Whether folks like it or not, summer is here. Summer Staff began arriving yesterday at 5:00 pm. By night's end, 7 new staff were already on site and will (hopefully) remain for about 81 more days. Early reports reveal that this year's summer staff is going to be as good as last year's.
Summer 2008 was groundbreaking - new, important camps that served military families, waterfowlers, and the obese.
How can a summer be more important than that...? For a camp with little tradition, building tradition must start early and often. Before me, attempting tradition was a tradition. I have tried to provide guarded continuity - willing to try new ideas (with Lee's permission or insistence), and holding on to traditions uniquely Eastern 4-H...I keep my good ideas, they evolve, then you have a little "baby" tradition.
Summer 2009 will feature virtually the same camp experiences, but only on a much larger scale. Two weeks of Operation Purple Camp and three weeks of Take Off 4-Health will be exponentially larger...these things re only possible because of last year's success. Organizations believe that we at least have a tradition of hiring strong, talented staff. I like that tradition...it's a good one to have...only expectations get higher every year.
This year's staff is 1/3 college graduate - UNHEARD of in a camp staff...also, about 1/3 of the staff are lifeguards - also UNHEARD of in a summer staff. This year will be awesome, but only if everybody works hard to get better everyday. They have to outwork each other to make each other better. Competition for a paycheck is always interesting. Good luck to this year's summer staff - it will be tough, hot, and great.
Enjoy the day...
No comments:
Post a Comment