Steve "Franko" Frank

Group Leader, Ass't Head Counselor, Director of Operations



Steve Frank and his wife Karen arrived at Tyler Hill Camp in 1973. He immediately established himself as one of the key players on Head Counselor, Irv Goldsteins's staff. His style of leadership combined strength and structure, along with a gentle side that made him enormously popular with his campers, his counselors and his many friends at camp. Steve was known and appreciated for his loyalty and for his unflappable persona. To the kids, he was seen as a loveable bear of a man that they loved to be around. His loyal contingency came to be known as "Franko's Army".

His popularity on the Boys' side grew even more when he became Assistant Head Counselor for Chick Tayar in 1979. Steve became the first and only Assistant Head Counselor to be selected as a Color War general, as he led the White Comedy, with fellow general Nancy Bernstein to victory in 1980.

For many years it was the voice of Steve Frank heard over the public address system on the Boys' side, which was as familiar to the camp as Rhoda's voice was, coming from Wayne Hall and Sy Sundick's voice, coming from the Girls' side.

Steve remained as the Assistant Head Counselor when Al Liebowitz took over as Head Counselor in 1989. When Bill sold the camp, and Al became the director, Steve ascended to the post of Director of Operations, handling the kind of tasks that, for twenty years, Alan Arbuse and Gary Kastin did for Bill Heft. If not for Franko staying on top of all the out of camp trips and activities, there would be no inter-camp games, no Wayne County tournaments, no overnight trips, no Beach Lake, no rafting trips and of course, no packages!

Steve and Karen Frank have two kids, Alyssa and Cory, both of whom were life-long campers, counselors and Color War generals. For nearly 35 years, Steve Frank has been and continues to be a beloved part of the Tyler Hill Camp family.

Video Clip: What is Franko laughing about?