30 years of Impact Dramas

 Impact 2024
"Ballyhoo"

Ballyhoo
"To make a big deal about something, that seems small"

It's just a camp, right? It's just one week a year. It does not seem to be worth all this ballyhoo.

48 hours ago, I was celebrating with 1,400 of my friends.

Just a few hours later I stood in the Hall of Fame room watching as months of dreams were being taken down piece by piece, idea by idea.

It is always bittersweet.

You see 48 hours ago it was...The last night of Impact. The limitless joy of your worship, the boisterous reactions to the conclusion of a weeklong skit. The last night devotionals, and the side hugs and well wishes hoping for a next year

And then it's over.

It's 1:00 AM and only those of us wanting to catch that last bit of community are still there. For almost the entirety of my 32 years working with Impact it's almost always the same.

Friday Night is bittersweet

But then comes Saturday, and while it is a little sad to wake up to a nearly empty campus. It also represents a new day. Impac t 2025 starts then. I get to start imagining how we can glorify God "next year. That simple challenge lessens the sting.

Enough about that ballyhoo, let's talk about well, what happened at Ballyhoo.

Sometime around February a few conversations gave birth to this theme. Justin Peach, Rubio, Rodney Keaton, Tucker, and Skid all contributed. We all just kind of thought one thing. This year we focus on "just be a better person". Let's talk about joy instead of anxiety. Let's give kindness the microphone and give stress a break.

I am not sure the exact moment the Costume Department came to life, but I know this skit was easily, the "easiest" Impact skit I have ever tackled.

Col 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

The idea of teens getting trapped in an abandoned studio. Then putting on clothes that changed the direction of a movie that was never filmed but was playing out right in front of them....just felt natural. :)

So, Impact 2024....

Incredible worship led by Jordan House and Chamberlan Little. Keynote lessons by Jeff Walling, Darwin Mason Jr, and David Skidmore. Every single keynote was a highlight for my teenagers

Especially when Sydney Jones shared her story of walking through faith even when the world is crashing around you.

Our fantastic class teachers always knock it out of the park as we took on the topics of Kindness, Compassion, Gentleness, Love, Bearing with one Another, Humility and Patiance. All of our classes were named like 1940's movies and all of them had movie posters designed by Jesse Stacy. My teens could not stop taking about the poster for "Pride and It's Death".

And then there's Morning Impact.

Some old Impact originals returned. Intern Kim, Teatime with Mr. T, Bob Ross, Russell, The Little House Lever, The Sing-along contest (girls winning 3-2), Flannel Board Theater, Bear on a Bicycle, Just Toby, Skid wins the ball race again (4-1).

And then there was the return of the Belmount Boys, who somehow had t-shirts made, that sold out immediately. Due to some complications Dirk's cousin Bryson had to step in until the last Morning of Morning Impact when Dirk returned to thunderous applause.

This blog would not be complete without a nod of the hat to Greyson Tucker, Seth Madaris, Blake Boggs and all of those who made the Garry Potter legacy real. We spent 9 years on that gag and it provided some of the best moments in Impact history.

So in honor of the final year, we allowed The Hat of Sorting on stage always ready to "sort". Maybe the Hat of Sorting will be on stage ready to put you in Giggeldorf, Crowbeak, Snugglepuff, or Slyperin in the future. Dr. McQueem and Brewer were Giggledorf, Rubio and Jeff Walling were Slipperin, Bob Ross turned out to be Snugglepuff.

But Morning Impact also debuted, Tug-O-Warren, Poppy (What's Poppin Ya'll?), Marty McFly and Doc Brown, and Ka-Bluey. I guess we have some new characters for Morning Impact trading cards next year.

