A dream still going strong...
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| Peter back in the day |
Teens' Camping Tour of the West, Inc. was born from the dream of C. Peter Cole to take teenagers to see the wonders of the American West and use the adventure of travel to guide young people down the path of self-discover. TCTW took its first trip West in the summer of 1967 in Volkswagen busses. From the success of that summer, and years of labors of love by Peter Cole, and second director Doug Gill, TCTW has expanded to the age of mini-busses, customized trailers, Facebook and Twitter! TCTW has accepted participants from all over the world, but finds its main draw from Virginia and the Carolinas.
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| Doug and Sassy 2006 |
In 1998 TCTW inducted its second director, Douglas C. Gill. Through the years TCTW has molded its program to embody six signifiant principals: love yourself, love others, appreciate natures, realize that you have been given unique gifts, recognize that it is your responsibility to use those gifts to make your corner of the work a better place, all while giving praises to your maker. It is these six principles that we hope all participants will come to embrace and practice throughout their lives.
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| Doug, Sassy and Peter 2012 |
2012 will bring the tour its third director, Sassy Smyth, who first traveled west with Doug in 2000 as a young 16 year old. TCTW caught her heart and she has never let go. She has staff with Doug for the past seven summers and looks forward to the opportunity to continue in Peter and Doug's footsteps by offering teenagers the opportunity to see the beautiful country they call home and hopefully learn a little about themselves along the way.
Our goal is leadership and spiritual development for teenagers with the notion that raising up spiritually strong leaders is a part of building a better world. TCTW, with over 4,000 past participants, has proudly been engaged in this mission for 45 years.
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