The Sherry Group Journal

Rest Hour Radio: Challenging Moments

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 00:27:07 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Drew Demery, Dave Sherry, and Glenn Svetnicka discussed strategies for managing unforeseen operational challenges—problems bigger than minor fixes but smaller than true emergencies. The conversation emphasizes mindset, preparation, leadership development, and post-incident reflection as core tools for camp directors.

Core Principles for Challenge Management

Mindset and Initial Response

Control your reaction, not the event : Camp directors cannot always control what goes wrong, but they can control their response—staying calm and strategic beats reactionary behavior.
Take a beat before acting : Pause to assess conditions, resources, and personnel before jumping into action; avoid running around "like a chicken with your head cut off."
Maintain perspective : Remember that most challenges are small blips in camp's long history; focus on keeping people safe and the experience moving forward.
Be decent and decisive : Assume leadership with mature judgment while treating staff with respect and decency during stressful moments.

Preparation Strategies

Anticipate predictable problems : Keep backup supplies for common issues—frozen hot dogs/buns for meal emergencies, extra toilet paper stored off-site, weather activity bins prepared for multi-day rain stretches.
Know your resources : Understand site facilities, equipment locations (electrical panels, sewer lines, fire extinguishers), and staff strengths—know which counselors can entertain during storms.
Build community relationships : Develop partnerships with neighboring property owners or camps for equipment borrowing; cultivate vendor relationships for emergency equipment loans.
Create rainy-day reserves : Assemble plastic tubs with gear and activities covering a full week of indoor programming when weather turns bad.

Leadership Development

Empowering Staff

Let people lead when you're present : Give summer staff and program directors real responsibility and decision-making authority during normal operations, not just in your absence.
Allow mistakes with support : Let staff problem-solve independently and make mistakes in safe situations; spend time debriefing what happened rather than dictating every action.
Relinquish control for growth : Accept that being in the "air-conditioned office" taking phone calls while staff work outside may hurt popularity but develops their independence and confidence.
It's not what you can do, it's what you can get done : Build a culture where success doesn't depend on one person doing everything; work through your people to avoid burnout.

Building Team Culture

Cross-train for perspective : Having staff experience other roles (cook lifeguarding, director operating skid loader) builds appreciation and team cohesion.
Recognize every role matters : Help staff understand that each position—from lifeguards to kitchen staff to maintenance—plays a critical part in camp functioning.

Post-Challenge Debrief Process

Structured Reflection

Recap what happened : Gather all perspectives to create a full 360° understanding of how the situation impacted different teams.
Acknowledge success : Recognize that the team got through it and managed the problem—use it as a confidence builder.
Identify improvements : Discuss what could prevent recurrence or improve response if it happens again.
Give permission to move forward : Allow staff to put the incident behind them and refocus on the camp experience rather than dwelling on the problem.

Debrief Guidelines

Match response to severity : Minor issues (toilet paper shortage) need brief acknowledgment at staff meeting; major challenges require full sit-down discussion.
Keep it timely : Debrief in real-time or shortly after, not days later when details fade.
Focus on learning, not blame : Avoid finding fault; draw awareness to prevent future occurrences and help staff grow from the experience.
Follow up with skill-building : If someone struggled with a task (e.g., starting a boat motor), invest time practicing until they're proficient and confident.

Key Reminders

Experience trumps schedule : Don't get so focused on the challenge or keeping on schedule that you lose sight of the larger goal—delivering a quality camp experience.
Develop confidence through practice : Staff gain the skills and trust to handle bigger situations by successfully leading through smaller, safer decisions first.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure : Preparing for predictable problems now saves significant stress and scrambling during the summer season.

Rest Hour Radio: Recruiting Summer Camp Staff

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 22:00:28 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

TSG team members are joined by Sean Gundersen to discuss strategies for recruiting summer camp staff such as relationship-based recruitment, year-round engagement, and creating multiple pipelines including teen leadership programs, international staff, alumni networks, and incentive-driven referrals.

Recruitment Strategies & Best Practices:

Teen Leadership Programs

Develop multi-year leadership programs that serve as primary staff pipeline.
Programs should transition campers from being served to serving others.
Some camps produce 75-100% of summer staff from their leadership development programs.
Provides pre-trained staff who already know camp traditions, culture, and operations.

International Staffing

Recruit through J-1 visa programs via sponsoring organizations.
Provides cultural diversity and exchange opportunities for campers and staff.
International staff can return annually if desired.
Critical timing: Begin process in September, not March, due to visa requirements.
Should supplement, not replace, domestic staff due to lower retention rates.

Alumni & Relationship-Based Recruiting

Staff hiring begins before summer ends - discuss returns before current season concludes.
Ideal timeline: leadership team and returning staff confirmed by Thanksgiving.
Leverage existing relationships with alumni, board members, volunteers, and professors.
Alumni who worked at camp can recruit their children and grandchildren as potential staff members.

Pizza Party Recruitment Model

Host pizza parties at colleges where current staff attend.
Current staff invite 4-5 friends each to informal gatherings.
Provides pre-interview social assessment of candidates.
"Good people hang out with good people" - leverage existing staff networks.

Untapped Networks

Nurse volunteers and other year-round volunteers know potential staff candidates.
Retreat groups served by camp may have college-age staff or connections.
Campus ministry leaders, professors, and coaches can make introductions.

Tactical Approaches for March/April Hiring:

Immediate Actions

Reach out to alumni, volunteers, and camper fa milies by end of March b efore appearing desperate.
Make specific asks: "I need 3 male counselors, 2 female counselors, waterfront specialists".
Use multiple channels: phone calls, newsletters, personal lunches.

Incentive Programs

O ffer $200+ per successful hire to returning staff - significant enough to motivate college students.
Provide camp fee reductions for families who help recruit.
Consider raffle system where each referral earns entry to win something substantial.

Social Media & Communication Tools

Create pre-written posts with archival photos for alumni to share.
Send specific images with copy-paste text.
Make sharing effortless - provide exact wording and visuals.
Utilize platform s like Camp Tree for struc tured incentive programs.

Campus Representative Program

Hire dedicated staff recruiters on different campuses in your region.
Provide tools: t-shirts, hats, giveaways, and promotional materials.
Pay representatives to actively recruit throughout the school year.
Similar to sports drink brand ambassadors model.

Overcoming Common Barriers:

Flexibility with Candidates

Offer half-summer contracts for younger staff or those with scheduling conflicts.
Create internship opportunities at camp (e.g., pottery internship for art major).
Allow staff to miss one week for family vacations if they're valuable for remaining weeks.
Keep conversations open with interested candidates who have initial conflicts.

Making the Ask Effectively

Be their friend first - show genuine interest in them as people.
Spend less time describing facilities (climbing walls) and more time discussing camper impact.
Focus on experiences staff will have, not just activities camp offers.
Help candidates feel comfortable in first interaction to reduce fear of commitment.

Year-Round Engagement:

Building Recruitment Community

Stay connected through newsletters, emails, and camp events throughout the year.
Only showing up when you need something damages relationships.
Host alumni reunions and work days to reconnect former staff.
Volunteer at college ministries or campus organizations to build relationships with target age group.

Timeline for Next Summer

Recruiting for 2027 starts now
Position yourself in communities serving college-age and upper high school students.
Build relationships year-round, not just during hiring crunch.

Additional Resources

The Sherry Group's podcast archive contains many other useful episodes!

Rest Hour Radio: Simple Spring Solutions

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 03:24:11 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Dave Sherry and Drew Demery of TSG discuss practical strategies for camp directors to efficiently prepare for summer operations during the busy spring season. This episode focuses on low-hanging fruit solutions for staffing, facilities, supply management, and last-minute camper recruitment.

Communication & Transition Management

Set clear boundaries: Inform colleagues and co-workers about transitioning from office work to field operations and program delivery.
Schedule admin time: Block early morning hours for emails and administrative tasks before daily operations begin.
Maintain mental sharpness: Prioritize sleep, nutrition, and exercise during this active season; eliminate distractions like social media during work blocks.

Final Staff Recruitment Strategies

Direct outreach to believers: Contact past staff and families who loved camp; ask for referrals to nieces, nephews, or young adults in their network.
Leverage buddy system: Offer financial incentives to current summer staff members who successfully refer new hires.
Target group sources: Reach out to college ministries and university recreation departments where outdoor-oriented students gather.
Flexible scheduling: Consider splitting summer into two halves to accommodate stellar candidates who cannot commit to full season.
Long-term pipeline: Identify seasonal candidates for future leadership positions such as Aquatics Director or Equestrian Lead. Empower them to look to future opportunities within the organization. Every staff should have an attainable professional growth goal that they can towards during the summer camp season.

Site & Facilities Preparation

Monthly volunteer days: Organize one volunteer workday per month (March, April, May) on Saturdays or Sundays.
Form a committee: Delegate coordination to hands-on volunteers who enjoy running equipment and managing projects, reducing Director workload.
Appropriate task selection: Assign volunteers to cleaning windows, raking grounds, sorting firewood, and cabin preparation—not complex construction.
Pool timing critical: Turn pool water on by early May (a week earlier than expected) to identify problems and allow water to warm up before first campers arrive.
Engagement over efficiency: Focus volunteer days on connection and relationships rather than maximum productivity; end with cookouts and social time.

Supply & Staff Readiness

Order supplies early: Purchase t-shirts, program materials, and equipment well in advance; use volunteer days and staff retreats for sorting and organization.
Staff weekend retreats: Invite summer staff for bonding weekends that combine learning, volunteer projects, and social activities like shooting sports or horseback riding.
Connect new and returning staff: Create WhatsApp, GroupMe, or Facebook groups pairing experienced staff with newcomers, especially international staff, to answer questions before arrival.
Staggered arrivals: Bring returning staff a few hours early for reunions before new staff arrive, then brief them on welcoming newcomers.
Welcome campfire: Host informal social gathering the night before staff training for connection without formal agenda.
Advance preparation: Complete as many administrative tasks as possible during the winter months so that you are available to be supportive during Spring and Summer.

Camper Recruitment

Activate "sneezers": Directly contact enthusiastic families who love camp; empower them to spread the word about specific weeks needing enrollment.
Call non-returners: Personally phone families from previous summer who haven't registered; ensure they feel invited and wanted.
Friend recruitment incentives: Offer current families rewards for bringing friends; provide an outline and photos for their social media posts about camp.
Leverage parent testimonials: Ask engaged parents to post on their personal social media with camp photos and stories—more effective than camp's own ads since posts reach their friend groups.
Community presence: Host informational nights at rec centers and attend farmer's markets; invite returned campers and families to engage with camp-curious prospects.

Organizational Best Practices

Visual planning: Use dashboards or large whiteboards to track what needs completion; invest in organizational tools.
Avoid burnout: Take evenings off and find non-working days; prioritize physical, mental, and emotional health to enter summer refreshed rather than exhausted.
Efficiency focus: Zone in during work blocks, close office doors when necessary for concentrated tasks like payroll.

Additional Resources

The Sherry Group's podcast archive contains 5-6 years of content on staff training and summer preparation, with some of the most-listened-to episodes focused on these topics.

Rest Hour Radio: Data Led Decision Making

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 03:37:46 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Sherry Group members discuss the importance of collecting real world data to inform decision making for summer camps and non-profits. Everything from retention rates and cost analysis to particpant surveys and donor data are discussed in this educational episode. Any camp or organization looking to find more success will benefit from this short episode.

Rest Hour Radio: How to Start a New Program

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 01:53:41 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Sherry Group members, Drew Demery, Glenn Svetnicka and Dave Sherry discuss how to bring a program or activity idea to life. Everything from resources to training and safety are covered in detail by these three seasoned summer camping professionals.

Rest Hour Radio: Camping Conference Success

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 02:56:16 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

On this episode of Rest Hour Radio, Drew Demery and David Sherry from The Sherry Group discuss what makes summer camping conferences so meaningful and how to have the most impactful experience possible as a youth development professional. They share personal insights into how these events improved their professional development, mission advancement, networking opportunities and inspiration for the upcoming year.

Rest Hour Radio: On-Site Director Housing

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 03:24:21 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Drew Demery and David Sherry of TSG discuss the opportunities and challenges of provided on-site housing for Summer Camp Professionals. They cover everything from housing agreements to maintenance, upkeep and visitors.

Rest Hour Radio: Survival, Hope and Tips for Positivity

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 03:15:50 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Drew Demery, Glenn Svetnicka and David Sherry of The Sherry Group share personal insights on how to overcome adversity and find hope in hard times.

They share useful experiences with prayer, community and honesty to make tomorrow better than today.

Whether its workplace hardship or personal grief, the members of TSG offer advice on how to naviagate difficult times.

Rest Hour Radio: How to Set Goals and Stay on Track

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 02:33:55 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Ever feel like there's a constant onslaught of everything, all at once, always at work? Like there's no plan, priorities or organization with your schedules?

In this episode of Rest Hour Radio from The Sherry Group LLC, Drew Demery and David Sherry break down a useful planning tool called a 'Dashboard'. This dashboard is a simple document that lays out specific goals, timelines, a clear vision for success and measures milestones along the way. You will not want to sleep on this quick episode that will have an immediately positive impact on your work and well-being.

Rest Hour Radio: Volunteer Work Days

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 02:40:04 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Drew Demery and Glenn Svetnicka of The Sherry Group discuss the finer points of a successful volunteer work day. Everything from who to include, how to assign tasks and what projects to pursue. This episode of Rest Hour Radio covers the who, what, why, when and how of a great volunteer work day at your summer camp.

Rest Hour Radio: Episode #2

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 23:29:18 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

In this episode of Rest Hour Radio from The Sherry Group LLC, Drew Demery and Glenn Svetnicka discuss the finer points of hosting a good staff meeting. Everything from the perfect snack selection to empowering a "Gatekeeper", this new episode is packed with tons of useful tips for your next professional meeting.

Rest Hour Radio: Episode #1

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 00:21:23 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Dave and Drew discuss what Camp Directors can do after summer camp ends in order to rest, reset and reprioritize the upcoming year.

Site and Facilities Development: Episode 4

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:52:58 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Drew Demery, David Sherry and Tom Neppl of The Sherry Group LLC share useful strategies for planning your next summer camp facility improvements. This final episode of the series covers fundraising for development, naming rights and many other useful tips. It also covers how to overcome unique challenges that might arise in the process and several insightful success stories.

Site and Facilities Development: Episode 3

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 01:49:34 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Drew Demery, David Sherry and Tom Neppl of The Sherry Group LLC share useful strategies for planning your next summer camp facility improvements. This episode takes a deep dive into site master planning, mapping and how to create a future vision for your summer camp using the inventory discussesd in episode two.

Site and Facilities Development: Episode 2

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 02:49:44 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Sherry Group members share useful strategies for planning your next summer camp facility improvements. This second episode in the series focuses on how to take an inventory of your property, then evaluate the details and finally how to add context to your finding to make better decisions about site development.

Site and Facilities Development: Episode 1

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 01:51:47 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Drew Demery, David Sherry and Tom Neppl of The Sherry Group LLC share useful strategies for planning your next summer camp facility improvements. This episode focusing on how to get started, gathering stakeholder input, and organizational visioning.

Your Non-Profit Camp...Still Needs a Strong Business Plan!

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 20:05:45 GMT

You cannot do your mission if you are bankrupt.

Camps hold a special place in the hearts of many, offering spiritual growth, community bonding, and unforgettable memories! To ensure they continue to thrive and serve their mission effectively, it's crucial to consider running them with a business mindset. Here’s why:

1. Financial Sustainability : Running a camp involves expenses for facilities, staff, activities, and more. By managing finances like a business, camps remain financially sustainable. This includes budgeting, fundraising, and seeking unique opportunities to cover costs like land easement deals that invest in the future.

2. Professional Management : Effective business practices require professional management. This means having clear organizational structures, roles, and responsibilities. It involves hiring qualified personnel and volunteers, offering training, and establishing policies for efficient operation. It also means paying fair market wages for talent vs. balancing the books on the backs of the well-intended. Don’t fear the FLSA changes … embrace them as a wake up call!

3. Enhanced Quality of Services : Business principles emphasize delivering value to customers—or in this case, campers. By focusing on service quality, camps can enhance the overall experience. This includes higher end accommodations, meals, program offerings, and uncompromising safety standards!

4. Marketing and Outreach : Promoting a camp requires effective marketing strategies. By treating the camp as a business, there’s a focus on branding, advertising, and reaching out to potential attendees inside and outside of your historical market or church. This can increase visibility, attract new campers, and build a loyal community around the camp’s mission AND potentially serve as an entry point to your church!

5. Strategic Planning and Growth : Business-minded thinking encourages strategic planning for long-term growth. Camps can set goals, assess outcomes, and adapt based on actively soliciting feedback. Continually asking questions of your staff and guests is essential. What sound we do more often? What do we need to stop doing? What’s something we haven’t considered? The responses will drive expanding facilities, introducing new programs, or exploring partnerships to reach broader audiences.

6. Accountability and Transparency : Business practices emphasize accountability and transparency in operations. This fosters trust among stakeholders—parents, churches, donors—regarding how funds are used and the overall management of the camp. Clear communication about goals, achievements, and challenges builds credibility and garners partners / donors.

7. Adaptability and Change : The professional business approach encourages camps to stay current in a changing environment. This includes being responsive to trends in guest preferences, technological advancements, and societal changes that impact operations.

8. Long-Term Viability : Ultimately, running a camp should be like running any other business that wants long-term viability. Maintaining financial health, operational efficiency, and quality programs, camps can continue to fulfill their mission of nurturing faith, fostering community, and providing transformative experiences for generations to come.

You cannot do your mission if you are bankrupt. Applying business principles isn’t about prioritizing profit over purpose; it’s about ensuring the camp operates efficiently, sustains itself financially, and delivers exceptional experiences to staff and guests. By embracing these practices, camps can thrive while continuing to make a positive impact in the lives of those they serve.

~ Glenn Svetnicka

Senior Consultant, The Sherry Group

As You Embark on a New Season

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 21:27:04 GMT

Praying for Camps and Conference Centers

As the sun stretches across the horizon and the warmth of summer fills the air, camps and conference centers come alive with the promise of adventure, growth, and connection. For many, these sacred spaces are more than just venues for recreation; they are sanctuaries where hearts are opened, minds are enlightened, and spirits are rejuvenated.

