The CampHacker Podcast

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/12/operations-director

Ari Polsky, the smartie that he is, posed this question in the COVID-19 + Camp Slack last June:

“Based off the texts I have received from a few camp colleagues, and the current setup work I am doing I have some thoughts/questions:

• Are we (as a field) investing enough in operations and systems staff?
• How are we looking to cultivate/train/improve/retain people who keep the trains running on time?

I am talking about the people who can rattle of database queries in their sleep and solve any operations, logistics, camp chessboard problems. It seems like in this time it’s, especially in need.”

The conversation sparked from there and it was clear this was something we needed to zoom in on.

Join Travis, Ari and Abigail Stuart (3/5 of The Brief Newsletter Team!) as they share what their roles have looked like as operational directors and why every camp should consider investing in the position.

-

• Travis - Dawn Powerwash - https://amzn.to/3C4EwrJ
• Abi - iGen by Jean Twenge - https://amzn.to/30pQ6kp
• Ari - Bring Your Human to Work: 10 Surefire Ways to Design a Workplace That Is Good for People, Great for Business, and Just Might Change the World by Erica Kesman https://amzn.to/3C9VPHQ
  • Milk Crate https://amzn.to/3F56aqw
  • Miss Excel on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/miss.excel/

-

Do you read the show notes? Let us know - click the following link to receive 10% off a lifetime subscription of Go Camp Pro's 5-Minute Fridays. (psst. Even if you don't buy anything, clicking this link will still help!)
(click here - https://bit.ly/pod-notes-discount)

-

• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp Pro
• Abigail Stuart, Director of Operations - Doxazo Ministries
• Ari Polsky, Marketing, Fundraising and Data Analysis Consultant, AriPolsky.com

-

Rate and Review the CampHacker Show

(Thank you!)

-

UltraCamp

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if your registration software gave you MORE time? With UltraCamp, you can track attendance, manage staff applications, streamline registration, and much more. Get back the time you need to focus on what is really important: CAMP! Find out more at summercampsoftware.com/camphacker

Our free Resilient Camp Blueprint diagnostic is available at: https://camp.mba/travis

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/12/all-tow-2021

Back by popular demand, back again is our annual All TOWs show!

This year, a focus on gifts for camp directors that promote positive mental health.

Chris, Gabz, Travis and Joe all share…

• 2 tools that positively affect your mental health
• 2 books you read JUST FOR FUN
• 2 gifts you’d recommend for every camp director

There are WAY too many links for these tools to put in these show notes - check them out here: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/12/all-tow-2021

-

Do you read the show notes? Let us know - click the following link to receive 10% off a lifetime subscription of Go Camp Pro's 5-Minute Fridays. (psst. Even if you don't buy anything, clicking this link will still help!)
(click here - https://bit.ly/pod-notes-discount)

-

• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp Pro
• Chris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp Highlight
• Joe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce Williams
• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau

-

Rate and Review the CampHacker Show

(Thank you!)

-

UltraCamp

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if your registration software gave you MORE time? With UltraCamp, you can track attendance, manage staff applications, streamline registration, and much more. Get back the time you need to focus on what is really important: CAMP! Find out more at summercampsoftware.com/camphacker

Our free Resilient Camp Blueprint diagnostic is available at: https://camp.mba/travis

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/12/be-a-better-delegator

The working title of this episode is “delegate like your life depends on it”.

A bit dramatic? Yes. Kind of true? Also yes!

If you can’t delegate - if everything at camp needs to run by you before it happens - if you need to facilitate every hard conversation - then you (and your camp) may not last very long.

So we know that - but why can’t we do it? There are a multitude of reasons/excuses why we don’t, but there are even more reasons why it’s absolutely necessary.

So let’s dig in. Gabz, Chris, Travis and Joe join forces to share their perspectives on how they became better delegators and how it’s shaped their camp experiences.

