Joe Westbury
Camp Pinnacle is completing construction of two new buildings that will house four cabins for this summer’s camping season. As of early March all the rustic cabins overlooking the lake had been removed and site preparation is now underway on construction of two other duplex buildings. Those units (four cabins) will be ready for occupancy for campers in 2010.
CLAYTON — Memories of the good old days at Camp Pinnacle will soon mean something entirely different for campers after this summer’s season.
Different in the way of fresh paint, new mattresses, and four brand-new year-round climate-controlled cabins to accompany the two new cabins introduced last summer. And those are just many of the changes on the way for the coming months.
Summer campers enrolling at the Woman’s Missionary Union retreat center nestled on the side of Pinnacle Mountain will no longer be living in the 50-year-old rustic cabins that once housed their mothers when they were GAs.
Last year the first new duplex building on the left-hand side of the approach road (consisting of two cabins) was replaced and introduced to summer campers. Two additional duplex buildings housing four cabins are in the final stages of construction and will be ready for summer use, bringing the total of new cabins to six for the 2009 camping season.
That means all the historic cabins on that site overlooking the lake have now been removed and replaced with the next generation of housing. And by next summer, plans are to have two additional duplex buildings – four more cabins – ready for 2010 campers, said Camp Administrator Stu Butler.
The master plan for a reinvigorated Camp Pinnacle calls for all six duplex buildings – 12 total cabins – to be clustered on the same site. The three remaining duplex buildings housing six cabins near the backside of the gymnasium will eventually be removed and replaced with a different kind of housing for small groups.
What has turned into a sluggish economy for construction workers has actually played into Camp Pinnacle’s favor, Butler explained. With an abundance of unemployed workers seeking jobs and a market glut of construction materials – a complete turnaround from 18 months ago – the facility is finding it easier to construct the buildings at extremely favorable costs.
“With the addition of these four new cabins we are now halfway toward our goal of all new lodging for summer campers,” Butler added. “That means that campers now have a 50 percent chance of enjoying one of these new units this summer, and those odds will only get better.”
Each of the new cabins, like their prior structure, will sleep 12 campers and two staffers. That means 72 campers will now enjoy the six new cabins for this year’s outdoor season.
All of the new structures are totally handicap-accessible with wide entries and doors throughout.
Joe Westbury/Index
Camp Administrator Stu Butler walks through a partially-completed cabin in 16 degree weather in early March. The cabins are part of Camp Pinnacle’s 20-year, $10 million capital campaign and endowment program master plan that is converting the camp into a year-round, state-of–the-art retreat center.
A roughly 1.5-mile nature trail surrounding the property and winding through the woods is also under construction. That trail, while not wheelchair accessible, will feature a graded mulched trail to allow the novice walker of any age the opportunity to experience nature in safe surroundings.
The construction is part of WMU’s 20-year, $10-million capital campaign and endowment program master plan that will upgrade the campus and convert it into a year-round destination.
The first part of the plan, the Joe Moss Wellness Center, was dedicated in October 2007 and funded by a grant from the Georgia Baptist Health Care Ministry Foundation. Moss retired in 2006 after serving nearly nine years as camp administrator.
Historically, Camp Pinnacle was the site of summer camps for about 900 young girls who received instruction in Bible study, missions education, and outdoor recreation. The new plan calls for a massive rebuild that will replace all existing structures, with the exception of the chapel and lodge, with seminar rooms and turn it into a full-service year-round conference and retreat center.
That plan will allow the retreat center to offer more opportunities for church retreats of varying sizes. Some of the newer cabins will allow deacons, Sunday School classes, or small groups to reserve a cabin of their own for a more personalized retreat if they choose not to stay in the lodge.
“Everything we are doing at Camp Pinnacle is completely debt-free,” said Barbara Curnutt, who heads Georgia WMU. “God has opened the windows of heaven and is providing the funds needed to bring the camp’s ministry to a new generation of Georgia Baptists.”