My daughter spent 12 years as a counselor and camper at Camp Mystic. I attended 5 years as a counselor. I will never forget what prior owners taught me. I will never forget my summers spent there, the friendships I forged, songs learned, self-esteem gained, and the love for all things beautiful and kind. I said this camp would never open again. Losing one child might be deemed an accident. Losing 27 children is a systemic and systematic failure across the board.
The reason CM is paying the price more than federal, state, or county authorities is simple: Camp Mystic is a for profit camp and an easier target. Also, they lost children and it happened on their watch.
Let's face it, the children should never have been sleeping in a floodway to begin with. Had Dick followed FEMA guidelines and purchased the flood insurance, this tragedy would not have happened. They had the funds to move or rebuild cabins. Their tuition brings in over $25 Mil per year. They downsized their employees and relied on younger and fewer counselors per cabin to save money. They were woefully underinsured or not insured at all because the destruction and deaths were caused by a flood. You have no flood insurance due to a flood not produced by your own plumbing without purchasing federal flood insurance. They relied on family to make decisions and run the camp. It had become inbred and ineffective in terms of safety. The beliefs that Mystic was "special", "above the law", "tradition over safety" and "God would protect them" negated all common sense. These owners and managers were supposed to be professionals and some had professional licenses. Families entrusted them with their precious children. They were extremely lucky not to have lost a camper in 99 years. They will pay the largest price. It was their own negligence that killed those children. They have started to confess that. May God, who they profess to love so much, forgive them. Let Justice here on Earth judge them fairly.
The song we sang and attributed to CM that goes "There's a camp on the Guadalupe River, it's the camp of my dreams / Where the whip-poor-wills call softly and the bright moon beams / On the banks of the Guadalupe River, hearts are loyal and true / Camp Mystic I will pledge my true and faithful love to you!". We sang it at assemblies, vigils, and vespers. I still believe in the CM that we attended. Unfortunately, the song is prophetic. It is forever in our dreams. My family will not go back to this Camp Mystic under this current management ever again.