Mountain conference centers, camps hopeful to make recovery from Helene damages

FLAT ROCK, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Fall is the peak time for people to head to the mountains for the iconic scenery, but especially for retreats and gatherings.

But several conference centers and camps are having to cancel bookings for the foreseeable future, as they work to recover from Helene. At Bonclarken Conference Center in Flat Rock, flooding and downed trees were the two biggest issues that occurred from the storm.

Crews are hard at work cleaning up so guests can come this upcoming weekend. But other retreat spots in this part of the state aren’t as lucky.

“Tourist season, we’re right in the middle of it, and people just aren’t here,” said Chip Sherer, president at Bonclarken. “It’s a big impact for all of us.”

A normally quiet and relaxing place is humming with the sounds of work trucks.

“We did not anticipate how ferocious it was going to be,” said Sherer. “Not because we weren’t warned. Just because we’re in the mountains of western North Carolina. Hurricanes happen on the coast, not here.”

Floodwaters washed away part of the hillside at the Henderson County conference center, and workers had to remove the asphalt since water got under it.

“If this had been July instead of September, this would’ve been filled with people,” said Sherer.

The area where campers get snacks, lovingly referred to as the Nibble Nook, took a big hit from a large tree. It’s one of many down on the property.

“We’ve had all cancellations,” said Sherer. “Two weeks without guests and it’s just awful. The middle of October is our peak leaf season, and we normally have hundreds and hundreds of guests, and we haven’t had any.”

Down the road at Camp Tekoa, cleanup efforts are also underway. Power and water just came back on Wednesday morning.

“It’ll be a while before we get it all up and running and we look forward to hosting retreat guests and after schoolers very soon once we can do that,” said Rev. John Isley, the camp’s executive director.

Isley hopes to get people back by the end of October.

“Thousands of people come really from around the world to these conference centers, so to have us out of commission this time of year is difficult,” said Sherer.

Being that these are both Christian organizations, the best they can do now is trust in a higher power.

“God provides for us, makes things possible for us and so our faith has been a big part of what we’ve done here,” said Sherer.

Bonclarken and some of the nearby camps are looking forward to having summer camp as usual next year. They feel grateful because they know others in harder hit counties likely won’t be able to operate anytime soon.

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