Camp Code - Leadership & Staff Training Podcast for Camp Directors

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/work-with-parents-pt2It’s too important for just one episode.Remember last episode when our special guest Travis, fed all of us the knowledge of a lifetime at camp? At CampCode HQ, it was certainly a memorable episode, but without Gabrielle there, we all knew we could squeeze a little bit of greatness out of her. For that reason, we are back with round two, where we focus on the great ideas on how to train our staff to talk to parents. Remember the acronym episode (Camp Code #81) - well Gabrielle didn’t get the chance to slide in another great one: V.I.FValidate - Find the person who can helpInvestigate - allows some time for problem solvingFind someone who can help. When we are talking to parents one of the most important things is to get them connected to the right person who can help with whatever the situation was. Ruby tells us the importance about names. Learning the names of the parents and the campers *hint - write them down* and using those names brings a sense that you are there to help their child have a memorable week at camp. Beth describes that transparency and messaging is just as important as knowing the camper names before they arrive. As leaders, you would have been in communication with parents up until the day they arrive at camp. Take the time to teach your staff the message they want to get across with parents. For more great tips about the value of communication, have a listen to this episode! We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode-Best Practice for Leadership TrainingFrom Ruby Compton:Every family is unique. Every family has their stories, their traditions and their own hardships. Have staff reflect on their own relationship with their folks at home. Recognize those  relationships may be different from campers relationships with their own families. Bonus - Feed your staff with information to help parents on drop-off and pick-up day. Provide staff a couple of specific pieces of information to communicate any time they are interacting with parents. Things like where the bathroom is, where the coffee/snacks are, where they are headed next.-Your Hosts:Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby OutdoorsGabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp OuareauMeasure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/work-with-parentsBecause you aren’t the only one that needs to wow your camp families!Beth and Ruby are joined by Travis Allison to breakdown the importance of your staff being calm, cool and collected when interacting with their camper’s parents.Do you remember your 16-20 year old self? Talking to adults is scary enough, without the fact that you are looking after the most important thing in their world.Great parent interactions (especially on opening day!) is a critical part of your camp forming trusting relationships with families. Trust us, a parent is going to tell their friends what camp their child attends - and good or bad, they will share their first impressions - so it’s our job to help our staff make the best ones!We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode-Leadership Training Best PracticeFrom Beth AllisonGet lots of large chart paper and markers and have pairs of staff create their own “child”. This exercise helps them to understand the care that goes into parenting and really put them into their camper’s parent’s shoes.-Your Hosts:Beth Allison, Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby OutdoorsTravis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp ProMeasure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!A special, timely interlude from our friends at the Day Camp Pod:Find full show notes and links at: https://gocamp.pro/day-camp-pod/ppp-era-acaTimely info for American Camps - Jan/Feb 2021For many camps and small businesses in the United States, the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program was a lifesaver- enabling us to keep our best people employed which we navigated the uncharted waters of the covid-19 pandemic. Starting January 13, the second round of PPP has been made available to qualifying businesses, as well as other resources like the Employer Retention Credit. While most of us may be good at running a summer camp, this other stuff is both supremely important and pretty darn confusing- which is why we have called for an EMERGENCY Podcast with ACA National Chair Scott Brody and the great Steve Baskin - so that we can better grasp the options that can ensure our financial solvency as we enter the 2021 camp season.Tune in to hear about:What we need to know about the PPP situationThe issues of timing, and filing