Where did the Day Camp Conference go?: FAQs from September 2019

We have been hard at work rolling out exciting news regarding our spring conference events. As we continue to share more (and yes, there will be more news coming soon!) we wanted to share with you some answers to many inquiring questions from our excited community!

Q: Are you still doing the Day Camp Conference?
A: Last year we took a demographic survey of our attendees and learned some very energizing news. One of the highlights from that data collection was that close to 60% of the attendees are from and work with day camps. In previous years this number was much lower, but over the last ten years, we’ve worked hard to bring day camp-relevant content to our program. Because so many of our conference attendees work at or own day camps now, we examined whether a separate event was still relevant when the Mid States Camp Conference was offering many day camp sessions. Each year we find more Day Camp Conference attendees leaving the Day Camp Conference to attend sessions and events with Mid States. Our goal is to help our camp community operate great camps that change the world, so we continually reevaluate our program based on the data. This year, we will merge even more day camp content into the Mid States Camp Conference, while creating space and resources to tackle hot topics needs in the Executive Seminar (which will relate to all types of camps and organizations, day and overnight!)

So the answer is no, but it's also yes. It’s no, we are not offering the Day Camp Conference as a stand-alone event this year. However, the answer is also yes because our Mid States Camp Conference will be offering many sessions, speakers, and events geared towards our day camp professionals. 

Q: Will you have more day camp focused sessions in Mid States since you aren’t hosting the Day Camp Conference?
A: Yes! Each year we increase our day camp content. We are seeking education session speakers who can bring knowledge, innovations, ideas, and solutions for our day camp professionals. Learn more about submitting a session proposal at acail.org/callforspeakers.

Q: Is space really limited at the Executive Seminar? 
A: Yes, space is limited because the seating inside is limited. Due to the other events and programs happening at Pheasant Run and with Mid States, we won't be able to move the Executive Seminar to a different space if we exceed our capacity. This is why we encourage anyone interested in the Executive Seminar to register early.  We anticipate this event to sell out early based on the feedback & registration trends we’ve already seen.

Q: Is the Executive Seminar part of Mid States?
A: We view and are planning the Executive Seminar to operate and run alongside the Mid States Camp Conference, however it is a separate event. While a few speakers may overlap, the content provided by the speakers will differ greatly between the two events. There will also be a line up of speakers only available at Mid States and some speakers only available at the Executive Seminar. We encourage our community members to review the speakers, program, and schedules to determine which is best for them. For most of our attendees, we feel that the combo options of a Mid States and Executive Seminar registration will offer the most well rounded professional development opportunities for today’s director, executive, and aspiring professional. Call us at the office if you have more questions or would like to talk through which event is best for your needs.

Q: I want to be involved!
A: We know that isn’t exactly a question, but it's a common statement we hear. We are currently seeking committee members to help us plan our socials, career development events, increase our community-building initiatives, and work with our speakers to help them prepare. If you are interested, you can learn more at acail.org/volunteer.

Q: Is this keynote line up for real?
A: Yes, it's very real. We are just as excited as our community to welcome content experts from Disney, the Harvard Business Review, YouTube, and more to Mid States and the Executive Seminar! Learn more today at acail.org/midstates and acail.org/executiveseminar.

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What will participants learn at this Seminar? 

People who have been in my sessions know that I am a “skills guy.” I don’t like sitting in things where people tell us what we should do but don’t explain HOW to do it. That drives me crazy. So this Seminar is a How to Do It experience. No theory. No collections of the “usual stuff” that people already know. Instead, we emphasize new and exciting techniques that participants won’t get anywhere else. This is all about learning, practicing, and taking home specific things we can use to do the following (and even more…):
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• Original staff training activities that you can plug into your existing training and use to grab staff attention, motivate learning and high participation, and maximize camp leadership, teaching, and communication skills
• Activities that make sure staff know why they are really here: that we’re about more than just fun—we’re using camp to build better people 
• Be able to show camp parents, your boss, boards, funders, and others how we really do what we say we are doing—and doing it better than almost everyone else
• Specific ways to welcome staff so that they can welcome campers in the same warm, positive-culture-building ways
• How to make sure that we’re really using camp every day to do what camp does best: build great young people by using fun activities to teach them qualities and skills for life, including respect, responsibility, confidence, persistence, creativity, communication, and more
• Exactly how to teach staff to teach essential skills for life, including respect, responsibility, confidence, cooperation, kindness, and more 
• The real secrets to coach and motivate staff to do professional, responsible (“This is a real job!”) work, even if they are young and this is their first job
• Original games and activities every staff person should have in their repertoire to make sure we are teaching campers how to make friends, solve problems, be persistent, and much more
• The key ingredients to running fast, effective, exciting, positive staff meetings
• Secrets of superb leaders, including, for example, multiple fresh (not boring) ways to get the attention of the entire camp in less than 10 seconds without even having to ask them to be quiet.
• How to make sure that we’re really using camp every day to do what camp does best: build great young people by using fun activities to teach them qualities and skills for life, including respect, responsibility, confidence, persistence, creativity, communication, and more
• Exactly how to teach staff to teach essential skills for life, including respect, responsibility, confidence, cooperation, kindness, and more 
• The real secrets to coach and motivate staff to do professional, responsible (“This is a real job!”) work, even if they are young and this is their first job
• Original games and activities every staff person should have in their repertoire to make sure we are teaching campers how to make friends, solve problems, be persistent, and much more
• The key ingredients to running fast, effective, exciting, positive staff meetings
• Secrets of superb leaders, including, for example, multiple fresh (not boring) ways to get the attention of the entire camp in less than 10 seconds without even having to ask them to be quiet.

