GREENVILLE – The Light Foundation Timber Frame Leadership Camp completed a three-day overnight instructional and hands-on camp held at Chenoweth Trails in Greenville, Ohio, for students entering a high school grade level.
“This is the first time we finished the camp with time to spare,” said Greenville native and former NFL player and 3x Super Bowl Champion Matt Light. “We usually don’t have enough time to catch a breath, and then the kids are gone. Then it’s on to the next thing, but right now we’re sitting here soaking in the amazing dedication these kids displayed over the last three days.”
“It’s hot, and it’s long,” Light continued. “Your hands are beat up, we have blisters, all of these kids have been one hundred percent engaged, they are tapped into what we’re doing, they’re taking things to heart, they are working hard, and now they get to sit back and look at the finished product.”
The program introduces young people to the age-old craft of timber frame construction. Under the guidance of professionals and adult mentors, students turn standing trees into a complete building frame in just three days. Instructors guide students through the safe use of hand and power tools, as well as the process of translating drawings into a three-dimensional structure. The hands-on setting requires students to work collaboratively with one another. Through specialized skill development, campers gain a personal sense of achievement and mastery that they can carry with them into other aspects of their life.
“This camp goes beyond – this camp is not just about timber framing, this is about leadership, the soft leadership qualities that help make us all better people, better leaders, better friends, better co-workers, and that is what is important to us,” Light said. “It’s not important to me that these campers are timber framers or do anything with their hands, but I know they get a great sense of accomplishment from it, and for us here at the Foundation. While these kids were working, sponsors came in to see this. They were blown away. They want to support us more.”
The 2024 timber frame camp constructed a set of timber frame bleachers for the basketball/pickleball courts on the grounds of Chenoweth Trails. The 2025 camp built a second matching set of bleachers for the same court.
“What is cool about this year is that it’s a twin to last year’s camp,” Light stated. “We have about half the kids here from last year that were a part this year, so they had familiarity with it, and I think that is why we’re having this time to sit back and reflect a little bit more.”
Light is hands-on throughout all three days of the camp, while also giving individual attention to each camper.
“I’m having conversations with kids that are going to be having their own projects, and some have been brave enough to come up and ask for letters of recommendation,” noted Light. “There is nothing I like more than having a kid who has the guts to come up and ask for something and be a part of something and love supporting that.”
“The legacy these kids leave behind – the ability to come with their kids 20 years from now and show them I did that girt, I worked on that post,” Light concluded, “because these things will still be standing.”