-

Do you read the show notes? Let us know - click the following link to receive 10% off a lifetime subscription of Go Camp Pro's 5-Minute Fridays. (psst. Even if you don't buy anything, clicking this link will still help!)
(click here - https://bit.ly/pod-notes-discount)

-

• Chris: Once Upon a Time
• Gabz:  Smart Plug
• Joe: Non Slip Furniture Pads X-Protector - Bed Bottoms - future proof
• Travis: Serious Work: How to Facilitate Meetings & Workshops Using the LEGO Serious Play Method - https://amzn.to/31eLP3m

-

• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp Pro
• Chris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp Highlight
• Joe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce Williams
• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau

-

Rate and Review the CampHacker Show

(Thank you!)

-

UltraCamp

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if your registration software gave you MORE time? With UltraCamp, you can track attendance, manage staff applications, streamline registration, and much more. Get back the time you need to focus on what is really important: CAMP! Find out more at summercampsoftware.com/camphacker

Our free Resilient Camp Blueprint diagnostic is available at: https://camp.mba/travis

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/11/do-this-right-now

We’re releasing this podcast at the time where the previous summer is still “going” and next summer isn’t quite “coming” yet.

However, if you haven’t run since 2019, the summer of 2022 feels like it’s coming fast and furious.

This is the time for deep thinking, planning and rest. It’s possible to make policy revisions on the fly, but it’s better to make them now. It’s possible to think of innovative programming on the fly, but it’s better to do it now.

This episode, Gabz, Chris and Joe talk about what they, and you can do right now to set yourself up for a successful summer.

-

Do you read the show notes? Let us know - click the following link to receive 10% off a lifetime subscription of Go Camp Pro's 5-Minute Fridays. (psst. Even if you don't buy anything, clicking this link will still help!)
(click here - https://bit.ly/pod-notes-discount)

-

• Chris: TV Time
• Gabz: Instagram Feeds to Follow: PrideCamping, The Summer Camp Society , S’more Melanin, Oaaars, TransPlaning
• Joe: Jabra Speak 510 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker

-

• Chris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp Highlight
• Joe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce Williams
• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau

-

Rate and Review the CampHacker Show

(Thank you!)

-

UltraCamp

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if your registration software gave you MORE time? With UltraCamp, you can track attendance, manage staff applications, streamline registration, and much more. Get back the time you need to focus on what is really important: CAMP! Find out more at summercampsoftware.com/camphacker

Our free Resilient Camp Blueprint diagnostic is available at: https://camp.mba/travis

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/11/these-are-the-staff-you-need

This isn’t the first Go Camp Pro Podcast about staffing, and it certainly won’t be the last.

This year all of our shows are going to cover many topics on staffing - where to find them, how to interview them, how to keep them, etc.

But when you get down to it, we need to take a step back from the current staffing crisis and remember that if we hire the absolute best staff team we can, it is more likely to make the absolute best experience for the campers.

This episode, Gabz, Chris and Joe pick apart the DNA of what makes an incredible camp staff member and why it’s important that you are relentless in your pursuit of looking for those qualities at hiring time.

Do you read the show notes? Let us know - click the following link to receive 10% off a lifetime subscription of Go Camp Pro's 5-Minute Fridays. (psst. Even if you don't buy anything, clicking this link will still help!)
(click here - https://bit.ly/pod-notes-discount)

-

• Chris: Yeti Microphone
• Gabz: Shift App - Desktop
• Joe: Adjustable Light Stand/Tripod

-

• Chris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp Highlight
• Joe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce Williams
• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau

-

Rate and Review the CampHacker Show
-

UltraCamp

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if your registration software gave you MORE time? With UltraCamp, you can track attendance, manage staff applications, streamline registration, and much more. Get back the time you need to focus on what is really important: CAMP! Find out more at summercampsoftware.com/camphacker

Our free Resilient Camp Blueprint diagnostic is available at: https://camp.mba/travis

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/10/what-to-do-about-it

To listen to part 1: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/10/future-of-camp-pt-1 

Last episode, we gave a laundry list of what’s NOT going well in the industry. 