As we stand on the threshold of a new camping season, it is fitting to pause and reflect on the significance of these places in our lives. They serve as incubators of community, where strangers become friends and differences dissolve in the light of shared experiences. They are classrooms where lessons of resilience, empathy, and faith are learned not from textbooks, but from the untamed beauty of nature and the wisdom of fellow campers.

Amidst the excitement and anticipation, it is important to recognize the challenges that lie ahead. Camps and conference centers often operate on shoestring budgets, relying on the generosity of donors and volunteers to keep their doors open. They face logistical hurdles, from maintenance issues to staffing shortages, which threaten to derail their worthy mission.

In times like these, our prayers become more than just words; they become lifelines of hope and support for these sacred spaces. So let us lift our voices in prayer for camps and conference centers around the world as they embark on this new season:

For Strength : May the staff and volunteers be endowed with the strength and resilience to face the challenges that come their way. Give them the fortitude to weather the season knowing that they do not walk alone.

For Wisdom : Grant wisdom to those in leadership positions, that they may make sound decisions that honor the mission and values of their respective organizations. Guide them in stewarding resources wisely and fostering a culture of inclusivity and belonging.

For Safety : Protect all who enter these sacred spaces, from the youngest camper to the seasoned veteran. Shield them from harm and illness and surround them with your loving presence.

For Transformation : May these camps and conference centers be fertile ground for personal transformation, softened hearts, expanded minds, and renewed spirits. Open our eyes to the richness of shared humanity and a deeper understanding of ourselves and each other.

For Gratitude : Finally, we offer our heartfelt gratitude for the privilege of participating in this sacred work. Thank you for the countless lives that have been touched and the countless souls that will be nourished. May we never take for granted the gift of community, nor the power of nature to heal and inspire.

Amen.

Summer Camp Staff Training

Thu, 02 May 2024 22:31:20 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Sherry Group members Drew Demery, David Sherry and Glenn Svetnicka discuss why staff training is so important to get right, what to included in this orientation time and how to go about teaching skills, culture, belonging and confidence to your young staff members.

Leadership Development Programs for Summer Camp: Episode #6

Fri, 26 Apr 2024 00:39:04 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Drew Demery and David Sherry of The Sherry Group LLC share insights into what was learned and shared during this series with Summer Camp Professionals and their successful Leadership Development Programs.

How do you keep the priorities a priority?

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 15:44:40 GMT

How do you keep track of it all?

If you’re running a camp or any organization for that matter - you have a lot that you are responsible for. Leaders need to pay attention to finances, staffing needs, donor engagements, facility projects and maintenance, relationships with neighbors, volunteers, planning and operating the annual campaign, managing capital campaigns and more. It’s a lot. How do you make sure you get to it all? How do you keep the priorities a priority? Or how do you even know what the priorities are?

We recommend using a dashboard. There are several great resources online to help you create a dashboard, but we will discuss how we do it here for you today.

Create a list of your “buckets” A bucket is an area you are responsible for. These could be: Development, Board and Volunteers, staff supervision, etc. 3-5 buckets are ideal.
Set your goal or goals for each bucket for the year. 3-5 goals per bucket is ideal - no more than 7.
Create a simple spreadsheet. Across the top write bucket on the left, then moving right in the next cell write goal, move another to the right and write what success looks like and then one more over and write due date. Finally, create a cell for each month across the top.
Start filling in your spreadsheet. Write the name of the bucket, move down a cell, and put each of the goals in its own cell one below the other in the goal lane.
Complete what success looks like for each goal. Make it measurable.
Write the date you want the goal to be accomplished in the due date area of your spreadsheet.
Then you can start filling in your months. Each month list what you plan to do that month to complete the corresponding goal. Keep monthly items to no more than 3-5 per month per goal. Fill out for each goal. Complete 3 months at a time. It’s ok to not have anything for a month for a certain goal. This will make you plan out your quarter and your year, thinking about what steps can be taken each month to meet your primary goals for each bucket.

Create a weekly must do and wanna do list. 60% of your time should be dedicated to your must-do’s. If you work a five-day work week, that means the equivalent of 3 days needs to be set aside to work on your goals. The remaining time is left for all the busy or other work that comes up, but you need to accomplish each month’s steps - that is your priority. We do that by creating weekly must-do and wanna do lists. There are several ways to track your list, based on what you like: old school pen and paper or any number of digital programs.

Your list needs to be new each week. Create your list for the next week before you go home this week. DO NOT make your list on Monday morning, make your list the week before.
Look at your dashboard and all the items listed under the current month. Remember you have four weeks to complete everything on that list. Decide which items you will do next week and add them to your must do list. Be sure you are aggressive enough to be able to get through them all in a month, but conservative enough that you are not setting yourself up for failure.
Add other items from your dashboard or elsewhere to your wanna do list.
Make a commitment to yourself that you will not end your work week until your weekly must do’s are finished. Focus on them early in the week and get them done before you allow yourself time for the wanna do’s.
Over the course of the year, if you hold true to this plan, your priorities will get more time, are better defined and are likely to be met.

My last piece of advice is to hire a coach or find an accountability partner to hold you to your dashboard and your weekly must do lists.

You can do this! Streamline and focus on what is important to you and your camp.

Best of luck

Leadership Development Programs for Summer Camp: Episode #5

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 18:31:41 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Anna Mitchell and Jerod Briscoe of Heartland Camps speak with Sherry Group hosts Drew Demery and David Sherry about their year-long Cornerstone Program that bridges the gap from summer staff to youth ministry professional.

Leadership Development Programs for Summer Camp: Episode #4

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 02:28:35 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

David Sherry and Drew Demery of the Sherry Group interview Jason Smith and Olivia Hultman of YMCA Camp Kitaki about their successful year-round teen leadership program. This revered program is one of the highest quality in America. Listen to hear what makes this program so unique and meaningful.

Leadership Development Programs for Summer Camp: Episode #3

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 22:45:04 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Drew Demery and David Sherry of the Sherry Group LLC interview Camp Eage Ridge's owner Kelly Rossebo about her CIT and Junior Counselor programs. They disuss the program's successes, challenges and 30 year evolution.

This year, plant a tree.

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 20:43:23 GMT

If you’re like me and aim to plant a tree for Arbor Day on April 26 ^th or another time this year, I’d like to offer a few ideas to consider.

As I write this, Arbor Day is a month away and with that in mind, I’ve been thinking of where I could plant trees this year. I’ll plant a peach tree in the one sunny spot on my property with the hope it catches just enough sunlight to bear fruit in the summers ahead. I also have several bur oak saplings that I’ll rescue from an indoor potted Bush Lily (I didn’t plant the acorns – a squirrel did that work for me, sometime last fall before we brought our plants indoors). I may also pick up a few other saplings from our State DNR nursery here in town as I like to plant a few Iowa natives in my small woodland patch. I’m thinking Serviceberry or Redbud this year.

If you’re like me and aim to plant a tree for Arbor Day on April 26 ^th or another time this year, I’d like to offer a few ideas to consider.

Go native. Choose species native to your local area as it’s evolved to adapt to your climate, weather, and soil conditions. Compared with non-native species there’s less risk of it taking over and proliferating to the point it becomes a problem. Check with your local nurseries, conservation agencies, and departments of natural resources for native trees (and shrubs). You may be able to buy higher quantities of smaller seedlings for very reasonable prices. Here, our state nursery sells many species for around a dollar per tree, in bundles of 25. These are great for large planting areas or filling in gaps in a woodland, but they are smaller barerooted plants. At other times of the year, you may be able to pick up larger trees (6 feet or taller) planted in containers. Again, in my area, these are often sold at reasonable prices.

Give it room to grow. Confirm the mature size of the tree by checking with the nursery or finding the information from a credible resource online. State conservation and natural resource agencies are a good source as are botanic gardens and arboreta in your area. If you want to dive deeper into your botanical exploration, check out the USDA’s PLANTS database ( https://plants.usda.gov/home ). Plant it accordingly and space it away from structures and utility lines so it won’t interfere with these.

Call before you dig. Of course, be sure to locate underground utilities before you’re ready to plant. And plant a proper hole for your tree. As the adage goes, it’s better to dig a ten-dollar hole for a one-dollar plant, than the other way around.

Think about the seasons. Where you can, plant a tree or shrub that provides seasonal interest throughout the year with showy flowers, bold fall colors, and interesting bark patterns and color. In my area, the Serviceberry checks many of these boxes with its great spring flowers and fall color, and consistent berries for the squirrels (and me if I can beat them to it). Check with your local nurseries, or conservation and resource agencies to find the right tree for your site!

As I sign off here, I think I’ll do the same and see what bargains I can get from the State Nursery. Happy planting!

~Tom Neppl

Leadership Development Programs for Summer Camp: Episode #2

Sun, 24 Mar 2024 18:00:17 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Sherry Group members Drew Demery and David Sherry interview YMCA Camp Wapsie directors Paul Denowski and Hannah O'Toole about their highly successful teen leadership development program. The conversation covers program design, implementation and many useful insights into how to manage an LIT/CIT program.

Leadership Development Programs for Summer Camp: Episode #1

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 19:12:52 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

In this espisode, Sherry Group members Drew Demery and David Sherry discuss the importance of establishing a teen leadership development program at summer camp as well as how to go about designing and implementing that program.

Succession Planning Loop

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 22:35:14 GMT

Who are you bring up? Who are you bringing on?

Who are you bringing up? Who are you bringing on? Two of the most important questions any successful leader will ask. This “Succession Planning Loop” playing in your brain should never really shut down. Great teams are made from continually recruiting talent and helping it grow!

For most non-profit boards, the by-laws will dictate terms of office and official duties, and the nominating committee will surface candidates for a vote. It is the successful Executive Director that will prospect names, orient members to the mission, and engage everyone in helpful and supportive ways. Instead of getting a “well intending person with a lot to say” … recruit people that can shepherd your mission and get things done!

Do you have the talent to fill your officer positions for the next three years? Is everyone engaged and attending board meetings? Is the agenda reactive and urgent or is it strategic and steady? Who do you need to make things better? Who’s going to make things happen? It’s important to continually play the “on/up” succession planning loop using these questions to frame your answers.

Don’t simply hire to fill a position … hire to fill the next position … the one you are developing to take over for you. An employer I’ve worked with said “if you can’t see the candidate promoted two steps up the ladder … don’t hire them.” Succession planning isn’t a threat to your job … it’s your life blood. Without continually recruiting talent and coaching it up … you, your organization, and your performance with surely lag.

Who are you bringing up? Who are you bringing on? Ideally success … that’s who!

~ Glenn Svetnicka

What is your Case Statement?

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 17:24:40 GMT

Where do you start?

Do you plan on raising money for a project at your organization? Maybe you want to start an annual campaign to raise funds for scholarships or other needs? Where do you start?

A case statement is where a campaign should begin. You need to understand your “why” and be able to articulate it before you can start sharing it with prospect donors. In its simplest form, a case statement is a document that you create to explain your need to fundraise, how the funds are going to be utilized, and why it’s important. It is ground zero for your campaign. We use case statements to communicate to donors and share our vision. It includes some basic information on a campaign, facts and figures such as campaign goals and statistics to support the impact of our program and how that impact will grow with the success of this campaign. A case statement should include your mission, vision and organizational values as well. It is a document to translate your needs and make your case. But it should be more.

Don’t let your case statement be just about facts and figures. A good case statement needs to tell a story. Your organization's story and the story of why this campaign is so important. Camper stories, impact stories, testimonials and great photos can all come together to help share your vision through a great story. A great case statement should inspire a donor to participate and help them see the organization's vision and how this campaign will help build on an already great story. How would a gift to this campaign help make the world a better place? How can you assure that a gift will be well cared for and make an impact? Why does this work matter? These are all questions that should be answered through story.

Think of sitting around the campfire with your friends. You’re sharing meaningful stories. You are painting a visual, you are introducing characters, you are creating a storyline and you have a great message you want to share. Your case statement is the opportunity to tell your story. Will a case statement be the ultimate reason a person gives or doesn’t give? Maybe - maybe not. But it will help you prepare your story and think through your messaging. It will help you and your volunteers have a consistent message to donors and will be a tool in your box to start a conversation. Most donors will scroll through a case statement while you are visiting with them in person, but they will return to it and look closer as they reflect on your ask. It may make a difference in their decision, but it definitely will make a difference in your preparation.

So where do you start? Tell your story, write it down. Decide on your goal and write it down. Compile supporting statistics and write them down. Write down your mission, vision and values and collect photos and testimonials that align with your message. Then start the process of placing it all together to deliver the message of impact. A good designer can help, it’s worth the money to have a polished product to share. But it starts with your story.

~ David Sherry
President
The Sherry Group

Master Plan Implementation

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 20:02:35 GMT

There's no 'one size fits all' approach to master planning or it's implementation.

In my September article, ‘(Master) Planning for the Future, I shared several ideas and suggestions for considering whether a property master plan would help your camp realize your goals. Among these are the reasons camps often embark on a master planning process, such as to update old and outdated buildings, to plan for future expansion and growth, or to address site and/or environmental concerns. The reasons for master planning are many and varied. The same can be true for how a master plan is implemented, and I’d like to share a few ideas on that subject drawing from a few recent project experiences.

Master planning has changed over the past few decades. Early in my career, we designed master plans that were effectively interpreted as blueprints for future development with the entire property being thoughtfully designed to a high level of detail. This is very effective for camps that have funds on hand to pay for the capital improvements. Once the master plan is completed, the design team works with the camp to develop the schematic design and construction documents of the proposed buildings. Pending the complexity of the master plan, the implementation and construction of the buildings can be measured in a few years from the completion of the master plan.

Other camps will require time to raise funds for the capital improvements, which means their implementation timeline is measured in a few to several years. In these cases, the master plan is often designed to allow for some flexibility for implementation. Typically, these are not as highly detailed as the scenario mentioned above.

When it’s determined that certain buildings and program areas will be more immediately implemented (within a year or two) and others that may not be implemented for five to ten years, the planner can adjust the layout and design of the master plan can adjust to ensure proposed new roads and infrastructure, or the relocation of existing infrastructure address both short- and long-term development. The implementation can likewise be phased to support a more targeted fundraising campaign as it identifies immediate priorities and longer-range developments.

An effective master plan can also guide future land use and programmatic decisions based on what is not shown. A long-time client recently told me that they refer to their master plan every time they consider adding a new program or experience at their camp. They pull up the master plan drawing (in this case a 36” x 48” illustrative color rendering – essentially a map of both current, existing development and proposed future development) and discuss the proposed new program idea based on a ‘fit’ to their master plan and to their mission, purpose, and values. If the new idea doesn’t align with their mission, purpose, and values, or if there isn’t a suitable location on their property, they decide not to pursue it. By revisiting the master plan and their values, this becomes a thoughtful and intentional decision and avoids adding a new program in an area that would create future issues, concerns, or conflicts with nearby surrounding buildings, programs, and camp experiences.

Ideally, your planner will meet with you to understand your specific camp’s needs, program goals, your mission, purpose, and values, as well as the unique characteristics of your property and then propose a master planning approach and timeline that aligns with your specific needs. The take-home message is there’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach to master planning or the implementation of a master plan.

Hopefully, this gives you something to consider if a camp master plan is in your future for 2024!

~ Tom Neppl, PLA

The Sherry Group Team Member

Building Relationships with Staff

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 20:05:30 GMT

In the workplace, there’s a time and a place for work and a time for relationship building

Consider the following; a supervisor has asked for a meeting at the end of the week with an employee to discuss a project they’ve been working on the past couple of weeks. The employee agrees, pulls together notes on their progress and how they plan to meet the objectives. They feel prepared. When the meeting comes, the supervisor says the following, “This looks good, but how are you? I’ve noticed you seem stressed. I appreciate the work you’ve been doing but it seems like you’re overwhelmed.” Sound familiar? What the employee thought was a meeting on a project now feels like a performance evaluation and worse still it sounds like they’re not doing well. Ouch.

So what happened? Was that a good meeting or bad? After all, the supervisor sounds like they care about the employee, which is nice because we all want to be shown compassion by those around us. However, the issue here is that the supervisor has blurred the lines between objective work related content to something far more personal and subjective. What’s worse, they most likely caught their employee off guard by their comments.

In the workplace, there’s a time and a place for work and a time for relationship building. They need not be the same thing. An evaluation of the work should not be an evaluation of the person, nor should it be the primary time for supervisors to connect with their staff on a personal level.

Every staff member is both a worker and a person, and it’s important that supervisors understand the following differences: Work is concerned with meeting objectives, tasks, schedules, team assignments, data collection and objective quantifiable results. People and the relationship building that we do with them is far more subjective, personal and measured qualitatively rather than quantitative.

Most supervisors understand that a happy employee is a productive employee and what better way to create a happy employee than by having strong, meaningful work relationships? The challenge though is how do we build strong relationships at work while remaining professional? How do we find enjoyment with those around us and within this culture we’ve committed to, while still meeting the deadlines and tasks assigned? Professionals can earn degrees, certificates and accolades in order to gain knowledge about objective information, but how do we get better at building relationships and creating a positive workplace? It’s quite simple actually; we practice with intentionality. As supervisors we can create small moments of positivity and connection as well as large moments, but none of these will happen unless you make it a priority. Let’s explore some small moments first.

By small moments I mean one-on-one interactions. These can be as simple as asking about a co-worker’s weekend, a special event that’s coming up in their life or an interest of theirs. These moments need to be free from distraction and focused on the person, not their work. It’s important that we look them in the eyes, put the technology away and give them our undivided attention. These moments need to be genuine. It’s okay to let your guard down a bit and talk about your own life as well and how it might relate to theirs. People often connect through vulnerability. We respect their effort to share personally, it almost always builds trust.

