SPEAKERS

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Keynote l Interactive Sessions l Leadership Summit

 

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

 

MELANIE DEMORE: Singer-songwriter Melanie DeMore has a remarkable voice, weaving the fibers of African American folk music with soulful ballads, spirituals and her own original music. DeMore beautifully brings her audience together through her music and commentary. She has toured extensively, singing at festivals, universities, in coffee houses and concert halls. Her recordings 'Share My Song' and 'Come Follow Me' are both heartfelt collections of her music.

Melanie Demore

In addition to her solo work, DeMore facilitates vocal workshops for professional and community-based choral groups and has taught her program called “Sound Awareness” in schools, prisons, and youth organizations in the US, Canada, Cuba and New Zealand.

 

Audio Clip - Somewhere OVer the Rainbow

 

 

Conference Keynote, Kelly Curtis, MSKELLY CURTIS, M.S., is a school counselor, speaker, and author of Empowering Youth:  How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things. She is the founder of Empowering Youth, Inc., which publishes positive youth development curricula, including the SPARK Peer Tutoring Handbook and Training Manual, and Hidden Treasure of Assets and Career Expedition board games. Kelly writes regularly about her experiences with children, parenthood, and family travel on her Web log, Pass the Torch.

 

Presentation:

http://prezi.com/bekkz3bihq3-/

Handouts:

Curtis: Ladder_Of_Participation

Curtis: Brochure

 

Read More about our Keynote:

 

Interactive Sessions:

listed by day/room location.


Wednesday - 01/13/10 1:00pm - 1:45pm

 

Scott Arizala, Summer Camp Consultant & Trainer The Camp Counselor.com

 

Practical Leadership

 

There is a lot of good information about leadership. However, there seems to be a shortage of practical strategies for becoming a better leader. This session takes a look at three foundation skills of great camp leadership; communication, patience, and problem solving. Learn how to develop yourself and those around you in applied, realistic, and functional ways. What to do, how to do, and how to get better at it… be practical!

 

Scott Arizala, Summer Camp Consultant & Trainer

 

Main Auditorium

 

Handouts:

Arizala: Practical Leadership Notes

Arizala: Creative Leadership Activity

 


Wednesday - 01/13/10 1:00pm - 1:45pm

 

Kurt Podeszwa, Camp Director Camp For All

 

Teambuilding on the Move

 

Take your teambuilding on the road! Initiative that are inexpensive, and yet as meaningful as low challenge courses that we use. This session will be activity based so be prepared to participate.

 

Kurt Podeszwa is the Camp Director at Camp For All and has been in the camp industry for over 18 years. During his career, Kurt has been privledged lead teambuilding activites for corporations like Kraft, Motorola, Abbot Labs and more.

 

Dishman


Wednesday - 01/13/10 1:00pm - 1:45pm

 

Kimberlee D. Norris, Attorney at Law Love & Norris, Attorneys at Law

 

“The Hidden Predator: Spotting sexual predators in the screening process before they make it onto your grounds.”

 

There is no visual profile for sexual predators; most look like normal people! Instead, molesters must be identified by predictable behaviors. Because there is no visual profile of a molester, camp administrative and managerial staff members should be trained to recognize the ‘grooming behaviors’ of sexual molesters. An abuser carries with him (or her) life patterns and risk indicators which identify him (or her) as one who should not work with children or youth. Because the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, camps must learn to recognize high-risk responses and indicators in an effective screening process.

 

Kimberlee Norris earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from Texas A&M University in 1985. In 1990, she received a Juris Doctor degree from Baylor School of Law, where she was a member of the Baylor Law Review. She is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, and the United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern and Eastern Districts of Texas. She is a member of the Texas State Bar, Tarrant County Bar Association, and a Fellow of the Tarrant County Bar Foundation. She has been chosen by her peers as one of Tarrant County’s “Top Attorneys” (Fort Worth, Texas Magazine), and was featured on the cover of Texas Lawyer (March, 2006) in a feature article discussing sexual abuse litigation in Texas. Ms. Norris has been invited as a guest lecturer at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and serves as a frequent speaker concerning child sexual abuse issues at conferences throughout the United States.

