April and Wes Durrett, Camp Owners & Directors
April and Wes been members of the Hidden Valley Camp community since 2000 and 1988 respectively, during both the Stager and Kassen years of ownership. They met at Hidden Valley, had 2 children (Anna and Alice), and enrolled both in camp for 10+ years as campers, AWACs, and now staff. April and Wes have been counselors, pro-staff, year-round staff, and operations leaders for camp for many years and are invested in HVC’s long term sustainability. They believe in what Hidden Valley stands for and take the stewardship of our community very seriously.
April and Wes are members of the American Camp Association (ACA) and the Maine Summer Camps organization. They love everything about Maine and the local community here. You can regularly find them at a Montville town meeting, working in the garden, swimming in local lakes, or hiking one of the beautiful trails along the coast.
We encourage you to call or email us so that we can discuss the ways in which Hidden Valley has supported children's emerging identity and sense of independence for generations.
Here are steps you can take as we get to know one another:
Pre-camp conversations with us are a great way to begin a child's relationship with an overnight camp and its directors. We live and work at camp year-round and welcome the opportunity to speak with you about your child's individual needs and desires in anticipation of the camp experience.
Talk with HVC families: We can also put you in touch with Hidden Valley families in your area.
Our brochure and DVD will also address many of your family's questions. Click here to request these materials.
We look forward to speaking with your family about Hidden Valley.
Sincerely,
April and Wes Durrett
Meet us for real!
• Phone call or Video Call We're flexible in arranging a time to speak with you. Reach out and we'll set something up.
• Virtual Tours are scheduled throughout the fall to give you a chance to virtually walk around camp, as well as ask April and Wes questions. Contact us for details.
• Gatherings in NYC and Boston - Look out for an invite for Nov 2024
WES spent his first summer at camp in the Kassen’s first year (1988) and their transition year between the Stager ownership and Kassens. Wes returned as a counselor until 1999 and was famous for his creative camper classes like junior firefighters, mechanics and various sports. He continued to support camp in various roles as his daughters attended from 2005-2019, and then from 2020-present in a more operational role supporting camp.
Wes received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from Hobart College in Geneva, New York. You can regularly find Wes playing a game of Risk with a group of campers, inventing games, maintaining the property, and hauling anything around in a tractor.
APRIL spent her first year at Hidden Valley in 2000 as an arts counselor. She's been teaching at Hidden Valley nearly every year since, and her role has evolved from arts education staff to more behind the scenes camp operations. She has been a professional artist for 25 years and loves the mix of arts and outdoors at HVC. She's equally at home teaching an advanced painting or drawing class as she is taking a group of campers mountain biking .
April has an art school undergraduate education from Pratt Institute in New York and a Masters in Business from Trinity College Dublin. You can regularly find April teaching kids an art technique, organizing and reading books in the library, and helping program directors come up with creative ideas for arts and evening programs.