At the end of our summer, camp staff are feeling drained and energy levels may be low, but it's such an important time of year. What can camp directors do to help staff through those last couple of weeks and ensure they are happy and 'left wanting more' when they leave for home? In CampNation #16 we talk about tips and tricks to ensure your best camp staff and counsellors return back next summer! Staff parties, trips, gift exchanges and more.

Links - News about the camping/recreation industry New Spice guy (if you are interested in the social media phenomena of the summer - the Old Spice commercials you might like this article describing the making of the commercials) Use social media to boost email open rates - Mitch Albom - Cell Phones and Summer Camp http://www.simonstamp.com/ Picks Of The Week - A tool that will make you a better camp director Joe - Bat Boxes Travis - Kodak Zi8 Gab - Camp Ouareau Pocket Counsellor Other Interesting Bits For the best source of summer camp information on Facebook become a fan of CampNation.  Ask your staff to join - for every 1000 fans Our Kids Media (our parent company) will be donating a campership to an Ontario summer camp. Ask the CampNation hosts any questions about summer camp. We want to thank our long-suffering amazing audio editor Donovan Romanyk from  Where It's At Productions. Thanks for the evening, friends.

This week we had a good long chat about summer camp Staff Commitment and how to get staff engaged in their job.   It was really fun to welcome two guests this week: Beth Allison from Walking Maverick Consulting (a business and summer camp consulting company. Full Disclosure: Beth is my wife and long-time camp co-director) and Adam Issadore who’s involved in teaching drumming at summer camp with his Path To Rhythm Company. LINKS - NEWS ABOUT THE CAMPING/RECREATION INDUSTRY Homesick or Kid sick – advice for parents Is summer camp dying? (The Week) We are Camp Campaign featured in CCA newsletter Sunset for an American Tradition (Christian Science Monitor) PICKS OF THE WEEK – A TOOL THAT WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER CAMP DIRECTOR Joe - Delivering Happiness – book Travis – Timer light switches Beth – http://www.musiciansfriend.com for Boomwhackers Adam- Maglite Flashlight  

Good Day and Welcome to CampNation 13 for the 3rd week of June, 2010.   Links - News about the camping/recreation industry (Travis) - The Definitive Guide To Higher Rankings For Your Blog (Joe) - Rob Dryan of Camp Oochigeas makes Canada’s Top 40 under 40 leaders list. Discussion   Are We Marketing Camp Correctly?Picks Of The Week - A tool that will make you a better camp director Joe -   Free PVC Building plans and links Travis - Referral Engine book  

Links - News about the camping/recreation industry  (Travis) - PostSecret-like confessions get yearbook canned - http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/response-to-hs-yearbook-confessions-052010 (Dan) - Time “How to Deprogram Bullies: Teaching Kindness 101” http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1989122,00.html (Joe) - http://calitreview.com/9087  This is an interesting take on how summer camp is portrayed in the media of movies - if you were hired as a camp counsellor and you went to the movie store to rent a movie to see what you have gotten yourself into - or to prepare - would you learn the right things?  Do the movies listed really show people what camp is? (Gab) - http://withoutmedia.wordpress.com/  “What was is it like to go without media for 24hrs?” Students from the University of Maryland try to go unplugged for 24hrs Picks Of The Week - A tool that will make you a better camp director   (Travis) - ReWork book by 37signals.com (Joe) - Cool Tools - http://www.kk.org/cooltools/ (Gab) - Shackelton’s Way, a book review on leadership and team work, with the link to amazon.com to purchase the book http://leadershipissues.blogspot.com/2004/10/book-review-shackletons-way.html (Dan) Hired on MTV http://www.mtv.com/shows/hired/series.jhtml   Your Hosts: Dan Weir, Director at Frost Valley YMCA Gab Raill, Director at Camp Ouareau Joe Richards, Administrative Director at Pearce Williams Christian Centre Travis Allison, Social Media Manager at Our Kids Media

