Staff
Camp Hopewell has a year-round staff dedicated to the mission of creating a safe and welcoming place for campers and visitors. These enthusiastic members of the St. Andrew Presbytery care for the facilities, manage the summer staff, and devote their energies to ensuring that your time at Camp Hopewell is joyful and happy.
During the summer, we add approximately 30 members to the Hopewell staff to support all the great camp activities. If you are interested in working at Camp Hopewell, please see the "Join Our Team" section for further information or email Allyson Ashmore, Program Director.
Executive Director
Ann Kelly
Ann Kelly was elected the new executive director on May 3rd, 2005 at Lebanon Presbyterian Church in Toccopola. Ann grew up in First Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen, MS and started attending Camp Hopewell at the age of 10. Ann has held various roles of leadership at Hopewell including work as a volunteer and summer staff from 1978-1987. From 1985-1987 she worked at Hopewell year-round as Assistant Director before leaving to further explore her sense of call to the ordained ministry. She has worked as Director of Christian Education in our Oxford and Greenwood churches. A graduate of University of Mississippi and Columbia Theological Seminary, Ann served as Associate Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Rogers, AK, before moving to Tupelo in June 1995 to become Associate pastor at First Presbyterian church there.
Ann is married to Danny Kelly, better known as “Dano” to former Hopewell staff and campers. Danny was on Hopewell staff from 1984 until 1988, and then again in 1995 when they moved to Tupelo.
Ann and Danny have three children: Joseph, Elizabeth, and Daniel. The entire family loves the outdoors, camping, hiking and just exploring and enjoying God’s creation.
Site Director & Program Director/Host
Darren and Allyson Ashmore
Darren and Allyson joined the year-round Hopewell staff in January of 2001. Allyson serves as the Program Director/Host, overseeing camp and retreat programming and staff recruitment. Darren, as Site Director, manages and cares for the facilities and maintenance needs including the Hopewell Challenge Course as a certified Challenge Course Technician. Both have attended numerous training workshops through organizations such as Project Adventure, Annual Recreation Workshop, ACA, and PCCCA.
Darren and Allyson have spent years camping, hiking, and canoeing various rivers, lakes and even the Canadian wilderness. Darren and Allyson have two daughters, Brynn and Gracyn, who love camp with all of their hearts, too. The Ashmore family reside at camp year-round. Their ministry at Hopewell is a true family commitment, in which each member enjoys the lifestyle they are blessed to have at camp.
Registrar
Jennifer Nelson
Jennifer has been a part of the Hopewell ministry for going on 15 years. She started out as a camper in 1993. Once old enough, Jennifer became a camp counselor in 1999. After spending 6 summers at Hopewell, it was time for Jennifer to graduate college and move out into the real world. The real world quickly brought Jennifer back to Hopewell in August of 2005 where she has been the administrative assistant to the Executive Director and registrar for Hopewell ever since.
Jennifer was born in Meridian, MS and moved with her family to Tupelo, MS in 1985. She is a '99 graduate of Tupelo High School and went on to Mississippi State University to graduate in 2004 with a degree in Elementary Education. In her spare time she likes to read any book she can lay her hands on, watch shows from her TiVO and play with her cat, Jerry Garcia.
Food Service Manager
Loretta Morris
Loretta has work at Hopewell since she was a teenager, cooking under the direction of her mother, Lula Marion, and now serving as our Food Service Manager. She is a wonderful cook and an amazing person, showing the most incredible hospitality to all of Hopewell's guest...always with a smile on her face. Loretta takes special care of our guests food service needs so that no one EVER goes home hungry or not happy with the taste of Hopewell food. Oh, those homemade rolls are so good!
Maintenance Assistant
Susan Twitty
Susan has been on staff at Hopewell since fall of 2001 serving in many different capacities at camp. She is the "Wonder Woman" of Hopewell, never turning down a task given to her. She is housekeeping staff during retreat season, maintenance assistant to Darren year-round, landscaper and lawn maintaining during the warm months, and childcare provider. She has a genuine love for Hopewell and the ministry here. Be sure and call her "Aunt Susan" when you come to visit! She serves in that role in reality to the Ashmore children and affectionately to the Kelly children as well as all campers and summer staff.