Let’s talk about large moments. These interactions are community focused and often have a social component. You might try hosting a staff luncheon, happy hour at the end of the day or a fun community service event like volunteering at a local non-profit. This is time for co-workers to build relationships organically with one another, but the stage needs to be set in order for them to do so. When planning these events remember that people like food, some kind of activity to keep them busy and should almost never be hosted after work hours. 40 hours a week is already enough “at work time” so please refrain from making employees stay longer, especially if they are not going to be paid for that added time. Also try to avoid too much public recognition for staff at these events, many people feel nervous about receiving praise in front of their peers at large gatherings. If a social moment is planned for after work hours make sure to cover all costs and invite family members.

Those are just a couple of examples of how we might practice relationship building at work, but it’s all for nothing if you aren’t intentionally doing them. For many supervisors it can be awkward to sit down and connect with staff one-on-one or plan a meaningful community moment that isn’t work related. The only way to break through that barrier though is to find the courage to be a better leader and simply try to make these moments happen regularly. In challenging moments, think “what would a great leader do in this situation” and do your best to meet that ideal. Your staff will appreciate it, you will feel like a better supervisor and undoubtedly your workplace will improve. Keep in mind that work isn’t just about work, but it’s also about the people we’ve chosen to surround ourselves with. Good luck.

~ Drew Demery

Great Visions

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 22:15:03 GMT

With a great team, great planning, and a great vision, almost any dream can become a reality.

Every Camp Director I have ever met has always had a great vision for what they want their camp to be. It may include buildings, or new program areas, it may include dreaming of owning the property next door, maybe it’s completely programmatic - like developing a camp that is truly accessible and welcoming to all or inspires campers to grow in their faith. Camp professionals are great at ‘the idea’ - they dream big and have great vision for their camp and campers.

So, the question is - how do we take a great vision from dream to reality? To be fair - sometimes luck steps in and it just happens. Other times it gets done on sheer will and drive. But how about the rest of the time? Luck and stubbornness aside, are there steps we can follow to bring a great vision to life consistently? The answer is yes, if you are willing to follow them.

Camp people are busy, running a camp is a big job. So, often, vision and dreams get lost in the busy day to day of operations. But with intentionally, it doesn’t have to happen that way. It may be that we need to let some things go or find a better way to manage our time. Maybe it’s bringing in more help. But before we do anything - we need to develop a plan for our vision.

With the right team, developing a plan doesn’t need to be hard - but it should be based on data and group think. Involving a group of stakeholders to test your vision and provide feedback is key and a great place to start. The resources needed, including time should also be considered. Weighing the pros and cons and considering the impact on people, facilities, budget, and property should all be part of the equation. Breaking the vision into smaller objectives that help reach the end goal, with measurable tasks on a timeline will help the team stay on focus. Find a task force or a team to test the steps and help you think of the roadblocks as you go. Then develop solutions that are realistic for each roadblock - don’t over commit or plan on something that cannot be delivered. Patience and planning are needed.

Delivery is where it gets fun. Who will be the point person? Who is taking what tasks? Creating a dashboard of responsibilities and timelines and holding each other accountable is a large part of the recipe to make things work.

Camp Directors are dreamers - but they are also do-ers. With a great team, great planning, and a great vision, almost any dream can become reality.

~ David Sherry

President

The Sherry Group

Everybody Needs A Coach

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 17:00:28 GMT

Even the best of the best needs someone in their "court."

Corporate goals and objectives don’t work in nature. Increasing revenues, cutting expenses, and HR training are foreign concepts for Team Mother Nature. In nature, rabbits jump and run … stink at swimming … but they are still on the team … trying not to be someone else’s lunch. Not in business … be good at everything or the world will eat you up.

How about embracing a different business concept? What if we taught our bunnies to run so fast and jump so high that when they came to a body of water, they just sailed over it? How about when our bunnies fell in the water and started to sink, we sent them a lifeline to get them back running and jumping?

Coach ‘em up or coach ‘em out could be simply replaced with coach them! Everybody needs a coach. Serena Williams, the greatest tennis athlete of our generation, had a tennis coach her entire career. Tiger Woods has multiple coaches, swing coaches, life coaches, nutrition coaches, and trainers. When he hit a developmental wall … he looked for someone to coach him over it. Neither athlete achieved greatness on their own, and each sought continual coaching and development. Even the best of the best needs someone in their “court.”

My sports guy was Joe. This man pushed me, cared for me, taught me what a positive mental attitude could accomplish … oh and along the way I learned to play basketball. He knew the X’s and O’s and clearly communicated them in a way that I could understand. Joe could assess my skills and run appropriate drills to enhance my performance. When I was down … he built me up. When I was cocky … he showed me how much I had to learn.

My business career was blessed with several coaches. In my first career, in the for-profit world, I had a few mentors that “taught me the ropes.” I was successful and quickly rose in the ranks, but along the way I realized I was LOVING developing people and hating maximizing my boss’s bonus. I needed to be where my personal skills and values aligned with a mission I believed in. So, I made the jump to the non-profit world, specifically camp and conference centers. These were new waters. One of my mentors suggested I hire a coach to help transition. I needed a business focused Joe! With a little research I found the perfect person and we clicked for years. This experienced partner knew the non-profit world; they listened, helped me process, offered support and wisdom, and held me accountable.

We all need coaches. People to laugh with, cry with, offer us wisdom, provide accountability, show us the ropes … to build us up and to push us. The world can be a rough place all on your own. Go run and jump and surround yourself with people that will coach you over the water!

~ Glenn Svetnicka
Senior Consultant and Coach

The Sherry Group

(Master) Planning for the Future

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 02:25:54 GMT

Your program drives the Plan

In his article, Where Do We Start?, Dave outlined several suggestions for planning for next year’s camp season and the importance of evaluating, assessing, and reviewing your purpose and values, making adjustments where needed. As part of that review, or as an immediate follow-up to that review process, you should consider whether a property master plan would help your camp realize your goals.

There are many reasons camp organizations go through the master planning process including: updating old, outdated, and potentially unsafe buildings; providing a plan for future expansion and growth, or; addressing environmental or other site concerns such as relocating buildings out of a floodplain. If any of these situations fit your camp and you’re considering going through the master planning process, there are several things to consider. I’d like to share a few of these, here.

Your program drives the plan. As do your mission, purpose, and values. The master planning process must begin with a detailed and thoughtful review of these factors to ensure that all proposed buildings, structures, and program areas will support your program, mission, purpose, and values. For example, if environmental stewardship and ecological practices are a core value, a go-kart track will likely lead to future challenges and unintended conflicts. The Landscape Architect or camp planner you work with should translate your specific requirements into a written document, sometimes called a ‘design program’ or ‘client’s program’ that serves as a reference throughout the planning process.

The master plan should align your design program with your property and its unique characteristics. The aim is to fit your program sensitively onto the landscape. No two camp properties are alike, so a ‘one-size-fits-all’ master plan doesn’t work and can lead to circulation, environmental, or other program or site concerns down the line. It’s critical to include a site inventory and analysis early in the process to identify the most suitable locations for your design program elements. You don’t want to site a dining hall in a location with a fantastic view, if it creates stormwater runoff, erosion, or other problems to adjacent areas (including your neighbor’s property).

Master planning should be an engaged process. A great master plan sensitively aligns your design program with the unique characteristics of your property, taking into consideration your camp’s and your organization’s values, culture, and traditions. No one knows your site, program, or culture better than you. It’s critical that the process engages you and your camp staff, leadership, campers, parents, and alumni at the planning table. Your Landscape Architect or planner can help facilitate these discussions, to ensure the process builds on and enhances your camp’s traditions and your campers’ experiences.

These are just a few suggestions to consider if you’re planning to work through a master planning process. Later, we’ll discuss approaches to master planning development and implementation.

~ Tom Neppl, PLA

The Sherry Group Team Member

Where Do We Start?

dave@thesherrygroupllc.com — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 19:26:38 GMT

Now is the time...

Camp is wrapped up for the season, equipment is put away, inventory has been taken, surveys and evaluations have been sent out and collected. Now is the time to plan for next summer. Where do we start? That’s a great question….

Start at the beginning. Revisit your mission, guiding principles and purpose. Why does your camp exist? What were the goals and vision of the program? Return to that place. Review and examine your foundation before you start to build for next year.

There is a lot to consider for next year. Price - when was your last financial assessment? Budget work - where are we spending the money and how much do we think we will have? What sessions did well this summer and what did the evaluations say? Do we have enough staff? Should we add a social work position to help support our campers and staff? All great questions, and all things that should be looked at.

But first, we need to evaluate, assess, and review our purpose. Do we have guiding principles? Are we following them? Are we meeting our mission and using our values to make decisions? Are we meeting the purpose and goals of our program? This is where we need to start, and where we need to be honest with ourselves. If our camp is full and the campers are having fun, does that alone mean we are successful - or is there more to why our program is here?

Our budget reflects our values. Our real values. Is it reflecting the right things? So does our program schedules, staff structure and staff recruiting practices. Are we building our values into our program in a meaningful way? Are our values reflected in our staff pay, time off and ratios? They should be. Now is the time to review, assess and make sure that they are.

Many camps do a wonderful job of staying true to their mission and values. Others need to take a moment and reflect. But all of us need to annually evaluate where we are. We assess our menus, registration process, activities and more. If we are not already doing it, we need to add mission and values to the top of that list. Do we have guiding principles? A simple set of principles to test our decisions against? Do we know and use them? Are they still relevant?

Where do we start? Each and every year we need to start at the beginning.

Enjoy this season of planning your next summer. Now is the time for planting the seeds for a fruitful and impactful next summer. We need to be sure we are planting the appropriate seeds.

~ Dave Sherry

President

The Sherry Group

Camp Staff Family Engagement

Fri, 25 Aug 2023 16:43:27 GMT

Educating families on what camp is, and how to help their child thrive while here.

We’ve been experiencing a growing trend…hearing more and more from parents. Not camper parents mind you, but summer staff parents. Parents that want to know more about what their kid is doing at camp, when do they have time off, or even asking if they can have their child take time off. Alongside this are the comments from summer staff saying, “my parents said I should ask for this,” or “my parents said I need this time off.” Interestingly, these conversations aren’t happening during the hiring process, but rather come days before they “need” that time off.

The crux of it is, is that I don’t know that parents always see camp as a “real” job. Because of this, they feel like their child can come and go as they please, and that the schedule their child agreed to is not something they need to be held accountable for. Or, when their child reaches out about some aspect of camp “being hard,” rather than encouraging them to work through it, they tell them to come home. I certainly don’t think all parents are this way, but over the past few years, the occurrences of this happening have been increasingly greater. In response, we wanted to do something that would help mitigate frustrations and bring families into the fold; to educate families on what camp is, and how to help their child thrive while here.

Therefore, we have started two different projects. The first is a ‘Staff Parent Zoom Meeting’ right before staff training begins. During this meeting we share things like:

· What camp is all about

· What their child will be doing while working here

· How this is a “real” job with real expectations and accountability

· What they will be learning,

· How to help their child through the summer

· How to request time off, and why we cannot always grant the requests with short notice

After the presentation, there is time for questions and answers.

This coincides with the second project…

We decided to create a ‘Staff Parent Handbook’ much like the parent handbook sent to youth camper families. It has all the general helpful stuff in there – staff training dates, what to pack, and how to mail stuff to camp. We also include:

· A glossary of camp terms they may hear when asking their child about their summer

· Who we are and why we do what we do

· A list of attributes/skills their child will gain while working at camp - stamina, public speaking, project management, facilitation skills, work ethic, etc.

· A schedule outlining what staff does on a day-to-day basis

· A FAQ of scenarios that could happen at camp during their child’s time on staff

· Policies on things like requesting time off, staff relationships, cell phone use

· Suggestions and information on how they as parents can help

What we have discovered through these two projects has helped us build support within, and from, the family. Knowing why, what, and how we do camp gives them the opportunity to support their child’s professional development, and they know we are an advocate for their child's growth.

Is it a perfect system? No, of course not. We run into the same problem that all of us do with our campers… even with the best communication, they still may not take the time to read or listen. But for those families that do, it has been quite transformative.

~ Brad "BJ" Murray
Camp Wood YMCA

Camp Staff Family Day

Sat, 12 Aug 2023 17:57:10 GMT

Connecting your staff families to your camp community.

Years ago, I worked at a day camp that had cookouts on a certain night of the week. The whole idea was to give parents an opportunity to spend a little time at camp and better understand their child’s experience. It was great! We ended up having greater buy-in from parents and got to know them, all the good stuff that comes with personal interaction.

Fast forward twenty-two years, I had a summer staff sitting in my office asking if they could invite their parents out one Saturday and show them around and maybe do some activities with them. It was a complete face-palm moment. I realized we had never invited parents and family members out to see what their summer staff children were doing all summer long. In the next three minutes, we went from inviting her parents to see camp to a Camp Staff Family Day complete with lunch and opening up all the program areas for a whole day after checkout. After running it (learning as we went), I can tell you it was a huge success.

I think if you talk to any camp director these days, they will tell you that “staff are different than they used to be.” I am not going to dig into that, but what I will say is that staff today, I have found, are far more connected to their families. Gone are the days of having your scheduled pay phone time in the dorms to call home. Most of our staff members call or text home daily. There is constant communication. With that understanding, opening up camp, and including staff families as a part of the camp community, makes perfect sense.

Simplicity was key to keeping it enjoyable for everyone. We did not want anyone having to do extra work for the day that was based around them. So our meal was simple. Pulled pork and pulled chicken that we threw into the oven an hour before lunch was to start. Buns and bags of chips and lunch was done. Paper cups and plates meant minimal dishes. We let the families explore camp with staff leading their individual programs. If you had a family that wanted to go swimming, but their camp staff was not a lifeguard, they simply buddied up with another family, and later the other staff would lead something for the lifeguard’s family. To be honest, I thought they would all be gone by 3:30pm. At 5:00pm we still had loads of families on camp. Those staff members whose family was unable to make it, like the international staff, were simply “adopted” by other families, and hung out together. Many of them were taken out to dinner later that evening.

We took advantage of a few minutes before lunch to talk about the staff with their families. It was an opportunity to brag on the staff and to educate the families about the importance of the work their children were doing, both for the campers in their care each week and for all the skills they were personally gaining. We shared articles from magazines talking about how those skills are exactly what job recruiters are seeking. As I spent intentional time with each family throughout the afternoon sharing and bragging about their individual child, I was amazed at their gratitude for offering this opportunity to connect to camp. You could feel the pride those parents had.

Our main takeaways from the day:

· When a parent can understand what camp does for their child and what their child does at camp (it’s far more than fun and getting a tan) you create a fan of camp. That fan then becomes your advocate when a staff is calling home on the hard days.

· It boosts motivation. We did our about two-thirds through our season. The next week the staff came back pumped up because they got to show camp off, and they were shown off by camp leadership.

· How many times have you heard that a parent told a staff member, who wants to return, that they can’t because they have to get a real job? This erases the “real job” conversation as parents understand the long-term skills that are gained.

We are already planning on this becoming an annual activity for our camp staff, and genuinely believe this will become a great staff retention tool.

~ Brad "BJ" Murray
Camp Wood YMCA

Nostalgia is Not a Business Plan

Thu, 03 Aug 2023 17:09:08 GMT

Your future is forward-facing

The “Camp Granada Song” by Allan Sherman was a playful novelty when it debuted back in 1963. It depicted a little boy’s fictional complaints and created an image of camp in the minds of listeners that has lingered through the years. While playful and fun, it is not the camp or retreat experience that guests wax nostalgic for in 2023. No one wants “Hello Muddah, Hello Fuddah, here I am at Camp Granada” anymore.

So, what do they want? A safe environment with upkept buildings and grounds. Tasty food with accommodating menus. Comfortable beds and bathrooms with privacy. Welcoming and inviting programs where everyone is included!

Do you want to bring in new guests? What is the first impression of your facility? If the first impression is unsafe, dirty, messy, and unkept … I’m NOT staying here, and my child is NOT staying here. Safe, clean, organized, and cared for sites are critical and everyone’s responsibility. Hire and train to a standard of “if you see something amiss … you own it to get corrected.”
How about serving special diets? Eating gluten free is not just a trend for many people, it’s a food accommodation akin to a nut allergy. Vegetarians are not trying to make your food service people annoyed and stressed … they are eating a healthy diet. Invest in new and creative ways to make “special diets” an integral part of an amazing food service for EVERYONE and guests will return again and again.
Have you slept in your beds recently? How did your back feel in the morning? Could my partner and I sleep together during the family event geared to extend your “shoulder season?” Buy some queen beds for your guests that are so comfortable they come back … with their adults.
I know ramps are expensive and sometimes understanding someone else’s life experience can be challenging. Yet, if you do not provide respect, privacy, emotional safety, and inclusion for the everyone … who’s to say you do for anyone?

1963 to 2023…the world is a different place entirely. We can lament or embrace the changes but they are going to keep coming. Today’s social media platform will be tomorrow’s AOL. The slick wealth engine linked to your CRM will undoubtedly be replaced by some AI service. Nostalgia isn’t a forward-facing business plan. No one wants “Hello Muddah, Hello Fuddah, here I am at Camp Granada” anymore.

Preparing for Summer Camp: Part 2

Mon, 09 May 2022 02:18:02 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

In this episode of The Sherry Group Podcast , Drew Demery and David Sherry discuss useful summer camp preparations and personal care information for Camp Directors.

Preparing for Summer Camp: Part 1

Sun, 08 May 2022 20:15:35 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

In this episode of The Sherry Group Podcast , Drew Demery and David Sherry discuss useful summer staff onboarding and training information for Camp Directors.

Site and Facilities #7: David Sherry

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 18:20:08 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Camp facilities and grounds are constantly needing repairs, reimaging and reinvigorating. Join Sherry Group members, Drew Demery and David Sherry as they discuss site development and a multitude of intentional steps Camp Directors can take to make their own camp safer, more inviting and better reflect their mission and values.

Site and Facilities #6: Joel Sieplinga

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 20:57:05 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Camp facilities and grounds are constantly needing repairs, reimaging and reinvigorating. Join Sherry Group members, Drew Demery and David Sherry as they speak with Camp Tecumseh YMCA CEO, Joel Sieplinga about their site development, intentional building techniques and how involving key stakeholders in the design process had aided their success in recent years.

