Hopefully by now you have all enjoyed the Canadensis Today show from up at camp on Monday. Sonic is such an exciting place to go- old school drive-in fast food where they roller skate to the car! Sorry that the video was so poor, but Matt Unger couldn’t get it to zoom in so he was running around the parking lot while I was trying to film moving the camera in and out manually!

Anyway, the point is that camp looks great. The warmer than average weather has certainly helped us get more work done before the snow arrives, which I am guessing will be coming to the mountains soon. There are many more exciting projects that we are doing up at camp, but we aren’t quite ready to announce them just yet. I promise to let you all know before the “general public” finds out in the newsletter!

This week the office has been a bit calmer for me, because for the first time since camp, I am here 4-days in a row! The only problem is that the Payroll software I use has been so buggy. For the last 2 weeks, it wouldn’t download an update that is required every 2 weeks. After an hour of phone troubleshooting, they sent someone out to fix it, which he supposedly “did”. Well today, the same problem occurred and again they can’t fix it. Seems like maybe it’s time to change payroll companies!

Problems aside, I had an awesome time last night at the Center’s! Matthew and Adam are doing really well it seems. School is going well, they are busy with their team sports (soccer just ended and Adam’s team did really well) and basketball is beginning. We talked about some of the counselors who are returning, their camper friends, and of course the corn man was discussed! Rumor is their dad ate something like 6 ears of corn on visiting day. They also invited over a new camper- David Brucker and his family to meet me. David is awesome! Pretty much into a little bit of everything camp has to offer. He is going to try waterskiing, mentioned liking the arts center and all that has to offer, the high ropes course/zip line/climbing wall, and general sports. David’s sister was also great and she will be at camp within the next few years, although secretly she said she is ready to come to camp this summer! The Centers brought in dinner for me and it ended with a warm apple pie! After 2.5 hours (you read that correct) it was 8:30PM and time for the kids to get to sleep (although they were definitely wound up with the sugar in the pie!) and me to drive home to Philly. Thanks again for a wonderful night guys.

Adam and Matthew Center on the left and David Brucker on the right!

Tonight I am headed to Cherry Hill with Pam (our new assistant director) to meet the Liebman Family (new campers) with a stop at Scott Brown’s house to say hello!

Hope everyone is doing well and busy getting ready for Thanksgiving, whatever that means, but it sounded good!

Sunday, Matt Unger and I, traveled up to camp to check up on things. Here are some pictures of how camp looks and some of the projects!

The brains (or lack thereof) behind every single Today Show…the man who works INCREDIBLY hard to bring you the Canadensis courier newsletters, all of the videos, and many of the photos is a very special person. He is also one of my best friends- Jason Calabretta (Jaycal). When news broke about my proposal to Robin, Jason went in front of the Today Show cameras to bring to you this very SPECIAL EDITION OF CANADENSIS TODAY!

You can see it by logging into the media room or by clicking on the video below. Thanks Jason for all you do.

And finally something you all have been waiting to see for the past  few weeks, my proposal to Robin!

First off, I cannot believe it’s almost Thanksgiving and it’s so warm and lovely outside! Did somebody find a way to make camp arrive early this year?

This past weekend was FULL of friends and fun!  Thursday was opening night for my sister, bunk 11 counselor, Dani Corradetti, as her High School performed “Once Upon a Time”, a play made up of tales and fables from around the world. Dani was one of the narrators and dancers, and the entire cast did a spectacular job. I went to see the show again Friday, and then took Dani over the next morning for TWO Saturday performances.  The entire cast worked so hard, and it was great to see it all pay off with a great run!

On Saturday afternoon Max Blum and Karen Sharir arrived at my house and we went on a roadtrip for the 25th Birthday Extravaganza of Miss Rachel Bachman! We arrived just in time to meet Rachel’s friends and have some snacks, and then tied on our roller skates and headed out to the rink! I hadn’t been skating in a while but, just like riding a bicycle, it all came back to me as soon as I hit the floor. Although we were great skaters, there were a few moments where we all almost fell over from laughing too hard, as Max performed some of his most unique skate tricks, from spins to full on belly flops. When the end of the night rolled around we didn’t want to leave the rink! Finally we turned in our skates and followed Rachel back to her house so she could open birthday gifts and we could spend more time together… any idea what we talked about most? If you guessed “CAMP”, you’re right!

I took so many great pictures, and some VERY funny skating videos, and I’ll be posting them here soon, so check back later this week for more!

