People

TGC is staffed by volunteer older adults who want to connect with youth and give back to the community.  Contact us if you’re interested in becoming a volunteer mentor or a board member!

Board of Directors

Joel Daunic, Founder

Joel is a former broker with The Guardian Life Insurance Company. He was also a college athletic director and women’s basketball coach and has maintained a lifelong interest in sports. He organized, helped coach, and played on the world masters basketball championship team (55+) in 1998 and coached Youth Basketball in the First Nazarene Church League. Joel is the founder of TGC and has been the driving force behind the organization for 13 years.

Jim Polk

Jim has been the key force for getting TGC going in Nashville. As a retired director of adult continuing education, Jim is still an active member in the community: he is a board member of the Lockeland Springs Neighborhood Association and helped build the Lockeland Springs park as well as organize the Chicken Eggstravaganza event for TGC. Jim’s wisdom and community connections have been integral to the camp’s development.

Ann Daunic, Secretary

A former faculty member in the Department of Special Education at the University of Florida, Ann directs funded research projects concerned with preventing aggression and problem behaviors. She has also worked as a school administrator, college counselor, and tennis coach. Ann is a regular TGC participant and helps Joel with camp organization and planning.

Jim Schriver

A former Industry environmental and regulatory compliance specialist in Houston, Jim and his wife Nita retired to Nashville, and joined TGC in 2016. Jim has an MS in Environmental Management, and BS in Geology. He was a Scout leader for 12 years, a Sunday school teacher, and coached YMCA baseball and basketball. Jim is a practitioner of Tai Chi, and enjoys running the Capital steps, bike riding, and working out in general.

 

Nita Schriver, Treasurer

Nita is a retired librarian with experience in public and school libraries. She has taught ESL, Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, been a Girl Scout leader, and volunteered at Ten Thousand Villages and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. She enjoys reading, knitting, yoga, and making s’mores.

 

Featured Volunteer Mentors

Craig Jervis

Craig is the owner of a restaurant called Mad Platter, and the leader of the Sierra Club ICO in Nashville. Craig is one of our top collaborators and has helped TGC organize canoe trips and other outings for four years. Craig’s generosity and his extensive knowledge of the outdoors has been invaluable for TGC.

Mary Priestly

As a curator at the University of Sewanee Herbarium, she has published books on sustainability and volunteered at organizations like Camp Discover. At last year’s TGC camp, she lead a nature workshop at Abbo’s Alley on the University campus, a piece of land in recovery from pollution. We are excited to have her join us again for this year’s camp!

Bob Wilkins

Bob has a very colorful and impressive bio: he has been everything from an eagle scout, a member of the navy, an Outward Bound instructor and a professional land surveyor. Currently retired in Nashville, Bob leads a safety workshop for all the counselors and kids on the first day of camp.

Angie Edwards

Ms. Edwards is a Nashville native and mother of two great kids, Siena and Fenn. She has spent her first half century pursuing many passions for work and pleasure. She is a world traveler, polyglot, community volunteer, entrepreneur, vintage stylist, antiques and art collector, master gardener, animal lover, live music nut and friendly bohemian. She co-founded Mad Science Nashville and holds an International MBA from Thunderbird School of International Management. She presently manages several properties and enjoys being a part-time professional gardener.

Rhys Daunic

Rhys has been facilitating the camper documentary productions at TGC since the first year of camp in 2003. Through his company, The Media Spot, Rhys works with educators at all levels to integrate media literacy concepts and media production into teaching and learning.  He has worked with over 50 New York City public schools, teaches media literacy courses at Columbia University, the University of Rhode Island, and The Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change, and is a Board Director of the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE). Rhys will not be attending the 2016 camp, but is looking to expand TGC to Vermont, where he currently lives

Fred Booth

A former teacher and retired staff member of the Tennessee Education Association, Fred first became a TGC senior camper and mentor when his granddaughter, Nora, attended her first camp in 2012. Since then he has assisted in planning and coordinating camp activities. He enjoys running, drawing, and helping as a volunteer in his grandchildren’s elementary school art classes.