ACA Tristate 2023: TSCS Recommendations

StaffStaff TrainingTrends & Innovations in Camping

Mar 9

Headed to ACA Tri-State? We can’t wait to see you! As many camp pros mention, it is encouraged to scan the program guide to map out your sessions or get a sense of what you want to get while there.

This session guide is 28 pages. Program Director EmJ has taken the time to hand-pick what she’d go to if she was there in New Jersey. (Yes, we wish she was joining too!)

As a TSCS member and program director, here’s her plan and commentary for the conference:

Tuesday, 8:30-9:30

Interrupting Race-Based Microaggressions and Practicing Authentic Allyship at Camp (Kyrah Altman, Zoe Dissanayake)

As a director, people forget that you don’t know it all (you don’t and it's okay, I swear). I like the idea of learning tangible ways to interrupt microaggressions that can happen with a variety of stakeholders and getting to practice myself before bringing tools and training to my camp.

I made it one session block before completely not knowing which I would attend…

Tuesday 2-3

Identifying, Avoiding, and Addressing Staff Toxicity (Emily Golinsky)

One of my favorite takeaways from Scott Arizala on the podcast was the idea that giving 80% is still a passing grade. Emily’s session excites me because I think we are in a phase of changing the narrative at camp. What was once 24/7 all energy, no stops, is now required time off, staff quarters, and making sure your staff are their best selves instead of telling the best counselor horror stories. This is where I think you’re going to learn to listen to your gut and also what to do if things aren’t working out, especially if this is the first year you’re going in with this mindset.

Tuesday, 3:15-4:15

Gen Z Staff Feedback: Giving It, Getting It, and Moving Forward (Allison Krabill)

Normalize feedback. That’s it. Just normalize giving and receiving feedback. It is necessary to talk about performance if we want our camps to be the best they can be and meet set expectations. I would go to this not only for the tools, but to throw in some data and research. Who knows, maybe having data is what makes feedback easier.

Allison Note: I’m flattered, AND EmJ has given away my whole session in her first three sentences…

Momentum Strategies: How to Keep Staff Energy, Commitment, and Initiative High All Summer Long (Deborah Gilboa)

It's not a conference if I don’t see Dr. Gilboa. This is a great way to see her while learning about how to keep staff going for the whole summer. As we get into the deep camp planning season, now is a great time to start building out those staff re-energizing plans and strategies for camp. This may be a great takeaway for you as a leadership team member to get your own takeaways and what you can plan now for yourself and the leadership team to sustain the whole team.

5 Simple Ways to Up Your Music Game this Summer! (Nelson Strickland, Quarius Lucas)

This is a bias pick BUT a relevant one, if you pass me the aux cord, I will panic. One of my favorite things about being a co-counselor with Quarius is that I never had to be incharge of music. He always had music going and it accurately set the tone for each activity. This is a session that is going to help you feel more confident in your tools to have music at camp, make it more inclusive for all AND I bet they will share if it's okay for profanity to be in music.

Wednesday 8:30-9:30

Do You Need a Brand Guide?... Yes, You Do. (Eric Wittenberg)

Consistent fonts, people. See here. I think this is a great non-programming session to go to and will help with the administrative side of things. How many times have you asked for someone to take the lead on an outward-facing document, only to find it doesn’t look consistent with anything your camp has ever made? Get the brand guide. This session is going to make the idea of a camp brand guide less intimidating and hopefully make you realize there is a large ROI if you share common guidelines with your staff.

Allison Note: I cannot agree more. Please go to this. I also think this is great for YMCA camps, Girl Scout camps, 4H camps, etc. who already have a brand guide and constantly roll their eyes thinking about it. This may be eye-opening and help you hate your brand guide less! And as a side note, I’m always happy to talk Y branding.

Wednesday, 9:45-10:45

Not Another Trust Fall: Meaningful Teambuilding Activities for Your Staff (Jed Buck and Roz Buck)

As I hit my 8th year of working at camps, this one really intrigues me. I am looking for fresh team-building activities that aren’t the human knot. I want to show my staff I value them by not making returners do the exact same activities as last year, this will help me keep them on their toes and engaged too. I’m taking this session as a “play” session to get moving and thinking about how to bring these activities back to my team.

