Ken Hay

Kenneth Edward Hay (b. November 13, 1933) is the founder of The Wilds, a fundamentalist camp and conference center.

Ken Hay, a native of California, was athletic and 6' 3" and became a student leader at Bob Jones University, where he graduated in 1955 with a BA in Bible. [1955 "Vintage" [BJU yearbook] .] He completed a master’s degree at BJU in 1957. The following year he was named first director of the University’s Institute of Christian Service (now the School of Applied Studies), a program for non-traditional students seeking to enter Christian ministries. He held this position for thirteen years. In 1975, BJU conferred on him an honorary Doctor of Laws. [“Camp Director Named Alumnus of the Year,” "Backbone" [BJU Preacher’s Class] (May 1981), 2.]

In 1969, after directing Christian Dells Bible Camp (founded by Monroe Parker), near Trinity, Alabama, Hay founded The Wilds, a year-round, thousand-acre, non-denominational camp and conference center in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Rosman, North Carolina with the assistance of Walter Fremont, Joseph Henson, and Carl Blythe. More than three hundred churches now support The Wilds, and more than a quarter-million campers have attended its summer programs, which combine recreation with Bible studies and devotional meetings. The Wilds produces its own music CDs and has as its own missions arm [http://www.campsabroad.org/ CampsAbroad] , an organization that assists with consulting and start-ups of Christian camps outside the United States. Hay retired as president and CEO of The Wilds in 2006, but he remains chairman of the board. [ [http://wilds.org/twca/newsletters/NewsLetter%20Fall%202K6.pdf Wilds newsletter] ]

References

[http://www.wilds.org/twca/index.php? The Wilds official website]