Site and Facilities #5: Tom Neppl

Wed, 16 Feb 2022 01:50:13 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Camp facilities and grounds are constantly needing repairs, reimaging and reinvigorating. Join Sherry Group members, Drew Demery and David Sherry as they interview Landscape Architect, Tom Neppl about the nuances of site development.

Site and Facilities #4: Sean Gundersen

Fri, 11 Feb 2022 22:08:44 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Camp facilities and grounds are constantly needing repairs, reimaging and reinvigorating. Join Sherry Group members, Drew Demery and David Sherry as they interview Camp Director, Sean Gundersen about site rentals and partnerships.

Sean speaks about relationship building being crucial when multiple stakeholders are involved with operating summer camp.

Site and Facilities #3: Corey Vansickle

Sun, 06 Feb 2022 20:52:51 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Camp facilities and grounds are constantly needing repairs, reimaging and reinvigorating. Join Sherry Group members, Drew Demery and David Sherry as they speak with arborist, Corey Vansickle about tree care at summer camp.

Site and Facilities #2: Kelly Rossebo

Thu, 03 Feb 2022 19:30:07 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Camp facilities and grounds are constantly needing repairs, reimaging and reinvigorating. Join Sherry Group members, Drew Demery and David Sherry as they speak with Camp Director/Owner, Kelly Rossebo about her process purchasing a camp and renovating it over the past 28 years.

Site and Facilities #1: Adam Aalgaard

Wed, 02 Feb 2022 21:25:43 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Camp facilities and grounds are constantly needing repairs, reimaging and reinvigorating. Join Sherry Group members, Drew Demery and David Sherry as they speak with architect, Adam Aalgaard about the nuances of site planning and development.

What are you working on and why?

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 02:43:22 GMT

Staying busy is rarely a problem.

During the winter it is easy to find things to do in the camp office. Staying busy is rarely a problem. But are you staying busy doing the right things?

I have conversations with camps around the country and often find myself asking them a couple of simple questions….why and how? Why are you focused on that? How is that helping your Camp meet its goals? Is that a priority?

I often find camps working on things that, although interesting or fun, are not necessarily helping them meet their current goals. Why and How are simple tests. Be honest, why are you focused on that and how is it helping?

If your camp is full, and running well, making or exceeding a budget that covers expenses, funds depreciation and puts a little money away for a rainy day - good for you. If your staff are all hired, registration is complete and everything is ready for next summer - fantastic! If your camp is as safe as it can be, and every program has been reviewed for safety practices, then you are doing really well. If not, maybe you need to ask yourself why and how.

Does this project improve, promote or help achieve....

Create a simple test. Does this project improve, promote or help achieve….

Camp’s mission and strategic Plan
Camper and staff safety (physical, emotional, other)
Camper enrollment - meeting or exceeding budgeted goals
Staff recruitment and training
Camp facility prep (safe, clean, maintained and attractive)
Camper retention - campers desire to return

I would encourage you to be honest in your evaluation. Remove the emotion from it and look at it from the perspective of an investment. What will be your return on investment? Is it worth the staff time and energy you are placing on it? Or could there be a better use of your and your team’s time?

Staff time - your time - is one of your largest resources

I get it. Not everything needs to be about the bottom line. That is not what I am suggesting. I am however encouraging you to look at where and how you invest your resources. Staff time - your time - is one of your largest resources. We need to take care of our staff team . Many of the projects we choose to spend time on can be fun, interesting or something we want to do ourselves. And often in camp, if we don’t do it ourselves, we are afraid it won’t get done. However, that does not mean it is something we NEED to be doing. That does not make it an operational priority.

Your and your team’s time is a resource. Use it wisely. Create a plan, test the plan, then stick to the plan. Invest your resources wisely.

But First We Rest - Post Summer Camp

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 15:20:50 GMT

Summer Camps across the country are wrapping up or are already finished for the summer.

As summer camp is wrapping up, Camp Directors across the country are already looking towards summer 2022. There is a lot to do; plans to be made, evaluations to collect, staff to hire, facility and grounds projects to tackle, programs to update and the list goes on. These things are important and we need to get after them in order to have the best summer possible next year.

But first - simply rest

But first - simply rest. As camp professionals, you have been working, worrying and delivering for months. Your body is likely tired, your emotions drained and your mental health needs a chance to catch up. It’s ok to take a break. Now is the time to do that. Take a break, you deserve it.

You need time to simply breathe and be you

As camping professionals we often get caught up in the idea that we need to work all of the time, many of us even wear it as a badge of honor. But it is not healthy. You need time to rest. You need time to reflect. You need time to simply breathe and be you. You need to see family and friends to reconnect after a busy summer.

Taking care of yourself is not selfish, it’s a professional responsibility

Your camp is better when you are healthy. Taking care of yourself is not selfish, it’s a professional responsibility. So take a break. You’ve earned it. Leave camp in the rear view and go somewhere you can be yourself without the worries and stress of your job. Recenter.

We will start working on planning summer 2022 together, when you are back.

Staff Hiring Tips - How To Recruit While Still In Session

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Sun, 08 Aug 2021 22:28:18 GMT

Hiring staff is an ongoing process for summer camps, and should be viewed as a year round project. That includes planning on working on your staff now, during summer camp for next year. We have listed a few things for you to consider, that may help you get a jump on staff hiring for next year.

Make this summer special

Conduct a meaningful evaluation at both mid and end of summer. Show them that you are paying attention to them by sharing more than a generic evaluation. Identify areas of opportunity and why you feel they could improve in those areas. Be sure to identify their strengths and give them positive reinforcement for them.
Allow staff an opportunity to lead above their regular responsibilities. Allow them to manage a project, work crew or special activity at camp.
Staff appreciation goes a long way. Gifts are nice, but one on one time with the Director is also really appreciated. Get to know them and show that you are interested in them.
Plan a staff outing. Something fun where they can bond together as a team.
Allow time for the staff to interact without campers. Their relationships are important to them and a large reason that they would consider returning. Let them have time to develop those relationships.
Show them the impact they are having. Share emails, phone calls and other feedback you get from parents. Line up a testimonial during a staff meeting. They want to see that they are making a difference.
Offer ongoing training and tips to help them be successful. Everyone wants to be successful. Short training opportunities to develop their skills between sessions is meaningful.
Be sure to get out of the office and make connections with staff while they are on property.

Benefits

Pay the best you can afford. Be willing to pass some of the cost on to families through increased fees if possible. Staff typically don’t stay additional summers because of pay, but the more they make, the less they have to sacrifice to be at camp.
Offer sessions with successful alumni presenting to staff on what they learned as a summer staff and how it has helped them find success in their careers.
Offer alumni resources for internships, resume review, practice interviewing or simply discussing their professional futures. Alumni can be great resources for college students working on developing a future career.
Allow staff to take online courses during summer. You obviously need to manage how many they take, but if at all possible work with them to have access to wifi and time to take an online course.
Develop a written internship plan. Having a written curriculum or plan for internships makes it more attractive for the student and school to consider camp as a reliable internship site. Responsibilities should exceed that of other paid staff.

Last two weeks of summer

Announce to the staff that over the next two weeks you will be discussing positions for the next summer. Ask staff to understand that you cannot speak to everyone right away, so please be patient. They will be spoken to. This gets staff to start thinking about returning and discussing it with their friends.
Create a commitment form. Not a contract. If staff agree to return next summer, have them sign the form. It will help them feel like it is more official. Asking staff to commit before they leave may be hard at first. In time, they will begin to expect it and it will grow into culture. Staff are often more likely to say yes when they are still feeling the emotions of summer versus when they are juggling the daily life of school or work.
Offer positions before they leave camp.
Allow staff an opportunity to try a new position or role at camp, even if just for a few hours.
Plan a fun and meaningful last night banquet after the kids leave. Make it a night to remember. A banquet, summer photos slideshow or video of staff moments, staff photo in a frame, keepsake from camp and lots of stories.
Have each staff member fill out a questionnaire answering fun questions about themselves. Also give them a list of other staff and ask them to write a sentence or two message to the other staff. Combine all the answers to create a memory book that you give to each staff member at the end of summer.
Let them leave their mark somewhere on camp. Signing a paddle, or plaque, etc.

After Camp

“Keep the camp cup full” stay connected to staff. Travel to colleges where multiple staff attend and take them and their friends out for dinner, send notes and offer opportunities for staff to meet up.
Offer to get together at camp for holidays or school breaks.
Invite staff to participate in person or over video conference to hear ideas and plans for next summer. Give them the opportunity to share their input and thoughts on planning and new ideas.
Set a goal to have so many staff hired at certain dates throughout the fall and winter. 20 hired by September 20th, etc. The earlier you can hire staff, the more they will help you recruit and convince other staff to return.
Offer incentives to returning staff for recruiting friends.
Send birthday cards
Highlight staff in newsletters
Keep staff connected through regular zoom or skype group calls, group emails, staff facebook page, sharing photos, etc.
Offer pay increases for returning staff for each year they have worked.

Clean the Bathrooms

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 03:35:38 GMT

It does matter.

It does matter. We often get so caught up in staff training, program

registrations, preparing program areas and starting our summer, that this very simple item can be missed. It only takes a few moments, a few times a day and anyone on your staff team can learn how to do it.

Attend to the camp bathroom more than once a day.

Attend to the camp bathroom more than once a day. Cleaning the bathroom in the morning and waiting to clean it again tomorrow is not enough. You may only need to do a deep clean once a day, but another few stops throughout the day to pick up trash and lost and found items, wipe down surfaces and make sure that everything looks nice will make a difference.

All camp bathrooms need to be at their optimum cleanliness before check in starts .

Everyone prefers a clean bathroom. Especially parents. All camp bathrooms need to be at their optimum cleanliness before check in starts . They should be checked regularly to be sure they are kept looking nice throughout the check in process. PArents want to know that their campers will be using clean facilities. First day impressions make a difference. Poor impressions on the first day are challenging to overcome.

Keeping facilities clean and well kept, teaches respect for facilities and property.

Campers and staff will take better care of a clean bathroom. Keeping facilities clean and well kept, teaches respect for facilities and property. It’s the opposite of the broken window effect. If you see an old building with broken windows, it is more tempting to throw a rock and break another window. However, if a building - or bathroom in this case- is cleaned and maintained, you are less likely to make a mess or treat the facility poorly.

Campers can help pick up trash, sweep pick up lost and found as well as a way to learn shared responsibilities in a community .

Having summer staff of all positions help be responsible for clean bathrooms will help encourage them to keep the bathrooms cleaner. Campers can help pick up trash, sweep pick up lost and found as well as a way to learn shared responsibilities in a community . Toilet cleaning, chemicals and anything gross should be left to staff though.

Your expectations need to meet or exceed parent expectations.

Dirty bathrooms are not healthy and are less comfortable to use. Little things make a difference in a camper's experience. Anything within reason that we can do to make them feel more comfortable and safe needs to be considered a priority. Clean bathrooms are within reason.

Five Quick & Little Summer Camp Tips

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 03:07:07 GMT

Here are five simple things you can do this summer.

Have a staff meet families at check in day, before they start the process of checking in for their session. This should be a new staff that has a built in excuse for not knowing returning campers (It’s my first summer on staff, have you been here before). If a camper is a first time camper, have the staff write them a nametag in red marker . If the camper is a return camper, have them write a nametag in black . It’s very difficult to remember each camper from year to year. But when they arrive to check in, you will know if they are new or returning. New campers get greeted by the staff with a welcome to camp, this must be your first time. Returning campers get greeted by name with a welcome back, so great to see you again this summer. Campers will feel special because you remembered them. And...we want our campers to feel special.
Carry a small notebook everywhere you go . Write notes throughout the day, and review them before calling it a night. If a camper says something special to you, If you hear of a staff birthday or special day, write it down. If you promise to take care of something for a staff or camper, write it down. Reviewing your notes daily will help you remember to follow through, or to say something back to that camper that next day, helping them feel special. Check out Amazon’s Rocketbook smart reusable notebook .
Schedule a set number of tours to give in a week. Invite donors, Alumni, Parents, anyone you can to see camp in operation. Three tours a week sounds like a lot, but it is doable and you will strengthen relationships and open doors.
Keep an ongoing list of supplies that you purchase, use or need throughout the summer. You can then return to this list in the fall and get all of your ordering done months before spring rolls around next year. The earlier you can define what you need, the more you can watch for deals and avoid adding items to your todo list next spring or summer.
Take daily time for yourself. Jump in the pool or lake. Take a morning walk. Set aside time for prayer. Do whatever you need to do to have free moments of your time. The better you are this summer, the better everyone is this summer.

Five Ways to Support Your Staff This Summer

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Fri, 21 May 2021 02:21:30 GMT

Ah, Summer, we are so happy that you are back here with us!

This summer many of you are welcoming back campers and staff to camp for the first time since 2019. What an exciting time! This last year you’ve been presented with unique challenges that will forever change your camp program. As we lean into summer 2021, here are some tips that you can plan now to support your staff team through the whole camp season!

1. High Quality Pre-Camp Training

A great summer begins with high-quality training. This concept probably isn't new to you. You have been working on staff training for the past several weeks and now it’s crunch time to make sure you get all of the last minute details complete for the arrival of your team members. Creating a training with relevant content will help your team members succeed as they perform their work this summer. Consider going beyond just a schedule and a general idea of topic in your planning and create lesson plans with specific measurable goals and objectives for each session of training. As you work through the content, measure your team’s understanding of the skills through quizzes and hands-on experiences.

2. Timely and Consistent Feedback

Create a culture of feedback and actually practice it! Timely and consistent feedback allows staff to make adjustments as they work through your expectations as a camp leader and amend to your camp culture. You should make intentional strides to give feedback every time that you can - from observations of team member teaching, or sharing feedback on how the person interacts with campers during transition periods. Consider creating a short form to document coaching and feedback tips that you can share with your team member immediately after observation. Make sure to keep a copy for yourself to document the team member’s progress through your consistent observations and feedback. These will give you valuable material to use as you touch base mid-season and at the end of summer when you conduct performance conversations. Whether your observation was great or needing improvement, the backbone of any meaningful feedback is to offer ways that the individual can improve their skills to create a better camp experience for all.

3. Adequate Down Time and Time Off

It’s no secret that summer camp is a high-intensity work environment with activities jammed packed throughout the day. Up early and to bed late can create a tired and disengaged team member. Create intentional down time throughout the day and help your team learn the value of their scheduled time off. A great way to give your team some extra time off during the day is to have your leadership team step in and lead an activity period and let your team member have that time for themselves. This not only gives your team a much needed break from their activity, but it also gives you some time to reconnect with your summer camp roots and lead activities that you love but rarely get a chance to do. Consider when scheduling your season to allow adequate time off between sessions and guest groups to maximize your ability to give downtime to your team.

4. Team Member Appreciation

Who doesn’t like being appreciated? Organize activities and small gifts to help build and keep your team member morale and job satisfaction high. The bonus is that any appreciation that you give your team members doesn't have to cost a lot of money. Snacks, ice pops, their favorite flavor of Gatorade, a handwritten note, or an end of summer gift are all great and cost-effective ways to show your staff that they matter beyond their paychecks. If your camp has more room in its budget, think about organizing an event for your staff on their time off such as a trip to a local restaurant, baseball game or an amusement park! Consider making an appreciation calendar to keep yourself organized and on schedule to provide your team with much-needed love and appreciation throughout your season.

5. Leading by Example

Remind yourself that supporting your staff team begins with you. You are the tone setter and the ultimate role model for your team.

Your intentionality to support your staff will make a world of difference in your program.

Setting your team up for success begins with you and these five easy action items give you a strong foundation in which you can successfully support your team members throughout this summer.

Have a Great Summer and Happy Camping!

Sean Gundersen has 13 years of camp experience and spent the last five years as the Director of Camping for two agency residential camp properties. Sean has a love for camp, archery, and building vibrant, cohesive staff teams.

Episode #6: Meaningful Camp Moments

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Mon, 17 May 2021 16:40:52 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Summer Camp is full of significant moments and experiences. Join Sherry Group members, Drew Demery and David Sherry as they speak with Jordy Brown about two of his favorite summer camp moments.

Donor Cultivation (Simply Making Friends)

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Wed, 05 May 2021 01:05:31 GMT

Donor Cultivation simply means building relationships with potential donors.

Asking someone for a gift to support your program should not be where a relationship begins. We want to build that relationship over time, get to know the donor and their interests. Be intentional in your plan. Be caring and genuine in all you do.

Listed below are a few ideas to include in your donor cultivation plan.

Come up with a list of prospects. Here are a few places to start your prospect list.

Brainstorm names of potential names with volunteers. Focus on people they can introduce you to that may be interested in supporting a program like yours.
Create a list of alumni from your program and review that list with key volunteers to identify potential donors.
Create a list of camper families who have sent campers for multiple years.
Produce a list of past and current volunteers who do not currently make a gift.

Set up a time for a first meeting and introduction

Keep it short and simple.
Do not share a lot of facts and figures or too many stories about your program.
Ask them questions, get to know them. Keep it conversational.
Like any relationship, it should be about getting to know each other

Develop a plan to continue building the relationship

Invite them for a tour
Grab coffee
Invite them to a volunteer day
Send them a handwritten note thanking them for their time
Connect them with other donors, people they may know that support your program
Be open and honest with them. Be willing to be vulnerable and genuine

It’s about the donor

Learn what their interests are, what they are passionate about
Try to align their interests with areas of your program
Respect their wishes and timeline
Never rush an ask. Wait for the relationship to develop
Allow them the opportunity to give advice and feedback

Wait til it’s right

Ask permission to talk to them about a gift
Be sure to align your ask with their interests

Episode #5: Meaningful Camp Moments

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 15:08:39 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Summer Camp is full of significant moments and experiences. Join Sherry Group members, Drew Demery and David Sherry as they speak with Robyn Ratcliff about a couple of hers.

Build That Community!

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Sun, 18 Apr 2021 20:52:02 GMT

By Drew Demery

The coolest thing about summer camp is the opportunity to make new friends and feel accepted for who you are. For someone like me, a classic loner who floated between cliques, summer camp was perfect for finding my humanity as well as my identity.