for forgivenessWhat’s coming down the pike.Do you have a suggestion for a future show? Let us know by email: daycampquestions@gocamp.pro-Important Links:Andrew Ziv’s thorough explanation of ERC & PPP - https://andrewziv.substack.com/p/breaking-down-the-employer-retentionSBA / PPP - https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/paycheck-protection-programIRS / ERC - https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/faqs-employee-retention-credit-under-the-cares-act-YOUR HOSTS:Andy Pritikin, Owner/Director - Liberty Lake Day CampGUESTS:Scott Brody, Owner & Director - Camps Kenwood & EvergreenSteve Baskin, Executive Director - Camp Champions, Camp Pinnacle, Partner - Everwood Day Camp-SPONSORS:Thanks to our wonderful sponsors who help make this Go Camp Pro podcast possible:AM Skier Insurance    http://www.amskier.com/Commercial Recreation Specialists (CRS)   https://crs4rec.com/-Please review and subscribe!If you’ve gotten even one good thing from the Day Camp Pod, we would be so grateful if you left us a review and subscribed to this show in your favourite Podcast app.It’s so easy! Just click here: https://ratethispodcast.com/dcp  Thanks, Camp Pro!Measure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/the-acronym-episodeWe L.O.V.E Acronyms! Here are Beth’s, Ruby’s & Gabz’s favourites!We L.O.V.E them - Nope, that’s not an acronym, simply our way to show how much we enjoy them. We engrave acronyms into the lexicon of camp to ensure that the important things that you want your staff to memorize, are memorable. For Beth, with over 25 years of camp acronym experience, this was one of the hardest episodes for her to record as each host share their three favourite acronyms, and dive into why they are important to them. Go Camp Pro is here to support you with everything Covid-19 and there is no stopping in sight. The volunteer editorial board at Go Camp Pro scans editorials across the Covid-19+Camp Slack, the Summer Camp Professionals Facebook group and other sources to take the best stories, and put them in an easy-to-read newsletter that we call “The Brief”. You can sign up for The Brief by clicking hereBelow is a list of the acronyms shared throughout the episode, so that you can make notes of your favourites and incorporate them in your staff training. -Find our favourite acronyms and bonus resources here:https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/the-acronym-episode-Leadership Training Best PracticeFrom Gabrielle RaillWhen returning staff members return to camp, they each bring emotional tags with them, holding onto memories from the year before. The role of your staff is to create the best week of camp for their campers; but to do that, you have to help your staff let go of last year. Take the time to validate their experiences, dissect the good and then engage in conversation with staff to identify on how to build from previous experiences to incorporate the things that worked well, to create an unforgettable summer for campers. When you're done planning, celebrate the past and bring in the new camp year with your staff. -Your Hosts:Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp OuareauBeth Allison, Camp Consultant - CampHacker.tvRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby OutdoorsMeasure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/the-silent-summerThis will be the most important staff training you’ll ever prepare.We made it! It’s 2021, but that doesn’t mean that camps are without adversity with this summer quickly approaching. With a global vaccine rollout for COVID-19 and differentiating public health policies and guidelines depending on your province, state, municipality or county, there are too many permutations and combinations circling to really understand what this year is going to look like. To make things more complicated, many camps didn’t run last year, meaning the identified “improvements” noted during a camp season are a full season behind. Take this one step further, your staff are all older and some senior staff might no longer be in a position to return to camp. We are just as happy as most of you where 2020 is finally behind us; as we turn the chapter to 2021, our hosts are here to help you succeed with summer camp training after a gap in operation. Our take on it - this is the most important staff training you have ever prepared. It’s important that as camp professionals, you reflect, take stock and set goals for this year. Your goals will have to include new training material, focusing on mental health during a pandemic. For us, that means two lists of goals. The first list is about what people will need from you, including COVID-19 safety, what’s changed at camp, the importance of feeling