 

Grace Room

 

Handouts:

Norris: Min Safe Safety Systems Fact Sheet

Norris: APS Safety Systems Fact Sheet


Wednesday - 01/13/10 1:00pm - 1:45pm

 

Gerald Barker, Vice President Hibbs-Hallmark & Co

 

Liability Insurance Overview - What is a Certificate of Insurance?

 

We will explore the basics of liability insurance in all its many forms and limitations with special attention to the Certificate of Insurance. What is so important about a certificate to a host facility?

 

Gerald began insurance carrier 20 years ago in New England as an associate underwriter. He was employed at Hibbs-Hallmark & Co in 1992 as Account Executive. Gerald is certified Insurance Counselor and Licensed Risk Manager specializing in Camp & Conference Centers, Non-Profit and Social Service Entities.

 

Horse Barn


Wednesday - 01/13/10 1:00pm - 1:45pm

 

Bill Hinton, Executive Director YMCA Camp Flaming Arrow

 

Camper Marketing - Embracing Your Purple Cow

 

A culture change in your camper marketing: Figure out what makes your camp unique, embrace it and use it to your advantage. This session will have some lecture and case study as well as some group work to get you started on your camp's unique camper marketing plan (based on books like "Good to Great, The Raving Fan and The Purple Cow)

 

Trull 3/4


Wednesday - 01/13/10 1:00pm - 1:45pm

 

Vance Gilmore, Executive Director Special Camps for Special Kids-Camp John Marc

 

Because of Camp

 

"Because of Camp" A panel of camp director vetrans will dicussed thier experiences as a Camp Director for 25 plus years. Who in the camping industry played a role in shaping thier careers, what trends they have seen come and go, and ones that have a stayed. It will be a time to refelect on the past and see how it will shape the future.

 

Vance Gilmore has spent the past 32 years serving as a camp director for campers with special needs. For the past 21 years he has been the camp director/executive director of Camp John Marc.

 

Trull 1


Wednesday - 01/13/10 1:00pm - 1:45pm

 

Evan Heltay, President ExpertOnlineTraining.com

 

The Evolution of Staff Training: The Internet Arrives

 

Learn how to take advantage of online education for summer camps. Features unavailable through traditional offline learning include instructing incoming staff across distances through videos and online quizzes, with directors monitoring results remotely.

 

Evan Heltay (along with Dr. Chris Thurber) is the Co-Founder of ExpertOnlineTraining.com. He is perhaps best known as the Founder of MySummerCamps.com, one of the leading online summer camp directories. Web savvy skills and summer camp know-how combine to make Evan a perennial conference favorite.

 

Arthur Lui is the Lead Developer for ExpertOnlineTraining.com. Arthur has played a major role throughout the entire project, from the initial planning stages, through to the development and deployment of Leadership Essentials (now Expert Online Training).

 

Trull 2

 

Presentation:

Lui - Powerpoint Presentation

 


Wednesday - 01/13/10 2:00pm - 2:45pm

 

Scott Arizala, Summer Camp Consultant & Trainer The Camp Counselor.com

 

You're Fired! & Other Difficult Management Conversations

 

As a summer camp director or supervisor most of your time is spent managing young people. This session is about the best practices and principles for having the most difficult management conversations. Letting someone go, discussing bad choices, and working through personality differences are just a few examples of conversations that happen all time. Be prepared and know what to say, how to say, and how to teach other supervisors this essential skill.

 

Scott Arizala, Summer Camp Consultant & Trainer

 

Main Auditorium

 

Handouts:

Arizala: You're fired

Arizala: Difficult Management Conversation Case Studies


Wednesday - 01/13/10 2:00pm - 2:45pm

 

Vicki Gercans, Program Manager Camp For All

 

"Question Experience" or "Park with Leaders"

 

Tired of panel discussions. Come experience time with leaders in the camping field in small group settings. There will be set questions and time for you to ask your own!

 

Vicki Gercans Program Manager Camp For All

 

Dishman


Wednesday - 01/13/10 2:00pm - 2:45pm

 

Marcus Mann, Program Staff Camp For All

 

Special Needs at All Camps

 

This is a discussion session to open you up to programmimg to adapt for all.

