Wade is from Chattanooga, Tennessee. He holds an undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and a master’s from Texas A&M. His Camp Ozark experience began as a cabin counselor in 1987 while in college. Wade returned to Ozark for two more summers, then joined the Permanent Staff after graduating in 1989. In 1991, he successfully completed Marine Corps Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a Marine Officer. Wade’s Marine Corps career included operational assignments in Hawaii, California, and North Carolina, as well as three years as an Associate Professor with the Naval ROTC Program at Texas A&M. He commanded at the company, artillery battery, and battalion levels, completing peacetime (pre-9/11) deployments to the Western Pacific, Arabian Gulf, and Okinawa. During the Global War on Terror, Wade completed multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, including as the Operations Officer for a Naval Special Warfare Task Force, a Border Advisory Task Force Team Leader, and a Counterinsurgency Team Leader. Since retiring from the Marine Corps, Wade has served as a trainer and advisor in Afghanistan and Ukraine, as a leadership and operations consultant in the oil and gas industry, and with several private companies in the Chattanooga area. Although he has been and continues to be involved in many areas of the camp program, he officially rejoined the full-time team in 2025 as the Director of Security for Torn Family Camps. Wade’s now-wife, Debbie, was the very first person he met when he showed up at Ozark in May 1987, although it took him a couple more summers to close the deal. Legend has it he was the star student and instructor favorite in the very first lifeguard certification course conducted at Camp Ozark. Wade and Debbie briefly lived on site at Ozark before their Marine Corps adventures began and are excited about having come full circle with once again being year-round Mount Ida residents. Both of their children—Andy and Bailey—grew up at camp and served on the Summer and Permanent staff. Bailey is one of the first second generation Ozark “Met and Married”, having met her husband, Austin, while both served as cabin counselors.