For 45 years, Alan and Michelle Ordway were the Directors (remembering Aunt Michelle & Uncle Al). A second generation of the Ordway Family, Alan and Michelle’s children, are Winona’s current Directors:
Winona Director Spencer C. Ordway is a graduate of Gould Academy and Bates College. He holds a Masters degree in Recreation Management from Springfield College. He is a registered Maine Guide and American Red Cross Instructor Trainer. Uncle Spencer lives in Gorham, Maine with his three children, all of whom have attended camp. Uncle Spencer has 50 years experience at Winona and focuses on camper program development, staff training and Winona’s accreditation & risk management. He is the chair of the Junior Maine Guide committee for the state of Maine.
Winona Director L
aura H. Ordway, Spencer’s sister, is also a graduate of Gould Academy and Bates College. She is a former NOLS Instructor, Wilderness Medicine Educator and international climbing guide, with ascents of Denali and Aconcagua. Aunt Laura and her husband, Stefan, live at Winona year-round with their two children, who have attended Wyonegonic (Winona’s sister camp). Aunt Laura has 39 years experience at camp focusing on parent & camper communications, the Winona Health Center and pre & post season groups. She is the current president of the Maine Youth Camping Association (MYCA) board.
Assistant Director/Leadership Development: Uncle Clay Miles
Uncle Clay Miles is enjoying his 39th year at Winona this summer. He spent time in Junior Intermediate, Senior and CIT in his eleven summers as a camper. When Uncle Clay became a staff member in Senior, he held various activity positions from sailing and windsurfing to sloyd and then became head counselor and earned the Senior Counselor award in 1981. He was also the BAT in 1978. After a brief hiatus from Winona to kick-start his professional career, Uncle Clay returned to the Senior staff for a few years becoming the Unit Director where he held that position for six years. Beginning last summer Clay has taken on a new role at Winona as the Director of Counselor Resources. In this capacity, he draws on 30 years of experience as teacher, coach and Dean to assist counselors as they learn to become better teachers, role models and mentors to the young men and boys that attend Winona each summer.
Uncle Clay received his B.A. in Psych & Religion from Ohio Wesleyan University and was a teacher coach and one of the Deans at Kingswood Oxford in West Hartford, CT. He lives in Hartford with his wife Kim, and he is proud to say that all three of his children have attended and worked at Winona and Wyonegonic.
Junior: Unit Director Uncle Zach Clayton
Uncle Zach is returning for his 18th summer on the shores, currently the Junior Unit Director. While Zach was never a Junior camper, he found a home in Junior as a staff member and never left. Zach’s family has been on the shores for four generations and his siblings and cousins have spent many summers at camp, as campers and counselors at Winona and Wyonegonic. Uncle Zach will be joined by his wife, Emma and daughter, Piper.
Zach graduated from St. Lawrence University and immediately dove into teaching. Over the past nine years he has worked as a middle school teacher, coach, and advisor in Massachusetts before moving to Maine with his family. Zach has taught at North Yarmouth Academy, the Levey Day School and has helped to run a school-daycare program to assist Portland Public School faculty families during the pandemic at the Breakwater School.
When Zach thinks of his time at Winona, it is full of positive memories, he truly believes that children thrive when given the opportunity to explore outside. The more time he has spent in the classroom the more he has come to find that Winona is a great place for learning skills, that help kids to find success in school and everyday life as a student, and even as adults. Zach’s favorite Winona traditions are Sunday morning cookouts, mountain trips, and Unit Night. The friendships that are forged at Winona last a lifetime and they start in Junior!
Intermediate: Unit Director Uncle Josiah Babcock
Returning for his 23rd summer on the shores, Uncle Josiah Babcock will be back at the helm for his second summer as Intermediate Unit Director. Josiah began his Winona career as an Inty camper in 1986. He moved through Senior and CIT and started on staff as an Inty Counselor in 1990. Uncle Josiah has worked in every unit at camp, spending his summers on the docks as swim staff, waterfront head, WSI/Lifeguard instructor and unit director in CIT, leading Arts & Crafts, as head counselor in all 3 units, and as family camp staff throughout the years. Uncle Josiah received the best counselor awards in Intermediate (1993) and Senior (2003) and was The Bat in 1996.
