Hi All,
As I sit here Friday night in my office, I can’t help but recall all of the amazing memories of Summer 2009. Currently at camp there is a running group, 2 marching bands, and a daycare from Chinatown. So, we have a full packed house, but of course it’s not nearly the same.
I hear music right now in the Rec Hall and it reminds me of Miss Canadensis, the girls fashion show, and our wonderful theater productions. One marching band is practicing in the pavilion, which makes me think of the showcase basketball game with the entire camp screaming for their color war team! Over on Senior side, another band is playing in the Senior Canteen, but it’s just not the same without all of you here at camp.
Summer 2009 was simply amazing. The summer of Zoogle (shout-out to Will) and who could forget the Today Show. Speaking of, I hope campers have had a chance to check out all of the Today Shows which are posted in our media room. I know there are alot (one for each day), but perhaps you can watch one a week all winter to keep you going until Summer 2010! They certainly were a blast to film each day and I can’t even tell you how excited Jaycal, Will, and I are as we began discussions for Winter Today Shows as well as segments for next summer. I can promise you now that we have one year under our belt, there will be even more camper segments, but one thing is for sure- we will continue to do our “Gold Carpet Interviews”, which have proven to be quite popular.
Back to the summer- there are way too many great memories to recount here on the blog, but overall I just want to say thank you to everyone:
To our amazing support staff- They work incredibly hard behind the scenes to make sure that you have clean clothes to wear, that you are fed, and that you trash is picked up each day! They are a group of extremely hard working college students who participate in a cultural exchange by coming to the states and as they depart over the next few weeks they are looking forward to well deserved vacation/traveling across the country. A few are even going on a cruise to Alaska!
To the head staff- From programming to head counselors and group leaders, thanks for working so hard and paying attention to detail this summer. Our head staff is the best of any camp (of course I am biased) and puts in many late nights and early mornings to make sure that you have the best summer ever!
To the staff of 2009– This year’s staff was absolutely amazing. So many of you did what was asked of you, but also went above and beyond. You had patience dealing with the campers, you showed compassion when needed, and this summer especially you showed flexibility with all of the rain. Thanks for providing the campers with such a great experience at camp. Hopefully you all enjoyed it as well and I look forward to seeing many of you right back here next summer.
To our health center nurses and doctors– Thanks for all you do to keep campers and counselors healthy. While I walk around saying that “I play doctor at camp” our nurses and doctors have so much responsibility for each of you at camp and take it seriously, while still having fun from time to time. Thanks for the water fights and for being you!
To Matt Unger & Sam Ginsburg (the operations team)– They also work mainly behind the scenes to ensure a smooth summer. From organizing transportation out of camp, to ordering food and everything in between they are the backbone of camp and without them, things wouldn’t get done. Thanks guys for such an incredible summer and for all that you do on a daily basis for the campers. I couldn’t imagine anyone else I would want to work with.
To Jaycal- the executive producer of Canadensis Today– You are such a talented young man and deserve all of the recognition for Canadensis Today. It was your brainchild and you gave up so much of your free time to better the show. Thanks for “dealing” with me and Will and not loosing your temper on us (something which would be very easy to do)! Best of luck at GW this year and I know you will be successful at whatever you set your mind to. Looking forward to Canadensis Today Winter Edition and Summer 2010!
To Will Armon– Hey Buddy! As my official co-host of Canadensis Today you certainly had to put up with alot from me. Let alone the schedule, but my athletic inabilities, blundering of lines time after time, and repetition of certain words (which of course you loved to point out) you are a great friend. I will miss you out in St. Louis but I have a feeling that I will get to see you again in PA soon. Keep in touch Bro.
To Robin– You put up with my hectic schedule and embarrassing you in front of millions live on the Today Show when I read the email from “the grandma”. You are the best…enough said!
And finally, to the campers of Summer 2009– You all were terrific. I learned so much from each of you and enjoyed the time we spend together. Whether it was the freshman boys in Cooperstown, or Boys 5 Zoogling out in front of the HQ, or spending time with G3 in ceramics, or Mara Bernstein running on the Today Show you all are amazing. I look forward to seeing many of you throughout the winter in your homes or around town and definitely at the Summer 2009 Reunion!
I have to run and take care of a few things for the groups here. Don’t worry, I am not actually “running”, especially with 300 runners surrounding me, it’s very intimidating. Speaking of, I will leave you with this…I was invited over to their activity this afternoon. They were running on treadmills sponsored by Nike and a computer was analyzing their gait and running form. I laughed and said do you want your computer to break??
