Staff Week @ Camp Kanata

So I have been part of the Kanata staff since 2003 and during this time I have gone through 7 staff weeks. It is very similar every year, the old staff show up on day one of staff training and they are hugging anyone in sight and yelling about how excited they are to be back at camp. The new staff walk in not exactly sure of what they have signed up for, but are eager to "fit in" and be part of what seems like a great place to work.

What is magical about staff week at Kanata, and I'm sure at similar camps across the country, is that we are able to transfer the culture of camp in only one weeks time. We cover daily schedule, first aid, songs, emergency action plans, cheers, discipline, age group characteristics, activity time, devotions, but the most important thing we cover during staff week is Kanata culture. We talk on a daily basis about what it means to be part of camp, how the most important thing we deliver at camp is friendship building. We talk about how we connect with the parents on check in day and make sure that we connect with that camper and then make a point to teaching him or her how to make friends with someone else in the cabin.

I know that corporations and businesses across the country pay large sums of money for consultants to come in and tell them how to fix the culture, but all they need to do is spend one week at Kanata staff week. They would then understand what it means to dig down to what is the most important thing at camp (the people) and then spend as much time as possible focusing on that.

We hire great people, but then we go the extra mile to invest in them and give them the tools necessary to deliver the best camp experience for the child, the family and the fellow staff members. We are excited that the campers will arrive on Sunday and can't wait to start sharing our "Kanata culture" with the campers and their families!

See you this summer.

Your Camp Director,

Dave