Wednesday 2:00 - 3:00 pm

Helping Outsiders Become Insiders: Illuminating the Hidden Curriculum (Nelson Strickland & Jack Schott)

More smiles, less meltdowns. What a great goal to have for new staff and campers. I picked this session to attend because I have been at my new camp for less than a year and I'm still learning the ins and outs of our culture and curriculum. So how do I share this with my new staff and campers? Nelson and Jack to the rescue!

Allison Note: You’ll see this in pretty much all of the slides we show before our presentations, but if something is from our team, it’s most likely interactive, in that we’ll AT LEAST ask you to talk to some people around you. Some people love this, some people aren’t about it, some people have different takes depending on how they’re feeling at the time. Wherever you fall in that, you may want to consider it when planning your sessions.

Wednesday 3:15 - 4:15 pm

Engaging and Maintaining Gen-Z (Justin Pritikin)

I’m on a Gen-Z kick here. I picked this one because the session description got me in the first 2 sentences. I’m not 18 (shocking) so what do I know about being 18 in the year 2023? I want to learn more about the motives and science behind the thoughts and choices this new wave of staff encountered. What perspective can you learn by hearing from this age group? I can’t wait to find out.

And have you heard Justin on the podcast?!

Pass the Aux: A Teen Panel on Belonging at Camp (Makela Elvy and Cameron Bullard)

See above but now it's teens and Makela is chatting about it! I know I would love this because I have wanted to do a camper roundtable for years. This is a great chance to hear thoughts from campers and I think the benefit is that this group will be authentic and not try to save face because you’re their camp director. Unless you are– then how do you get them to share like this??

Song Leading 101 (Ruby Compton)

I’m always here for a Ruby session. This session about how to lead songs and get people out of their comfort zones feels like one that will be applicable for more than campfires. As someone who works with middle schoolers and high schoolers, I would love to know more about how to adapt and get them involved and commit to the bit.

Thursday 9:00-10:00 am

Communicating the Story of Camp in Real Time to Parents (Greg Golf)

If I had a dollar for every Facebook comment about how someone’s kid wasn’t in that day’s photo dump when I was a counselor– I could buy a camp. I am wildly intrigued by this and what tools and methods can be used to automate telling the story of camp in real time. It seems like now more than ever parents and caregivers want to know what’s happening day to day and get a glimpse into their children’s day. If I could improve sharing those moments to gain their trust through this transparency (all while not consuming my day), I’m all ears.

Thursday 10:15-11:15 am

The Science of INTENTIONALLY Planning Programming and Events (Marcie Glad)

Marcie sold me with S.P.O.R.T.Y. S.P.I.C.E. I don’t know what it stands for and I hope someone shares it with me. I think this will be really valuable to directors and staff who maybe do both the purpose setting and planning, or oversee one. As someone who does both, I would love more resources for ages and how to align what we say we do with, well, what we plan to do.

WRAPPING IT UP

There is SO much content for this conference. As a reminder, you’re not going to know it all or learn it all! So take what you can! Reach out to speakers and ask for slides (pss… You can find all the TSCS slides and handouts here)! Check out more tips from our conference podcast (& Allison and Jack debrief ACA Natiotionals) as you travel to Tri-State!

Allison’s takes

First, I love EmJ’s recommendations. Second, I love those social media posts that are like “Plan My Day,” so I want to play that with you at home. Follow us on the TSCS Instagram to help me choose what sessions I should go to.

