Lawyer
Name: Jared Lina
Years as a camper: 9 summers (1986-1994)
Years on Summer Staff: 5 summers on staff (1 as a Junior Counselor on Tennis, 3 as a Senior Counselor on Golf, and 1 as Camper Services for Camp 3)
Please provide a brief history of your Camp story. How were you first introduced to Sea Gull? How has it fit into your professional life and career path?
I started at Camp Sea Gull as a 7-year-old camper in Cabin 1 in 1986. I didn't know anyone at Sea Gull except my older brother, Jason. The late Bill Adams was the first of countless friends that I made over my 14 summers at Sea Gull. I was always a "Land" guy at Camp. Golf, tennis, athletics, the swim lake - that's where you'd find me. I was obsessed with sports at that time in my life. My dream job back then was to work at ESPN. During my last summer at Camp (2001), I remember getting a little post-it note message at the flagpole saying that ESPN had called to offer me a job. That was one of the happiest days of my life. I moved to Bristol, Connecticut right after the summer ended, worked my tail off for 3 years, worked alongside my childhood idols, won a few Emmy Awards, and made a million memories.
I later moved to Atlanta to marry my wife, Pam, who I actually met at Camp. I went to law school, became a lawyer and now I'm a partner in the law firm of Goldstein Hayes & Lina in Atlanta.
Who at Camp was most influential and impactful to you? How so?
My list of Camp role models is endless. The first 3 names that come to mind are "Wild" Bill Hamner, Clay Jackson and Billie Pope. I was fortunate enough to have all 3 of these legends as cabin counselors (Bill in 1987, Clay in 1993 and Billie in 1994).
Bill Hamner had more energy and enthusiasm than anyone I've ever met. I've tried to emulate that spirit throughout my life in everything I do.
Clay Jackson had this incredible ability to bring out the best in people through kindness, encouragement and positivity. He gave me so much confidence at that time in my life.
Billie Pope is the greatest leader of people I've ever met in my life. He treated everyone with dignity, fairness and respect, and everyone respected and loved Billie in return. I still lean on Billie as my moral compass to this day. With role models like these three guys, I couldn't possibly go wrong.
Which lessons, values or skills have you carried forward from Camp into your personal and professional life?
The easy answer here are the four Camp rules - Listen, Share, Try Your Best and Do What's Right. When I'm at my best, personally and professionally, I'm applying all four of those rules in everything I do.
The spin-off of "Do What's Right," which we made a theme in Camp 3 all those years ago, was "Do Good. Then Disappear." I think this is the most important lesson, value and skill that I've learned throughout my lifetime. If you do little things every day to make someone's life just a little bit better, without looking for gratitude and public praise, you'll live an incredibly fulfilling life.
What is your greatest Camp accomplishment?
This is a humbling question. My objective Camp "accomplishments" are so insignificant relative to the people I consider to be true Camp legends.
Without question, my greatest Camp accomplishment, however, is the long list of people I met at camp decades ago who I still consider to be my closest friends. I didn't know anyone at Camp when I came to Arapahoe in 1986. Almost 40 years later, rarely a day goes by when I don't get a call or text from one of my camp friends. My college roommate was Paul Tucker, who I met at Camp in 1987. I have a 20+ year continuous text string going with Jonathan Menachem, Jim Mahan, Ryan Berman, Pullen Daniel, Ed Roberson and John Moorman.
My face lights up every time I get a phone call from Ken Hyde. During college basketball season, I am constantly getting texts from friends like Hayes Permar, Carter Brenneman, William Silverman, David Katz, Douglas Andrew and Tali Wilkinson, to name a few.
I have a list of Camp lawyer friends who I consult with on work matters. That's a lot of name-dropping, for sure, but my friends are by far my greatest Camp accomplishment.
Tell us about your favorite Camp memory.
I have a favorite Camp day. How about that? August 13, 1998. Last full day of Second Session 25 years ago. I was the senior counselor in Cabin 49. Douglas Waterman was my assisting senior. We were the youngest cabin in Camp 4 that summer, and it was just an unbelievable group. Our cabin goal that summer from the first day was to be 100% Sunfish Master and 100% First Mate. It felt like an enormous goal, especially for a bunch of 13-year-olds.
During the last activity period of that magical day, the final two campers earned their Sunfish Master and we somehow achieved our impossible goal. It was electric. We went to the Mess Hall banquet and we were all glowing.
After we were done eating, Captain Lloyd called my best friend, Jonathan Menachem, to the Mess Hall podium. And Jonathan proceeded to present me with Character Counts. (I nearly fainted. Howard Longing and Douglas Andrew shared that incomparable honor with me that evening.) I get goosebumps just thinking about it. I was so unworthy. A few hours later, Ken Hyde presented us with the Camp 4 Honor Cabin award. It was absolute pandemonium. At the time, it was by far the best day of my life, and it will always be my favorite day at Camp.