Here, we shake off the doom and gloom start to unpack what it might look like to fix some of these changes that seem big and foreboding.

A big thanks to Ruby and Jolly for joining us for these two episodes! Make sure you check out all of the great things that they are up to: https://rubyoutdoors.com  & https://gocamp.pro/jolly 

-

Do you read the show notes? Let us know - click the following link to receive 10% off a lifetime subscription of Go Camp Pro's 5-Minute Fridays. (psst. Even if you don't buy anything, clicking this link will still help!)
(click here - https://bit.ly/pod-notes-discount)

-

• Chris: Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture
• Joe: Festool TSC 55 KEBI-F Plus Cordless Track Saw
• Ruby: Roll of Tyvex
• Jolly: Pre-postaged postcards
• Travis: https://app.jqbx.fm/

-

• Chris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp Highlight
• Joe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce Williams
• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp Pro
• Jolly Corley - Camp Director and Trainer - www.jollycorley.com
• Ruby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby Outdoors

-

Rate and Review the CampHacker Show

(Thank you!)

-

UltraCamp

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if your registration software gave you MORE time? With UltraCamp, you can track attendance, manage staff applications, streamline registration, and much more. Get back the time you need to focus on what is really important: CAMP! Find out more at summercampsoftware.com/camphacker

Our free Resilient Camp Blueprint diagnostic is available at: https://camp.mba/travis

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/10/future-of-camp-pt-1

As Ruby points out in this episode, the CampHacker team doesn’t shy away from saying the hard things.

Episode 39 of the Podcast, recorded in 2012 talked all about why the camp industry was in peril.

Switch those last two numbers and fast-forward to 2021, and we’re STILL in many of those same perils.

Like many industries, the pandemic has further amplified the things about camp that need to change. The ideas of “lack of staff”, a homogeneous industry community, climate change and many more things seem to have come to a head all at once.

Look at the summer camp professionals group on Facebook, it was FULL of stories from pros, young and old, speaking about how this was their hardest summer yet.

In this episode, the brilliant Ruby Compton and Jolly Corley, join Travis, Chris and Joe to honour the hard things that we’re facing. 

NEXT episode we’ll talk about how to move forward!

-

Do you read the show notes?  Let us know - click the following link to receive 10% off a lifetime subscription of Go Camp Pro's 5-Minute Fridays. (psst. Even if you don't buy anything, clicking this link will still help!)
(click here - https://bit.ly/pod-notes-discount)

-

• Chris: The Forest Productivity App - https://www.forestapp.cc/ 
• Joe: Small Drawers - Things with small drawers (see pictures below)
• Ruby: TOAKS Titanium Long Handle Spoon https://amzn.to/3EPgIKY
• Jolly: Burt’s Bee’s Coconut Pear https://amzn.to/39y1Hiq
• Travis: Personal Portable Fan https://amzn.to/3lS9QE4

-

• Chris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp Highlight
• Joe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce Williams
• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp Pro
• Jolly Corley - Camp Director and Trainer - www.jollycorley.com

-

Rate and Review the CampHacker Show

-

UltraCamp

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if your registration software gave you MORE time? With UltraCamp, you can track attendance, manage staff applications, streamline registration, and much more. Get back the time you need to focus on what is really important: CAMP! Find out more at summercampsoftware.com/camphacker

Our free Resilient Camp Blueprint diagnostic is available at: https://camp.mba/travis

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/09/camp-union

At the end of August, a particularly thought-provoking post was made in the Summer Camp Professionals Facebook group.

After hearing about some of the horror stories of this, and past summers, a pro posted this:

“…Its become clear to me in the last few months that the people in charge of camps are often not the people that run summer camps and this can lead to some wild expectations including around hours, pay, vacation time, parental leave, etc. because the ACA hasn’t put these things in the standards, I’m wondering if having some sort of body to educate people on best practices around expectations for staff would be helpful.”