Links - News about the camping/recreation industry Small Business Trends: "Banning Social Media Doesn’t Work, Education Does"   Help busy women relax and recharge How Safe is your child’s summer camp? Summer camp launched my career - Andy Barrie Picks Of The Week – A tool that will make you a better camp director Dan W.: Ron Clark - “The Essential 55”,   “The Excellent 11” Dan R.: Create any size wall poster from any size image. Also http://www.jotform.com/ Gab: Cool craft that actually looks good Joe: Sreetips - social media professor page of amazing links.    Your Hosts: Dan Weir, Director at Frost Valley YMCA Gabrielle Raill, Director at Camp Ouareau Joe Richards, Administrative Director at Pearce Williams Christian Centre Dan Richards, former Canadian and New Zealand camp Director

Welcome to CampNation 10.  This podcast we talk through what our camps are doing to keep in touch with parents during the summer.    It was a great discussion and it was really interesting to hear what the camps represented will be doing to remain “social” with their clients throughout a busy summer..   Thanks to Gabe Chernov from Birch Trail Camp in Minong, Wisconsin for joining us for this discussion. Gabe also runs a free social network for summer camps called SmoreCamp.   Camps may find this an interesting alternative to Facebook for maintaining that feeling of community throughout the year. CampNation 10 – Communicating with Parents During Camp Links - News about the camping/recreation industry 10 Dos and Don’ts for Brands on Twitter Facebook takes over the world. Five Tips for Making Ideas Happen (also listen to the author on the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast) Picks Of The Week – A tool that will make you a better camp director Dan: Lisa Loeb’s “Camp Lisa“ Gab: Article: Summer Camp Launched My Career – by Andy Barry Joe: Wild Apricot Blog: http://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/archive/2010/04/26/is-your-nonprofit-tax-status-at-risk.aspx, http://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsblog/archive/2010/04/22/nonprofit-blog-topics-ideas.aspx Travis: Bobcat Toolcat Gabe: Trumpia Your Hosts: Dan Weir, Director at Frost Valley YMCA Gabe Chernov, Director at Birch Trail Camp Joe Richards, Administrative Director at Pearce Williams Christian Centre Travis Allison, Social Media Manager at Our Kids Media

CampNation 9 – Getting Things Done as a Camp Director Links - News about the camping/recreation industry “Teaching About Web Includes Troublesome Parts” (also mentioned: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/ http://www.formspring.me/) Pricing strategies for free lance work and how it may apply to camp (other resources:  Robert Cialdini’s Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive) California revises rules on paid interns Discussion Picks Of The Week – A tool that will make you a better camp director Travis: – The 4S Test from our days directing at Cairn. Everything we do at CAIRN must pass the 4 S’s Test. You must answer “yes” to every question in order to proceed. Is it SAFE? Does it promote good STEWARDSHIP of the environment? Does it SERVE others in the community? Does it enhance a person’s SELF-ESTEEM? Dan: How to Market Your Summer Camp | Camp Marketing News. Jenn: Time Driver Joe: Charity Village

I recently attended the American Camp Association Tri-State Conference held in Atlantic City, NJ. I appreciated the opportunity to sit and talk for a few minutes with Jeffrey Leiken in-between his presentations. In this interview we discuss the unique work that he does with Camps, and Jeff explains more about his presentation, "Camp and The Hero's Journey", which was influenced by the work of Joseph Campbell. For more information on Jeffrey Leiken, his articles, and resources for camp directors, be sure to visit his website at Adam Issadore is the founder of Path To Rhythm Group Drumming Programs, a company that combines his love of summer camp and his passion for drumming. You can find him on twitter @pathtorhythm

I recently attended the American Camp Association Tri-State Camp Conference held in Atlantic City, NJ. I caught up with with my friend Steven Bernstein to chat about the Conference. An active year round camping professional, Steven is the Director of Diamond Ridge Camps in Pennsylvania. In this interview we discuss the benefits of attending the Conference, the importance of networking, and the sharing of ideas among camp professionals. Steven also shares information about a group that he co-founded called PAYCE (Philadelphia Area Young Camp Experts). To learn more about PAYCE and the friendly people that participate in this group, visit their fan page on Facebook. Press the play button above and take a listen. Adam Issadore is the founder of Path To Rhythm Group Drumming Programs, a company that combines his love of summer camp and his passion for drumming. You can find him on twitter @pathtorhythm