Sure you can learn new skills, get bulls-eyes and go on amazing adventures, but those will always come in a close second in my mission for camping. For me the number one best thing about camp is the sense of community and belonging it creates. This community is vast, diverse and trained to be inclusive. I’m not just speaking from a staff member’s point of view here, but I also believe the children are trained to be inclusive. Counselors are always (at a good camp) rewarding kids who are kind, inclusive, respectful and compassionate.

This setting was perfect for me, somebody who didn’t have a lot of close friends but had a fair amount of friendly acquaintances. These acquaintances were friends that I might just say “hey how’s it going” in passing or “like” their status or smile at in the hallway. But I’d never tell them anything really meaningful, hard-hitting or substantial. It’s largely because of this kind of on-the-surface interaction that I found myself lonely, depressed and isolated after my first year of college. Then I signed up to be a camp counselor, went through adversity (both manufactured and organic) with my peers (people who were trained and rewarded for being compassionate and inclusive) and created real friendships. I finally had people I could trust and that set the stage for a meaningful life.

It’s because of these kinds of success stories (camp staff see it every week) that I will always find more value in the community building aspects of camp than the hard skills and even the adventures. In an ever isolating world, camp has the power to bring us together and thus create a better tomorrow. I know that I can go and develop skills by myself: I can go to the backyard and shoot archery all day long and eventually be great at it. Just like I can also go on adventures by myself and take some great photos, but what I can never have is a successful community of one. When we unite, include and care we create meaning.

Episode #4: Meaningful Camp Moments

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 15:31:31 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Summer Camp is full of significant moments and experiences. Join Sherry Group members, Drew Demery and David Sherry as they discuss a cool camp tradition that Drew started at his local 4-H camp around the classic "Starfish Story".

Episode #3: Meaningful Camp Moments

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Sun, 11 Apr 2021 18:38:44 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Summer Camp is full of significant moments and experiences. Join Sherry Group members, Drew Demery and David Sherry as they speak with Scott Brosman about an impactful experience he had with a young camper.

Scott, thank you for being on the podcast, it's a pleasure to have you on this episode. Can you please share with us a meaningful experience from your camping career?

Thank you for having me on the podcast. I've recently retired after several decades with Camp Tecumseh YMCA, The experience that I'd like to share today is one that happened early on in my career at a camp I was Directing in Minnesota.

It was early in the week and a camper was having some behavior issues and the staff needed some support in managing this camper, so they got me involved. I spent the morning with this camper and we had some good conversation about how he should be acting at camp and he agreed to try and be better. When he returned to his cabin mates for lunch though he started handing out candy that he had stolen from my desk.

So we went back to my office and we called his father. When we hung up the child said he'd be better now because he really did want to go. He told us that his father beats him at home and then showed us the marks on his body. I was really taken aback in this moment and felt really bad for the kid. He was a fun kid with some minor behavior issues but now it was very clear that something extreme was happening in his life.

So we called Child Health Services and they said this wasn't the first time they had been called about this family. Then they came to camp and took the boy with them. I never heard how it all turned out for him and his family but this experience has stuck with me for decades.

This experience really showed me that we have no idea what's happening in a camper's or staff member's life outside of camp. So we should be kind, caring and accessible if they need to share something like this young camper did. After this experience I always tried to impart this lesson on my staff and give them this kind of perspective on working with children.

Thanks for joining us Scott, it's been a real pleasure.

Episode #2: Meaningful Camp Moments

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 15:12:59 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Summer Camp is full of significant moments and experiences. Join Sherry Group members, Drew Demery and David Sherry as they speak with Jeanne Muellerleile about couple amazing camp experiences.

Jeanne thank you for being on the podcast, it's a pleasure to have you on this episode. Can you please share with us a meaningful experience from your own camping career?

A few years ago I had a unique situation arise with a really cool camper. He was a bit older, very fashionable, full of character and had a great vocabulary. My camp serves special needs individuals and it was always a pleasure when this particular campers would return each summer.

Well one day as I was walking home I came across this camper looking in the windows of my house. I jokingly asked if he was snooping and he replied, "oh no no no, I was just glancing." And it cracked me up! He wasn't just glancing but for him to have the nuance to say that just made my day. So I invited him and we took a tour of the house. He absolutely loved it.

Another cool story is one of a previous staff member. She was a bit timid about leading some activities with campers and so I offered her some support, like I would any staff member who just needed a little encouragement. She went on to be a great staff member for us and really didn't need much of my support to be honest. Well a little bit after I retired she sent me a long letter saying thank you for that bit of encouragement and that now she had been recognized as a leader in her own community. It felt really great to be a small part of her journey and have her say thanks in such a special way.

Thanks for joining us Jeanne, it's been a real pleasure.

Episode #1: Meaningful Camp Moments

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 15:17:57 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Summer Camp is full of significant moments and experiences. Join Sherry Group members, Drew Demery and David Sherry as they speak with Travis Allison about a meaningful moment from his own camping career. Travis is a founding member of gocamp.pro

Travis thank you for being on the podcast, it's a pleasure to have you on this episode. Can you please share with us a meaningful experience from your own camping career?

Thank you for having me on The Sherry Group Podcast. Camping has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. When I was a child I didn't really feel like I fit in anywhere, but camp was a safe and welcoming place for me.

When I was 13 my counselor took me aside and told me something that has stuck with me since that day. He told me that one day I'd be a great camp counselor.

Because of that small and seemingly insignificant moment, I have chosen to make camping my career and huge a part of my life. I met my wife at camp, we raised our kids at camp and now we even have a business that consults with camps all over the world.

My camp counselor didn't know it at the time, but he inspired me to go on and have a life of service that has in return inspired countless others to enjoy a life of summer camp. Just because he believed in me and showed me some kindness in that moment, I have gone on to work with thousands of children and camp staff. He really made a lasting impact in my life.

Relationships Come First

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 01:42:38 GMT

Summer camp fundraising can be a scary word for both the person asking and the person being asked.

It can come off as transactional. I need money, you have money - can I please have it? Fundraising is however, a reality of the nonprofit camping world. So how do we get past the fear? How do we make it less transactional?

Easy. Stop making it about the money and stop focusing on the need. What?! How can we raise funds without making it about money and need?

It’s simple. You already know how to do it. Focus on building relationships first and on what’s best for the donor. As a camping professional you know how to build positive relationships. You know how to care for others.

Stop thinking of fundraising as an uncomfortable conversation and instead start thinking about creating a culture of philanthropy centered around building positive relationships. When we move to friends talking with friends, we can have a different level of conversation.

If the first conversation you are having with a potential donor is to ask them for money, you have missed the mark. You may still get the gift, but it will likely be more uncomfortable for everyone involved. Donor cultivation needs to be intentional. You need to develop a plan that includes getting to know the donor, learning what their interests are and developing a trust between them and your organization. This happens over time and should not be rushed.

Taking time to develop the relationship will help you understand what interests your donor has so you can best match a project with what they are most excited to be a part of. It also allows them the time to learn more about your camp and see your mission in action, which leads to the donor having a better understanding of your camp’s needs and how their gift may be utilized.

Relationships can certainly be built in several ways, but most camps will want to focus on two basic starting points. Both begin with identifying potential donors.

Once a potential donor is identified, a camp can either make the introduction themselves with an invite to camp for a tour, or asking for a lunch or simply asking if it would be ok to stop by their office for a short introduction.
The other way is to identify existing relationships you have in your camp community that are already friends with this particular potential donor. Having a friend make the introduction and bring them out to camp or set up an introduction together is more comfortable for everyone and will typically be better received.

The first meeting should be short and easy. Don’t only talk about camp. Focus instead on getting to know them as a person. Learn what some of their interests are. Do they have family? Find common ground to discuss. Show that you are interested in them as a person, not just as a potential monetary gift. Follow the introduction with a quick note to thank them for their time.

Donors become major donors when their interests and passions cross with a need. Trusting the organization and the people involved in that organization helps a donor feel more comfortable with the decision to make a gift. This often means taking the time to grab a burger together, share some stories, allow yourself to be vulnerable and real and perhaps most importantly, be genuine. In short, we need to invest in people.

Donor cultivation plans take time and need to be intentional and relationship centered.. We will look into developing a donor cultivation plan in more detail in our next article. Meanwhile, identify a handful of people you would like to get to know better that may support your organization. If you don’t know them, find a friend who does.

IN SHORT, WE NEED TO INVEST IN PEOPLE

Donors become major donors when their interests and passions cross with a need.

Trusting the organization and the people involved in that organization helps a donor feel more comfortable with the decision to make a gift. This often means taking the time to grab a burger together, share some stories, allow yourself to be vulnerable and real and perhaps most importantly, be genuine.

Donor cultivation plans take time and need to be intentional and relationship centered.. We will look into developing a donor cultivation plan in more detail in our next article.

M eanwhile, identify a handful of people you would like to get to know better that may support your organization. If you don’t know them, find a friend who does.

Fundraising-Where to get started?

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 04:09:20 GMT

Here are five things you can work on now.

Many camps have found themselves in a position this year where fundraising needs to take a larger priority. Even during years when camps are not facing the challenges of a pandemic, a solid fundraising development plan should be a part of every camp’s annual to-do list. Fundraising is about so much more than just raising money. Fundraising is about sharing your story, engaging with volunteers and donors and consistently reviewing your priorities and needs. It can be intimidating to start raising money if you are not used to doing it. However, we believe if you are a people person, like most camp professionals are, you will be a natural. We will look at five places to get you started creating your plan in this article. You don’t build a program without some thought and planning. Creating a fundraising plan should be thought of as building a program. Build it with intentionality and purpose.

Know your what and why. Donors want to know what they are being asked to give to and why it is important enough to use their funds to support it. It may seem natural that they want to support your camp simply because they love you, but the reality is the large donors especially want to know how their gifts will help. Are you raising money to build something, are you trying to raise money for scholarships, do you simply need help keeping the doors open? Clarify what your needs are and why it is important to the delivery of your mission and program. Start by placing all of your needs on the table and then start to prioritize projects and needs. Savvy donors want to see that you have a plan and want to know how their gift fits into that plan. They want their gift to matter and you need to be able to articulate to them why your what is a priority and how it fits in your overall plan to deliver your mission.
Do your math homework. Know how much money you need before you ask for a dollar. What is the overall project cost, or how much are you trying to raise for a sustaining campaigning? Changing the total as you go makes you look like you did not know what you needed to start with. Your need and your goal for a campaign do not need to match up, as long as you can explain why. You may need $100,000, but your campaign goal is $75,000 because you are planning to get the rest from your endowment, or you plan to make operational changes for the rest. Bottom line, do your homework and know what you need and why.
Create Your Case Statement. A simple one page explanation making your case for supporting your campaign. Include some visuals, a story and most importantly a clear and well articulated explanation of your what and why. Lay out how this campaign and project helps your mission and why it is so important to do.
Explore your options. Bake sales and pancake breakfasts are easy to do, but may not provide the results you need. Special events have a place in fundraising, but they take a large amount of work and often don’t have the financial payback. Online giving campaigns and Crowdfunding have been successful for many nonprofits, but takes a lot of social media horsepower, do you have that? Peer to peer campaigns are successful for larger amounts, but takes committed volunteers and organization. There are many ways to raise funds, based on what your goals and strengths are, work through your options and consider what would best help you reach your fundraising goal. Reaching out to a consultant for larger campaigns or for first time campaigns may help you define your best option.
How feasible is your plan? How realistic is your goal? Before you start a campaign or any fundraising project, test the waters to see if you have the capacity to raise the funds. Feasibility studies can help you determine whether your goal is within grasp or if you need to reconsider your ask before you get started. You do not want to start a campaign working towards an unattainable goal. You can hire a consultant to complete a feasibility study for your organization, and probably should for a large campaign. You can also test the feasibility of your project through conversations with key donors and volunteers ahead of committing to any campaign. Ask questions like, how many volunteers can we get involved in our campaign? How much do we believe they each realistically will raise on average? How many $1,000, $5,000 or larger donors do we expect gifts from? Look at previous giving and when the donors made those gifts, will they give again? Talk with your community about the project and see if they “buy into it” and agree with how it fits your mission and overall plans.

These are five areas to start considering before jumping into a campaign. They are however, not the only factors and work to be done. Relationships are the center of any fundraising campaign. In future articles we will discuss how to develop relationships and the value of investing time in people. Meanwhile, start looking at your what and why. That’s where is starts.

Reasons for an Annual Campaign

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 20:32:17 GMT

Dave discusses multiple reasons to operate an annual fundraising campaign.

Below is the video transcript:

Annual Campaigns are a great way to raise money, but are really much more than a fundraiser.

Volunteers

Volunteer development and engagement is a great reason to create an annual campaign. Getting our volunteers to be active for our cause is powerful and will help our organizations become stronger. It will also give us an opportunity to interact and get to know our volunteers on a closer level and maybe most importantly for volunteers, an annual campaign acts as a way for us to bring in new volunteers.

Donors

Donor development is another great reason to have an annual campaign. The process of an annual campaign gives us the opportunity to reach out to new donors and give existing donors an opportunity to choose our organization as one of their charities of choice. Donors can be reached of all sizes from a small donor to a larger donor and given the opportunity to grow annually as their relationship with your organization develops.

Sharing Your Story

Sharing your story is important to the health of your organization. An annual campaign creates a platform for you and your volunteers to share your story with the community you serve. Letting people know what you do, why you do it and how it makes the world a better place is an important message to get out.

Relationship Building

Relationship building is at the heart of what we do in nonprofit work. An annual campaign helps us lift that priority up, making time to focus on important relationships at least once a year, and hopefully helps us develop a relationship that leads to many contacts a year through personal discussions and updates shared to all volunteers and donors..

Creating a Culture of Philanthropy

Creating a culture of philanthropy will serve your organization over and over again. A well ran annual campaign will help facilitate that culture, by bringing donors together with a need and hearing your story each year. That culture in time will lead to larger gifts and more support for capital or other giving projects.

Peer To Peer

Annual Campaigns can take different forms, including annual mailers, fundraising events and more. At The Sherry Group, LLC we teach a peer to peer model of annual campaigning. We believe developing and maintaining relationships is the most important thing you can do to keep your organization healthy. We also believe, for all the reasons already stated, that a well ran peer to peer campaign is a great way to achieve building those relationships while working towards your financial goals.

____

If there’s anything we can do at the Sherry Group, feel free to reach out. You can contact at our facebook page , our website or each of us individually . Thank you!

Leading Through Adversity. Episode #7: Conclusion and Connecting Ideas

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 03:13:19 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Episode 7 of Leading Through Adversity Series. Drew Demery and David Sherry sit down to connect ideas and stories from this series as well as announce the next podcast series.

Welcome Dave, thanks for joining me, as always. We’ve had some amazing guests join us this series and they’ve shared some really useful stories and tools. Let’s do a quick recap of the series. We started with Jason Smith from Camp Kitaki and he shared how his camp has embraced adversity.

Yes, Jason has taken the idea of adversity and incorporated it as a life skill development piece of his camp’s program. He shared with us the idea of “the path” as well which was really helpful.

Yes, that’s a great tool that helps us visualize what we should be doing while at camp. Jason shared a lot of great tips and tools. He has an incredible camp and camp culture. Next we had Russell Link join us from Camp Olson. Russ shared with us an innovative solution to raising funds while still meeting his camp’s mission.

This is truly an innovative idea. They have grown their endowment funds by utilizing conservation easements. They have worked with other nonprofits to set land aside forever while also getting paid to do it. It’s a win win all around, because it helps the land, the camp and the community for a very long time.

Other camps should look at options like this. It really is an incredible opportunity. Russ is a great leader who does his due diligence and is focused on his camp’s success.

BJ Murray joined us from Camp Wood YMCA, he’s a good friend and great Director. He spoke with us about staff management and how to have tough conversations about staff accountability.

He mentioned setting expectations as being a big part of his success; setting expectations often, as well as working with his employees to meet those goals and expectations. He shared a lot with us and was very honest and candid. He is always learning from his experiences to be a better person and Director.

Yes, he was very honest and shared that it is best to be honest with fellow staff members.

Hanna O’Toole joined us next and shared her journey with joining a camp that was brand new to her. She shared that she met with stakeholders to get good information, then made program adjustments and got those same stakeholders to help her pave the path moving forward.

She talked about how scary things can sometimes be, like moving across the country to a new camp. The reward has been fantastic for her. She was also very real with us, she shared her challenges and successes. She shared a great tool with, “the four S’s”.

Those four S’s are Safety, Servant, Stewardship and Self-Esteem. She said that when she’s thinking about making program adjustments she often consults this framework to make good decisions. Next we had Jami Biodrowski join us to share her experience with working less hours during the summer yet remain an incredible Director.

Her episode was really incredible. She shared insight that will break down some barriers for fellow Camp Directors everywhere. She had the challenge of cutting her hours, yet keeping the same workload. At first she thought it wasn’t possible, then her mindset changed and she embraced it. It was a great change for her and her family. Her staff also saw improvement because they were trained incredibly well and trusted to make decisions while Jami was not on-site during the summer.

Finally we had Julia Mannes, who spoke with us about work life balance while living full-time at her camp. She shared great insight into adjusting your life and work to make each other work. Her message was based around flexibility, communication and grace. She had to accept that she wasn’t always going to be perfect, and that led to more success for her.

She shared two great stories. The first was about being late to flag raising and how she needed to afford herself some grace if she was late because she had a family to take care of every morning. The second story was about finding time and space to eat dinner with her family every evening and how once again she needed to afford herself some grace to be a bit different than her staff that doesn’t have family living with them at camp. Her personal life changed as her professional life changed.

Julia also mentioned that at the end of every summer she would talk with her immediate family to check-in with everyone and make sure everyone was still willing to live that lifestyle. She also said that being a Camp Director made her a better spouse and mother, and being a good spouse and mother made her a better Camp Director. Dave, what do you think are some of the takeaways from this series.

Grace, self-awareness, hard work, adaptability, honesty.

I agree. Everyone of our guests is an individual, but they all share similar values and character traits. They are all of those things you just mentioned and those traits form a great foundation for becoming a good Camp Director.

How do we apply these lessons learned?

