The Difference: A Post For the 2015 Veteran Staff

   Dear Returning Camp Veterans,

   

   I have been working on the camp math for several months now and I need your help to find the solution to a very difficult equation. 

   Review from 2014: Let's take 91 people, and put them into 1 summer camp for about 8 weeks. When you do the math, the total should equal 1 camp staff family. That's the starting premise for my figures and most people who were at camp last summer should get the same result.

   Now, here's the new problem: What do you get when you subtract about half of those people and replace them with new staff? Does that also equal 1 camp staff family or did you come up with a different solution? 

   I really believe they're both equal, but I am always worried that they'll be veterans that don't agree with me. The temptation will exist to look around the room and decide that your experience is somehow inferior or reduced by new people who just "aren't the same" and it can lead some staff being disappointed or unhappy.

   I've seen returning staff come back to camp, do their own staff math, and decide that this new staff is less than the previous one. They might also decide they liked last years programs, food, games, activities, leaders, etc... better and you can see their attitude start to shift away from our mission of camp.

   These people cling to other veterans and say things like, "I liked the Sunday night program way better last year," and "That skit was WAY better when <insert name> performed it last year," and "I miss <insert name> so much, the person who replaced them in my department just doesn't measure up."

   I can honestly say that I don't think I hired any returning staff who will react this way, but I do want to caution all of you just the same. It will be very easy to form a clique of returning staff and exclude new people; we don't even realize it at first because when we see old friends and there is so much to catch up on since camp ended last year. We start sitting together during meals, during general sessions, during bowling night, and stay in our established comfort zones.

   I just want to remind you to take this opportunity to make new friends. Don't save a seat for someone you know at lunch on June 15th, sit with someone you don't know on the first day. Try to remember what it was like to be new and how people welcomed you on day one. If there are a few veterans who are grumbling, encourage them to remember why we're at camp in the first place. We're at camp to make a difference, and everything (and everyone) new adds to the experience. 

  I'll see you soon,

~Jeremy