Safety Information

There are few things that we take more seriously than camper safety during our summer camp sessions. The purpose of this section of our website is to share some important safety protocols that we implement each summer to ensure that campers are as safe as possible. The recent tragedy at Camp Mystic in 2025 brought summer camp safety into the national spotlight. This event has caused camps across the nation to review their safety protocols and to update things that need to be changed. My wife Alex and I were deeply troubled as we watched the tragic events unfold in South Texas last summer. I hope that the following information is helpful to you as you plan to send your campers to camp this summer. Please reach out to me at forrest@vesperpoint.org or by calling our camp office if you have any questions about safety.

Flooding at Camp

In my time at Vesper Point, I have never seen a flooding event that jeopardized any of our structure or camper safety. Since Vesper Point is situated between two dams (Watts Bar and Chickamauga), the likelihood of a catastrophic flood would be extremely unlikely if not impossible due to the fact that Vesper Point is situated on a peninsula. For the sake of argument, if flood waters were to somehow jeopardize the camp, we would immediately send out a push text message to parents and would initiate a dismissal. We are constantly monitoring the weather and will always act accordingly if we feel that weather would cause any kind of danger. Our nature trail has an elevation of roughly 900 feet and would provide countless acres of protection in the unlikely event of a natural disaster. In the event of a severe storm or wind, we will always close the waterfront to ensure camper safety.

Child Protection Training

All of our summer staff undergoes a mandatory training class on Tennessee child protection standards. We take child protection very seriously and are always checking to make sure that our practices are congruent with the latest best practices and laws. In addition to this, we take yearly classes of our national camping conferences to ensure that we are meeting current child safety standards.

Overall Crisis Plan

Our camp board recently approved a comprehensive crisis plan that would be enacted in the event of an emergency. This plan covers all kinds of events from camper injuries, fire, severe storms, water rescues, etc. Our staff is trained in this plan every summer before campers arrive.

Water Safety

We are pleased to have a full lifeguard staff present during the entire summer. Vesper Point has the strict rule that no one is ever allowed at the waterfront unless our certified lifeguards are on duty and present in the lifeguard stands. Vesper Point pays for summer staff members to receive their lifeguard and CPR certification and we hold a special lake front lifeguarding class at the beginning of each summer that our Camp Director leads. Forrest and his wife Alex are both certified lifeguards and boat drivers, along with our Assistant Director, Emily Adams, and are always present each day at the waterfront when campers are present during free time. Regardless of age and swimming ability, campers are required to wear a life jacket at all times when they are present at the waterfront for swimming, blobbing, boating, and kayaking.

Communication at Camp

Even though our staff is required to be screen and phone free, our leadership staff is equipped with phones in the event of an emergency. We also recently invested in several satellite phones which we use during our camp out elective. The satellite phones would also be used in the event of a power outage or a cell service interruption.