It’s been quite a busy few weeks over here at Camp Alvernia, and in the hubbub I haven’t been able to sit down and report back on the Tristate conference.  Doesn’t look like it’ll die down anytime soon, so I’m taking 10 minutes to make it happen!

The Tristate Camp Conference is the largest gathering of camp professionals in the country, with nearly 4000 attendees every year.  It takes place in Atlantic City, not my favorite city.  A.C. is a sad mix of huge opulent casinos and dilapidated run-down houses, right next to each other. 

We had a great EPIC pre-conference with Jay Frankel from True To Life Training, who is always both informative and entertaining.  Early that morning I had heard my sister had gone into labor and was in the hospital having her first child, my first time being an uncle!  When the pre-conference was over, I headed straight up to Manhattan and got there just in time to meet my new little nephew, Luke Joseph.  What a miracle! 

I returned to A.C. after midnight, and got up the next day to give a talk entitled “Taking The Reins: Strategies for New Camp Directors” together with my friend Adam Baker, director at Camps Equinunk and Blue Ridge.  It was surprisingly well-attended for 8:30am!  We had a good time sharing our thoughts and fielding questions from the many new directors in the crowd.  I’ve been privileged to get to know some experienced administrators who have been unselfish in helping me get to the next level, and I’m glad to be in the position to help others now.

The conference was great as usual.  I was happy to be accompanied by Assistant Director Badyr Aschkar, Program Director Caroline Menafra-Mule, and Office Manager Natalie Biondolillo.  We  had a great time getting to know each other better, and were able to split up and visit a wide variety of sessions for each time slot.  All four of us came away with a lot of great thoughts, ideas, and inspirations for the upcoming camp season.  It’s such a privilege to attend one of these conferences, and it makes camp so much better.