After six summers and 15-months of ‘full time’ camp work, Samantha Thomson joins us around the campfire to explore the full time life of summer camp. (Hint: there is no ‘off-season!’). Enjoy!

The Start of a (Camp) Life Together

May 26th, 2023 23m 20s

Seeing great people build a life together is an amazing thing. That its also happening when you are helping to run camp together for the first time adds to the fun. Nikki Zenkel and Max Grossman join me to talk about their first foray into full

A Spark of Wonder

May 12th, 2023 31m 49s

I’ve enjoyed working with and supporting Focus for a Future for many summers. The work they do introduces, as one great camp guy describes it, a spark of wonder for all the children at camp. My friend, Andy Newberg, joins me around the campfire

Camp Can Make Business Better

Apr 28th, 2023 28m 7s

What is learned at camp can have far reaching effects both personally and professionally. Tony McGaharan left Northern Ireland to spend two summers at camp. His journey from there included working for non-profits and then Google before starting

Starting a Camp from Scratch

Apr 17th, 2023 27m 59s

Imagine taking a nice piece of property, full of trees and grass, and turning it into a summer camp. Think about all the pieces that go into that experience – planning, building, creating and more. Jackie Brethel of Kippewa Point tells us all a

What Camp Teaches a Teacher

Dec 16th, 2022 38m 7s

How does working at summer camp influence a school teacher? In what ways does working as a teacher make you a better a summer camp professional? Our long-time team member, Dana Stassen, lives in both worlds professionally and is happy to share

Leaders are Grown

Dec 2nd, 2022 30m 30s

What is it like to go to camp when it’s nothing like the world you know? What’s it like to move from camper to counselor and then to Division Head? How do we apply the lessons of camp back home? Jorge Perez is kind enough sit around the campfir

Hope for Homeless Kids

Nov 18th, 2022 22m 41s

‌ Did you know that one-third of the homeless population in the US is made up of families? Homelessness can have a huge (negative) impact on children… which is why camp can be so important and positively impactful in their lives. The work that

Maintenance Matters

May 20th, 2022 31m 29s

One of the most necessary (and under-appreciated, misunderstood) aspects of camp is maintenance. Camp Maintenance Director John Weidner is around the campfire to pull back the curtain on this essential work at camp. A must listen for parents,

What you get from working at or going to Summer camp

May 6th, 2022 37m 50s

We are talking today about all the benefits sleepaway camp has to offer. We talk to so many people on the podcast who are summer camp lifers. They grew up at camp or their family ran the camp, but Sara and I share something in common. We don

From Counselor to Camp Professional

Apr 22nd, 2022 34m 35s

Every summer, more than 100,000 college-aged people decide to work at summer camp. From this incredible pool of people, we hope to find a few that want to do the work full-time. Brenn McCans has several great lessons to share from her bumpy pat

Notes from the Camp Bunk

Apr 8th, 2022 21m 11s

Going to camp for the first time can be daunting. That is why 12-year-old Eden WROTE A BOOK. Notes from the Camp Bunk will help campers, parents and camp staff alike start summer off the best way possible.

PERFORMing at Camp

Mar 25th, 2022 38m 9s

A person’s mind, when trained correctly, can be a person’s greatest tool. Dr. Lonnie Sarnell, a clinical and sport psychologist… who also happens to be the Girls Head Counselor at Tyler Hill Camp, has a great way to help all of our kids PERFORM

Growing Up The Camp Director's Kid

Feb 25th, 2022 42m 55s

Literally growing up at camp is a gift though not one without challenges. Lily Stoltz and Cole Kelly III give us the inside scoop of what being raised by camp directors is like. And make sure to stick around for a special guest at the end!

“Risky Business”: How Kids Learn through Risk

Feb 11th, 2022 33m 3s

When we remove all risk from our children’s lives, we stunt their growth. Paul Dreyer, the CEO of Avid4 Adventure is an experiential learning expert who has a lot to teach about introducing the right kind of risks so that our children grow into

Building Resiliency: Lessons from Camp

Jan 28th, 2022 31m 37s

Our kids have been through a challenging time over the past two years. Summer camp provides a great set of lessons on building one of the vital ingredients to make it through challenging times: resilience. Expert researcher and commenter Steph

Sports, Camps and Christ: An Introduction to the FCA

Dec 17th, 2021 33m

It’s Christmas season and, for many, that means as much reverence as it does presents. In that vein, we wanted to learn a bit more about Christian summer camps. My new friend, Spencer Breedlove, joined the campfire to teach us more about the Fe

Jewish Camping: A Primer

Dec 10th, 2021 39m 46s

As we move into the holiday season, we are talking about religious camps around the campfire. Our neighbor and good friend Jeff Braverman of Camp Nesher and NJY Camps joins us for an introduction into the joys of Jewish camping.

Grateful for Summer Camp

Nov 26th, 2021 28m 58s

There is a lot to be grateful when thinking about summer camp: incredible mentors, carefree activities, a thriving community… and all the good this provides. Dan Zenkel, the person responsible for getting Kate and I into camping, is around the

Welcome Back, International Staff!

Nov 12th, 2021 34m 24s

While there are a lot of pieces to a ‘great summer camp’ puzzle, summer staff is the biggest and most important one. For many camps, international staff members who come through the J1Visa cultural exchange program are essential to their staffi

We Did It! Opening Campfire, Season 6

Oct 29th, 2021 26m 49s

When we last left you, summer camp staff orientation was about to start and the campers were not far behind. It’s been a few months now since we dosed the last campfire of the summer and caught our collective breath. Camp was amazing and challe

Final Campfire - Season 5

Jun 14th, 2021 14m 32s

Wow - What a year! Tonight's final campfire of this season is about both remembering and looking forward. We hope this fun "wrap up" conversation leaves you looking forward to more Campfire Conversations this fall. Have a safe and happy summer!

Lessons from Family, COVID and Camp

May 29th, 2021 40m 10s

Want to know what it’s like growing up at camp, leaving camp, and coming back? Want to know what it’s been like to be a camp director preparing for the most important summer of our lives? My friend Adam Baker, Director of Camps Equinunk and Blu

A Summer of Hope

May 14th, 2021 32m 23s

We are all coming out of a very tough time with Covid and political strife and so much more. However, it’s time to move from despair to HOPE. No one I know thinks more deeply about this move than John Hamilton, the Director of Camp Hope America

Learning from Legends

Apr 30th, 2021 36m 41s

We are lucky when we get to learn from legends, even more so when they are our parents. My friends, Ross Moskowitz of Camp Westmont and Matt Stoltz of Island Lake Camp share many of the lessons learned from Mike and Bev and Fred and Minna. Ther