How is this different than a session you present at a conference? 

I enjoy speaking to large groups at Conferences, but I really love a small group Seminar experience because it has so many wonderful, extra benefits. When we have a small Seminar group of about 20 motivated learners: 

• We can tailor the content to individual needs and goals, staying flexible throughout the schedule. If people want more details or examples on a topic or want to include issues not on the original agenda, we’ve got the ability to do this.
• It’s easier and more comfortable to participate among people we get to know​
• I can give lots of one-on-one attention to people, making sure that everyone gets every question answered fully. For example, often participants want support in how to use a particular technique or materials at their specific kind of camp, and the small group environment makes this easy to do.
• Really helpful relationships get built when we’re in a small group. During meals, breaks, and other moments we learn a lot about each other’s programs, share ideas and resources, and more. We can stay in touch after the seminar and continue to learn from and support the people we’ve met. 
• The best benefit of a small group, multi-day Seminar experience is that we don’t have to try cram everything into a short period of time. So we get:
  • Much more in-depth learning with more examples that work for participants’ specific types of camps 
  • Time to comfortably practice techniques so that we’re sure we’ve got them and can take them back home with confidence
  • Flexibility: We move things around the schedule as we learn together, to be sure we are meeting everyone’s needs and goals.
  • Times built into the schedule to reflect on what we’re learning—so that it sticks
  • “Planning moments” throughout each day to begin making action plans about how we’re going to use what we’ve learned
  • Informal time (meals, breaks, and more) for questions, questions, and more questions, plus the time to share and learn from others
• I can give lots of one-on-one attention to people, making sure that everyone gets every question answered fully. For example, often participants want support in how to use a particular technique or materials at their specific kind of camp, and the small group environment makes this easy to do.
• Really helpful relationships get built when we’re in a small group. During meals, breaks, and other moments we learn a lot about each other’s programs, share ideas and resources, and more. We can stay in touch after the seminar and continue to learn from and support the people we’ve met.
• The best benefit of a small group, multi-day Seminar experience is that we don’t have to try cram everything into a short period of time. So we get:
• Much more in-depth learning with more examples that work for participants’ specific types of camps 
• Time to comfortably practice techniques so that we’re sure we’ve got them and can take them back home with confidence
• Flexibility: We move things around the schedule as we learn together, to be sure we are meeting everyone’s needs and goals.
• Times built into the schedule to reflect on what we’re learning—so that it sticks
• “Planning moments” throughout each day to begin making action plans about how we’re going to use what we’ve learned
• Informal time (meals, breaks, and more) for questions, questions, and more questions, plus the time to share and learn from others

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What’s it like to be at the Seminar?

We have fun, we play, we learn by doing, we practice specific techniques and skills in supportive partner and group experiences, we get to ask any questions that will help us apply all of this to our own program, and get an instant group of camp professional friends and colleagues who we can continue to use as resources. I believe a camp Seminar experience should be a model of what we want to achieve when training staff. So these are my “rules” when designing a Seminar:

• It should be fun and exciting, because people learn better when they enjoy the process, get to play, and learn by doing​
• It should be a safe, warm, informal, comfortable, supportive place to learn for everyone, regardless of their level of experience
• The material should be presented with creativity and energy, because when things are interesting and fresh we learn more
• We need to be getting up and moving around as we learn and apply it
• Superb, innovative teaching techniques should be used to maximize learning, with a variety of methods that support people who learn different ways
• There must be opportunities to practice what we’re learning to make sure we’ve got it and feel confident about taking it home and using it
• Usefulness is the key word: The focus must be on learning things that help us do a fantastic job, and anything that doesn’t contribute to that should not be included

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