We use them as a foundation to build on. Not everyone will have these exact experiences but they will undoubtedly have similar ones and now people know how to navigate those muddy waters.

I agree, we’re also connecting people and ideas. When we share ideas and experiences we are better off as a camping industry.

Thank you listeners and guests. Up next is a series about sharing fun and meaningful camp stories. Thank you.

Leading Through Adversity. Episode #6: Raising a Family at Summer Camp.

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 20:56:05 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Episode 6 of Leading Through Adversity Series. Drew Demery and David Sherry sit down with Julia Mannes, Camp Director for Camp Tanglefoot, a Girl Scout camp in northern Iowa. Julia shares some great insight into the challenges and successes of working and living year-round at camp.

Welcome to the podcast, Julia Mannes. It’s great to have you joining us. Please tell us a bit about yourself and your camp journey.

Thanks for having me on. I’ve been with Camp Tanglefoot my entire life. I was a camper here as well as Counselor-In-Training. Then I worked 6 summers as a counselor and after college I was able to land a full-time job here. We are located on Clear Lake in northern Iowa. We have a lot of great camp programs and waterfront activities.

My wife and I both loved camp but were a bit nervous about introducing children into that environment full time. It can be challenging to balance normal life with a camp career. Please tell us a bit about your family dynamic.

I have a husband, 2 young daughters and two older step daughters. It definitely has been challenging trying to navigate a marriage, becoming a mother and becoming a stepmother all while being a full-time Camp Director.

You have young children and they come with a lot of energy.

Yes, and it’s interesting because of Covid we haven’t experienced a full summer of camp with both of my young daughters. We will be this year though. It will be kind of strange because no one has met my 1.5 year old yet, but I’m looking forward to it.

All of my kids loved growing up at camp, I think it’s a great place to raise kids. It was not always easy but it’s really rewarding. Having children between summers can be really interesting because it changes your life/work dynamic. What have been some of your challenges so far, Julia?

My work and life schedules have changed drastically. Before children and a husband, I could work all day and night if I wanted, but now I need to work around their schedules. It has provided more structure to my life and I find myself more protective of the opportunities I have set aside strictly as family time. My perspective has really changed since having children.

Could you please tell us a bit about that journey? What have been some roadblocks and how have you worked through those tough moments?

I was able to ease into it because I was already a Camp Director when I met my husband and my two future step daughters. It was however difficult to see exactly what life would be like raising my own babies at camp. At first when I had a child I felt conflicted internally because I wanted to keep up my old Camp Director schedule but that just wasn’t possible with an infant.

Did your husband, Mike have any experience with camp life?

He had a history of Boy Scouting, and an appreciation for it but didn’t really know exactly what it meant to be a Camp Director or have a camp life full-time. That first summer of dating was eye opening for him, but he was very respectful and supportive.

What has Mike’s role been in recent years?

At this point, I couldn’t do it without his support. At the end of every summer we re-evaluate whether this career is a good fit for all of us. Our family is the most important part of my life. Mike is very supportive and sometimes we have conflicts and challenges like every marriage. In the summer he takes on a lot of the parenting responsibilities while I am pulled into camp life pretty far.

What other tools or boundaries do you rely on?

I try to incorporate my family into camp as much as possible. It’s pretty convenient having 4 girls at a Girl Scout camp. When my children participate in activities they always let the other campers go first. Another thing we like to do is have dinner together every night. So my family always joins me and the rest of camp for dinner in the Dining Lodge. It’s become a really good ritual for all of us. Sometimes introducing my family into the camp schedule felt strange because I didn’t want to be making exceptions, but it truly was the only time during the summer that I could see my family on a regular basis.

How have you incorporated the summer staff into this fold? How do you share this information with them so that it doesn’t seem awkward or strange?

I’ve tried to be as open as possible with them, I’m very candid with them. One situation arose that sticks with me, trying to get to flags on time in the morning is difficult when you’re also managing infants during that same time. I would be late sometimes and that felt strange because I wanted my staff to be on time but I myself couldn’t always be. Now I’m more comfortable with those kids of situations and communicating them to summer staff.

That takes an incredible amount of grace. What do your kids do during the day when you’re working?

When my girls were born, I had 12 weeks of leave with them. Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa also has an awesome “infants at work” program for the following 3 months after maternity leave. It’s an amazing program, and my organization is so incredibly supportive. Because of that “Infants at Work” program, I was able to hear my daughter’s laugh for the first time. I would have missed that moment had it not been for that program.

What impact has living at camp full-time had on your daughters?

My 13 year old stepdaughter has grown up the last 7 years at camp and it’s been amazing to watch her grow to love camp and make lifelong friends here. I hope that my younger daughters also love camp. I will do my hardest to teach them that camp is a great thing.

We spoke about “Grace” as being a quality that you’ve needed to rely on as a Camp Director. What other leadership qualities have you needed to rely on to make your situation a success?

Communication is paramount to success, not just establishing good protocols but also having making sure it happens at camp and at home. It’s just as important to communicate about tough subjects at home as it is at camp, because otherwise they might not get addressed. I’ve become a more inclusive person because of my career. Camp has really impacted the way that I parent. I’m learning a lot about managing children on a daily basis as a parent that will connect me better with my camp parents and kids. Because of camping I’ve also learned to front load ideas and schedules, which has made a huge impact on my parenting style and success.

What advice would you give someone who is new to this situation?

Having grace is incredibly important. Everything is about to change so allowing yourself some flexibility and gratitude will really go a long way. Be happy for what you have and live in the moment.

Thank you for joining us, Julia. You’re a great Camp Director and we really appreciate all that you’re doing for children through your camping efforts.

Leading Through Adversity. Episode #5: Finding a Work-Life Balance while Camp Directing

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 03:19:17 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

In Episode #5, Drew and David chat with Jami Biodrowski, Camp Director with the Easterseals of Nebraska to discuss her personal and professional journey as she transitioned from a full-time salaried employee to hourly, all the while maintaining the same workload and position but significantly different hours.

Welcome to the podcast, Jami Biodrowski, please tell us a bit about yourself.

I am the Camp Director for The Easter Seals of Nebraska for past 6 years and before that I was the Program Director at the 4-H Camp of Nebraska for about 4 years. Excited to be here.

We’re excited to have you on. Please explain your employment situation as you went from salary to hourly a few years ago, but maintained the same Camp Director position.

Yes it was tricky. In about 2014 there was federal legislation to raise the salary cap for a full-time salaried position. If you were under that earning amount you needed to be classified as hourly and if you were over that you were classified as salaried and could not receive overtime pay. My camp went along with the legislation and I was suddenly classified as hourly and was expected to work around 40 hours a week which was significantly less than I had been working, but handle the same workload.

That had to have been challenging. How did you balance your time then?

At first I was very negative about it all. I was against the whole decision, but then I took some time and decided to change my mindset. I decided to see this as a positive change because it meant I would be earning overtime during the summer as well as have more time for my personal life. Changing my mindset was a revelation. That first summer was really difficult because normally I work 70 or 80 hours a week during the summer and I didn’t know how I was going to do it in just 40 hours now. My boss was very understanding and supportive and we made it through while learning some lessons along the way like how to budget for my overtime the next year. I felt very guilty that first year leaving camp, but I did my best. Each year we get better at it.

It’s fantastic that you had time for your family and made the most of it. How did you do that?

The first thing I had to do was really trust my staff and train them well. I really needed to empower them from the interview onwards. I’m very upfront during the interview about my situation and get on their level to see if they need any time off. I understand that this is a job and can’t completely control your life all summer long. I only choose the best staff, because I can’t afford to have sub-par counselors. Once they’re hired I empower them to make good decisions and take charge, because I won’t always be there to hold their hand. I often invite them into challenging moments to use as teachable moments. As the years have gone by my staff have become very empowered and great leaders. Now I’m finding that I need to go out of my way to be involved again because they are so good at managing camp in my occasional absence.

How did you choose your time priorities?

I base my schedule around my son’s schedule then go from there. I also allow Thursday to be my flex day because it’s near the end of our camper’s week. I ask staff what they prefer as well, and my schedule changes from week to week to adequately manage camp.

When you had more time at home, did you find yourself at a loss of what to do with that time?

No, because even when I’m physically at home I’m still mentally at camp. Basically when I’m home it’s a short amount of time to connect with my son and husband and sleep then it’s right back to camp. Basically I’m still at camp a lot but have strategically chosen when to be home.

Have you learned to turn some of that mental stuff off, so that when you’re home you’re really at home physically and mentally?

I’m still working on that. I have improved in recent years, but it’s still difficult because often leadership looks like someone actually physically being there to lead and I can’t always be there. That has filled me with an immense sense of abandonment. As the years continue to go by I think I’ll get better at this. Also our camp staff will grow and I’ll be able to share some responsibilities.

Jami, we know how you feel. It can be incredibly difficult to step away from a program that you’ve poured yourself entirely into. What leadership qualities have you relied on throughout this journey?

Definitely communication. I make myself extremely available so that staff can get a hold of me ASAP. We also talk about scheduling needs and that’s a two way street. I also need to be intentionally present. So when I’m at camp I make a point of being out of the office and with staff and kids. Time management is also very important.

What other advice would you offer someone in a similar situation?

You can do it. You just have to let go and trust your staff and your ability to lead. It’s okay to experiment and adapt. Work smarter, not harder. If I can do it, you can do it. I’ve also grown our camp during this time, which is impressive. After 50 hours our productivity tanks anyways research shows. It’s also important to show your supervisor that you make good decisions and that you want nothing but the best for your camp. Use that evidence to build trust.

Jami, what do you think this has done for the longevity of your career? In our industry we see a lot of young talent burn out quick.

I am confident that this scheduling change has made me a lifelong camp professional. It has provided me with so much balance and enthusiasm for the future. I don’t just try to get through anymore, I can really appreciate my time at camp and in this position because I have to step back and have some balance.

This has been such an inspirational conversation, thank you for sharing Jami.

Leading Through Adversity. Episode #4: Thriving as a Camp Director at a New Camp

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 02:48:09 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Episode 4 of our Leading Through Adversity Series, Drew and David sit down with Hanna O’Toole of YMCA Camp Algonquin to discuss the journey that many first time Camp Directors go through when they begin employment at a camp brand new to them.

We are excited to have Hanna O’Toole with us today. She is the Camp Director of YMCA Camp Algonquin. I’ve known Hanna for a few years now and she is high energy and positive. Can you take a few minutes to introduce yourself, Hanna?

Thanks for having me. I am originally from Iowa, now in Hastings, Michigan at Camp Algonquin. Prior to that I was at three different camps in Iowa.

You are still in the beginning years of your camp career and I’d love your insight on that. When you go to a camp that is completely new to you, how did you go about finding that camp and ultimately how did you choose the camp where you ended up?

Like many people, I started my search in the typical places--American Camp Association, YMCA website, etc. When I found this camp, it just felt right in my heart. It was October in the midwest so the colors were beautiful, but what really impressed me was the interview process at Camp Algonquin.

What did that interview process look like? It sounds pretty special.

It started with the typical phone interview. When I was asked to come for an in-person interview, I was pleasantly surprised with how I was treated. I was offered transportation and travel accommodations and it started with a lunch with a staff member and got a tour of the community. I was then taken to camp to get a tour of the property and had time to just talk with the supervisor, which really helped to lessen the anxiety. There was a special canoe ride involved as well.

After you accepted the job, you then had to move to a new state. What was that process like? How did you settle into a new community?

It was a big change. I was leaving home on my own which was scary. Also, moving in December in the midwest is a challenge with weather. At the time the community was having a Christmas festival and joining in that helped it to feel a little more like home. Settling in to camp was the next task and I took time to get to know my new coworkers who were working on site with me.

Leaving home and starting a new career in a new place can be scary. How did you manage your way through these fears?

I made a point to turn that fear into excitement. It was not my first new camp, but it was my first time as Camp Director at a new camp. I chose to take 3 months to focus on learning as much as I could. I learned about the camp community and got to know the people in this community. I asked a lot of questions of staff, alumni and others to learn all I could.

What did you learn and how did you use that information going forward?

I got a mixed response. I learned there was a lot of support for the camp by alumni. I was the first full-time Camp Director and they wanted growth. However, they also saw change was needed, but did not necessarily want to have things change. I asked lots of questions about traditions to find out what was truly important and paid attention when people suggested certain things not be changed.

What were some of the things you needed to hold sacred or change?

I chose to focus on traditions and safety. There were things that needed to change because they may not make people feel safe or comfortable. Traditions that people just did not like needed to go away.

We spoke to another director that also talked about this. Activities that seem innocent on the surface, but underneath actually take away from the values or mission and what you are trying to instill in kids. How did you tackle this?

I tried to frame it with understanding that traditions all started out of love. People loved the camp and kept traditions out of love. When changes needed to be made, I tried to talk to people and get them to see how things might appear to someone on the outside who has not known this tradition over many years. It was not questioning their values, but just addressing how things were being done.

Traditions run deep in camps and are hard to change when you need to. What were your guiding principles with changing traditions?

I use the 4 S’s: "Is it safe? Are you being a good servant? Are you being a good steward? Is it building self-esteem?" When making big decisions, I was sure to explain the reasoning to staff, not just tell them it’s being changed. In addition, I let them be involved in planning what was going to replace the tradition.

What kind of support did you have in making these changes?

Having a good relationship with my CEO was key. I also built a leadership team that included past and current staff to get feedback from different aspects. Finally, I had a group of professional mentors, contacts I had built in my career to turn to for feedback or advice.

After the first year of change, what did the second year look like?

The first year was change, so my second year was intentional about just continuing what we had started. There were very few changes and the focus was on continuing to build a culture where everyone felt welcome. People who did not like the changes were moving on, and I continued to use the support of people who were on board with the changes.

How long have you been in your current camp role? What are the biggest challenges or surprises you’ve had to face?

I will be starting my fourth summer. I am much more comfortable with running camp so my focus in changing more on a professional level. I am getting more involved in the organization as a whole.

Have you ever had that moment when you were ready to be done? How have you gotten through that?

I think we all have those days, lots of them. I may have just as many bad days as I have good days (laughing)! Some of the worst days are balancing staff relationships and finding the balance of supervising and being a friend and being to relate to their experiences.

Emotional health is important. What do you do to take care of yourself?

Sports, reading and animals. I joined a roller derby team and physical activity and friendships are good for me. I also got a dog recently.

What resources do you use as a camp director?

There are many groups out there that are beneficial in different parts of your career. I do a lot of reading leadership books that my staff read as well.

What advice do you have for new camp directors?

Believe in yourself. Be humble. Remember why you love camp.

Thank you for joining us today, Hanna.

Leading Through Adversity. Episode #3: Staff Accountability and Difficult Conversations

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 23:20:07 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Episode 3 of our Leading Through Adversity Series, Drew and David sit down with BJ Murray of Camp Wood YMCA to discuss staff accountability and how to go about having difficult conversations surrounding employee performance.

Today we have with us, BJ Murray, Executive Director of Camp Wood YMCA. Thanks for joining us, BJ, you’re a great friend and role model. Tell us a bit about yourself and your camp.

Thanks for having me. I’ve been in camping now for 20 years. I started at Camp Wakonda then moved to Camp Abe Lincoln then Y Camp in Boone then Camp Piomingo and finally Camp Wood YMCA. We serve about 6500 people per year, 170 kids per week of summer camp. In the past 4 years we’ve grown by about 500 campers per summer and our budget has doubled in size and we are 868 acres of tall grass prairie. 106 summer years old but looking new and fresh. It’s a great camp. It’s had some great Directors and in the past 15 years we’ve raised about 23 million dollars. It’s a big part of Kansas and the local community.

Can you please tell us a bit about how you approach Staff Accountability and having some of those difficult conversations that arise?

It’s a constant evolution for me as a Director and area of growth. Setting regular expectations has been instrumental, we set clear goals and expectations quarterly. If expectations aren’t being met then we can talk about it. We need to understand why it’s happening and it can be difficult to have some of these tough conversations because we live with these people as well. But we’ve learned that you can’t save someone through employment. Ultimately camp is my responsibility as the caretaker.

What you mean by “you can’t save someone through employment”?

Life is hard but we have to take responsibility for our actions and consequences. There are exceptions such as illness and we work with people through those circumstances. We all have to be accountable for our responsibilities.

What does the difficult conversation look like?

First you need to understand the situation. Is it a circumstance out of their control like a death in the family that is affecting their work or is it something where they are falling short and just not performing? You should approach these conversations from a place of love and grace. We try to work with them first to find a solution for everyone involved. Conflict is hard but it shouldn’t be avoided. Sometimes you need to hit staff with a padded hammer. They should know you support them but also hold them accountable for getting the work done.

How do you personally manage this stress of managing others?

I pray a lot and take deep breaths. I try to remove emotion from these kinds of conversations and focus on the objective goals and expectations agreed upon. Sometimes I need some time to address these issues so that I can get adequate input from other professionals like my Board of Directors and fellow Camp Directors. We problem solve together.

How do you get people back on track? Not all conversations end in employment termination.

Starting the conversation from a place of support is best. Then you form a plan with employees to find a good outcome. Especially with summer staff, if you get them through their tough moments they become very loyal and focused on creating a great camp experience for others. They often become camp's biggest advocates.

What leadership qualities do you rely on to get through adverse moments, other than courage?

There’s a certain level of critical thinking that needs to happen. You need to think through everyone’s perspective and the best outcomes. Honest communication with good intention is also important. You need to have a belief that things will work out and be proactive, not reactive.

Do you have any great success stories you could share?

I think of a counselor who made some bad choices, but we worked him through them then he went on to work with kids as a teacher full-time. There are two others who fell in love with camp under my management that went on to work with kids full-time. It’s very inspiring to see.

What does this management style and these success stories mean to you?

To me it’s the whole purpose of what I do. That level of personal growth and their love for camp drives me forward as well as a firm belief that this is the purpose that God put me here to do.

Thank you so much for joining us, BJ. You’re a great Director and friend.

Leading Through Adversity. Episode #2: Conservation Easements as a Source of Revenue

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 02:41:45 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Episode 2 of our Leading Through Adversity Series, Drew and David sit down with Russ Link of Camp Olson YMCA to discuss the finer points of conservations easements and how his camp has benefited financially from these endeavors.