 

Marcus Mann is an undergraduate student at Texas A&M. He is graduating in 2011 with a major in Agricultural Leadership and a minor in Recreatioj, Park and Tourism Sciences and Business. This last summer he celebrated his forth year at Camp For All while interning with them.

 

Grace Room


Wednesday - 01/13/10 2:00pm - 2:45pm

 

Kent Cummins, Executive Director The Kent Cummins Magic Camp

 

Juggling For Success

 

Have you ever wished you could JUGGLE the many conflicting requirements of your job? Have you wished you could find better life/work BALANCE? This highly-interactive workshop will empower you!

 

"The Fantastic Kent Cummins," has been a professional magician all of his life, but since 1993, the year that he turned fifty, he has used his skills to reach and teach thousands of children through The Kent Cummins Magic Camp. The Magic Camp is a fully-inclusive, nonprofit day camp in Central Texas that uses the fascination and fun of magic, juggling, and puppetry to build self-confidence and raise self-esteem in school-age children. Kent was awarded "The Order of the Golden Claw" for excellence on the staff of YMCA Camp Singing Waters in Holden, Louisiana, in 1964, and was a founding member of CTAN, the Central Texas Afterschool Network. Kent has a BA Degree in Communications from LSU, an MBA from the University of Texas, and is a Certified Juggling Instructor! Kent ia also a Professional Member of the National Speakers Association and the International Federation of Speakers. He says that his most important title is, "Grampa."

 

Horse Barn


Wednesday - 01/13/10 2:00pm - 2:45pm

 

Jonathan Shirley, Assistant Director Boys' Camp Camp Champions

 

Reaching out to new families and explaining camp to them

 

Most new families do not understand the youth development benefits of summer camp. This session provides ideas designed to educate these families about camp in general and your camp specifically.

 

Camp Champions Boys' Director, Jonathan Shirley, hails from the great neighboring state of Louisiana where he attended Louisiana State University. After spending summers at different camps in Maine and Michigan, he arrived at Camp Champions in January of 2005. Jonathan married Helen Merritt, 11 year camper/counselor/staff member, in December 2007. During the year they live in Houston where Helen is attending medical school, and Jonathan works for camp from Houston, returning every summer for camp.

 

Trull 3/4


Wednesday - 01/13/10 2:00pm - 2:45pm

 

Ian Garner, Markel Insurance

 

Staying in Camp and Out of the Courtroom - Five Sure Ways to Get Sued When Working with Children and How to Prevent Them - Part 1 (This Session takes up 2 session times)

 

What's going on in our camps to cause lawsuits? What types of accidents and incidents are really happening in camps? We will discuss some actual current camp lawsuits as well as some national statistical accident and loss trends in camps. This highly interactive workshop will provide training and recommendations for increasing camp safety. Participants will be provided with information and training activities to teach their staff safety prevention and awareness.

 

Ian Garner is the National Director of Camp and Youth Relations for Markel Insurance Company. He has over thirty five years of camp and youth development experience in a variety of camp and youth programs as well as ten years as a secondary educator and varsity coach. He has been invited to speak at numerous conference presenting on safety and risk management.

 

Trull 1


Wednesday - 01/13/10 2:00pm - 2:45pm

 

Tammie Shelton, Executive Director Camp Aranzazu

 

Embracing Your Mission/Vision

 

Tips and tools to implement immediately to inspire excellence and encourage consistency as you lead board and staff members to understand why and how you do what you do.

 

Ms. Shelton serves as Executive Director of Camp Aranzazu, a camp who hosts groups with special needs. Ms. Shelton received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in special physical education from Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi, a certificate in lay - ministry from the University of the South Sewanee, and is currently studying for a Master's degree in Non-Profit Management.

 

Trull 2

 

Presentation:

Shelton - Powerpoint Presentation


Wednesday - 01/13/10 3:00pm - 3:45pm

 

Scott Arizala, Summer Camp Consultant & Trainer The Camp Counselor.com

 

How Culture, Change & Consistency IS Camp: Lessons from Attachment Theory

 

Why are some campers so obsessed with the seemingly minor details of camp? Why are some camps full and waitlisted while others struggle and close? What really is the camp experience? This session looks to Attachment Theory as one way of understanding what camp does for campers. By understanding the “why” we as Youth Development professionals can be more specific and intentional about the “how” of the summer camp experience. We’ll challenge conventional thinking and look for practical ways of creating the best of camp.

