Camp Nakanawa

Meet Our Team

Our exceptional staff focuses on each camper to create an environment that builds a sense of belonging, self-confidence and independence.

Annette Hall

Annette Hall has worked at camp for 40 years and is officially the Landscape Director for Camp Nakanawa!  Unofficially, there is not a job title thorough enough to describe all that she brings to camp.  Annette has a true connection with nature.  She is an avid gardener, photographer, fisherwoman and lover of animals.  On any given day, you will find her deep into the butterfly garden or around camp planting flowers, watering flowers or rescuing bunnies and birds of all shapes and sizes.

“One of the reasons that I have loved working at Nakanawa is because I get to make the world around us even more beautiful and healthy than it already is.  I have met so many people and experienced so many different things without even leaving my small community, ” Annette explained.  

Annette has surely carried on a legacy from her grandmother and claims that her motto for living a good life is “Faith, Family, Friends!”  Annette embodies the Spirit of Nakanawa in every way and camp has benefited far beyond measure from all that she has given.

Corie Wilson

Corie joined Camp Nakanawa full time in the fall of 2021 and her current title is Administrative Program Coordinator.  She has served many roles in her 24 years at Nakanawa, including  horseback riding counselor, head of Climbing Wall and Tent Row Momma, to name only a few.

“I am a graduate of Angelo State University, where I earned my Master in Agriculture, and Tennessee Tech University where I received my Bachelors of Science in Agriculture. When I am not keeping busy with Camp Nakanawa, you can find me spending time with my dog or involved in agriculture.”  

Apryll Geib

California girl Apryll Geib joined Nakanawa’s office team on a temporary basis in summer 2022. Her background in business and customer service, her adaptability and energy advanced Apryll to full-time employment that October. She answers the ever-ringing phone, processes and tracks camper applications, organizes receipts and bills and is the “errand queen.”  

A business manager and instructor of a Pilates studio for fourteen years in Southern California, Apryll fell in love with the Cumberland Plateau when working a trade show and visiting dear  friends. She, husband Damien and daughter Cheyenne “arrived during a lockdown,” she says, when they moved to Tennessee in 2020. Cheyenne is now a Cumberland County High School Class of 2023 graduate.

No stranger to non-profit board work, Apryll founded  an animal rescue for horses and dogs -her passion- in 2015. Not all the pups go to other homes, as Apryll’s dog whispering makes her the mom of canines Shivers, Madison, Scooter, Fat Bax, Bruce and Sawyer. Apryll is always game for a camp adventure and has been known to leave her warm, cozy desk to help Karen, Ann and Corie “run in the broncos” to the barn on a cold rainy day.

“I am a graduate of Angelo State University, where I earned my Master in Agriculture, and Tennessee Tech University where I received my Bachelors of Science in Agriculture. When I am not keeping busy with Camp Nakanawa, you can find me spending time with my dog or involved in agriculture.”  

Bunk Hall

When Bunk came to camp, in 1967, Mitch was the director and Carson Tays asked Bunk to come and work at Camp Nakanawa. For over 55 years, Bunk has worked all over camp from the kitchen to having a had a hand in building almost every cabin, as well as managing camp’s sprawling vegetable garden in Mitch’s days. Today you can find him in the white truck working with Donathan on property maintenance and management. Bunk is a pro at fixing things that are broken, forecasting the weather, driving the bus for Free Day trips, growing prize dahlias and shooting the fireworks over the lake on July 4th. 

Donathan Reeves

A native of the Plateau, Donathon is such an essential member of the staff that we wonder what we ever did without his expertise in all matters mechanical and structural. A graduate of Cumberland County schools, Donathon worked locally for Hickory Specialties before joining the Nakanawa team. His smile from the seat of the tractor or window of his truck signals that a skilled solution is on the way, whether a problem pipe, roof repair or needed bale of hay. A knowledgeable outdoorsman, avid hunter and talented fisherman, Donathon enjoys combing beaches looking for sharks teeth when he is not boating on Dale Hollow Lake. He and his wife Regina, an important member of our summer staff, live nearby where they have a prolific garden and welcome extended family often.

Vicky Randolph

Vicky has been a part of the Nakanawa family for thirty years. She has worked as a night watchman, Junior Camp cook, and now, along with her daughter Jayne, works as support staff. Vicky services both infirmaries, along with the Doctor’s Lodge and a multitude of other camp tasks. During the off-season, Vicky drives a school bus for special-needs children. Her other talents include various crafts, especially her beautiful beading.

Jaynie Randolph

Jaynie has grown up around Nakanawa with her mom Vicky. Jaynie assists her mom is support staff and meeting the needs of both Junior and Senior Camp Infirmary’s along with the Doctors Lodge. Jaynie is currently in school studying science and when she gets a chance she loves to kayak on Lake Aloaloa and other rivers in the area.