Our Directors

Camp Alleghany is a family-owned and operated business and has been for 3 generations. Currently, the three directors include the husband-wife team of Sam and Bonnie Dawson, along with their daughter Elizabeth Dawson Shreckhise. Together with their stellar staff of counselors and employees, the three of them effectively operate, maintain, and organize all of the functions of Camp Alleghany.

Sam Dawson, Director

Sam has been involved with summer camping since he was a small child! He spent eight summers as a camper at Camp Greenbrier, and then worked at Alleghany on the Green Team in the 1960s. In 1984 he returned to Alleghany as the Associate Director, working under his father S. Cooper Dawson, Jr. During the 80s and 90s Sam became involved in all management aspects of camp, including recruiting and hiring, and assisted in working towards building Alleghany in to a strong operation. In 2000 he took over as the Director, and he works year-round for Camp Alleghany, living in Fredericksburg, VA during the non-summer months. A Certified Camp Director, Sam enjoys every aspect of the camping business and holds Alleghany to the highest of standards, continuing to earn the American Camp Association’s accreditation status each year. He looks forward to each summer with excitement and anticipation and hopes to see all of you at Alleghany this year!

Bonnie Dawson, Program Director

Bonnie was introduced to Alleghany when she married Sam in 1970. After spending several summers at Family Camp, Bonnie took on a few leadership roles when Sam became Associate Director in 1984. She has been Head of Drama and Wild World, Head Hopper, the Store manager, as well as a tent counselor in Senior Camp. Currently as the Program Director, her duties include overseeing all camp activities ranging from the campers’ daily classes to the evening activities and special events and programs. In addition to her assigned duties, Bonnie also conducts a small non-denominational service on Sunday mornings, and sends home a weekly parent newsletter called The Lantern. When she is not at camp, Bonnie resides in Fredericksburg, VA with Sam and is a science teacher—a career she has had for 39 years! Every year, she looks forward to the serene, peaceful setting of the West Virginia Mountains, and her favorite part of Alleghany is seeing the happy, smiling campers every day.

Elizabeth Dawson Shreckhise, Assistant to the Directors

Elizabeth began her camping experience as a camper at Alleghany when she was 7 years old. After spending ten summers as a camper, she went through the JC program, became a full-fledged counselor, and continued to take on leadership roles such as Head of Dance and Unit Head. In the summers of 2002 and 2003 she was the Head of Junior Camp. She took a few summers off to earn her Masters Degree in Education and Human Development, but returned to Alleghany in 2006 to serve as the Head of Senior Camp. Currently, Elizabeth lives in Staunton, VA during the school year and works as an Elementary School Counselor. In her free time she assists Sam in recruiting campers and hiring staff, and helps with other camp projects such as keeping the camp website current, updating camp literature, and planning with the directors. In the summers she has taken on the role of Assistant to the Directors and is thrilled to be able to continue working at Alleghany each summer. She especially enjoys working closely with the staff and campers, and can’t wait for another great summer at ‘Ghany!