safe and perhaps your leadership style this summer leans more on being empathetic or more vulnerable to your staff. The second list is what YOU want to from this year. Define your goals, but being flexible to staff ideas is a key step to the foundation of a successful summer. -We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode-Leadership Training Best PracticeFrom Beth AllisonWe are in the midst of a mental health awakening. Role model types of behaviors and actions. Start every single day of training with personal check-ins. Ask a different question each day and offer everyone an opportunity to answer those questions. Continue at every check-in. Their well-being is paramount to you.Encourage peer-based support. Facilitate groups that work in support of each other. Weekly “Islands of Sanity” calls--are you willing to use whatever power and influence you have hold islands of sanity to invoke and create, produce, and persevere?Make time to share your own challenges and mistakes and vulnerabilities. -Your Hosts:Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp OuareauBeth Allison, Camp Consultant - CampHacker.tvRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby OutdoorsMeasure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/what-we-learned-from-wicWe ran a traditionally in-person conference 100% online. And it was AWESOME. Here’s what we learned! This week’s episode falls during the holiday season of 2020. From all of us at Camp Code, happy holidays and we wish all of you a happy new year. 2020 has been quite the year, with a global pandemic affecting lives worldwide and to camp professionals, has created an unprecedented camp season where many camps simply did not have the opportunity to run. Furthermore, as camp Directors are well underway throughout their planning phases for next summer unbeknownst to anyone if camps will even run. It is easy for people to look at the history of 2020 and refer to some of the negative connotations surrounding it that lead us to believe that in the fog of 2020, there was nothing else but more fog. Although that may not be exactly true, as Camp Code looks to close the chapter in 2020, we aim for new goals and aspirations in 2021. As heard in the teaser of this episode, “positive change requires an effort of togetherness (Women in Camping Summit, 2020)” and we believe as a camp community we can continue to achieve our camp milestones collectively. In this episode, Beth, Gabz and Ruby reflect on their experience at the Women in Camp Summit Live Virtual Event where over 200 women from around the world contributed to some extremely memorable moments. Ruby starts us off with talking about a fantastic speaker from the summit, Leslie Keller, owner of Live Love Equity. Leslie teaches us about the importance of equity and inclusion and how it needs to be a foundational element to any organization. Leslie did hint about the power of social media and how tools like Instagram can influence some of the content you learn and teach to your followers. You can find Leslie and all the great work she does here: https://www.liveloveequity.com/Gabz dives in to talk about two of her leaders who develop a session that focuses on creating conversation about race with your staff. There needs to be a process of consent and consult from the people of colour on your staff to ensure that they are comfortable with the situation. White privilege is something that needs to be talked about and that to create change, there is a process you need to develop. At the core, the four steps of the process created by the presenters Mel and Ania are Awareness, Assessment, Prioritizing and Action. A copy of the presentation can be found RIGHT HERE. Beth reminds us about the importance of resilience and refers to our Camp Code friend Dr. G who developed a seven-step cycle for resilience https://askdoctorg.com/drg-resilience-cycle/.-Bonus Resources! & Leadership Training Best PracticeFind these at https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/what-we-learned-from-wic-Your Hosts:Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp OuareauBeth Allison, Camp CMeasure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.

Discover creative ways to surprise and delight camp staff! The hosts explore innovative appreciation strategies, from personalized videos to customized gifts. Learn effective communication tools beyond email to motivate your team. Celebrate new hires with engaging social media announcements that excite both staff and campers. Plus, dive into fun discussions about snack preferences while emphasizing the importance of recognizing each staff member's unique contributions. These ideas are all about making everyone feel valued and connected!

