Camp Kanuga Welcomes Stratt Byars
We are thrilled to announce that Stratt Byars has been hired as the new director of Camp Kanuga. Stratt is a seasoned summer camp leader and nonprofit professional with community building, staff management, and budgeting experience. With more than a decade of summer camp and ministry experience, Stratt has gained the deep knowledge and practical know-how that are essential to developing safe and fun youth development programs.
Some of you already know Stratt from his work as youth director at St. Mary’s on-the-Highlands Episcopal Church in Birmingham or from Camp McDowell, where he served in many roles including chaplain, summer staff, interim director of Alabama Folk School, summer camp director, and conference and retreat center director. He has also been an active participant in Episcopal Camps & Conference Centers (ECCC) annual conferences and continuing education for programming and leadership.
Stratt is an experienced manager and communicator with exceptional ability and desire to work in a collaborative atmosphere with campers, staff, clergy, and families.
Born and raised an Episcopalian in north Alabama, Stratt is an Eagle Scout who embraced camping early in life. He graduated from the University of Alabama-Birmingham with a major in social psychology and a minor in philosophy.
We received many enthusiastic recommendations for Stratt. One reference said, “Stratt is both thoughtful and confident, a true leader wise beyond his years with a desire to learn and grow.” Kanuga Executive VP for Mission Jimmy Haden, who led the search, said, “I am excited that our process, which included a national search, led us to Stratt. He is well-prepared to take the lead for Camp Kanuga.”
When we interviewed Stratt, he told us, “Summer camp is the only setting in which there is a focus on the hearts and minds of young people 24/7 over an extended period of days. Camp provides a loving, safe, and inclusive community where faith formation can take root and blossom.”
Stratt will join Kanuga in March. His first order of business will be to hire summer staff and get camp ready for opening day 2021. “It’s a very exciting time to be reopening camp, and with the health and safety cap on camper numbers, we encourage registration now,” says Jimmy.
Joining Stratt will be his wife, Carrie and their ten-month-old daughter, Frances.
