With summer just around the corner and campers arriving in less than one month, the to-do lists are long. Most of our guests experience the fun, action-packed, and gospel-centered activities during their time at Glorieta Camps, but miss all of the behind-the-scenes work that happens. This is how it’s supposed to be! In the Operations Department, our goal is to eliminate distractions so guests can focus on God and what He has in store for their time here.
The Operations Department is home to Maintenance, Utilities, Grounds, and Projects. While the responsibilities might be segmented, we are one team with one mission and our staff often step in to help one another.
Maintenance
To get ready for summer, the Maintenance team has been un-winterizing buildings, providing tender love and care to spaces, working on preventative maintenance, and getting buildings ready to welcome guests. We have 205 buildings and 850 toilets to maintain, so the team stays busy!
Each winter, the crew “winterizes” buildings that are not used in the retreat season. To winterize a building means to prepare the plumbing system to withstand freezing temperatures by draining a building completely of water and filling the system with antifreeze. We have to do that here because of our cold, snowy winters! So come summer-prep time, the team has to un-winterize our buildings.
Each spring, the team of four works hard to make sure that guest spaces are functioning as they should be. They’ve been hard at work preparing guest spaces with working light bulbs, screens on windows, flushed water systems — you name it!
Our Maintenance team is also responsible for keeping our mechanical and plumbing systems up to code. They put in the work to make sure we pass the fire inspection each year.
Utilities
To get ready for summer, the Utilities team is responsible for everything mechanical and plumbing outside the dripline of buildings. This means electrical, water, sewer, and occasionally fiber optic. This team prepares the on-site wastewater treatment plant to hold and process up to 130,000 gallons of wastewater each day of the summer.
Since we live at over 7,000 feet of elevation, we want to make sure our guests are hydrated! The team has installed over 15 filtered drinking stations around camp for guests to fill up water bottles. We border the Santa Fe National Forest, so our Utilities crew is also responsible for keeping our water tanks full in case of wildfires.
For this summer, the team installed a new water line for our new hub of activities out in Ruiz Canyon. Another big project they took on was replacing the grease trap at Aspen Cafe (formerly the Chuck Wagon).
Grounds
To get ready for summer, the Grounds team works hard to fertilize and aerate all the turf on camp. The crew ensures the irrigation does not have broken lines or heads and is able to water our fields and flower beds throughout the summer.
This is the time of year when the rains come and the grass starts to grow. It’s a busy time for the Grounds crew to keep our exterior spaces guest-ready, make sure the grass is green and mowed, and trees limbed up.
The Grounds team has been working with Utilities and Projects to get Ruiz Canyon Adventures ready for Family Camp and Day Camp this summer. With the help of volunteers, they have thinned the Canyon, removed brush, and created a river rock flowing creek for kids of all ages to play in. Grounds has also been busy beautifying and cleaning up other program spaces such as Route 66, New Mexico Hall, and the Prayer Garden.
Projects
To get ready for summer, the Projects team has been firing on all cylinders to get Holcomb Auditorium, dorm rooms, summer staff lodging, and program spaces ready for guests.
This winter, the team renovated Western Town dorms and Holcomb and Moody Auditoriums. Western Town received a facelift on the inside with new bathroom fixtures, new flooring, a fresh coat of paint, and concrete porches. Holcomb Auditorium had a new carpet installed and the pews replaced with cushioned church chairs. Moody Auditorium also received new carpet.
The Projects team has been instrumental in the creation of Ruiz Canyon Adventures! The team has worked to re-establish Ruiz Canyon trail, create a 1-mile nature trail loop, grade a picnic area, and build fences. They also designed and created new activity stations such as knife and hatchet throwing stalls, arbor climb landing zones, and our very own Glorieta Incline.
Ready for Action
The Operations Department has been hard at work to prepare our 2,000+ acre campus to welcome over 25,000 guests this summer. Our hope is to create an environment that points to our Creator and eliminates distractions. We cannot wait to welcome you to Summer 2025!