This year's Impact skit is a cinch for top ten of all time, maybe even top 5. The story of Elais and Royce Raiment and their Ballyhoo Studio's was a joy to write. There were some iconic moments during this years performances. One of the basic tenements of the Impact skit is its ability not to take itself too seriously while still presenting a moving parable on stage. I will always cherish your reactions to the play, when you laughed at Butch and Gene and the Condor Roll, or Skid's pins. When you groaned and cheered when "Take My Breath Away" played as Royce saw Bella. When you clapped for Yale when he finally got up the nerve to ask out Millie. When you sang along or clapped during one of the musical numbers (That "High Adventure" was amazing, Chamberlan, Jackson, Skid, and Brock did amazing).. When you acted shocked when Charles Mentz turned the gun on Elias Raiment. And when you cheered for Brewer as he entered the story and put on the clothes of a hero. It was truly an amazing moment.

As always Impact raised money for several charities. This year those were Best Buddies, Give Kids The World Village, and The Australian Outreach. This is a huge element of Impact and is just a part of our DNA. Impact has given over $175,000 to charity over the years. To that I think we can all say "Two Wolves".

Let me say this as well, Impact has an amazing team. This year I felt the teamwork more than ever. So, I want to thank our team.... every one of them. I hope I do not leave anyone out.

Rodney Keaton once again did an amazing job with our set. Rodney gets it. He knows what we are looking for at Impact. We want to transform Allen Arena to a different world, and Rodney always delivers.

Jeremy Evans, what a great start. Jeremy took over free time this year and crushed it. Charlie and Haley Sells, thank you once again for giving away your valuable time to invest in this event. Sam Sherrill and Chamberlan Little care so much about Impact and it shows in your dedication to what we are doing.

Our Creative Team of Aubry Wood, Jonathan Tucker, Greyson Tucker, Jackson Wells, David Rodriguez, Patrick Chapel, Rubio, Skid, Olivia Messier, Rawson Brooks, James Mosely, Kolton Smith, Blake Boggs, Jesse Stacy, Steven Hayes is incredible, it's like an All-Star team of creatives.

Our Counselor Team is incredible, thank you to Walter, Sarah, Justin, and Rawson. You guys did a fantastic job this year.

Then there's Peach. Peach is amazing. He puts up with my calls in September, and October, and November....you get the idea. He does a lot of the work folks don't see. There are very few people who love Impact more than Justin Peach.

Jimmy Cox and his Security Team, year after year come out because they love Impact. They help keep this thing going. They give their time to keep you safe! It's a great act of service.

Johnny Markam is our mentor/friend. He's who I call when there's wisdom needed, he also is in charge of classes. Easy to work with and fun to be a round I hope Johnny never leaves. Justin Moore does an incredible job with the Impact Store and also serves as a liaison with speakers and worship leaders. Justin also organizes the youth minister gatherings at night during Senior Impact. Justin is very popular amongst those of us working Impact because he loves serving and more importantly feeding people. John Micah Richardson is in charge of entertainment, and let me tell you, he REALLY cares about making it worth your while.

Then there's good old Announcement Mike. Mike Shepherd and I taught a really terrible Impact class together in 1996, but somehow, we both managed to get invited to join the Impact Board in 1997. It was Mike and I who stumbled into creating Morning Impact. Mike has been a mentor/friend to me for 30 years. I asked him once why he took interest in helping me as a young kid in college, and he said, "you laugh at my jokes" . Mike is our stage manager, and this is easily one of the most difficult jobs at Impact. I am so appreciative that Mike loves Impact so much he flies across the world to come every year from Australia.

I also need to thank Jacob and Katie Arthur, John Schmidt, Sally and Kenneth Coultas, Luke Shoulders, these are the folks at Impact who cross the T's and dot the I's. They do the jobs no one else wants. Speaking of which Teressa Maxwell also needs to get a shout out. She perhaps thinks and works on Impact more than any of us.

Last but not least, our heartbeat. Steve Davidson. I cannot even begin to explain how important this man, who most campers do not even know, is to Impact and to me. (mainly because we try to keep him away from microphones). If you love Impact, tell Steve thank you next year, because he's the reason you are here.

So that's our team. It's the best team I have ever worked with, and I hope it reflects on the event.

So, my friends. I hope you had a "whale" of a time. Maybe took home a duck, or two? Listened to a mix tape?

"No fowl plays" my friends and make a big deal about little things. Your choices effect your story.

Ballyhoo!