Find full show notes and links at https://gocamp.pro/ownerspodEric Shendelman and Andy Lillienthal join Howie and Kelly to begin to unpack what was likely the hardest season in a Camp Owner’s career.The Camp Owner’s Pod is BACK!We’re thrilled to bring...

That’s a Wrap on Season 1 of the Camp Owners Podcast

What a fun first season!

A big thanks to Howie and Kelly for embarking on this adventure with Go Camp Pro and camp owners around the world.

In this episode, Kelly and Howie recap their biggest takeaways from the first season and how it has impacted them as they move forward towards a strange season of camp.

Finally, Howie and Kelly talk about what they are excited to talk about topics for next season.

If you have a suggestion or guest for a for a show, please email our producer, Matt at [email protected].

Thanks for being with us, friends! We’ll see you next season!

Season 1 Episodes:

Episode 1 - Camp as a Business with Steve Baskin

Episode 2 - Work-Life Balance with Gabe Cernov and Audrey Monke

Episode 3 - Parent Expectations - With Emma Fogel and Corey Dockswell

Episode 3.5 - COVID-19 and Summer Camps with Steve Baskin - as of March 31st

Episode 4 - Superb Staff Training - with Paul Kupferman

Episode 5 - Virtual Staff Training - with Michael Brandwein

What Inspires You? 

Things that inspire our hosts and guests to be the best Camp Owners they can be.

Howie: Between the World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates

Kelly: The younger staff that she is working with who are stepping up and being the change-makers that this world needs during the racial inequality protests that is at the forefront of June 2020.

Host Links:

Hosts: 

• Howie Grossinger - Co-owner/Director - Camp Robin Hood, Partner - Camp Walden & Madawaska Camps 
• Kelly Schuna, Owner - Hidden Pines Ranch

Thanks to our sponsor - CampBrain!

CampBrain is a robust camp tool designed not only to manage summer camps, but also manage your conference center and fundraising needs, all in one database. Since 1994 CampBrain has been innovating and constantly adding new features. Look for the Camp Store Module being released this spring. For more information visit them at http://campbrain.com.

That’s a Wrap on Season 1 of the Camp Owners Podcast

Does virtual staff training bring you to tears? Well have no fear, Michael Brandwein is here!

Among the many things on camp owners’ minds during the current landscape related to summer camp and COVID-19 is what this means for staff and staff training. 

If we have to pivot from how we’ve traditionally trained staff, how we can execute a staff training that is engaging, effective, sets the tone for the culture of our staff - all from a new virtual platform? 

It can be overwhelming. Not only do we have to think of technological logistics, how are we going to keep the same sort of intentionality, feeling of togetherness and camaraderie that our teams are used to?

Well, when it comes to problems, who else to help us than the man who teaches us to say, “this is just a problem, and we’re great at solving problems!”.  

That’s right! We are thrilled to have Michael Brandwein on our podcast today to share his insight, knowledge and enthusiasm with camp owners as we take on this and challenging opportunity to innovate. 

Michael has truly stepped up to support the camp industry during the COVID-19 pandemic and we’re grateful for the time he spent here with us on the show and we're so grateful.

See what else Michael is up to on May 12th, 13th and May 26th with ACA Illinois.

“Brandwein on Training: The Step-by-Step System for Planning & Presenting Your Best Staff Training Ever”(May 13, Day Two Optional Bonus Discussion/Practice Session, Live at 1:30-4:00 p.m.) www.acail.org/beststafftraining

“Super Staff SuperVision: The Top Techniques to Lead Staff to Professional Performance.”
(May 27, Day Two Optional Bonus Discussion/Practice Session, Live at 1:30-4:30 p.m.) www.acail.org/superstaff

-

What are you going to do to make online staff training successful? Let us know in the comments!

-

What Inspires You? 

Things that inspire our hosts and guests to be the best Camp Owners they can be.