Josiah is a graduate of Colby College. He homeschooled his daughter, Fawn, (Wyo 2021-present) full-time through 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades and currently works as a paraprofessional at Dover Middle School in the off-season. His mom, Sally Babcock (Miniszek), was a camper at Wyo in the 50s. Josiah and Fawn split their time between Newmarket, New Hampshire and Sugarloaf in the mountains of Maine.
Josiah and his Saint Bernard, Franklin, bring their enthusiastic love of camp back to the north end this summer. “Winona is the greatest influence on who I am outside of my parents. I have matured more during my summers at camp than the rest of the year combined on a consistent basis throughout my life. I’m thrilled to get back to work with this amazing veteran staff (and your boys) to make this summer in Inty one we will fondly remember for the rest of our lives. Inty age boys are deciding who they want to be – exploring options, expressing their individuality, carving out their place in the community and learning to cooperate. Winona is the perfect place for that. When met with encouragement instead of judgement, connecting with pines and peers instead of screens, and learning from passionate role models instead of celebrity influencers, these boys become the very best versions of themselves. It’s an honor to be a part of that process. And it’s also a LOT of fun!!”
Senior: Unit Director Uncle Jeffrey “Bubba” Dropkin
Since 1983, Uncle Bubba has spent summers in Junior, Cub, Inty and Senior Winona. This will be his 27th summer at Winona, currently the Senior Unit Director. Uncle Bubba was the Cub Unit Director in 1984, and Jr Unit Director in the summers of ’85-’86. Before becoming the Senior Unit Director, he managed Winona’s sailing program.
Uncle Bubba enjoys many parts of camp’s natural setting; the towering pines, sailing the clear waters of Moose Pond, T-Dock sunsets, the great arch of the Milky Way, the loon’s call from across the lake, a Brix Brax cheer from the EP field, and the sounds of campers chasing the BAT! He has returned all these years because of friendships, and the traditions of Winona. Most importantly he mentions how fantastic it is to be a member of the Winona team of counselors. Winona staff members help campers achieve marked growth through the various activities, and skill achievements. Counselors are privileged with making a difference in our campers’ lives. Uncle Bubba was voted Best Counselor in Senior in 2009, and the Bat in 2015. The Ordway Family honored him as the first recipient of The Uncle Al Award in 2013.
In the off-season, Bubba is a Critical Care Paramedic, and serves the town of Waterville Valley, NH where he is a career Fire Captain. Bubba also works in the emergency department at Speare Memorial Hospital. He is an American Heart Association ECC Regional Faculty member. As a resuscitation specialist, he teaches Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support. In 2015, Captain Dropkin was awarded, The Emergency Service Provider of the Year by The North Country Public Safety Foundation of New Hampshire. Bubba received his B.A. in Psychology from Antioch College.
Uncle Bubba is married to Wendy Dropkin. Wendy, a Winona veteran, continues to instruct CPR and Lifeguard certifications. Bubba and Wendy have two children, Casey and Adam, who have both spent many summers on the shores of Moose Pond.
Counselor-In-Training (CIT): Unit Directors Uncle Jeff Kolva, Uncle Jim Morse
Returning for his 25th summer and current CIT Unit Director, Uncle Jeff Kolva is looking forward to working with Winona’s future counselors. Uncle Jeff began as a Junior camper in 1975, and spent time in all the units here at Winona before becoming a counselor in the Cub unit (which has since been combined with Junior Winona). After 1985, he took a bit of a break, but has been back on the shores every summer since 2011 – holding the positions of CIT Director in 2012, Junior counselor/program teaching coordinator for 2013-2016, and currently the CIT Unit Director.
