“My wish for every person in the world is that they could feel what it’s like to be Grandy at Campowerment for a day!”

On November 7, 2019, Joan “Grandy” Leader passed away, becoming an angel in the heavens just as she walked as one on Earth: with flare and humor, charm and sheer magic.

Besides her family, nothing made Joan “Grandy” Leader happier than making sure people knew they mattered and belonged. At 83, she stood at 5 feet tall (when she wore her “big girl shoes”) but she had us stumped on how she fit all that love and magic into that small, cutie little vessel.

Grandy showed so many of us a deep knowing and genuine faith in something more important, in the journey, the legacy, the story and the rich, character-building connections within it.

Grandy was what dreams are made of. If we’re sticking to technicalities, Grandy gave birth to this here business as the mother/grandmother to the two running the Campowerment show, and she quickly became the “Grandy” of the entire Campowerment community.

With a Master’s degree in Reading, Grandy was a journaling professor and special education consultant for decades before she let Campowerment leverage her saintly patience as our camper satisfaction lead. Until a few months before she passed, Grandy called every single woman who registered for our retreats to welcome them to the community. (For real!)