Howie: Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution on Netflix

Kelly: Untamed by Glennon Doyle - https://amzn.to/33nVGkz

Michael: Good Neighbour: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King & The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson

-

Host Links:

Hosts: 

• Howie Grossinger - Co-owner/Director - Camp Robin Hood
• Kelly Schuna, Owner - Hidden Pines Ranch

Guest:

• Michael Brandwein - Speaker, Trainer, Author - www.michaelbrandwein.com  

-

Thanks to our sponsor - CampBrain!

CampBrain is a robust camp tool designed not only to manage summer camps, but also manage your conference center and fundraising needs, all in one database. Since 1994 CampBrain has been innovating and constantly adding new features. Look for the Camp Store Module being released this spring. For more information visit them at http://campbrain.com.

Does virtual staff training bring you to tears? Well have no fear, Michael Brandwein is here!

One of the best investments a Camp Owner can make is time spent on building a great staff training.

For a lot of full-time camp owners and professionals, staff training is the best part of the job.

Many of us got into this industry because we love to teach and work with youth. Then, the cold hard realities of budgets, insurance and property tax sets in and it feels like we lose a bit of what inspired us to get started in the first place.

Staff training is our chance to reawaken that love of teaching, playing and mentoring. Not only that, but when you give your staff a truly remarkable training experience, they will be best set up to deliver a truly remarkable experience for the campers.

Great training = great staff = great camper experience = camper retention = happy budget.

Simple, right? Maybe not.

A great staff training takes an incredible amount of time and intention to make incredible. Not only that, but a good director will constantly be looking to innovate to best serve their staff and keep the material fresh, engaging, inclusive and relevant for all ages and abilities of learners. It can be mentally exhausting to feel like you have to start from scratch every year.

Luckily, you’re a smart director and listen to Podcasts like this one!

To help you build the best training you can, Kelly is joined by Paul Kupferman from Catalina Sea Camp. Paul is a deep thinker when it comes to staff training. He’s shared his wisdom at many camp conferences and we’re glad to have him here with us for this episode.

Tune in to hear about:

• What is Paul’s camp origin story? - How did he fall in love with camp?
• What the perfect start to staff training looks like?
• What are some of the biggest “don’t do’s” for staff training?
• What tools can you give your staff to help them retain the absolute TON of knowledge they need to know?
• How can technology help your pre-staff training and even during staff training?
• How do we help different aged staff properly connect with each other?
• How to empower your staff to take on leadership during training with a mini-conference

What will you do to intentionally set up? Let us know in the comments!

What Inspires You? - Things that inspire our hosts and guests to be the best Camp Owners they can be.

Kelly: Brene Brown’s Podcast - Unlocking Us

Paul: A compassionate mindset from the Executive Director of the organization. You’ll have to listen to this one. It’s great.

HOST LINKS:

Hosts: 

• Kelly Schuna, Owner - Hidden Pines Ranch

Guests:

• Paul Kupferman, Summer Operations Director, Catalina Sea Camp

Thanks to our sponsor - CampBrain!

CampBrain is a robust camp tool designed not only to manage summer camps, but also manage your conference center and fundraising needs, all in one database. Since 1994 CampBrain has been innovating and constantly adding new features. Look for the Camp Store Module being released this spring. For more information visit them at http://campbrain.com.

One of the best investments a Camp Owner can make is time spent on building a great staff training.

What we know about COVID-19 and how it is affecting summer camps as of March 31st, 2020.

Things are changing fast in the COVID-19 world. With camps being forced to make some huge decisions, Howie and Kelly wanted to bring you this conversation from the perspective of Camp Owners and Directors. 

With a topic this big, we’ve brought back one of the big guns, Sir Steve, himself! A big thanks to Steve Baskin from Camp Champions for taking time out of all the incredible work that he’s doing to lead with care, intention and business prowess during this time. Steve - you’re good people.

Whether you are an owner, executive director, program director, or a board member, this episode will be useful for you.

In this emergency episode, we discuss:

• What should camp owners be actually doing today from a business perspective to manage this crisis?
• How do we effectively plan for all of the different potential start dates of camp this summer
• Cash flow - how do we work well with banks, vendors, parents, debtors, etc.
• What government funding sources and relief opportunities should both Canadian and American camps be looking in to.
• How to personally manage this.
  • Hint - You aren’t alone. Lead with compassion and vulnerability. Think about how 10+ older you are going to feel about how you lead during this time.