Today we have with us Russ Link from YMCA Camp Olson. Welcome, Russ tell us a bit about yourself and your camp.

Thanks for having me. I’ve been in camping my entire adult life with most of that time being with Camp Olson YMCA, an independent camp in Northern Minnesota. It’s rich in history, traditions and land. We have 1,350 acres of property surrounded by numerous lakes. We try to kids and staff to embrace the spirit of the Northwoods and make great use of these natural resources.

You’ve come up with a unique solution to managing all of this land by taking on a few conservation easements. Please tell us a bit about that.

Most of our land is undeveloped wilderness and as a non-profit camp we do not have to pay property tax on that land but we do still need to manage that land and those resources appropriately. By taking on conservation easements with the Minnesota Land Trust we’ve been able to protect that land while still being able to use it for programming and also bring in a large amount of revenue. Every camp should have a long range plan if considering this endeavor.

What is a long range plan?

There are several types of long range plans. You might make one for programming, or fundraising or site management. In terms of conservation easements, you can incorporate those into your long range site plan if you never plan to develop on the land and you’d like it to be protected forever. Then you should reach out to organizations that write conservation easements. Each state is different. Our land is valuable because of the unique resources on it.

What is a conservation easement?

A conservation easement is protecting land forever, but not necessarily giving up ownership. We gave the right to build on that property but not the right to use that property for programming. In doing so we were paid a lump sum of money to protect that land forever. This process starts with an appraisal, evaluation and survey. Often these items are paid for by the other organization. We recently set aside 37 acres for conservation easement, it was appraised at $400,000. They took 80% of ownership of the land so we were paid $320,000.

What did you do with the money received and how much land have you put into easement?

Before my tenure, Camp Olson had already put 190 acres into easement. We are set aside 37 acres additionally and now are looking at doing another 77 acres which will pay us about $480,000. This equates to $800,000 for conservation easements under my tenure. This is one time money that we’ll invest in our endowment. Even if the summer camp were to close at least this land will be protected forever.

So this $800,000 investment in the endowment will be producing about $50,000-$80,000 a year in revenue for the camp forever, right?

Yes this income is incredibly valuable. Camps needs 3 revenue streams: from their program fees, from their philanthropic donations and thirdly from earnings or interest. The endowment should cover that third revenue stream. A strong strategic plan is needed and understanding the agreement is very important. Because it’s your land, you have the right to negotiate terms for use on that land. Even unusable land might be valuable in the eyes of a land trust organization. It can be revenue today.

Once the conservation organization owns part of the land what are they doing with it?

First and foremost they are protecting the land forever. They want to work with landowners to protect land in its natural state for future generations. We can continue to manage the land as is laid out in our land management plan. Beyond Camp Olson, our neighbors’ land is increasing in value because the land around them is locked up in a natural state forever. This has strengthened our community relationships. Also during the evaluation we received a full inventory of the natural resources.

What a great legacy and stewardship program for your campers and alumni. Thanks for joining us Russ.

Leading Through Adversity. Episode #1: Building a Camp Culture that Embraces Adversity

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 03:58:17 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Listen in on Episode 1 of our Leading Through Adversity Series as Drew and David sit down with Jason Smith, Camp Director of YMCA Camp Kitaki to discuss how he and his team have developed a culture that embraces adversity at camp and training staff to thrive within this culture.

Welcome to the podcast, Jason Smith thanks for joining us. Please tell us a bit about yourself, your camp and your camp journey.

Thanks for having me on. I am the Camp Director for YMCA Camp Kitaki, a 200 acre camp operated by the YMCA of Lincoln, Nebraska. We serve about 2,800 children every summer, ages 7-17 for overnight camp. My camp story began with Camp Kitaki through various camper programs, then I was a counselor, then a Program Director position opened up and I never left.

Camp must really feel like home for you.

Yes, absolutely. I really fell in love with Kitaki once I became a staff member and now it’s home.

This podcast is all about leading through adversity. How has adversity presented itself during your tenure with Camp Kitaki and how have you managed through those challenging moments?

Everyone has moments of adversity at camp and as a Director I’ve heard many fellow Directors’ stories. Today I’d like to talk about the everyday adversity that presents itself and how we’ve shaped our camping culture to overcome those challenging moments. Adversity can be thought of as either difficulties or misfortunes, and difficulties specifically impact every person that comes to camp. A couple years ago we began to really think about how we might build meaningful adversity into our program intentionally. That shared moment of overcoming adversity as a group can be extremely powerful. When I was a camper at Camp Kitaki I faced adversity with my fellow campers on a canoe trip that really shaped me in a positive way moving forward. So when I became Director I began to work with my team to build these moments into the camping program. We specifically built an overnight camping trip that left many of the planning details to the kids and staff knowing that adversity would present itself in this format. The kids really enjoyed it and it was a success.

What a great concept. I love the quote “difficulties are a part of camp”. Adversity can be manufactured at camp such as through a low ropes challenge course, it can also pop up more naturally throughout the experience. How did you build the framework for more of these moments into your everyday camping program and schedule?

The first step was realizing that adversity happens all the time at camp whether you intentionally make it happen or not. So we focused on overcoming that everyday adversity so that when the really challenging moments happen we’re already in that mindset. We think that in order to overcome this kind of adversity everyone that comes onto camp should feel respected. That’s the baseline. For example, we intentionally looked at how little things like skits and songs were working against this mission of “respect everyone”. On the surface many things seem innocent, but once you dig a bit deeper they are counterproductive to your mission. “What you don’t put a stop to, you allow to continue” is how we phrase it for our incoming summer staff during training. We often step in during moments during the day to call out these adverse moments, such as booing.

Jason, how do you get your seasonal staff into the mindset of “respect everybody”?

We so often talk about the goals of camp, but we seldom talk about the limits of it. We start with the goals of our program and staff from the very beginning of the hiring process. One thing that we highlighted was how we talk about campers. We often demoralize them when we speak about the challenging kids. These kids aren’t bad, they are just lacking the skills to be better in that moment, and we want to help them gain those skills.

How do you get young staff to understand and operate with this mentality?

Time and Consistency. Now every time we talk and work with kids we start with that base level of respect. The first thing we talk about during training is KPALS. K means get down on Kid level to show respect.

What are some good resources for other Camp Directors that want to develop a camping culture like this?

Resources are everywhere. We’ve taken ideas from many camps around us. Non-violent communication and Restorative Justice practices have been great concepts to introduce. The Sherman Lake YMCA has a really great tool about “The Path” which talks about safety being on one side and values on the other. The idea is to stay on the path so as to not lean to one side and become unsafe or live bad values. Developing a cohesive language and set of rules across the camp was really useful.

How much time and investment does this kind of systemic cultural change take?

It takes quite a bit of time, investment and patience. We opened in 1953 and some good traditions have lived on and new ones have been created. It takes about 3 years to create something new and long-lasting. One great thing that we’ve developed were clear limits for staff, we call them Cardinal Sins and they require immediate employment termination if broken. We have 5 of them, everything else is more or less up for conversation when it comes to staff guidelines and rules. The 5 Cardinal Sins at Camp Kitaki relate to drugs/alcohol, abuse, sexual activity, neglecting kids and leaving camp without permission. During staff training we lay out these rules very clearly and it becomes the line in the sand. As a Director you have to be willing to stand behind these rules very firmly. In the past staff have taken these rules to heart and that’s a good thing. When our staff understand the goals and these limits they are in a good place.

Camp is always evolving and we learn so much from each other when we share these kinds of concepts and tools. You’re very insightful and we thank you for your time, Jason.

Camps: Planning for the Long Game

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 15:12:32 GMT

Dave provides practical tips for connecting and relationship building after an unprecedented summer camp season.

Below is the video transcript:

Today, I want to talk to you a little bit about investing in people and talk just through some simple things that you can do this fall to invest in those volunteers and donors and other people that are really important to your camp. But first I want to say I hope you had a great summer, whether you ran camp as you normally would, or you pivoted into another program, or weren't able to run camp at all, I hope that it was the best possible outcome that you could have had. I hope that you had a good summer. I hope that you were able to take some time and stay healthy and make the most out of it for you and your family as well.

LET'S TALK ABOUT PEOPLE

Camp needs people! People are so important to everything we do, not only the campers and their families, but our board members, our volunteers, our donors, community leaders, our neighbors, people all around us. We need to make sure to take time to invest in them. And in the fall it’s really easy to get caught up in evaluations, cleanup and starting to plan and work already towards or next summer, and those are important things, and we need to do those things, but this is also a great time of year to invest in those folks that help make camp operate, help make camp go, and make camp successful.

And today we're just going to go through a few simple little ideas you can do to help you get that time to get that done.

Meet with Board Members and Key Volunteers

So let’s Start talking about some board and key volunteers. I would encourage you this fall to just set up a schedule. Go through your board list and volunteer list and set up 30 to 60 minute meetings. If people can come up to camp, they’d love to see camp in the fall. If they can't, go visit them at their office. We want to be able to take the time to talk to them and see how they are doing and sit down and listen to their story, and how camp affected their lives, their ideas and their thoughts. Those are important times for us to make them feel good, help them feel reconnected to camp in some way.

Send Handwritten Notes to Volunteers

Those volunteers who really stepped up this summer, we want to be able to send handwritten notes to them or give them a phone call and just let them know how much you appreciate them. Take 10 minutes out of your day and just give them a call and say hey I’m thinking about you today.,.you’re important to me. Thank you for all you do for camp.

Plan for End of Summer Get Together

Plan for fall or an end-of-summer get together. If you can do it safely together in person, do it, if not do it virtually but just a thank-you ice cream social, get together at some restaurant, have appetizers. Let people know that you appreciate them and you appreciate everything they do. Listen to their camp stories, talk about camp, life, their kids. Just listen to them.

Invite Key Stakeholders to Camp or Your Home

Invite key stakeholders to come to your home for dinner or invite them to camp for dinner if that makes you more comfortable. Sit down with them and spend some real time develop relationships.

Send of End of Summer Thank You Note

If it’s not too late to have campers help you write those (if you have access to campers that can write a bunch of thank you notes) do it. Otherwise, just a note from yourself to your donors letting them know that summer is wrapped up in that you really appreciate all they've done for you and that you're thinking of them. Handwritten notes and thank you’s go a long way.

Reach out to the Community

Schools

I also want to talk a little bit about reaching out to your local schools. This is a great time of year to reach out to schools. Go to your school leadership and say “hey we're here how can we help you. How can camp support you?” Is there a way you can volunteer for your school and build relationships with them?

Law Enforcement and Rescue

Reach out to local law enforcement. To fire folks and the rescue people in your community. Send them a note or even better stop by and visit with them. Let them know that summer is over and you’re moving in your fall. Thank them for everything they do for the community. Let them know what’s going on at camp. And just get them to get to know you. And listen to them and talk to them.

Local Leadership

Reach out to your local government leadership and spend a little bit of time talking to them as well.

Neighbors

Come thanksgiving, reach out to your neighbors and road crews. The people that serve camps roads and keep you clear for the winter, or have been all summer. Stop by at neighbors houses. Drop off a loaf of bread or some homemade cookies or some gift of some kind and say “Hey we appreciate all you do for camp and we appreciate you being a good neighbor and we appreciate you keeping your roads open.”

We need people for camp to be successful. We need to invest in those people and let them know we care. And fall is a great time a year to do that. To reflect on your summer, and to look forward to next, but also to take time and say thank you to those who really deserve it. We need people to help build connections and we need people to support us for every facet of camp. Reach out, say thank you...get to know them. It will service you and your camp and it will serve them well.

____

If there’s anything we can do at the Sherry Group, feel free to reach out. You can contact at our facebook page , our website or each of us individually . Thank you!

Summer Camp and COVID. Episode 06: Lessons Learned and Hope for the Future

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Sat, 17 Oct 2020 02:45:41 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Listen here to Episode 6 of our Summer Camp and COVID-19 Series as Drew and David sit down together to discuss what they learned and what hope they have for the future.

PODCAST NOTES:

We've spoken with a variety of camps, some who ran programs this summer and some who didn’t. What are some of the common themes that stood out to us throughout this Podcast Series?

The leadership was strong across the board, and everyone made the best decision for their individual camp with the resources they had access to. While everyone was managing their way through the same pandemic, everyone was also running a unique program in a unique region that required a unique solution to this common problem. We saw values-based-decisions being made in conjunction with the resources available. Each camp has unique circumstances and individual solutions to their circumstances. No one made the wrong decision, they made decisions based on the set of circumstances they were working with.

We also saw the value of getting parents on board before beginning summer camp. Both camps that ran overnight camp needed full support from parents in order to operate. Parents wanted options for the children this summer and camps needed to work with their camping community to serve their kids best.

Camps were very supportive of one another and shared some great information and encouragement. This industry really showed a dedication to others and the overall experience of children nationwide this summer. The camping community was creative, resilient and dedicated to others.

The summer staff were extremely adaptable and deserve credit for making great things happen this year. Their love for camp drove positive results, they had to rally together behind the mission to operate. They continued to build a sense of Community even in the time of COVID-19.

What adaptations did we see this summer that may change the industry for the better in years to come?

The notion that people are more important than a business was prevalent this summer. Camps across the board asked themselves what they could do to serve their community before they tried to serve themselves. Many hard decisions were made this year, but we saw a lot of great leadership that tested individuals to think about what was best for their individual community.

Many sanitation practices should be kept for years to come. Staff and kids were healthier this summer than in previous years because of the extra sanitation and public health measures they implemented.

We also saw many alternative program options like Virtual Camp and Camp in a Box. These options will most likely not replace a traditional summer camp experience but they will stick around because they connect with children in a unique way.

What hope do we have for the future of summer camp?

We have a lot of hope for the future and so did our guests. Organized camping will look different for years to come but we saw this year that it was possible. Now that camps have some time to actually prepare for the next camping season means that they will hopefully be more likely to run with some normalcy and get kids in the doors. Camps should stay involved with the decision making process in their state and continue to learn from others who operated or didn’t operate this summer. Now is not the time to take a break, it’s time to connect with others and be proactive. Reach out to community leaders and summer camp stakeholders. Look for opportunities to learn and collaborate.

Camp is not ending, it may look different for a few years, but trust that this institution will get through this tough moment. We are a resilient, creative and dedicated community. Lean on others for connection and to get through these challenging times.

Thank you to all of our guests for participating. We appreciate you.

Summer Camp and COVID. Episode 05: Community Involvement Leads to Successful Summer Camp

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Sat, 17 Oct 2020 01:29:37 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Listen here to Episode 5 of our Summer Camp and COVID-19 Series as Drew and David sit down with Cory Harrison, Executive Camping Director and discuss how he was able to open for summer camp this year.

PODCAST NOTES:

Tell us a little bit about your camp please.

YMCA Camp Greenville is located in South Carolina at an elevation of 3500’ in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We have 1400 acres with 2 lakes and 4 waterfalls. Our summer camp is our main money maker but we also run a large school and retreats program. We also do over 300 weddings a year on site.

What did this year look like for your camp?

This year was very unique and quite the learning experience. In March and April we responded early to COVID-19. We wanted to be proactive in this whole pandemic and it paid dividends in our planning and successful operations. We worked closely with The American Camping Association, Center for Disease Control, YMCA, our State Health Department and schools to make this year happen.

What did this summer look like for you?

We ran 8.5 weeks of summer camp and served 1,500 children. We were fortunate enough to have a COVID free summer. For us 1,500 children was 50% capacity. We never compromised on our health protocol and credit that tenacity with much of our success.

What were some of the protocols you put in place?

Because I sit on the YMCA Overnight Camping Committee with 11 other Directors I was able to get information early on and work with the right people to get positive results. We worked closely with ACA and CDC to develop recommendations and got them to our State Health Department very early on. Because we were involved on a national and regional level we were able to offer summer camp.

We’re located in South Carolina and have different state policies for public health than other states and that favored our efforts to open this summer. We also have a strong partnership with the largest healthcare provider in the state, so we received great support from them once again.

How did you work with parents this year and cultivate a good relationship with them?

We are very connected with our parents. We don’t view them as a pain, we don’t tell them how to parent, we see them as a very valuable asset. We’ve built trust through communication by way of some creative methods in recent years. So when COVID hit this year parents already trusted us to keep their children safe.

What would you tell someone who is envious of your situation and what did you learn from this year?

We recognize that we are fortunate, it also took a lot of hard work and creativity. If your story isn’t the same as ours you still have options, but you need to be creative and pivot. We also saw a lot of braveness from parents, staff and campers. We could not guarantee a COVID free summer but we did our best and stuck to our protocols, our feedback has never been more positive than this summer.

Do you have hope for our camping industry?

I do, I think we’ll come out of this experience stronger and even more creative. For example we always wanted to stagger meals but never had the courage to do so, but we were forced to do that this year and it was great so we’re not going back to the old way. We saw a lot of creativity in serving the campers better this year. I think we’re going to be better and safer for persevering through this year. I would encourage fellow camping advocates to stick with camping because we’ll need them and summer camp in the future.

Thank you.

Summer Camp and COVID. Episode 04: Camping Program Options for COVID-19 and Beyond

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 19:46:04 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Listen here to Episode 4 of our Summer Camp and COVID-19 Series as Drew and David sit down with Curt Jackson and Chris Kallal, Camping Professionals and discuss how they managed their way through 2020.

PODCAST NOTES:

What did this summer look like for the two of you?

At Chris’ camp in Illinois we were not able to offer normal camp this summer. Supplies and staffing were going to be too difficult. We tried a lot of different options like Virtual Camp and Camp in a Box, but normal summer camp was out of the question this year. We started a new Facebook group, “Virtual Camp Ideas” with about 8,000 members. Curt ran a Harry Potter virtual camp for 3 weeks with 20 campers each week.

Curt, what made you Virtual Camp work well?

We did a lot of activities based out of a Camp in a Box program, such as wands, snacks, and potion supplies. We also created a lot of our own games and developed a points and house system much like the actual Harry Potter world. We also used a great app called “Sidekick” offered by DownloadYouthMinistry.com. We incorporated some good media like music and videos. We learned what worked well and didn’t work well in the first 2 weeks and the 3rd week was really the best experience.

