Staff Profile: Lorissa Dollar

Lorissa “PG” Dollar has worked at various Pine Cove camps, which should equip her well as she embarks on the journey of opening Pine Cove’s newest camp location: the Springs. Lorissa is a barrel of laughs and laughed through almost every answer in this interview.  We know you’ll love getting to know and laughing with Lorissa.

What is your current position and how long have you worked at Pine Cove?

I am the Springs Women’s Director and I worked four summers on summer staff before this. Three at Chimney Point, where I was a counselor for a summer and then Crew Senior Counselor for two summers. I did my last summer on Pine Cove City Team Delta where I was the Assistant Program Director.

What is your camp name and how did you get it?

My camp name is “PG,” like for a movie. It stands for “parental guidance.” The guide part is that I was a tour guide at the University of Tennessee. The parental part was from when I went to a military ball at West Point. My date and I were slow dancing because it was a big fancy ball, but for freshmen, you bring a date and your parents. Most parents were doing their own thing, but my date’s parents were standing in the corner with a huge video camera videoing us. He got super embarrassed, but I found it really funny.

What are you most excited about with helping to open a new camp?

One of the things that is really cool to me is the history of the camp. The property has such a history already. We get to be part of the Lord continuing to use that land. For example, the lake has been Lake Louise for decades and decades and decades and we just get to add to that history of ministry. We get to keep the old history alive while also adding something new. Just getting to be a little part of how the Lord is using that land, and has been for a long time, is just really cool.

For the rest of your life, if you could participate in only one activity class, what would it be and why?

I would say anything with the boats. I love the boats. You can take a nap, have fun, and get from point A to point B on the boats.

Do you have any hidden talents?

One time I made a clay pot for art class and it ended up being pretty good. So I put it in a competition through my church denomination and it ended up getting second place in the world! I guess it was actually really good. But that was it, one and done!

What is your favorite camp trend from this past summer?

On my City team, we went to Starkville, Mississippi and it was right after Mississippi State had won the College World Series. There is a store there that is pretty iconic and I went with some friends, and they had a gray tie-dye shirt that had a Mississippi State bulldog on it. We get back to the church that day and realize that over 10 people got that shirt, when we all thought we were being original. So from that point on, that was like our thing: on Wednesdays we will wear our dog shirts.

What is your ideal weekend plan?

If I can have two things it will make any day perfect, especially the weekend. First, sleep in. I love to sleep as late as I can. Then I would wake up and I don’t really care what I do the rest of the day, but if I can eat a really good meal, then I will be set. I love to eat. I am a really picky eater, but I love to eat and I love sushi.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was in kindergarten, they asked me that question and my class was getting featured in the local newspaper for this question. I knew, even then, that I loved kids and I thought, ‘I am sure when I’m an adult, I will love to drive.’ So I let them all know in the newspaper that I wanted to be a bus driver. But then from age nine until about two years ago, I wanted to be a lawyer.

If you were going to travel the world with two other Pine Cove staff, who would you choose and why?

I think I would go with Chloe Patterson, the Towers Women’s Director, and Mike Miller, the Chimney Point Men’s Director. We were all on the leadership team together at Chimney Point for two summers. This would be no shock to them because we are like a squad. We would just laugh hysterically the entire time. It wouldn’t matter where we went, it would just be the most fun time ever.

What are some of your favorite things right now?

One of my favorite things is the store Zara. I have never lived close to one, but now since I am in Atlanta and only 20 minutes away from one, I find any excuse I can to go there. I also love chocolate-covered pecans from Kroger. They are far too expensive but I will buy 2-3 packs at a time and eat them in a day. I love them.

What is one characteristic of God you’ve seen the most while working at Pine Cove?

I would say His patience. I think a pretty consistent thing for summer staff and now on full time, is I have really grown through being more patient toward others and toward myself. We just have so many things on our plate and things to do all the time, and I can easily get annoyed with myself that I can’t do every little thing. I have just learned a lot that God is patient with me and doesn’t expect me to be perfect, so I should do the same with myself and others.