The CampHacker Podcast

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/12/be-a-better-delegatorWho’s the best delegator you’ve ever met?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)-Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp DirectorChris: Once Upon a TimeGabz:  Smart PlugJoe: Non Slip Furniture Pads X-Protector - Bed Bottoms - future proofTravis: Serious Work: How to Facilitate Meetings & Workshops Using the LEGO Serious Play Method - https://amzn.to/31eLP3m-Your Hosts:Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProChris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp HighlightJoe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce WilliamsGabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau-Rate and Review the CampHacker Show(Thank you!)-Thanks to our sponsor!UltraCampWouldn’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

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/11/do-this-right-nowDon’t just make it survivable, make it AWESOME.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)-Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp DirectorChris: TV TimeGabz: Instagram Feeds to Follow: PrideCamping, The Summer Camp Society , S’more Melanin, Oaaars, TransPlaningJoe: Jabra Speak 510 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker-Your Hosts:Chris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp HighlightJoe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce WilliamsGabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau-Rate and Review the CampHacker Show(Thank you!)-Thanks to our sponsor!UltraCampWouldn’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

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-needNo more warm-body syndrome. Hire great staff and make it work with the number you have.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)-Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp DirectorChris: Yeti MicrophoneGabz: Shift App - DesktopJoe: Adjustable Light Stand/Tripod-Your Hosts:Chris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp HighlightJoe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce WilliamsGabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau-Rate and Review the CampHacker Show-Thanks to our sponsor!UltraCampWouldn’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

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-itPart 2 of our conversation about the big changes needed in the Camp World.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)-Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp DirectorChris: Characteristics of White Supremacy CultureJoe: Festool TSC 55 KEBI-F Plus Cordless Track SawRuby: Roll of TyvexJolly: Pre-postaged postcardsTravis: https://app.jqbx.fm/-Your Hosts:Chris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp HighlightJoe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce WilliamsTravis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProJolly Corley - Camp Director and Trainer - www.jollycorley.comRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby Outdoors-Rate and Review the CampHacker Show(Thank you!)-Thanks to our sponsor!UltraCampWouldn’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

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-1Yes - S*it scared.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) -Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp DirectorChris: 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/3EPgIKYJolly: Burt’s Bee’s Coconut Pear https://amzn.to/39y1HiqTravis: Personal Portable Fan https://amzn.to/3lS9QE4-Your Hosts:Chris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp HighlightJoe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce WilliamsTravis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProJolly Corley - Camp Director and Trainer - www.jollycorley.com-Rate and Review the CampHacker Show-Thanks to our sponsor!UltraCampWouldn’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

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/09/camp-unionHow might (or might not) a union help serve Camp Pros as they navigate an increasingly stressful profession?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 ournew 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!-Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp DirectorTravis: WorkSharpRuby: Personal Recipe BookAlana: Power Beats High-Performance EarbudsYour Hosts:Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby OutdoorsAlana Matteson, Summer Camp Professional-Rate and Review the CampHacker Show-Thanks to our sponsor!UltraCampWouldn’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

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/06/why-we-volunteerOver 16 hours of volunteer podcasting this year. Why do we do it? How can we encourage the next generation of camp pros to give back to the industry…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!-Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp DirectorTravis: The Future is Trust: Embracing the Era of Trust-Centered LeadershipJoe: Books Full of Tools (3 books): Four Favorite Tools; Recomendo; Cool Tools: A Catalog of PossibilitiesChris: NutribulletMatt: Forgettable to Unforgettable: How to become an extraordinary leader in just seven weeks-Your Hosts:Chris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp HighlightJoe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce WilliamsTravis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProMatt Honsberger, Executive Producer of Podcasting at Go Camp Pro-Rate and Review the CampHacker Show(Thank you!)-Thanks to our sponsor!UltraCampWouldn’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

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/06/recruitment-begins-nowWas staffing a pain for you this year? Let’s get ahead of this beast for next summer!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?)-Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp DirectorTravis: BarKeeper’s Friend - https://amzn.to/3hpCewANeva: UNO Flip, Monopoly Deal, Monopoly BidGabz: NotionChris: Black Boys Documentary-Your Hosts:Chris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp HighlightGabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp OuareauTravis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProNeva Baltzell, Residential Manager at Florida United Methodist Children's Home-Thanks to our sponsor!UltraCampWouldn’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

Kate Taylor, Camp Director at the historic Camp YMCA Kanawana, joins for an honest discussion on summer self-care for camp directors. She emphasizes the need for boundaries and managing stress to serve staff better. The concept of 'brain play' is introduced for fostering creativity amidst chaos. Taylor shares how pets can lighten the camp atmosphere, along with amusing anecdotes about a 'cursing circle' as a stress relief outlet. Practical tools and routines are highlighted to help directors prioritize their well-being while juggling responsibilities.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/05/incentivizing-staff-beyond-the-paychequePay your staff more - AND - here are some other ways to appreciate and incentivize the camp experience.We should all be working to pay our staff more. Full stop.That being said, it may be impossible to pay staff for the sheer amount of joy, passion, blood, sweat and tears they put in to the work they do. So even WHEN we’re able to pay staff more, we should be doing everything we can to show staff how much we appreciate them and how valuable the camp experience is.Chris, Travis and Joe are joined by Go Camp Pro contributor Darby Dame to share their best practices on how to incentivize staff beyond just how we pay them.-How do you show staff they are valued? Let us know in the comments!-Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp DirectorTravis: The Book with No Pictures - BJ Novak https://amzn.to/3wZbF6ZJoe: zip ties - organizations secret weapon - https://youtu.be/fhIts8zhn_A | The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zanderand Benjamin Zander https://amzn.to/2PXElwBDarby: HotJar websiteChris: Run of the mill Laminating Machine https://amzn.to/3e57kGF-Your Hosts:Chris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp HighlightTravis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProJoe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce WilliamsDarby Dame, Director of Marketing and Communications - Camp High Rocks-Rate and Review the CampHacker Show(Thank you!)-Thanks to our sponsor!UltraCampWouldn’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