What began as a summer love story at Laity Lodge Youth Camp has become a lifelong commitment to serving students in the Canyon.
Photography by Lynz Bruce
Thud.
A second arrow hit the center of the target. A young girl beamed with pride.
This young girl had found her thing at the Singing Hills archery range, where her Outdoor School instructor, Chris Huddleston, showed her how to use a bow for the first time. Turning to the rest of the students and chaperones, she said, “I finally found something that I’m good at doing!”
“I think she surprised herself,” Chris tells me later. “It’s moments like those—students are discovering confidence—that keep my wife, Trish, and me coming back to volunteer.”
Chris and Trish’s service in the Frio River Canyon goes back more than four decades. In 1981, Chris joined Laity Lodge Youth Camp as a summer counselor and served off and on for several years. Then in 1988, Chris served on the program team, and Trish came for the first time as a counselor at Singing Hills. That’s also the summer when they became a couple.
“This was before cellphones, so I just showed up with some guy. It was so awkward just sitting around with my parents.”
Trish said it happened by chance.
Chris needed a ride from the camps near Leakey to a car dealership in Kerrville, where he was going to pick up a car. Who better to hitch a ride with than Trish on her way to visit family in Boerne? But when they got to the dealership, Chris’s car had not been delivered.
Not wanting to drive all the way back to camp, Trish invited him to spend the day with her and her family. “This was before cellphones, so I just showed up with some guy,” laughed Trish. “It was so awkward just sitting around with my parents.”
They eventually left to go see a movie and grab a bite to eat. When they arrived back at camp, Chris confessed it was the first date that he’d been on in a long time.
“Wait, this was a date?” Trish asked. The rest is history.
Returning to Guide a New Generation
The Huddlestons continued serving the campers of LLYC for four additional summers, the last of which they spent as newlyweds. Then their life shifted into opportunities outside the Canyon—working overseas with Cru for 13 years and raising their two boys, Nate and Nick.
After moving back to Texas, Trish came across a story in Echoes magazine featuring students at the Singing Hills playfield doing… you guessed it! Archery.
Trish and Chris learned that the Foundation’s Outdoor School is similar to LLYC but focuses on students in the San Antonio area—helping them get outdoors and connect with nature in a way many of them can’t in their own neighborhoods.
“I remember thinking about how much we’d love to be involved with something like that,” said Trish. “But at that point, our boys were still young and in school, so it wasn’t the right time for us.”
Chris and Trish both worked as teachers in their early careers, and the idea of working with students in the Canyon again—especially those who would not otherwise get the chance to try something like archery or mountain biking—really appealed to them.
After their youngest boy graduated in 2021, Trish reached out. “I just emailed the Foundation and said, ‘Hey, we’re interested in volunteering with Outdoor School. What can we do?’ And then someone replied, ‘Sure!’”
Their first volunteer job in the Canyon was simple—help students get safely in and out of their kayaks on the Frio. As they continued to show up for retreats, they shadowed staff members and learned how to facilitate each of the different program activities. Their backgrounds in education combined with the relationships they were building with the Outdoor School staff meant that they were eventually entrusted to lead science activities like geology class and nature walks.
“The Huddlestons have become invaluable volunteers for the Outdoor School program,” said the Foundation’s director of community camping programs, Kimberley Williams. “We are a small team of five, and I can remember a recent retreat where three of our members were out of town or out sick. The Huddlestons really stepped up, and we were able to offer the students several activities.”
It’s moments like those—Students are discovering confidence—that keep my wife Trish, and me coming back to volunteer.
A Quality-of-Life Investment
In this new season of life, semi-retired with flexible work schedules, the Huddlestons drive from Austin to Leakey for three to four Outdoor School sessions each semester. They often work remotely in the Canyon between volunteer duties. Sometimes they even use vacation days to volunteer in the middle of the week. For Chris and Trish, volunteer work has become a “quality-of-life investment.”
“We haven’t taken a typical vacation in a long time,” Chris admits. “This is where we come. We’re passionate about what the program is doing for the students… Choosing to serve fills us up.”
“There are so many moments that make it worth it,” Trish adds. “I remember guiding a group through the river on a nature walk and one boy looked around and said, ‘This is the most fun I’ve ever had outdoors.’”
Other moments come when witnessing young people develop perseverance—like the student on a long hike who admitted, “My feet hurt so much, but I have to keep going,” and then did just that.
They love standing near Blue Hole, encouraging students as they wrestle with nerves before finally leaping into the cold water. Watching those small victories take place—confidence growing where there was once doubt—is what refreshes the Huddlestons.
Watching those small victories take place —confidence growing where there was once doubt—is what refreshes the HuddlestonsTrish said it happened by chance.
Trish and Chris choose to “vacation” as volunteers year after year because, they say, supporting that youthful joy revives their souls.
From LLYC counselors to Outdoor School volunteers, the Huddleston’s story is a reminder that—even if you aren’t sure how to be useful yet—helping others starts by taking that first step toward whatever is stirring your soul.
