Dear Friends In Christ,
I'd like to take this
opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Jerry
Bell. My
grandparents, WA and Floy Bell, with very little money and a beautiful
dream, purchased a piece of mountain property fifty-six years ago.
The two of them were school teachers with a mutual love of God, the
mountains and people (especially youth). This was the beginning of
the fulfillment of their dream of founding a place in God's "natural
habitat" where people of all ages could find peace, serenity and
rejuvenation of the soul away from the fast pace of every day life.
W.A. retired to their
mountain place while Floy continued to teach, coming to the mountains
weekends, holidays and summer vacations. He began to build and Bell's WA-Floy Mountain Village (now WA-Floy Retreat) was born.
Together, they planned and developed until his death in 1972. Floy
retired and continued to fulfill their dream. Establishing the
Floy Bell Foundation to insure the mission and perpetuity of WA-Floy
Retreat. She is now 97 years young. Due to the frailities of
her age, the recent past has not been good for WA-Floy. Unable to
personally oversee management of the retreat, things were not kept in
the order that she and W.A. had worked so hard to maintain. It was
for this reason that the Board of Directors of the Floy Bell Foundation
elected to put me in place as President, CEO and General Manager
of WA-Floy Retreat. I feel it is an honor to be asked to
follow in the footsteps of two such dedicated people, both of whom I
have always loved and admired. Together with my wife, Peggy, we
are committed to seeing to it that WA-Floy is restored to the place it
was intended to be. Our goal is to refurbish and restore the
facilities and grounds as we continue the dream of my grandparents.
Since October, we have
employed a dedicated and competent housekeeping, maintenance and office
staff. All are ready to assist in any way possible to make your
retreat successful. We are still rustic, but clean and
comfortable. The youth lodge is getting a new roof, kitchen
appliances and (hopefully in the near future) new furnishings.
Each facility is being refurbished with attention to whatever needs to
be done to update and restore for comfort and ease. The swimming
pool has been resurfaced and is now open once again. The tennis
court has been resurfaced as well and we have added a basketball
court. The grounds are still beautiful, the lake is now stocked
with trout, the stream is clear, cool and running. The
Sky Altar
is, of course, always beautiful as is the Chapel in the
Woods. Our
mission remains the same. WA-Floy will always be a place dedicated
to the service of our Lord. We seek to provide a place here in
"God's natural habitat", away from the fast pace of everyday
life, where people of all ages can find peace, beauty, serenity and
rejuvenation of the soul.
If you have not visited us
before, we invite you to come. If you have visited in the past, it
is always a pleasure to welcome old friends.
We are still open for
spring, summer, fall and winter retreats and reunions. We have ten
group facilities and thirteen cottages. We border the Smoky
Mountain National Park, nine miles from the center of Gatlinburg.
We are convenient to Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, rafting, horseback
riding, Greenbrier and numerous hiking trails. Won't you join us
as we continue the dream?
If we can assist you with
reservations or offer more information, please contact us at (865)
436-5575, FAX (865) 436-0720 or E-Mail At wfloyretreat@aol.com.
In His service,
Jerry Bell