Chris, you tried out a lot of options this summer. What worked well and what didn’t work so well for you?

Yes, we tried a lot of things this summer. We started first with virtual camps similar to Stomping Grounds. We recorded videos as well as live videos, at the beginning we only had 5 or 6 campers but then once we uploaded the videos we had about 4,000 views. People really liked the recorded videos. Our Social Media efforts really increased a lot this year. Our Camp in a Box kits were also popular, we sold about 125 kits at a range of $30-$45. We looked into doing Family Camps but it wasn’t going to be financially viable.

At the moment we’re offering e-learning pods where parents drop off children at our camp in the morning and the children do virtual schooling from here then depart in the afternoon. Next we’re going to offer an afterschool program for the afternoons. The biggest surprise this year was how great the Social Media engagement has been.

Which of these options will you keep around in 2021?

We would love to keep virtual camps going, especially in the winter months when we can plan for it instead of it being so last minute. We’re also going to keep Camp in a Box kits going in our camp store.

Curt, what common lessons learned have you heard from other Camping Professionals you’re in contact with?

The camps that are doing well in the virtual world have a specialty, niche or project. Also a Live component is good because it engages the campers in real time. Kits are also a great way to engage campers. The nice thing about kits and virtual camps is that you can have kids from all over the country and world participate. I would advise camps to have separate age groups do their own things or at different times though, young kids and older kids don’t always want to participate in camp together. Also, about 3 hours of programming per day seems to be about the limit for a good program. Hands-on projects work well and singing does not. Bad internet can really kill a program pretty quickly. We learned that you have a responsibility to supervise kids at this time and for the most part kids enjoyed virtual camp, but keep in mind it’s not for every kid or camp.

My intuition tells me that camp will be somewhat back to normal for 2021. Virtual Camp may still be happening but in-person camping will be back in some way I think.

What kind of hope should we have for 2021 and the camping industry?

Chris thinks that camp will be very busy because people are really craving it again or it will be slow because parents are still hesitant to send kids. Any kids we have next year will be a win, because we weren’t able to have any this year at camp.

Curt thinks that Day Camps will be more popular than Overnight Camps because parents will still be nervous to send kids away for a week or longer. Camps should still plan for backup programming because 2 years without overnight camp could be long lasting devastation for an organization. Camps should also be looking to adjust programming to meet sanitation recommendations.

Will next year be a return to basics, with less extravagant programming?

Yes, because money will be tight and that affects which activities you can operate. Outdoor Living Skills may make a comeback because it requires less funding and supplies.

Thank you for all that you’re doing, we appreciate your leadership.

Summer Camp and COVID. Episode 03: Finding Optimism in Summer Camp Cancellation

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 21:16:54 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Listen in on Episode 3 of our Summer Camp and COVID-19 Series as Drew and David sit down with Ricky Wright, Camp Director in Michigan and discuss the realities his program faced when they chose to not operate summer camp due to COVID-19.

PODCAST NOTES:

What does a normal year look like at your camp?

We’re a year round YMCA resident camp serving youth through summer camps and outdoor education. In a normal summer we serve 1200-1400 campers.

What did this year look like for your camp?

We chose to not operate summer camp this year due to COVID-19. It was primarily just me on-site this summer with some volunteers and it was a lonely year. We took care of the property but it was a very different summer for us.

What drove the decision to not operate summer camp?

The organization chose to not operate, but we were also under Executive Order to not operate from the State of Michigan. We had developed a three pronged approach to making the decision to operate or not. The safety of our campers and staff was the first question we needed to answer. The second piece of the puzzle was asking if we could offer an impactful program for the campers. Thirdly we needed to explore if operating would be financially viable for us. We had huge concerns about community health as well and the concern was that campers might be negatively impacting their own community’s public health after returning home from summer camp. In the end, the decision came down to community health and safety.

We were not alone in needing to re-evaluate our program and options this year. I don’t know of a camp that did “business as usual” this year. We all used the information available to us in April and May to make the best decision for our camp, and other camps made decisions for their camps. Every camp is different and we did what we thought was right for our specific programs and we still stand behind those decisions.

Let’s talk more about the 3 pronged approach to your decision making process. What kinds of things were you thinking about when you explored camper and staff safety?

The first thing we explored was the dining hall and doing meals. We contemplated a lot of options. Social distancing in general was going to be tricky as well as masks and equipment sanitation. One thing that we really needed to explore was how we were going to manage our staff, not just campers. Our staff are of a vulnerable age, coming from all over the country and how can we keep them safe?

How did you get to the point of not running any programs (i.e. day camps and family camps)?

I look back at our options and making that decision was right for us. We’re in a very rural setting in Michigan so Day Camp was not an option. When we thought about Family Camp it came down to staffing. It would have been very difficult to make it financially viable and keep everyone safe.

Can you tell us about how you managed your way through furloughing staff this year?

In general, your camp is as good as your staff. They are crucial. We lost some amazing professionals this summer. For us it came down to finances. It will now take an incredible rebuilding process to get back to normalcy. This year has been a very unique kind of stress, it’s been anxiety inducing because these decisions impact so many people. For the most part these people have been understanding but it is still so difficult to lose them.

Tell us about your Volunteers this year.

We’ve tried to make lemonade out of lemons, so we focused on physical upkeep this year, we didn’t want the facilities to fall into disarray. Our volunteers really stepped up to the plate and have pitched in all around. We had a married couple basically move in this summer to work tirelessly with our facilities and we are incredibly thankful. Another volunteer who has made an immense impact has been a 17 year old Junior Counselor who rallied some troops and really gave back. She took the initiative to help us out a lot.

What does the future look like for your camp?

We do not have plans to open this fall or winter, so we’re going to try and get through this year. We hope to reopen in Spring and Summer. At the moment we’ve begun a fundraising campaign to get us through this year and we’ll reset in 2021. This will mostly be an online giving campaign via social media with camp families and alumni. We’ve strategized for this campaign and it will be our first online giving fundraiser, and will last a couple months.

What kind of hope or advice can you share with others?

Nobody is alone in this. We can lean on each other and I’m optimistic for the camping industry. If we stay true to who we are and continue to make informed decisions that keep kids and staff and families as the priority we’ll get through this. We’re in this together. It will take a lot of hard work and camp will look different for a little while, but we’re going to get through this together.

Summer Camp and COVID. Episode 02: Navigating Camp Operations during COVID-19

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 18:54:02 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Listen in on Episode 2 of our Summer Camp and COVID-19 Series as Drew and David sit down with Ryan Graden, Camp Director in Iowa to discuss the changes that had to be made from traditional summer to COVID summer and offers hope amid this tough season.

PODCAST NOTES:

What does a normal year look like at your camp?

A normal summer is 6 weeks of camp, Sunday-Friday, hosting 500-700 campers per week. We hire 170 high school and college aged counselors. We’ve created an incredible and unique culture guided by God. We now have 4th generation campers. In a normal year we see about 2500-3000 kids.

You do much more than just summer camp. Can you tell us about your Retreats program?

After our 6 weeks of summer camp we then open up to churches to use our site for their own summer camps for another 6 weeks. In a usual year we see another 300-600 children each of these weeks and usually one or two big churches. Once the summer is over we shift to fall retreats, mainly on the weekends with 400-500 individuals from different churches. Annually we have about 25,000 guests in a typical year.

How did this year look? Did you have summer camp?

We did have summer camp but it was no small feat. In March it was a big question mark because in Iowa and across the country we did not have all the answers. Our staff were fearful of opening and there were questions that couldn’t be answered. As a Director it was one of the hardest seasons ever, it tested my leadership skills. Each day was different and evolving based on new information from the State and CDC. Even about 2 weeks before the summer we were still unsure if we’d be able to open. All of these challenges ended up tying us together as a staff. It grew us and kept the momentum moving forward.

How did you manage your way through all of that?

I am thankful for our Executive Director and his attitude. We kept coming back to “what’s our purpose” and “why are we here”? It’s not for our enjoyment, it’s for everyone who comes here to experience The Creator. We rallied around the idea that this is bigger than all of us. We had to remind ourselves daily of this purpose and we celebrated our everyday victories to build momentum. It felt fantastic to have children here. We were experiencing loneliness early on, so when children arrived it felt great.

How did you make summer camp happen, logistically?

We looked to state guidelines and CDC recommendations to adjust our routines. These especially came into play when social distancing, such as during chapel and meals. When social distancing wasn’t possible we wore masks and neck gators provided by the camp. Our staff did a great job with these and we reminded others that they were required for us to operate this year. It became second nature and wasn’t too hard to implement after a little bit, staff and campers embraced it with fun. Handwashing and sanitation was also important. We even had less flu and colds this year. Our cleaning crew was helpful as well, they cleaned touch points throughout the day.

How did you celebrate all these small victories?

The staff made it really fun. Each week before new campers arrived we required them to have a 7 day quarantine and temperature check. If campers didn’t turn in verification they were turned away, and that was very difficult. Luckily our community got behind us and they supported these efforts so we could have summer camp. Our check-in process also changed and it was a huge victory. Parents loved this new process and we’re going to keep doing it.

How did this new check-in process work?

We used 4 different stations with iPads. Families needed to be paid in full beforehand. Once they drove up we told them where to go and we directed them right to their cabin. Most parents were only on camp for 10 minutes and the kids jumped out of the car and joined the cabin right away where a counselor was waiting. The key to success was having the right software and iPads in place.

Another success was our health procedures. We had a very attentive nursing staff who didn’t jump to conclusions. We temperature checked at breakfast every morning and had procedures in place to manage situations that arose.

What other innovative community programming did you offer this year?

We generate most of our own income and many of our groups cancelled this spring, so we needed to think quickly on solutions. The food at camp is amazing and my wife suggested we make meals for the community that they could purchase from us frozen then take home and bake them. We were able to see members of our community at pick-up and it was largely successful for us. We made about $6,000 the first weekend. They loved our food. They also wanted to support camp and we offered them a way to do so. It was a great way to pivot creatively for us.

We also needed to adjust our programming to more day events than overnight because our clients wanted it. We don’t know how long this pandemic will last so we continue to plan and think creatively for the future, such as taking day camp programming to churches throughout the Midwest next summer.

What’s 1 or 2 things you learned that you’d like others to know?

I didn’t always have the answers this summer, more than ever before I needed to rely on God for support. I looked for spiritual peace when making decisions this year. The other thing that I learned was the power of unity in the staff. We needed to understand everyone’s unique situation and keep encouraging them to keep moving forward together. Once the momentum started it built on itself and we gained confidence in our decisions. We had great leadership from our Executive Director.

What would you tell someone who is looking for some hope right now in regards to the future of camping?

Trust that God is bigger than anything. There are a lot of question marks right now but God is bigger than it all. People need camp and retreats. You’re still needed. Do what you can to keep the doors open and people will continue to use it.

Summer Camp and COVID. Episode 01: Innovative Adjustments for Summer Camp

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 23:44:30 GMT

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON TO LISTEN NOW >

Listen in on Episode 1 of our Summer Camp and COVID Series as Drew and David sit down with Abbie Parker, Camp Director in Iowa to discuss the changes that had to be made from traditional summer to COVID summer and offers hope amid this tough season.

Podcast Notes:

What does a normal summer look like?

Traditionally camp season is 8-9 weeks long. We have both overnight and a day camp, totaling round 360 overnight campers, with staff of around 100.

What did this COVID year look like?

It was trudging through the trenches and deciding on overnight programing and the cost involved in running it. We ended up doing 8 weeks of day camp and no overnight camps. We had two weeks to move from 90 staff to around 35 staff. 50-100 Campers came over an 8 week period. Each week it grew.

What was too costly for overnight camp?

Bunk style beds were not 6 feet apart, and it would require extra space AND extra labor.
We would have had to build barriers around the beds - that would take away from the whole camp experience
Cleaning supplies were limited at the time and we were unsure if we would even have enough supplies to get through the whole summer
The dining hall was not social distance worthy, How would we serve meals in very tight settings, Small area would equal round the clock meals and there weren't opportunities

What innovative adjustments did you make this summer?

We kept kids in pods/small groups (around 10-14 kids) and rotated through different activities together throughout the day
We wiped down things like crayons, archery equipment, new playground ball at the end of every activity period.
Campfire and Chapels were split in half
Brought in fun ideas for teaching kids how to stay safe without it being a scary experience. We had "social distancing officer" and made up a song talking about social distancing , and some counselors were attached with suspenders and a hula hoop to make it fun
College-aged counselors wore masks the best of all of us and kept others in check with mask wearing
We made pool noodle trains from front to end to keep distance
We provided counselor and camper level awards for doing a good job with distancing
We had a contract tracing plan but never had to use them and we remained COVID free as far as we know.

Tell us a little about what summer staff looked like as far as living quarters and schedule?

Our housing setup was reduced from 4 to 2 people per cabin
The counselors were spaced out 6 feet at each corner of the cabin
Staff stayed with the same roommates all summer long. There was no swapping cabins.
When there were free evenings sometimes we'd have campfires, and all camp games just for the counselors
Staff was still allowed to go off site on Wednesdays and on weekends

In addition to day camp, what other things did you do for programming?

We offered horse trail rides open to the public which was very successful
On weekends we would host family or friends for retreats and cabin rental
We offered climbing adventures - family friends could come climb the tower
We even had camper families come for family vacations!

Do you have anything else to add?

Overall, it was a success and we all missed overnight camps and don't want to have to revisit the decisions that had to be made, but it pushed us to be stronger. There are many processes we will keep well after the pandemic.

What did you learn this summer?

I learned not to be afraid to start fresh and think differently. We had to start from a blank slate, decide there are things that can't be done anymore and move forward.

College kids are amazing and resilient. You can learn a lot from them. I had a mix of past campers and past cap staff and new staff people. They wanted to be there and they were willing to do.

What would you to give hope to 2021?

It is hard to keep hope but at the same time we know this industry survived some really hard things...so I think we just have to hold on to hope and know that things will get better. I entered camping at the beginning of the recession and everyone said I was crazy, but it has gotten better. COVID was so unexpected, but we dig ourselves out and we can learn from each other.

Relationship building after Summer Camp

website@sitemodify.com (Website Editor) — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 11:56:35 GMT

WORDS FROM DAVE: Dave provides practical tips for staying connected after an unprecedented summer for the local camp community.

Below is the video transcript:

LET'S TALK ABOUT PEOPLE

And today we're just going to go through a few simple little ideas you can do to help you get that time to get that done.

Meet with Board Members and Key Volunteers

Send Handwritten Notes to Volunteers

Plan for End of Summer Get Together

Invite Key Stakeholders to Camp or Your Home

Invite key stakeholders to come to your home for dinner or invite them to camp for dinner if that makes you more comfortable. Sit down with them and spend some real time develop relationships.

Send of End of Summer Thank You Note

Reach out to the Community

Schools

Law Enforcement and Rescue

Local Leadership

Reach out to your local government leadership and spend a little bit of time talking to them as well.

Neighbors

_______________________

If there’s anything we can do at the Sherry Group, feel free to reach out. You can contact at our facebook page , our website or each of us individually . Thank you!

The Sherry Group Journal

Rest Hour Radio: Challenging Moments

Core Principles for Challenge Management

Mindset and Initial Response

Preparation Strategies

Leadership Development

Empowering Staff

Building Team Culture

Post-Challenge Debrief Process

Structured Reflection

Debrief Guidelines

Key Reminders

Rest Hour Radio: Recruiting Summer Camp Staff

Recruitment Strategies & Best Practices:

Teen Leadership Programs

International Staffing

Alumni & Relationship-Based Recruiting

Pizza Party Recruitment Model

Untapped Networks

Tactical Approaches for March/April Hiring:

Immediate Actions

Incentive Programs

Social Media & Communication Tools

Campus Representative Program

Overcoming Common Barriers:

Flexibility with Candidates

Making the Ask Effectively

Year-Round Engagement:

Building Recruitment Community

Timeline for Next Summer

Additional Resources

Rest Hour Radio: Simple Spring Solutions

Communication & Transition Management

Final Staff Recruitment Strategies

Site & Facilities Preparation

Supply & Staff Readiness

Camper Recruitment

Organizational Best Practices

Additional Resources

Rest Hour Radio: Data Led Decision Making

Rest Hour Radio: How to Start a New Program

Rest Hour Radio: Camping Conference Success

Rest Hour Radio: On-Site Director Housing

Rest Hour Radio: Survival, Hope and Tips for Positivity

Rest Hour Radio: How to Set Goals and Stay on Track

Rest Hour Radio: Volunteer Work Days

Rest Hour Radio: Episode #2

Rest Hour Radio: Episode #1

Site and Facilities Development: Episode 4

Site and Facilities Development: Episode 3

Site and Facilities Development: Episode 2

Site and Facilities Development: Episode 1

Your Non-Profit Camp...Still Needs a Strong Business Plan!

You cannot do your mission if you are bankrupt.

As You Embark on a New Season

Praying for Camps and Conference Centers

Summer Camp Staff Training

Leadership Development Programs for Summer Camp: Episode #6

How do you keep the priorities a priority?

How do you keep track of it all?

Leadership Development Programs for Summer Camp: Episode #5

Leadership Development Programs for Summer Camp: Episode #4

Leadership Development Programs for Summer Camp: Episode #3

This year, plant a tree.

If you’re like me and aim to plant a tree for Arbor Day on April 26 th or another time this year, I’d like to offer a few ideas to consider.

Leadership Development Programs for Summer Camp: Episode #2

Leadership Development Programs for Summer Camp: Episode #1

Succession Planning Loop

Who are you bring up? Who are you bringing on?

What is your Case Statement?

Where do you start?

Master Plan Implementation

There's no 'one size fits all' approach to master planning or it's implementation.

Building Relationships with Staff

In the workplace, there’s a time and a place for work and a time for relationship building

Great Visions

With a great team, great planning, and a great vision, almost any dream can become a reality.

Everybody Needs A Coach

Even the best of the best needs someone in their "court."

(Master) Planning for the Future

If you’re like me and aim to plant a tree for Arbor Day on April 26 ^th or another time this year, I’d like to offer a few ideas to consider.