Full-Time Staff Moves and Changes

We have incredible leadership at Pine Cove. From the top down, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the main thing! With multiple regions and needs for lots of leaders in various roles, there are plenty of opportunities for our staff to jump into new roles and even move to different regions. Here is a quick look at some big changes in positions around our organization starting this fall.

Jeff “Rawhide” Olchesky: Jeff has been serving Pine Cove for many years. Most recently, he was the Director of Operations in our Central Texas region, but we are excited to welcome him to our Headquarters as the VP of Operations and Risk Officer. Jeff and his family are actually not new to Tyler—they started out working at Pine Cove ETX in 2006!

Pat “Michaelangelo” Preston: Pat, his wife Meg, and their five kids just made the big move from Central Texas to our Southeast region! After serving in a variety of roles in the CTX Region for 11 years, including CTX Regional Director and Ridge Camp Director, Pat is now the SE Senior Director of Ministries and Chimney Point Camp Director!

Ben “Four Score” Ambuehl: After faithfully serving as the Chimney Point Camp Director and Southeast Regional Director for the last three years, Ben has moved into a more global role as the VP of Camper Acquisition, where he will oversee getting more campers to camp to inspire them to walk more intimately with Jesus!

Rebecca “Deemer” Smith: If you’ve been around Pine Cove City, you probably recognize this face! Rebecca is a legend around Pine Cove. She has served in both the Central Texas and East Texas regions on full-time staff since 2012. Most recently, she was the CTX Camp in the City Regional Director and she is now transitioning into the role of Senior Director of Pine Cove City. 

TJ “Philly” Connor: TJ is one of the most energetic members of the Pine Cove family! He served as the Timbers Camp Director for six summers before moving to our Central Texas region this fall to be the CTX Senior Director of Ministries and Ridge Camp Director. We are so excited to see the ways he impacts our CTX community!

Taylor “Roctober” Gembol: Taylor joined our full-time staff team in 2017 as the Men’s Director of the Woods, and later stepped into the role of Associate Director at the Woods. Taylor has moved around once again—but just down the road! He is now the Timbers Camp Director. We are excited for Taylor to lead the Timbers team!

Ben “Digs” Gassaway: Ben has spent countless summers at Pine Cove, both as a camper and a staffer. Ben began working full time in the fall of 2018 as a Pine Cove City Site Director, and is now transitioning into the role of Woods Associate Director. Ben is no stranger to the Woods camp—he actually began as a summer staffer at the Woods in 2014!