Terri Mintzer

Counselor, Dance Instructor



Terri started as one of Sy Sundick's general counselors, but primarily was the Dance Counselor through the sixties and seventies. Terry conducted dance classes for girls of all ages and her expertise, along with her intelligence and demeanor made her both a drawing card at camp as well as a role model. In 1965, she was the first specialist counselor to be chosen as a Color War general, for the White Army.

The camp plays were actually entertaining because of the lively, elaborate and professional-looking dance numbers that she choreographed. Her ongoing collaboration with Music Director Milt Friedman helped to elevate these Saturday evening shows to a level that was far better than anything people at camp were accustomed to seeing before, or since.

But it was her dance classes from which the girls derived tremendous joy and physical fitness, in a program that was in a class of its own. None of the competing camps had a dance program that could even touch Terry's level. Her professional skill as a dance instructor is evidenced in the documentary film, "Mad Hot Ballroom." In the film, her school's team is the reigning champion that loses in the finals to the underdog team that is the subject of the popular documentary.

Terri was another example of how Bill & Joe were able to get the very best person to run a specialty program at Tyler Hill Camp. A great measure of a specialist's popularity was the attendance at their program during "Selective Activity" which was when the kids got to pick the activity of their choice. Large groups frequently showed up on Terry's watch.

Terri's husband, Jimmy Mintzer, was also a counselor at Tyler Hill Camp in the early sixties. He is remembered as the last person to serve as the camp's Rifle Range instructor. Bill and Joe, following the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy in 1968, phased out that program. Terry and Jimmy have a daughter, Andrea and a son, Jordan, both of whom were long-time campers.

Many former campers and counselors remember Terry with great fondness, for consistently providing enrichment for them, while making their summers more enjoyable and memorable.