the good work!

In closing, my gratitude to you, the members of our organization. Our membership is one of the main reasons that Tranquillity Camp still exists I thank you for your commitment. Please continue to support our goals through your financial donations.

Harold

Greetings from Alan Abramson

Written by Alan Abramson Saturday, 15 December 2012 00:00

Dear Tranquillity-ites:

I am writing this on Thanksgiving weekend and I still get a twinge, triggered by habits and memories, of more than 30 years in which this was the weekend where I attended the Tranquillity Alumni Dinner Dance. Locations changed as did bands and Treasure Hunt prizes but it was always special for me. Many of my life’s milestones were marked by my place in my Tranquillity life. The Dinner Dance traditions were dependable and attendance helped me feel very adult in a world where we were all treated as children by our Tranquillity elders. Like so many things in our changing world, what was once so elegant became dusty and tarnished, in need of polishing.

So just a few years ago, we started over with a new venue, and a fresh approach to how we all prefer to socialize and pay tribute to our beloved camp and friends in the new millennium. I am happy to report that our Casino Night gathering has become more successful each year, engendering a new spirit, providing a night of fun, with freedom to enjoy and socialize the old fashioned way with hugs, handshakes, smiles, good food, good drink, good stories, great prizes and the fun of a casino. All done in person, face to face, without the interference of smartphones, email, Twitter, or Facebook. Of course, these are great tools that keep us in touch, but there is nothing like the spontaneous laughter and conversation among those that we love, our Tranquillity Friends.

Last weekend, the officers of the Friends of Tranquillity Camp, all of whom are volunteers, gathered in our home to discuss how to make it all even bigger and better. We also spent time discussing how we can make Camp bigger and better through our personal and financial contributions. I am proud to say that we will make significant improvements in our event. More opportunities to play and win more prizes, fewer speeches and interruptions, improvements in the food service, and better ways to attract more of you to participate. We decided that there is no better value nor way to have fun with your Camp friends so we tweaked the details. The rest is up to you. Please join us. Bring your groups of Friends, Tranquility bred or not. As always, we will make donation accommodations for those who may want to join us but are suffering from the effects of the recession or have lingering issues from the recent storms. We are Tranquillity and our hearts are open to all. Just call me.

A final comment in the interest of transparency… The Friends of Tranquillity Camp has always been and remains a critically important source of fundraising for Tranquillity Camp. In fact, without our annual collective contributions, the future of Camp, as we know it, would be in question. As you know, camper tuition alone does not cover the cost of operations. When you add the generous donations made by Cohen family foundations that have evolved since the death of our founder, Elias A. Cohen, it is still not enough. Therefore, it falls to us, the families that have benefitted from the opportunities given to us by this wonderful organization, to step up. It is our moral obligation to ourselves, our families, to those in need in these tough times, and to the memories of those who supported us when we were in need. It will make you feel good. I am sure that, when asked, you find some money to support eradication of illnesses in search of cures. What Tranquillity does is build strong people, rescue the souls of children who may be lost, and contribute to the health of society by giving those in need a chance at a good start in life. I am not embarrassed to ask you for your contribution. We need you all to “talk the talk and walk the walk” with your personal generosity and by asking friends and business associates to do so. We are not curing disease but the world is a much better place because of Tranquillity Camp.

Alice and I look forward to seeing you on March 9th. Happy New Year from me, Alice and our family. May it be full of happiness, good health, prosperity and Noblesse Oblige.

Alan

Our Mission

“Friends of Tranquillity Camp” was born as the “Tranquillity Alumni” more than 60 years ago, and while we have changed our name to be more inclusive, we have not changed our mission. We still exist for the sole benefit of Tranquillity Camp, ensuring its financial future and funding capital projects, while supporting the deserving children who attend camp regardless of means.

We also represent the community of thousands of former campers, benefactors, and families who love Tranquillity for its ideals and unique approach to children, and who love each other having shared in the Tranquillity experience.