Editor’sLetter T


Looking Back to Move Forward


alk to most camp professionals for any length of time, and you will eventually hear them espouse the virtues of tradition.


For some camps, tradition is the basis for stories of yesteryear to campers, the focus of marketing campaigns and the root of special days and many summer programming activities.


Although tradition is nice, not every camp has it. Over the past few years, a plethora of camps have opened their doors to capitalize on the growing demand for summertime activities for Canadian children. Many, if not all, of them have little to no tradition to promote. They hang their hat on being new, up with the times and a provider of in- demand activities by kids and parents alike. With competition in the camp market as strong as ever, it is imperative for every camp to discover the aspects of its operation that sets itself apart from the camp down the road, in the neighbourhood, across town or on the other side of the province. A camp’s uniqueness might be in its programming, its staffing philosophy, the way it interacts with parents or the type of food it serves. Whatever it is, camps need to find their unique sell- ing propositions and talk them up. After reading Jill Tipograph’s article on page 12, entitled Trends Worth Watching, you will quickly see that camps throughout North America are not relying on past accom- plishments alone to attract new campers and to entice returning campers to come back for another summer. Instead, camps are evolving. They are changing with the times and looking at new, innovative ways to enhance the experience they offer kids of all ages and from all backgrounds. Change is not easy, especially for camps that not only have to remain current and rel- evant to the market place, but also have to stay up to date on societal pressures, like healthy eating, bullying, allergies and risk management. Throw in the need to constantly be on the ball when it comes to ever-changing tech- nology and what you have are businesses not knowing where to start and/or turn. There is no doubt that camps that do not take advantage of technology (e.g., Internet and camp management software) to streamline operations will be the ones who suffer moving for- ward. And when one starts talking about how camps can use social media to build an online community that rivals their real-world community they have developed and main- tained, what you have is a whole new area of concern for camps. Today’s camps are under unprecedented pressures to keep up with modern-day demands placed on them by parents who expect more at lower rates and by technology that is constantly telling them they can do things quicker and more effectively. It is the camps that tackle these challenges and opportunities with an open mind that will be around long enough to talk about the tradition that the Canadian camp industry is built upon.


Paul Grossinger


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Publisher/Editor Advertising Sales


Editorial Advisory Board


Paul Grossinger Dave Douglas


Larry Bell


Jeff Bradshaw Michael Brandwein Nancy Brown Rob Carmichael Owen Fraser Sara Middleton Quentin Richardson Catherine Ross Chris Thurber


Contributors


Steve Brainstetter Jim Cain


Rob Carmichael Marc Hoberman Ed Metzendorf Nancy Shenker Jill Tipograph Chris Thurber


Canada Camps is the primary source of information for people working in the Canadian camp industry. It is pub- lished three times a year (Winter, Spring, Fall) by KAP Publishing Limited.


The views expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of Canada Camps. All editorial submissions will be subject to editing. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission.


Canada Camps is proud to be working in co-operation with the following associations:


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