Cairn Family of Camps - Glen Mhor/Iona Staff of 2013

Professional Portraits of Summer Camp Staff

As many long-term CampHacker readers know I have a personal photography project about which I feel very passionate - shooting portraits of the summer staff of Cairn.    

I realized this morning that I hadn't yet posted the 2013 photo.   I hope you enjoy them! 

Past Cairn Staff Portraits

http://camphacker.tv/camphacker-tv/2012/8/cairn-camp-staff-training-week-2008  (this video includes shots of the whole staff training week, many of which I didn't shoot)

http://camphacker.tv/blog/2012/8/cairn-staff-portraits-2009 

http://camphacker.tv/blog/2012/10/summer-camp-staff-portraits-cairn-2012 

 

An Urgent Heads-Up "HINT" - Joanna Warren Smith

Summer Camp TV Show Gives Negative View

Camp - Television series Photo credit - promotional material

NBC is launching a new series on Wednesday, July 10 which features lots of "Rivals, Activities & Hook Ups" called - you guessed it ... CAMP.

According to tv.com, the show "promises to satisfy all the nostalgia we might have for summer camp without the teary-eyed phone calls to mom begging her to pick us up. The series stars Rachel Griffiths (Six Feet Under) as a recently divorced camp director who's back on the job and back on the hunt for loooooove, and the setting allows for plenty of raging teen hormones, mean girl cliques, and poison ivy-masturbating jokes."

Certainly, our industry has weathered other questionable portrayals of the camp experience; however, they may not have been quite so suggestive.

Most parents and even kids will likely recognize the exaggerated portrayal, but it still would be wise to have some conversations with those who answer the phones and staff who will talk with parents on opening/closing and visiting days.

Help your representatives be intentional about reactions and responses to joking or serious comments that the show could encourage.

Joanna

Need an objective perspective on any aspect of camp?  Give me a call at 310-451-1876 or email campconsulting@verizon.net

(Note from Travis:   We are so thrilled to be posting the always brilliant HINTS from camp consultant Joanna Warren Smith!  If you don't already you should sign up to receive theses HINTS in your email - in the right-hand column of Joanna's website: http://camp-consulting.com/)

  

10 Year Paddles - Camper and Staff Recognition

Celebrate the History of Your Summer Camp

One of my favourite traditions at Cairn is recognizing people for their contributions to the community by presenting them with their 10 Year Paddle. 

People who have been involved at camp (as a camper, volunteer, staff member or board member) for 10 years are given their 10 Year Paddle in a night-time ceremony.   This tradition is pretty new - only in the past 10 years or so but there are already over 100 paddles up in the dining hall.

I am excited to be receiving my 20 year paddle at the end of this season!  I'll be joining about a dozen other 20 year-ers.   Beth is the only one, so far, to receive her 30 Year Canoe.

Check out this video I made a couple of years ago about 10 Year Paddles. 

Welcome to Episode 3 of Camp Hacker! We would love to hear your feedback and to see your own camp hacks. Leave us a message here or email us your video to info@walkingmaverick.com. Coming Soon: CampHacker.org Mentioned in this Episode: http://ilovecamp.org http://www.kandalore.com

Summer Camp Marketing Video - Camp Valour

Creative Marketing Video

Camp Valour looks like it's a special program of Camp Wathana in Michigan.   I would have LOVED this as a kid! 

www.campvalor.com Camp Valor is an overnight summer camp for boys and girls ages 8 to 16. Most of our campers come for our expansive art programs, our rugged outdoor education programs, and our thrilling adventure games. We are located in Holly, Michigan, and we still have some spots available for this summer!

Social Media "Shoulds" for this summer

Keep your Social Media Marketing going during the busy season

Welcome to the crazy time! 

Summer camp photography by Travis Allison

I encourage you to take a couple of moments this week to very seriously consider what you are going to be putting out on your website and social media properties over the next 12 months.    

All of the photos and videos you will need have to be shot this summer. 

I hope that you have either hired a photographer/videographer for this summer or at least delegated the job to a senior staff person whom you know will do a great job.  This person needs to be creative, have a lot of drive and be motivated to do their work without a lot of supervision, be a bit competitive (they want your camp to look like the best camp in the world), organized, ambitious, and a great communicator with a lot of personality.

I have a couple of pieces of advice for you for the summer and then an opportunity to receive the complete CampHacker Social Media Plan. 

  • Don't just collect moments, collect stories: people don't buy summer camp because of your 1:4 camper:staff ratio, your new water trampoline or your location.  They buy camp from whomever tells the best stories.  Tell your stories of transformation, of awesome personal accomplishment and people of different backgrounds becoming family. THAT they will buy.
  • If you are a camp that offers camperships make sure that you spend time (with a guardian's permission) collecting the stories of your subsidized campers.   This will help donors understand the value of what they have offered to children.   I, myself, was a camper who went to camp on subsidy and just look at the good it did me.

The CampHacker Social Media Plan for Our Clients

I have a special offer for you.   

We have created an outline of the postion of Summer Camp Social Media Directors.  We  have had amazing response from our camp clients (let me know if you would like consulting for online marketing) to this list we send them in the spring.    

If you sign up for our Camphacker Blog Article Newsletter I would be happy to send it to you!