Disclaimer

This is not legal advice, nor does it act as a substitute for keeping yourself up to code with your governmental health regulations. Please act with an informed and current perspective.

Resources

• ACA Camp Business Resource Page
  • Webpage on the ACA website with links related to federal and state resources, webinars, articles, etc.
• Go Camp Pro’s COVID-19 & Camp Master Resource Page
• Go Camp Pro’s Camps & COVID-19 (free) Slack team 
• The Day Camp Pod’s Episode from March 20th

Hosts: 

• Howie Grossinger - Co-owner/Director - Camp Robin Hood, Partner - Camp Walden & Madawaska Camps 
• Kelly Schuna, Owner - Hidden Pines Ranch
• Steve Baskin, Executive Director - Camp Champions, Camp Pinnacle, Partner - Everwood Day Camp

Thanks to our sponsor - CampBrain!

CampBrain is a robust camp tool designed not only to manage summer camps, but also manage your conference center and fundraising needs, all in one database. Since 1994 CampBrain has been innovating and constantly adding new features. Look for the Camp Store Module being released this spring. For more information visit them at http://campbrain.com.

What we know about COVID-19 and how it is affecting summer camps as of March 31st, 2020.

For full show notes and resources, visit http://gocamp.pro/ownerspod

Your campers may want to come back, but the parents ultimately make that decision! Here’s how to manage their expectations to help them choose your camp again and again.

Parents and care-givers are the decision-makers. You can have a great program and great staff, but if you aren’t assessing, managing and responding to parent expectations, you won’t earn their trust, and they won’t send their kids to your camp.

In the day and age of the “bulldozer/lawnmower” parent, it can sometimes feel like the parents and the staff have set up an unrealistic amount of expectations that leave us almost beholden to them.

However, it’s important to remember that we are an industry that has always strongly believed, and continue to believe in helping people. Even if a parent’s expectations can feel like a burden, it’s important that we take a step back, accept their feelings as valid, and support them the best that we can.

So how do we strike that balance? How do we help everyone get on the same level and get excited 

In our third episode of the podcast, Howie and Kelly are joined by Corey Dockswell from Camp Wicosuta and Emma Fogel who is a camp alumnus and registered social worker with The Social Work Consulting Group. Our four hosts come together to discuss how they have seen parent’s expectations shift over the last few years, as well as to share best practices when it comes to responding to those expectations. 

Tune in to hear about:

• When the camp dream became real for Corey and Emma
• How to manage parent’s expectations when it comes to their wanting of “control” or ensuring that their kids are always happy
• Communicating the benefits of the things at camp that comes with a bit of “positive stress” or “healthy risk”
• Ways to help staff understand parent’s expectations to set them up for success
• Some practical tips on systems and boundaries to establish within your communication systems

-

What Inspires You?

Howie: The Summer Camp community rallying around each other in the uncertain times that we are in.

Kelly: Happy Campers - by Audrey Monke - https://amzn.to/33nVGkz

Corey: An awesome quote from a camp parent - “We control ship and sail, but never wind and wave…. While we are in unsettling times, we will get through the storm.”

Emma: You are Awesome - by Neil Pasricha - https://amzn.to/2x5TMsu 

-

HOST LINKS:

Hosts: 

• Howie Grossinger - Co-owner/Director - Camp Robin Hood, Partner - Camp Walden & Madawaska Camps 
• Kelly Schuna, Owner - Hidden Pines Ranch

Guests:

• Corey Dockswell, Director, Camp Wicosuta
• Emma Fogel, Registered Social Worker, The Social Work Consulting Group, Mindcalm.ca

Thanks to our sponsor - CampBrain!

CampBrain is a robust camp tool designed not only to manage summer camps, but also manage your conference center and fundraising needs, all in one database. Since 1994 CampBrain has been innovating and constantly adding new features. Look for the Camp Store Module being released this spring. For more information visit them at http://campbrain.com.