Fall 2022 Retreat Recap

Our Fall 2022 Retreat was last week, and I could go on for HOURS about how amazing it was (I won’t, though). There was so much community, so many takeaways, and so much change potential that I believe this group of people are going to make an INCREDIBLE difference in the camping industry and in the world.

Want to be a fellow changemaker? Check out the recap below and/or sign up for the Spring 2023 Retreat (April 12-14).

TUESDAY - MEMBERS-ONLY DAY

All of our retreats kick off with a day just for our members. On Tuesday, we talked about:

Enneagram Leadership

Kurtz had us take this enneagram test (disclaimer: it does have a religious lens in the results). We talked through what each enneagram may need at camp, and from there, we identified how doing this could be helpful to learn staff needs.

HELP EACH OTHER

Jack made sure everyone had actionable help on the spot! We broke into small groups, and everyone shared a problem. Group members helped them on the spot, from Googling things to sending them files, texting contacts, and more. This could be great to do mid-summer as staff in-service OR toward the end of staff training to make sure everyone has all their questions answered.

Wednesday

Murph, not Allison

Making change at your org

I talked about three different parts of making change: getting the logistics to yes, getting yourself to yes (and putting aside fear - based on this framework), and getting your supervisor to yes (based on the CRIB framework I made up). SCARF is a great framework for talking through feedback concerns, and CRIB is a great framework for why we execs/boards/etc. make the decisions they make.

Paper Planes & Intention Setting

Nelson had people group up, talk about what they wanted to get out of the retreat, and write it down on big sheets of paper. We then turned the big sheets of paper into paper planes and had a huge contest. This is a great way to build community and make a shortcut to trust among staff - would be great for staff training!

Summer 2022 Debrief

Kurtz led us in a silent meeting to debrief Summer 2022. From there, we talked about industry intentions. Groups then broke out to talk about why these intentions matter to camp and to the world. This could be powerful with your leadership team!

We also talked about the power of silent meetings and identified that people have different processing speeds. Considering how people process and learn differently when planning your staff training sessions can help staff feel more included.

Crisis Challenge

Kurtz led an incredible Crisis Challenge! Crisis Challenges are essentially case studies that help prepare you for hard moments. These are great to do with your leadership team. Download Kurtz’s ebook full of scenarios you can use here.

Thursday

5 Minute talks

Every retreat participant got to share five minutes of their wisdom, and WOW, did we have some good ones. We broke into groups to choose one representative each. The representatives were:

• Monia Johnson sharing about What the FRACS?

• John Rice sharing about different perspectives.

• Ellen Ludwig sharing about portable escape rooms (great for rainy days).

• Claire Griffiths sharing about the lack of accessibility in adventure equipment (harnesses, helmets, etc.).

• Maddy Linder sharing about her experience fitting different people with different shoes and how that applies to fitting different campers and staff with different needs.

All of our 5 Minute Talks will be uploaded to YouTube. You can catch them here.

These have some of the most tangible takeaways from the retreat AND they’re great to do with staff - they help everyone feel like an expert AND let them practice being on stage.

Building a Culture of Partnership

Laura Kriegel (Stomping Ground) gave us a BEAUTIFUL visual and talked to us about the concept of “power over” vs. “partner with.” Some strategies included:

• Give options during programming so that kids can make decisions about their day more often. 

• Don’t be afraid to pivot if any activity isn’t engaging your campers. 

• Collaborate with caregivers and staff in transparent ways.

Laura also used pair and share as a technique, which can be helpful in staff training. Part of the pair and share was silent listening — one person talked while the other partner said nothing and only drew their thoughts (the person talking couldn’t look!). They discussed after. This was a great way to teach listening and communication skills.

Social Justice Work with Young People

Simone Gamble (OAAARS) blew our minds with discussion around whether camp was a microcosm of our world or a utopia. LOTS of good stuff here. OAAARS facilitates this exercise for staff trainings, so reach out directly for more information.

Growing Personal Stamina

Chris Rehs-Dupin (Transplaining for Camps) helped us ground ourselves in reflecting on how to measure seriousness and urgency of different things that come up at camp. He asked us to rate different events (like wetting the bed, a storm, and a major injury) on a scale from 1 to 10. We spent time reflecting on how the urgency levels might be different for us than they are for our counselors or team members, and that we should keep that in mind. This could be a good framework for a conversation during staff training.

AFFINITY GROUPS

We came up with topics and let people to go to the group within that topic they most identified with. For example: How do you relate to camp staff? gave us three groups: 1) I still relate to staff very well, 2) I’m struggling to relate to staff, and 3) I’m somewhere in the middle.

Affinity groups could be great in staff training to help people relate AND to help them talk more about what they THINK they like - maybe have affinity groups for working with different ages to let people talk through pros/cons a little more before jumping in at camp.

level up your projects

Jack gave us framework, and we leveled up each other’s projects! We had one minute to explain what we were working on, two minutes for our group to ask questions, and two minutes for our group to offer ideas. I could see this being awesome for staff planning activities, for staff struggling with a cabin/group etc., and more!

Friday

Talk shop

Lindsay Whitaker shared with us the idea of open space, and from there, we identified topics to dig deeper into. Open space could be great during staff training or as an in-service!

leading better trainings

Nelson Strickland helped uncover the ways some of the best facilitators in the business keep us engaged during their sessions using the OPP framework. In short, he defined this as:

• Orientation

  • Before facilitating the session, think about what needs to happen beforehand. What hidden curriculum can you illuminate, who is gonna be there and what support might they need, etc.  

• Product

  • The product is what you are actually going to do during the training. These are the outcomes, the tangibles and lessons, that you want participants to 

• Presentation

  • The way you actually do it. The strategies you use to engage and present the information.

other stuff

There are so many other small things that can’t be encapsulated in a blog — from facilitation techniques and teambuilders to QR codes, caring for needs, and so much more.

Don’t miss the next one!

Our next retreat will be April 12-14 (April 11-14 for members) at Project 4174 in Huguenot, NY! It’s just $499 (at least until Jan. 1). Our retreats include your accommodations, your food, etc. - all you have to do is get there!

Need help convincing your boss? Show them all the things we learned at the last retreat, and reach out to Allison at allison@thesummercampsociety.com if you need more help!

thanks to our sponsors!

Our amazing retreat sponsors were T-Shirts, Ink, & More (@tsiprints) and AMSkier. Thanks for providing AMAZING sweatshirts and support.