That pro, was Alana Matteson, and she is our guest this episode to kick off our
new season of both Camp Code and the CampHacker Podcast!

Alana joins Travis and Ruby for this discussion on not just Unions, but the type of advocacy that pros need in general to have more successful, fulfilling and sustainable careers.

-

What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

-

Travis: WorkSharp

Ruby: Personal Recipe Book

Alana: Power Beats High-Performance Earbuds

• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp Pro
• Ruby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby Outdoors
• Alana Matteson, Summer Camp Professional

-

Rate and Review the CampHacker Show

-

UltraCamp

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if your registration software gave you MORE time? With UltraCamp, you can track attendance, manage staff applications, streamline registration, and much more. Get back the time you need to focus on what is really important: CAMP! Find out more at summercampsoftware.com/camphacker

Our free Resilient Camp Blueprint diagnostic is available at: https://camp.mba/travis

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/06/why-we-volunteer

There are SO many people that love and support the industry. From Podcast hosts, to speakers, to bloggers, to association volunteers, to contributors in the online communities, there are tens of thousands of volunteer hours poured into the industry every year.

This episode is dedicated to the spirit of volunteering at camp, and how we can encourage the next generation of camp professionals to step up and support the industry as it enters this chapter of recovery and change.

Chris, Joe and Travis are joined by Go Camp Pro’s Executive Producer, Matt Honsberger (who’s currently typing this blog!) to look back on this season of the CampHacker Podcast and share where the inspiration to give time comes from, and how to help others find it as well.

-

How are you encouraging staff to volunteer? Let us know in the comments!

-

Travis: The Future is Trust: Embracing the Era of Trust-Centered Leadership

Joe: Books Full of Tools (3 books): Four Favorite Tools; Recomendo; Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities

Chris: Nutribullet

Matt: Forgettable to Unforgettable: How to become an extraordinary leader in just seven weeks

-

• Chris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp Highlight
• Joe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce Williams
• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp Pro
• Matt Honsberger, Executive Producer of Podcasting at Go Camp Pro

-

Rate and Review the CampHacker Show

(Thank you!)

-

UltraCamp

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if your registration software gave you MORE time? With UltraCamp, you can track attendance, manage staff applications, streamline registration, and much more. Get back the time you need to focus on what is really important: CAMP! Find out more at summercampsoftware.com/camphacker

Our free Resilient Camp Blueprint diagnostic is available at: https://camp.mba/travis

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!

Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/06/recruitment-begins-now

The global pandemic has hit our industry hard in so many ways, but one of them that we didn’t really expect was how hesitant our youth and young adults who have traditionally served every summer at camp would be about joining us for another season. 

And whether that was because they were a bit more risk-averse, or maybe they’ve just seen the financial benefits more desirable. Either way, what we need to take away from this is just how intentional we need to be about recruiting staff. 

What better time to start than when you have staff at camp NOW?

Chris, Gabz, and Travis are joined by returning guest Neva Baltzell to share how thinking about recruitment now will not just benefit next year, but will have a profound impact on your current staff team.

-

Rate and Review the CampHacker Show (thanks, eh?)

-

Travis: BarKeeper’s Friend - https://amzn.to/3hpCewA

Neva: UNO Flip, Monopoly Deal, Monopoly Bid

Gabz: Notion

Chris: Black Boys Documentary

-

• Chris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp Highlight
• Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau
• Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp Pro
• Neva Baltzell, Residential Manager at Florida United Methodist Children's Home

-

UltraCamp

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if your registration software gave you MORE time? With UltraCamp, you can track attendance, manage staff applications, streamline registration, and much more. Get back the time you need to focus on what is really important: CAMP! Find out more at summercampsoftware.com/camphacker

Our free Resilient Camp Blueprint diagnostic is available at: https://camp.mba/travis