The Summer Camp SocietyOne idea for your camp team. Every Thursday.
Most camp directors are doing ten jobs alone. Jack’s Camp Friends is a free 4-minute email every Thursday with one idea from a camp doing it right now. Your team gets better every week, and you stop figuring it out alone.
If you’ve been running camp on your own, this is the right email to get. 6,000+ camp pros already said yes.
Not ready yet? Take the 2-minute camp leader quiz
“There are so many voices trying to give advice who aren’t actually in it doing it. I appreciate that you’re in it.”
Overnight camp owner and director, Maine Made it required reading for her team.
Running camp shouldn’t feel like a solo job.
Staff. Parents. Enrollment. Budgets. The lakeside dock. Most days it’s all on you.
You crush the summer. Then the offseason hits, and you and your team are figuring it out alone.
So the busy work wins. The 11pm staff-training doc. The emails that eat your Tuesday. The big stuff waits another week.
You shouldn’t have to do this alone.
“I’ve kept myself busy this week by being the helping hand others needed… When really, I should be diving into our Alumni Network.”
Leader at a fairly new camp, Texas
“Feel guilty being the bee, feel guilty being the CEO, resulting in nothing getting done sometimes.”
Easterseals camp leader, New England
“I was feeling guilty about just hanging out with kids.”
School summer camp director, Seattle
Next summer is coming either way. What’s it going to look like for you and your team? Let’s start figuring it out now.
Here’s how it works.
Get Thursday’s email.
Free. About 4 minutes. One idea from a real camp and a real camp director.
Bring it to your team.
Forward it. Print it. Read it at staff meeting. Readers do all three.
Stop doing it alone.
One idea a week adds up. So does having people in your corner.
Monday, 9am.
You open staff meeting with an idea worth talking about. Your team leans in. You remember why this job is the best one there is. It’s the best part of a camp conference, every week.
“You inspired me to start sharing wisdom Wednesday emails with my camp team.”
Day camp director, Delaware
“I’m working with a much more energized and motivated staff already.”
Camp director, Virginia
“‘Do, discuss, declare!’ Pure genius. We are going to put a big piece of butcher paper at each location around camp.”
Riding camp owner, New Jersey
“To the point I stop myself and say ‘Jack said something about this… what was it?’ when things come up.”
Camp pro, working on marketing this year
Written by people doing the job right now.
We know what it’s like to carry it alone. So every Thursday we bring you the best part of a camp conference: the good idea, the good story, and the reminder that camp matters.
At camp
Jack Schott
Owns and directs Camps Kenwood & Evergreen, a brother-sister sleepaway camp in New Hampshire. 30 summers at camp, 500+ camps visited, 10,000+ staff trained.
Working with camps
Doug Norrie
Grew up at camp, left to build a writing business, came back. Works with owners and directors on camp marketing and voice. 25+ camps supported, 100,000+ inboxes.
Our job is simple: help you become the leader your staff learns from.
Not ready to subscribe? Start with the quiz.
What kind of camp leader are you? 8 questions, 2 minutes. Find your strength, the blind spot that keeps you doing it all alone, and one idea to try with your team this week.
Or read a few first.
- What problem does camp solve?I’ve been thinking about this way (way way way) too much recently. It’s driving me a little crazy. Maybe the good kind. We shall see.
- Are the next great teachers leading campfires?Want to spend a week with me doing the best behavior management training you can imagine?
- Same school of thoughtI mean, I know camps are getting it right. But it's not like there's a report card for all of us, or a panel of camp judges showing up in August to score the summer.
Want a hand filling camp?
The free email is where most people start. When you want more, here’s how we work with camps.
Write From Camp
For camp pros who want more than one email a week
Doug’s Substack on camp marketing and messaging. It all comes from conversations we’re having and work that’s actually working at camps right now.
Write For Camp cohort
For camp teams who want to write their own emails
Live sessions with Jack and Doug on welcome sequences, sales sequences, and a content calendar you’ll actually keep.
You write, you get feedback, you leave with emails ready to send.
Done with you
For camps that want a small team on their side
Everything we’ve been doing to fill K&E, done for your camp. Newsletters. Funnels. Sequences. Follow-up.
We handle the offseason work so you can run camp and talk to families.
Staff training and speaking
For camps and conferences
Jack has trained 10,000+ summer staff and spoken at 50+ conferences. In person or on Zoom.
Staff training, speaking, or not sure which fits?
Tell us a little about your camp. We’ll get back to you. Sometimes the answer is “just read the newsletter for now.”
The work you are doing truly matters.
You don’t have to do it alone. Get one short idea for your team every Thursday. Or spend another offseason figuring it out at 11pm.
If you’ve been running camp on your own, this is the right email to get. 6,000+ camp pros already said yes.