 

Scott Arizala, Summer Camp Consultant & Trainer

 

Main Auditorium

 

Handouts:

Arizala: Attachment Theory


Wednesday - 01/13/10 3:00pm - 3:45pm

 

Chris King, Founder, CQ Missional CQ Missional, Challenge Quest

 

The Incline. A simple way of mentoring and discipleship.

 

Why do students grow up and leave our religious gathering places, such as churches and camps, lacking the tools and motivation to own their faith as young adults? The Incline is a simple method that ensures that no one flies solo, and creates a life changing framework of mentoring and relationship with God. Based on the upcoming book: The Incline. Chris King

 

After spending 20 years of service in adventure, educational, and church ministry, Chris King now leads CQ Missional (www.cqmissional.com) where his primary focus is helping folks in their 20s grow and discover their unique part in making the world a better place. He coaches and counsels young leaders, helping them live with courage. His work also involves helping people learn through the experience of serving and knowing people in communities of need. Lastly he speaks, trains, and teaches for various groups of people wanting to move from where they are, to where they should be. These events include father/ child retreats, youth and family camps, staff training and consultation for camps, youth ministries, corporate settings, and social services.

 

Chris has two decades of leadership experience including 14 years of leading and creating camp programs in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, Teaching Counseling, Leadership and Outdoor Ministry at Universities in Arkansas and Pennsylvania, Church Youth Ministry, and Adventure programming as a lead facilitator with Challenge Quest for over a decade. He has a Masters Degree in Community Counseling from John Brown University. A musician, song writer, and worship leader, he created ìThe Plain Whitebread Albumî, a collection of theme songs from his years at New Life Ranch. Its songs have been used across the U.S. in camps and churches. He enjoys his beautiful family which includes: Kristin, his wife of almost 17 years; and children: Maggie (13), Eli (10), and Drew (6). During his free time he enjoys mountain and road biking, running, and playing music. sendtochrisking@gmail.com

 

Dishman


Wednesday - 01/13/10 3:00pm - 3:45pm

 

Peanut Henderson, Youth Outdoor Programs/Camps City of Temple Camp Heatwave

 

"Camp Recreation" Day Camp Programming

 

This cool session will be packed with techniques and materials you can use right away to make sure your day camp is an awesome experience for campers.

 

Robert "Peanut" Henderson is the Youth Outdoor Recreation Programs/Camps Coordinator for the City of Temple. He was on Disney Channels "Bug Juice" my summer at Camp. He created "Camp Heatwave", which won the 2005 Lone Star Programming Award for the City of Temple.

 

Grace Room

 

Handouts:

Henderson - Day Camp


Wednesday - 01/13/10 3:00pm - 3:45pm

 

Kent Cummins, Executive Director The Kent Cummins Magic Camp

 

The Magic of Inclusion

 

Magicians don't usually tell their secrets, but The Magic Camp has learned to work magic with ALL children, including those with developmental or intellectual disabilities. The magic word is INCLUSION!

 

see above session for bio

 

Horse Barn

 

Handouts:

Cummins: Notes from Presentation


Wednesday - 01/13/10 3:00pm - 3:45pm

 

David Cegelski, Jaynie Schultz, Deb Williams, Partner Retreat Central

 

Building Lasting Customer-Camper Relationships

 

Year-round Camp season ends in August or does it? Actually, as soon as the last camper leaves, you begin two different seasonsóretreat season and preparation for next summer.

 

David, Jaynie, and Deb have joined forces in presentations at CampWest and Tri-States. They bring their experience in camp, business, retreats, and hospitality to their unique presentations.