Uncle Jeff received his BA from Denison University in 1988 and his Masters in Elementary Education from Boston College in 1997. He has been a 5th grade teacher at the Dexter Southfield School in Brookline, MA for 30 years. Uncle Jeff resides in Norfolk, MA and enjoys spending his time listening to music, playing guitar, skiing, coaching, and being a fantasy football aficionado. Uncle Jeff’s favorite Winona traditions include the BAT, Winona Night, and the totem. Uncle Jeff will be returning to camp this summer with his sons Ned and Gus, both Winona counselors.
Uncle Jim Morse is happy to return to Winona this summer for his 30th summer. Uncle Jim started in camping with the Boy Scouts, eventually reaching Eagle Scout after many summers at Camp Hinds. He also spent several summers at sports camps before his parents discovered Winona through a family friend. He went on to be a CIT and then work at Winona in the Cub, Junior, and Senior units.
Uncle Jim has been an activity counselor in everything from baseball and archery, to kayaking and canoe trips. He loves the wide variety of choices that counselors and campers have when spending the summer at Winona. He was also the CIT Unit Director for two summers before becoming the Junior Unit Director. Uncle Jim was voted best counselor in Senior and the BAT in 1991. In 2019, Uncle Jim returned as CIT Unit Director.
Uncle Jim enjoys working with the campers and staff during the summers, and looks forward to seeing the growth time away from home cultivates. After seeing the effect of camp in his own daughters, who attended Wyonegonic, he believes even more in this model for growing strong young people for the next generation.
Uncle Jim received his B.A. in History from Bucknell University and a Masters in Education at the University of Southern Maine. He has proudly been a public school teacher for nearly 30 years, working with children in the 5th and 6th grade. He has received numerous awards for his curriculum design and was recognized as the UNUM Teacher of the Year in 2010. Uncle Jim enjoys coaching cross-country and track at Camden-Rockport Middle School, located on the beautiful coast of Maine. He lives nearby with his wife Pam. In the off season, he enjoys spending time with his family, running, basketball, his beloved Boston teams, and traveling when time allows. Uncle Jim also enjoys connecting with friends from Winona all year long, as camp has become a yearlong pursuit for him.
Athletic Director/Tour Guide: Henry “Coach” Zussman
Henry “Coach” Zussman had never known about Camp Winona, until the Spring of 1976. He was finishing his student teaching/coaching at his alma mater Bridgton Academy, as their Head Tennis Coach. Uncle Al Ordway was searching for a tennis counselor in Senior Unit. He contacted the late Bob Walker (Headmaster) and asked about my availability for that summer. “The camp tour that Uncle Al gave me that afternoon was so memorable, that whenever I tour interested families/parents around his descriptions of a camp day, unit sign ups, evening programs, or each Winona’s historical buildings comes to my mind. It is with a smile, as I pass his words along during any tours I give during the season. Needless to say I was hired and started the day after Bridgton Academy graduated.” Upon graduating from Northeastern University in 1977 with a bachelor’s in education, followed by his teaching certification from Salem State, Henry continued his summers at Winona.
1978 “Coach” was the Head Counselor in Senior, 1979-81 settle back to improving campers’ tennis skills, creating the Silver Eagles tennis team program. Coach returned to the shores in 2004-06 as one of the CIT Directors. Then returning to Senior as a counselor, covering baseball and tennis up until 2013. With Uncle Al’s passing, Coach’s role changed and took on the new responsibilities as the Winona’s Tour Guide and Director of Athletics. It was 2018, Coach was The Bat.
Retiring in 2016, Coach and his wife Liz live in Safety Harbor, Florida. As a “Snowbird” Coach Z keeps busy working at Countryside CC in golf operations, in addition he assists with Jr. golf. Another opportunity came up to work for the City of Safety Harbor as the Assistant Director of Special Events. Coach plays on two Over 60 softball teams, and is the Pickleball Instructor at East Lake Woodlands, Oldsmar, FL.
