Campfire Conversation

The stories, lessons, and magic of summer camp change campers (and staff) for the better every year. Speaking with people who spend their lives planning for and running summer camps around the country, the Campfire Conversation podcast will give parents, teachers, coaches and mentors a unique perspective on raising, teaching and leading children. Pull up a log, get your marshmallows ready, and let’s chat!

The First Full (time) Year 06/17/2023

The First Full (time) Year 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! /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/27182580

The Start of a (Camp) Life Together 05/26/2023

The Start of a (Camp) Life Together 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 time summer camp together and their plans for after the summer. Enjoy! /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/26962944

A Spark of Wonder 05/12/2023

A Spark of Wonder 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 to give us the inside scoop on all the great outcomes Focus for a Future and their volunteers create for kids. /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/26825058

Camp Can Make Business Better 04/28/2023

Camp Can Make Business Better 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 People Playbook, a company which sounds a whole lot like… well, being back at camp. /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/26686056

Starting a Camp from Scratch 04/17/2023

Starting a Camp from Scratch 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 about the ins and outs of starting a camp from scratch! /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/26568774

What Camp Teaches a Teacher 12/16/2022

What Camp Teaches a Teacher 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 her insights. Enjoy! /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/25350888

Leaders are Grown 12/02/2022

Leaders are Grown 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 campfire and answer these and many other questions. Enjoy! /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/25203927

Hope for Homeless Kids 11/18/2022

Hope for Homeless Kids ‌ 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 Tyrone Squire and Homes for the Homeless is doing is literally changing lives. /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/25066737

Maintenance Matters 05/20/2022

Maintenance Matters 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, camp directors and camp summer staff! /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/23179337

What you get from working at or going to Summer camp 05/06/2022

What you get from working at or going to Summer camp 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’t come from that background. We found summer camp later in life and we want to explore what that impact has on people. /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/23031908

From Counselor to Camp Professional 04/22/2022

From Counselor to Camp Professional 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 path from counselor to camp professional. Enjoy! /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/22880393

Notes from the Camp Bunk 04/08/2022

Notes from the Camp Bunk 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. /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/22731113

PERFORMing at Camp 03/25/2022

PERFORMing at Camp 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 at camp and everywhere else. /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/22571639

Growing Up The Camp Director's Kid 02/25/2022

Growing Up The Camp Director's Kid 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! /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/22257986

“Risky Business”: How Kids Learn through Risk 02/11/2022

“Risky Business”: How Kids Learn through Risk 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 competent, confident humans. Enjoy! /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/22104164

Building Resiliency: Lessons from Camp 01/28/2022

Building Resiliency: Lessons from Camp 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 Stephen Gray Wallace joins us around the campfire to reveal these resilience lessons and how we can apply them back home. /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/21935243

Sports, Camps and Christ: An Introduction to the FCA 12/17/2021

Sports, Camps and Christ: An Introduction to the FCA 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 Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Merry Christmas everyone. See you around the campfire in the new year! /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/21519206

Jewish Camping: A Primer 12/10/2021

Jewish Camping: A Primer 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. /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/21444632

Grateful for Summer Camp 11/26/2021

Grateful for Summer Camp 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 campfire to talk about what he’s grateful for, SCOPE, and a lot more. /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/21291452

Welcome Back, International Staff! 11/12/2021

Welcome Back, International Staff! 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 staffing puzzle. Ivy Cohen, head of Camp Leaders, is around the campfire to explain the importance of these great people to camps across the US. /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/21143672

Welcome Back, International Staff! 11/12/2021

We Did It! Opening Campfire, Season 6 10/29/2021

We Did It! Opening Campfire, Season 6 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 challenging and fantastic and tiring – more so than any summer before. And, it was the most important summer in the history of our industry. Here’s a short conversation from the two of us as we learn from this past summer and prepare for an even better Summer ’22. /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/20987939

Final Campfire - Season 5 06/14/2021

Final Campfire - Season 5 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! /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/19477274

Lessons from Family, COVID and Camp 05/29/2021

Lessons from Family, COVID and Camp 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 Blue Ridge, is around the campfire tonight and will give you all the details. Enjoy! /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/19287149

A Summer of Hope 05/14/2021

A Summer of Hope 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. It’s hope-full people who change themselves and the world around them in positive ways. John will tell you how it gets done. Pull up a log and have a listen! /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/19107182

Learning from Legends 04/30/2021

Learning from Legends 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. There are some very important lessons for parents (and children!) in this conversation. Enjoy! ‌ /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/18928880

Keeping Camp Healthy 04/16/2021

Keeping Camp Healthy Health Care at summer camp is very much in the limelight these days. (Frankly, it always should be!) Tracey Gaslin, the Executive Director of the Association of Camp Nursing, is around the campfire talking about how parents, Health Center staff, and camp directors can best work together to make Summer 2021 a happy and healthy success. /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/18751949

Global Camps Africa – Doing Good with Camp 04/02/2021

Global Camps Africa – Doing Good with Camp Sometimes‌ ‌it’s‌ ‌easier‌ ‌to‌ ‌see‌ ‌the‌ ‌impact‌ ‌of‌ ‌something‌ ‌when‌ ‌you‌ ‌are‌ ‌further‌ ‌away.‌ ‌ We‌ ‌all‌ ‌know‌ ‌summer‌ ‌camp‌ ‌is‌ ‌a‌ ‌gift‌ ‌for‌ ‌children.‌ ‌This‌ ‌is‌ ‌especially‌ ‌so‌ ‌for‌ ‌those‌ ‌from‌ ‌the‌ ‌poorest,‌ ‌ most‌ ‌difficult‌ ‌situations.‌ ’s‌ ‌Executive‌ ‌Director,‌ ‌Emily‌ ‌Crowder,‌ ‌is‌ ‌around‌ ‌ the‌ ‌campfire‌ ‌talking‌ ‌about‌ ‌all‌ ‌the‌ ‌good‌ ‌being‌ ‌done‌ ‌in‌ ‌South‌ ‌Africa‌ ‌by‌ ‌people‌ ‌who‌ ‌love‌ ‌summer‌ ‌ camp‌ ‌and‌ ‌kids.‌ ‌Make‌ ‌sure‌ ‌to‌ ‌check‌ ‌out‌ ‌their‌ ‌upcoming‌ ‌‌!‌ ‌ /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/18583133

Preparing for Joy 03/19/2021

Preparing for Joy We’ve all lost a step in the ‘joy’ department. The lockdowns and the past year has been tough for everyone. It’s time to unclench our hands and open up. That’s the only way to give and receive any gift… and especially the gift of camp. Camp owner and director Kate Kelly is around the campfire to talk about the important lessons of joy camp can offer up. /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/18395711

Lessons from a Life in Outdoor Education 03/05/2021

Lessons from a Life in Outdoor Education What would five decades of summer camp experience teach? What if those (ongoing) fruitful years included learning from and visiting camps not only around your own but around the world? John (Jorgi) Jorgenson, Camp Director at Camp Tawingo and the Head of the International Camping Fellowship spends some time around the campfire to chat. Pull up a log and sit a while - it’ll be well worth your time! /episode/index/show/campfireconversations/id/18205877

Campfire Conversation

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