This podcast explores the importance of disagreements in teams, creating a culture of respectful disagreement, addressing disagreements in a camp setting, and training staff to disagree and discuss with care.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find more at https://camphacker.tv/camp-code/hiring-in-uncertain-timesInviting staff into our uncertainty. That’s what hiring for Summer 2021 is all about!If you haven’t listened to the four-part mini-series devoted to our camp professionals helping YOU, you should go back and have a listen! This is the first episode after the mini-series and the timing of our hosts could not be more on point. In this episode, it is all about preparing for the hectic hiring season that is quickly approaching us, especially in these uncertain times. There are still a lot of specifics that our camps, regulators and government need to iron out, given the global pandemic. Now camp leaders have more contingency planning to do than ever before. If you’re struggling to figure out how to start, how to manage the waves of emotions that come with the pandemic, then this episode is absolutely for you. Our hosts, Beth, Gabrielle and Ruby dive into how you can go forward, do the interview process and help navigate your hiring for the 2021 summer. Ruby reminds us about the rapidly changing news with new scientific evidence and rumours of a vaccine on the way, we need to adapt. Some suggestions presented are virtual programming to prepare your staff,  developing a safety guide decision tree and as always, over-communicate. The more information you can share, the better prepared your recruits will be. Speaking about a vaccine, Beth reminds us about the inevitable truth that some camps simply may not be able to run until a vaccine is available and camp staff and campers have received the vaccine. From knowing what considerations to think about and what decisions are needed to run camp successfully in a pandemic world, Beth brings us another great resource the Covid Slack, developed my GoCamp.Pro’s very own Travis Allison. Covid Slack https://zoic.ca/covid-slackGabrielle brings up a great idea about using the alumni staff on standby to run a life wellness session for potential staff. Look at Alumi and their professions to see how it can develop the competencies of your staff and their core. Gabrielle also reminds us that staffing this year will be harder this year as we tackle the unknown of the pandemic, so how about you gets your returning staff to identify what they love about working at camp, what life lessons kids and learn and what would they like to keep or change at camp. Work smarter, not harder and use this information to help you develop your 2021 summer camp program! -We hope you love this episode of Camp Code! If you do, please consider subscribing to the show, and leaving us a rating in your Podcast app. It’s SO easy, just head to https://ratethispodcast.com/campcode-Leadership Training Best PracticeFrom Ruby ComptonThe season of giving is approaching, so one thought is to share a 2020 camp swag that you can send to camp staff or alumni to remind them that although this year may not have been great for camps, the work that staff and alumni do throughout the years does not go unrecognized.-Your Hosts:Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp OuareauBeth Allison, Camp Consultant Measure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us!Find full show notes and links at: https://gocamp.pro/blog/women-of-gcp-podcastWhat do you call it when you gather a bunch of female camp and podcasting pros in a room? You call it AWESOME.In today’s special crossover episode, Beth Allison from Camp Code hosts a conversation with several of the women who podcast with Go Camp Pro. Today’s episode features Rachel Kent and Cassie Bloy from Beyond Camp, Sam Thompson from the Day Camp Pod, Kelly Schuna from The Camp Owner’s Podcast, and Ruby Compton from Camp Code and Gabrielle Raill from CampHacker and Camp Code. Listen in as these women discuss their mentors who inspired them in the industry, challenges women face working at camp and advice for new camp pros. Interestingly, all of these women have also attended the Women in Camp Summit in previous years. During the episode they discuss some of their biggest takeaways from the event as well as what they are most looking forward to for this year’s Live Virtual Summit taking place December 2-3. Find out more about the Women in Camp Summit Live Virtual event at https://www.womenincampsummit.com.Gabrielle announced this year’s Summit will also feature the first of the “Becoming Allies” series with an event titled “Becoming Allies: Supporting Women in Camp” on December 4. Folks who want to participate in the Allies event can register through this link: https://acai.wildapricot.org/event-4051965-The Women in Camp Summit needs your support! The planning team for the Summit has set a $7,500 fundraising goal to offer scholarships to attendees and off-set the costs of hosting this unique professional development event. Every dollar counts. Donate today and donate again on the Day of Giving for the Women in Camp Summit on November 24. Donate here: https://acai.wildapricot.org/allies/-Love this episode?Find more Podcast goodness at gocamp.pro/podcast. Also, if you want to support the work that we do, please consider subscribing to the shows, and leaving us a rating in your favourite Podcast app.-On This Episode:Beth Allison, Camp Consultant and Co-Owner - Go Camp ProGabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp OuareauRuby Compton, Chief Exploration Officer - Ruby OutdoorsSam Thompson, Recreation Supervisor - Crystal Lake Park DistrictKelly Schuna - Owner - Hidden Pines RanchMeasure twice! Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis. Stop flying blind: Take your free Resilient Camp Blueprint Diagnostic at https://camp.mba/travis.