David Cegelski - David has spent the last 25 years helping camps, businesses and organizations shape their future through innovative management development, business-centered organizational development, and a keen focus on business growth strategies. Much of his work has been on developing teams, managers, and processes that align with an organizationís mission. Most of David's career was at Nortel Networks where he held leadership positions in Training, Organizational Development, Sales Operations, and Marketing. In addition to Nortel, he has worked in banking, higher education, retail, and nonprofit organizations. His work has included enterprise-wide projects as well as individual coaching. He has been a successful small-business owner for seven years in consulting, retail, and leasing. This breadth of experience enables him to work to improve a range of companies, organizations, and individuals. David is a member of the American Society for Training and Development. He has a M. Ed. in Human Resource Development and a B. S. in Organizational Communication, both from The University of Texas at Austin. He holds licenses from the Center for Creative Leadership, Inscape, and Myers-Briggs. He is an Executive Coach affiliated with the Executive Coaching Network. In Dallas, he serves on the Business Advisory Council for Brookhaven College and is active in other community and educational organizations.

 

Jaynie Schultz Jaynie is an innovative entrepreneur. Her portfolio of business knowledge ps the corporate, non profit and philanthropy sectors. She has spent the past 20 years growing Garrett Creek Ranch Conference Center where she is the Vice President. She is the Director of the Howard and Leslie Schultz Family Foundation and now the Principle Social Investor for Retreat Central. Through her work at the Garrett Creek Ranch, the only woman owned independent conference center in the country, she has transformed the vision because of her keen understanding of why and how groups desired outcomes can be met. The Howard and Leslie Schultz Family Foundation is a leader in the field of Jewish education and has created innovative ways of building community. Jaynie is now in a unique position with Retreat Central. She understands the intricacies of what it takes to deliver a successful meeting and can deliver that expertise to the camp arena by increasing off season revenues. Jaynie sits on numerous national boards including the Foundation for Jewish Camp.

 

Debra Williams Debra knows sales and marketing from many different perspectives. As a former Director of Sales for Garrett Creek Ranch in four years double the conference centerís revenue, re-branded their company, and developed a highly successful team. Her expertise in indentifying opportunities has allowed her to propel change in the organization for it to realize rapid growth. Prior to her experience at the conference center, Debra owned and operated successful restaurants in the Dallas metroplex for 17 years. These concepts included two dinner theatres, and a sports bar and grille. Her success came from her ability to develop innovative programming that drove new partnerships into the businesses. She continued to populate the ever expanding concentric circles. Now she brings this acumen to Retreat Central as the Chief Rainmaker. The concept of Retreat Central came out of her love of camp and the retreat business. The need for more affordable venues was evident. Retreat Central will identify groups who need well priced facilities and match them with the camps they represent.

 

Trull 3/4


Wednesday - 01/13/10 3:00pm - 3:45pm

 

Ian Garner, Markel Insurance

 

Staying in Camp and Out of the Courtroom - Five Sure Ways to Get Sued When Working with Children and How to Prevent Them PART 2 (This Session takes up 2 session times)

 

Trull 1


Wednesday - 01/13/10 3:00pm - 3:45pm

 

Arthur Lui, Lead Website Developer TargetDirectories.com

 

Does Your Website Suck?

 

Websites are the principle marketing technique for summer camps. 90% of campers visit camp websites before and after camp season. Arthur Lui evaluates real camp websites. Learn techniques to improve your website and search engine ranking.

 

Arthur Lui, the Lead Developer for ExpertOnlineTraining.com and other websites is a big-picture person who designs and develops from the ground up. A dynamic Web programmer possessing a keen ability to perceive projects from the viewer's perspective, he is an expert in SEO, usability and conversion analysis.

 

Trull 2


Wednesday - 01/13/10 8:00am-1:00pm

 

Main Auditorium

 

"S'more Stuff to Talk About" Summit:

 

"Smore Stuff to Talk About" Leadership Summit, is a think tank and discussion forum where we will work together to address the challenges and the opportunities that have an impact on the camp industry today and into the future.

 

Topics to include:

  • Today's Economy
  • The Shrinking School Calendar
  • Marketing - Diversity/Inclusiveness
  • Pandemics and other emergencies
  • Regulation and Public Policy
  • 20/20 Vision
  • and more...

(Have a topic to add? Go here.)

 

 

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