New England Day Camp Tours - Massachusetts
2023-10-02 09:30 - 15:15 (America/New_York) | Massachusetts Camps
ONLINE REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED. Please call ACA, New England at 781-541-6080 to see if we can accommodate you if you’d like to join this program.
ACA, New England is excited to offer a one-day Day Camp Tours program in Massachusetts on October 2!
Join us to explore the properties and facilities at:

Hale Education (Westwood, MA) and
Everwood Day Camp (Sharon, MA)

This is a great opportunity to see camps while also learning about their programming and operational strategies (e.g. transportation and drop-off/pick-up) and networking with your peers. Lunch will be included.
The $69/member; $95/non-member registration fee includes lunch. Travel is not included (camps are approximately 25 minutes from each other).
We will start at Hale Education (check-in begins at 9:30 am) with the tour beginning at 10:00 am and will finish at Everwood by 3:15 pm.
While this event highlights day camp properties, folks from all types of camps are welcome to attend!
(Want to see even more camps? Check out our Resident Camp Tours opportunity in Vermont September 11 & 12 too!)

Hot Topics w/EPIC New England
2023-10-02 14:30 - 15:30 | Tradewing
Throughout the “off season”, EPIC New England hosts monthly drop-ins for Emerging Professionals In Camping to connect and share thoughts, questions, information, etc. around the topics that currently affect them in camping.
While hosted by EPIC, these conversations are open to anyone (EPIC, full-time, seasonal, veteran, etc.) who has insights or questions around the Hot Topic of the day.
Topic for 9/29: Staff Culture: what role does it play and what role do we play in staff culture at camp?
ACCESS: “Hot Topics” is open to everyone in camping. However, we host these gatherings through the New England Camp Community (ACA, New England’s members platform). If you are not currently an ACA, New England member and you’d like to join EPIC for Hot Topics, please reach out to bud@acanewengland.org. He’ll help you with your one-time setup, so you can join us for all future chats.
HOW TO JOIN:
How to Find and Access Events (Video with Narration)
How to Find and Access Events (Step by Step Guide)
FOR NEW ENGLAND MEMBERS: If it’s your first time logging into the New England Camp Community, and you need help, please refer to our NE Camp Community page or email bud@acanewengland.org.

EPIC, New England
Emerging Professionals In Camping (EPIC) is a kindred group within the American Camp Association for counselors, staff, and other camp professionals to connect and grow their careers in camping.
In January 2019, a group of emerging professionals in New England camping gathered at the ACA, New England office in Lexington, MA. Since then, EPIC, New England has continued to provide support, connections, and opportunities for anyone making that move into a camp career or taking another step towards their goals in the industry.
If you are someone passionate about a career in camping or a current camp pro looking for more growth and development, you are EPIC.

Resource Community Series: Business of Camp
2023-10-05 10:00 - 11:30 | ACA, New England/Zoom (depending on session)
Resource Community Series:
Business of Camp (200-Level)
**While the first session has passed, we still welcome new registrations to begin with the group in November.**
Have you been in a leadership role at camp for several years (think executive director, CEO, COO, camp director), understand at least the fundamentals of “business of camp,” and are interested in digging deeper to intentionally explore these areas with colleagues? If so, this resource community is for you! Discussion topics will include:

Budgeting and finances,
Risk management,
Human resource management,
Strategic planning, and
Marketing and camper recruitment

Through a series of monthly facilitated discussions (October to May), you’ll share and get feedback from others, troubleshoot challenges, and explore new ideas and tactics in a safe and professional space. Nick Teich, PhD, LCSW, founder and former CEO of Harbor Camps and owner of Fairwinds Consulting, LLC, will moderate the group. His role will be to encourage participant-led discussions, provide resources, and offer observations and insights, while keeping the conversation and session flow going!
This series is not designed to be a how-to, but an interactive, live, discussion-based opportunity for camp leaders looking to build their network and grow their skills. Sessions will not be recorded. There will be two sessions in-person (one local to Lexington, MA and one at the New England Camp Conference in Manchester, NH), one hybrid opportunity, and five Zoom sessions. The schedule is as follows:

October 5, 2023, 10 am – 1 pm, In-Person, ACA, New England offices, 80 Westview Street, Lexington, MA
November 2, 2023, 9:30 am – 11 am, Zoom
December 7, 2023, 9:30 am – 11 am, Zoom
January 4, 2024, 9:30 am – 11 am, Zoom
February 15, 2024, 9:30 am – 11 am, Zoom
March 21/22/23, 2024, In-person at ACANE conference in Manchester, NH, 90 minutes (day/time TBD)
April 11, 2024, 10 am – 1 pm, Hybrid (in-person attendance at ACA, New England in Lexington, MA highly recommended),
May 2, 2024, 9:30 am – 11 am, Zoom

Cost: $269/ACA members; $319/Non-members. (Registration is for the duration of the series – eight sessions in total.)
REGISTER HERE!
Trying to decide if this is a good fit for you? We’d say yes if your job responsibilities include overseeing several of the bullet points listed above and you can prioritize and commit to attending the full series of sessions. Day and overnight camp staff are all welcome.
As space is limited to around 20 participants to ensure meaningful interactions, we can only accommodate one staff member per camp at this time. Participants will receive 14 Continuing Education Credits (CECs) for their full participation.
If you are looking for more skill-based sessions or other resource communities, please look at ACA, New England’s event calendar or reach out to ACA, New England for help identifying other opportunities to meet these needs.

About the Facilitator
Nick Teich, PhD, LCSW, runs Fairwinds Camp Consulting, where he trains and consults with camps on a myriad of issues. In 2009 Nick started Harbor Camps, and, over the next 13 years, oversaw the purchase and renovation of its own lakefront property and grew it to more than 800 campers each summer. Nick has a master’s degree in social work from Boston College and a doctorate in social policy from Brandeis University.
Nick began his overnight camping career in Maine at the age of 10, where he subsequently became a CIT, counselor, and a member of the camp leadership. Prior to overnight camp, he was a day camper in NY. Nick is a member of the ACA-New England Board of Directors and Maine Summer Camps. He lives in the Boston area with his wife and two daughters.

Learnings from the Field: MESH Supports at Camps
2023-10-06 10:30 - 11:30 | Zoom
We know that mental, emotional, and social health (MESH) continues to be a topic of discussion for many camps as they explore ways to support staff and campers. Learnings from the Field sessions are designed for YOU to hear from camps doing this work in the field.
We will be joined by several camps who will share some strategies they have been implementing, including: Employee Assistance Programs, increased staffing models (community support teams, staff coordinators, and overall staffing), journaling for campers, and a serenity cabin. You will hear from:

Lisa Carter, Executive Director of Agassiz Village, an overnight camp in Maine
Emily Courtiss, Director of Camp Vega in Maine, an overnight camp in Maine
Amy Podolsky, Director of Camp Sewataro, a day camp in Massachusetts
Liz Turnwald & Jess Smith, Co-Directors of EVkids, an overnight camp in VT (the organization also runs school-year tutoring programs)

We are not experts, but practitioners. So, come to hear and learn from others and pose questions you might have.
Please plan to join us live for these sessions! If you cannot join live, please register and email kerry@acanewengland.org to request a copy of the recording, which will be viewable for 30 days following the event.
Registration fees are non-refundable, but may be transferred to another attendee from your camp/organization by emailing kerry@acanewengland.org before the start of the program.