In addition to EmJ’s picks, some sessions I’m super interested in are:

No Plan, No Problem: How to Teach the Art of Magical Moments - Paige Moffett & Nelson Strickland - Tuesday, March 14 at 8:30-9:30 AM - Room 312
Dining Hall: How to Create Camp Magic through Staff Appreciation - Adam
Grundfast - Tuesday, March 14 at 2:30-1:30 PM - Room 402
Doing the Work: How your Frontline Staff Feel about DEI at your Camp - Simone Gamble, Liz Ramirez, Ilyssa Lapp, and Marisa Gershwin - Tuesday, March 14 at 2:00-3:00 PM - Room 415
Project Management 101 for Camps: Planning, Organizing, and Communicating Better - Paige Moffett & Allison Krabill - Tuesday, March 14 at 2:00-3:00 PM - Room 322
Serving Trans/Non-Binary Campers and Staff: How to Move Forward after a Rocky Start - Nick Teich - Tuesday, March 14 at 2:00-3:00 PM - Room 421
DEI Roundtable Work Space - Liz Ramirez - Tuesday, March 14 at 3:15-4:15 PM - Room 415
Parenting and Summer Camp: A Conversation for Caregivers - Hillary Tuesday, March 14 at 3:15pm-4:15 PM - Room 419
Need Staff?: Together We Can Tackle Today's Staffing Challenges - Kim Aycock - Tuesday, March 14 at 3:15-4:15 PM - Room 302
Don't Call Us, We'll Call You - a Guide to Accessible and Inclusive Hiring Practices - Briana Michele Mitchell & Mike Callahan - Wednesday, March 15 at 8:30-9:30 AM - Room 403
5 Lessons I Learned Starting Music Festivals that Made Me a Better Camp
Director - Greg Golf - Wednesday, March 15 at 9:45-10:45 AM - Room 301
Equity and Justice at Summer Camps: The Kids are Ready! - Simone Gamble - Wednesday, March 15 at 9:45-10:45 AM - Room 419
So, You Want to Be a Camp Director? - Dan Weir, Jay Jacobs, Mary Lee Dinski, Dayna Hardin, & Genna Singer - Wednesday, March 15 at 9:45-10:45 AM - Room 412
Self-Assessing Your Own Camp - Steve Maguire - 9:45-10:45 AM - Room 302
Dining Hall: Ask the Expert: All Things LGBTQIA+ - Chris Rehs-Dupin - Wednesday, March 15 at 12:30-1:30 PM - Room 405/406
Dining Hall: Finding Comfort Navigating Uncomfortable Conversations - Makela Elvy & Eleazar Adjehoun - Wednesday, March 15 at 12:30-1:30 PM - Room 419
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Power of Reflection at Camp - Paige Moffett & Monia Johnson - Wednesday, March 15 at 3:15-4:15 PM - Room 404
Make a Splash! Aquatics Program Centering Inclusion - Briana Michele Mitchell - Wednesday, March 15 at 3:15-4:15 PM - Room 313
How to Work with your Boss - Dan Weir - Wednesday, March 15 at 3:15-4:15 PM - Room 417
Learning from the Journey: LGBTQIA+ Inclusion Stumbles & Solutions - Chris Rehs-Dupin & Emily Golinsky - Thursday, March 16 at 9:00-10:00 AM - Room 311
Moving on Up: Thinking Like a Non-Profit Exec - Allison Krabill - Thursday, March 16 at 9:00-10:00 AM - Room 309
We bought a camp! Mistakes and lessons learned - Jack Schott & Laura Kriegel - Thursday, March 16 at 9:00-10:00 AM - Room 408/409
Modern Marketing Messaging with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - Chris Rehs-Dupin and Lee Biear - Thursday, March 16 at 10:15-11:15 AM - Room 311
Use Your Fall Season Strategically - Dan Weir - Thursday, March 16 at 10:15-11:15 AM - Room 304
Building a Culture of Partnership with Your Campers - Laura Kriegel - Thursday, March 16at 10:15-11:15 AM - Room 314

CAMPCHELLA: Wednesday, march 15 at 9:30pm - kiss kiss at the trop

An epic party? Thrown by a camp director/music festival expert? WHOA!

Greg Golf (Shabang Music Productions) is throwing an INCREDIBLE party for us on Wednesday! There’ll be music, costumes, and SO MUCH FUN. Everyone is invited. No need to be a TSCS member. Bring your co-workers and friends!