What Time Is It? It's Mickey Mauer Summer Camp Time!

OK, that's a little hokey but after spending my second year at Mickey's Camp (http://mickeyscamp.com), I just felt like getting silly and Kumbaya for a title was even worse! Mickey's is a summer camp for adults that raises lots of money for the less fortunate.

The camp at Bradford Woods in Martinsville, Indiana is 2,500 acres and lush in foliage, lakes, swimming pool, marshmallow pits, and many man-made areas complete with climbing walls, alpine towers, obstacle courses, and lots of cabins to house the campers. Though the camp is pricey, Mickey Mauer, the founder and philanthropist managed to get all the meals donated and mostly volunteer instructors so that $1,100 of the $1,500 tuition goes to the various charities. One of the beauties of the structure is that each camper can designate a portion of his or her proceeds to a preferred charity.

I was there because they needed some poker experts. Mike Sexton volunteered for the position in the past, but he was unavailable last year and recommended that Linda Johnson and I teach the first year camp for women.

We gladly accepted and taught at the YMCA in Shelbyville, Indiana. They invited us back, not only for the women's camp but for the reintroduction of poker as a men's activity. We taught two sessions for each, then ran a tournament for the women and another for the men. The 131 women and 135 men had 42 activities to choose from, including backgammon, billiards, bridge, fly fishing, scuba, shotgun, gourmet cooking, wine tasting, raft racing, yoga, canoeing, boxing, guitar, politics, golf, chess, and beer tasting.

Mickey's raised more than $100,000 per year for local and national charities and now, in the second year of a camp for women and for men, the $1,000,000 mark was topped. Last year, $235,000 went to 90 different charities!

Many campers come back year after year and are treated like royalty. The first night is a meet and greet at the dinner tent. After a great meal, the microphone is passed and campers introduce themselves. It's amazing how accomplished this group is... doctors, lawyers, architects, scientists, philanthropists, friends and family of Mauer's, firefighters, police officers, and on and on. I felt rather shallow when I got the mic and told them I was a poker player! Oh well... poker is now "accepted!"

Running two poker tournaments was a lot of fun and the ladies had about 50 players while the men had close to 100. We did our best to teach them the TDA rules but it is challenging with mostly novices who are more concerned with having fun.

I enjoyed being a camper when I wasn't teaching and took some cool courses. Self-defense, juggling, magic, jumping off a high tower (on a rope of course), massage, skeet, rifle, hand guns, and so much more.

The evenings were highlighted by speeches from the governor, and the retired head of the space program who now is into Indiana politics. There also were pool and billiards demonstrations twice-one nine-time Guinness Book of World Records champion LoreeJon Jones and the latter by the famous Black Widow. I sure hope the course dates work next year; I'd hate to miss it. Come and join me! Moving right along!

Editor's Note: Jan Fisher has 30 years experience as a poker player, tournament director, strategist/columnist, cofounder of the Tournament Directors Association, Partner in Card Player Cruises, WPT Boot Camp instructor and statistician, and live studio announcer for the Professional Poker Tour. E-mail Jan at Jan@cardplayercruises.com.