Raymond Varner (AKA Ray-Ray to the campers) is our Executive Director. Ray-Ray is a lifelong camper, attending camps since a child. Started serving at camps as a counselor and volunteer at the age of 15 and directing camps at 18. He has 10 years of camp leadership experience, six of which is also administrative. Received a BS in Physical Education and a Masters in Camp Administration and Leadership. Raymond continues to stay educated and learn all he can about camp and children so he can provide an excellency experience for every single camper!

At Ruwá we place the highest priority on finding the best quality and caring staff to be positive role models for your children.  ​Application:Our Staff Application is extensive and asks for many types of information to help screen out sub-par applicants. Every application is read through by three different members of our hiring committee, each one looking for any red flags or other areas of concern.​

Interview: Each applicant goes through a 45-minute face-to-face or phone interview with one of our trained interviewers. Interviews include open-ended response questions regarding family issues, personality, relationship with God, history of substance abuse, etc.​

References: Every applicant must have a minimum of two references from non-family members in order to be considered for hire. References are asked to specifically rate areas such as the applicant's character, their employment experience, and the comfort level of the reference in having the applicant work with children. References that rate applicants below average are automatically tagged for review by our senior hiring staff.​

Background Checks: Once applicants are fully vetted through the above screening procedures, we run three separate background checks: 

FBI Fingerprint Criminal Background Check: includes any criminal arrest dates, charges and the disposition of any cases

Child Protective Services Check: contains information related to child abuse, neglect and any investigations conducted by local departments of social service.

National Sex-offender Registry Check: each hired staff member is screened against the National Sex-offender Registry.