Board Member Spotlight: Sarah Doyle McCormack

Since we alumni love Camp, we find it hard to imagine anyone not liking it but not everyone’s first summer experience was a good one. This was the case for our Board of Director Spotlight of this issue: Sarah Doyle McCormack. Despite not enjoying her first summer (1972), she did like the activities so she (on her own, not at her parents’ urging) decided to give it one more chance and returned the following summer as a Senior. Sarah described her first summer, “I didn’t like the kids…it was a bit cliquey and I felt bullied.” This is sad to hear and sounds miserable. Sarah did say that the prior year she went to a Girl Scout camp and it was “dreadful.” This sense of maturity and open-mindedness despite a lackluster experience her first summer is rare and we are lucky Sarah exhibited these.

When Sarah returned, she spent the next two years as a Senior. She applied to be a CIT and says, “I was amazed I got in.” She was a CIT in 1975 and a JC in 1976. Utes and Mohican campers were her favorite ages (“they aren’t babies”). From there, Sarah was a Ute counselor in the summers of 1977, 1978 and 1979.  College beckoned and Sarah received an A.A. from Pine Manor College and a B.S. in Business from Skidmore in 1981. After graduating she got a job but then lost it so for the summer of 1982.  What to do? MOHAWK! She called Camp and asked if there was a need for a counselor and happily for her (and for us) there was, but the job included being the archery teacher and required special certification. When this writer admitted to not even thinking about being certified to teach this, Sarah reminded me, “after all, it is a weapon. ”

The certification process was a bit challenging, more as a result of the weather than the archery itself.  Sarah traveled to where the training was held and spent four days in absolutely pouring rain. The candidates could barely practice due to the deluge and Sarah couldn’t wait until the training ended. It did and Sarah was certified. The certification course happened during staff training so Sarah missed a bit of that along with the 1982 staff picture. As it turned out, this was her last summer at Camp. During her years there, she was able to connect with others from New Canaan High, Sarah’s alma mater. One Mohawker who also went to New Canaan High (a couple of years ahead of Sarah) was Robin Jones. Sarah mentioned her as an “idol.”  Sarah was born in Richland, Washington to native Californians. We are just happy she ended up in Connecticut.

After Camp, Sarah focused on her career. She had another passion - musical theater. Through that, Sarah developed another passion, for her husband, Chris, another lover of musical theater. They had actually met in the summer of 1980 while Chris was the musical director of “Fiorello” at the New Canaan Summer Theater. By 1982, he was directing “Guys and Dolls” and Sarah got into the chorus. The rest is history. They married in 1987, and Christopher went on to become a prominent attorney while remaining involved with theater and music (he played the viola for forty years for the Norwalk Symphony). Sarah worked for some well-known companies as a corporate accountant and the couple, now with two children, moved to accommodate jobs, law school and a clerkship for Chris. The family settled in Trumbull, CT, in 1988. Sarah had two biological children with Chris, Ben and Eli, and an “adopted” son, James, who has been a member of the family since he was in high school. The family moved to a different house in 1994 in Trumbull where Sarah still lives. Sadly, in April 2020, Christopher McCormack suffered a massive heart attack while at home and died nine days later.

While speaking with Sarah for this article, she mentioned a possible upcoming audition for the show “Sister Act,” which is being performed in May at Fairfield Center Stage. Well, I admit to encouraging her to go for it. She did it and was cast!  Many alumni are joining together to go to the show and cheer her on. No surprise here! Mohawk has a way of getting into your heart and soul. This quickly became true for Sarah despite a slow start. Now she is not only one of the alumni whose love of Mohawk is obvious but does everything she can to keep it thriving. She exhibits this through her work on the Board and her support of many camp weekends and events. She is also a proud member of The Mohawk Troubadours!  We are forever grateful she returned for that second summer. Sarah Doyle McCormack remains a vibrant and necessary part of the place we all love and all the people connected to it.