Today it’s just Pam and I in the office, and I’m crazy busy trying to schedule interviews with staff, and planning our college recruiting road trip! When I get home from work, the crazy doesn’t stop; It’s officially 10 days until Dani and I host the annual North Penn Concert Choir Thanksgiving Eve Party. We hosted the party last year, and this year we are at it again. This means careful planning of a delicious menu, themed decor, and most importantly, a well tuned piano! Last year my favorite treat was the carrot cake we served, because instead of an orange carrot on top, I hand drew music notes on each piece of cake! This party is also the time for all Choir alumni to return and see each other, so I’m also very excited to see some of my friends who will be back in town for the holiday! I will definitely post some pictures after the party!

Well, that’s all for now! Be sure to check back for those roller skating pictures, and if you have any pictures or stories from recent camp get-togethers, send them my way, cara@canadensis.com, and they may just end up on the blog!

This past weekend was the ultimate weekend and is ending in an even better way…

Friday night Aunt Terri and I were invited to surprise camper Rachel Green at her birthday party with school friends. Terri and I showed up to California Pizza Kitchen at 6PM and it was a perfect set up. Rachel’s back was to the front door at the head of the table with 12 girls from her school. Terri and I each went on one side of her, tapped her on the shoulders simultaneously, and she looked at me, dropped her jaw then I pointed to Terri and she was in absolute shock! It was “priceless” and so exciting to be a surprise at her party. I also spent a little bit of time with Rachel’s brother as well as her dad, Stu. Stu is a LOYAL Today Show fan, blog groupie, and an all around Canadensis Fan! He told me some stories reliving his camp experiences (which were only 10 years ago, right Stu???!!!). Anyway, it was a blast and I was honored to drop in. If anyone else is having a birthday party, let me know and I’ll see if I can drop on by.

Here is a picture with Stu, Rachel, and me!

Later that night, Robin flew in to Philadelphia during the winds and rain. Her flight was delayed until after midnight, but of course as a good fiance would, I was there waiting for her! My friend Andrew was with me and when we returned to my condo in Philly, we watched the engagement proposal on DVD. Robin’s principal was recording the whole thing and made a copy for me. I will be getting it to Jaycal ASAP for him to post here on my blog.

Saturday morning brought me to Temple Beth David in Gladwyne to celebrate Mel Sukonik’s Bat Mitzvah! She did a terrific job at services and I had a chance to see tons of her girlfriends from camp as well as Billy Koutcher and Alex Distefano. Saturday night was her party and it was one to remember. The theme of the night was M el (taking after the BIG M in MTV and then the characters el instead of TV). The room was setup beautifully and again we spent some time with some of the campers. Of course my dancing I am sure embarrassed them, so I had to hide in the corner of the dance floor so they wouldn’t be too humiliated! Here are some pictures from the night:

And….the end the great camp weekend- I AM UP AT CAMP!!!! Matt Unger are here sitting in my house on freshman hill after taking a drive through camp. Since there is literally nobody in camp (Tom our caretaker lives at the entrance, but before the “gate”) we can drive through camp and take a look at things. The paving looks AWESOME, but you will have to wait for pictures and videos since it’s pitch black out there tonight. During the winter, we turn out most of the area outdoor lights and just leave on a few, so it’s dark and very lonely without all of you.

So, exciting camp weekend even during the winter season! Stay tuned for pics, videos, blog postings, and if you read this far I will hint a surprise to all of you- TWITTER is coming to Canadensis….MORE TO COME SOON!

Hello Canadensis! 

I hope all is well on this Fall Friday.  Definitely starting to get a bit nippy out there (as my 9th Grade Algebra Teacher Mr. Tell used to say).  As the weather starts to get colder, it’s a good thing that I’ve been able to get out and see some of our new Canadensis campers over the past few days as well as talk a lot of camp with fellow directors in the camp industry. 

On Wednesday, as I mentioned in an earlier blog, Eric and I met up in New York City to attend the Morry Stein Management Conference, an American Camping Association event, which was held at B.B. King’s of all places.  Normally, B.B. King’s is a concert venue that hosts a lot of jazz and blues acts, but on this day, it was for talking camp.  There were three speakers, two of which were really good.  The final speaker talked about digital and social media and the use of sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.  I thought it was extremely interesting.  In between speakers and during lunch, Eric and I got to talk with other camp people.  I always find it great to hear how other programs operate. 

After the conference, I made my way uptown in New York City to visit new camper Andy Grossman who will be in the Lower Inters in Summer 2010.  Andy, who is currently in 4th Grade, is just finishing up his Soccer season but will soon move into Basketball season in the winter.  In the spring, Andy plays a lot of baseball and is a huge fan of the sport.  In the summer, he is excited that he will be playing in the CBL (Canadensis Baseball League).  In addition to all of the sports he likes, he is also really looking forward to Glass Fusion, the activities down at the lake and said he might even participate in one of camp’s theater productions.  While at Andy’s home, I also got a chance to meet his younger brother Jonah.  Here is a picture of the three of us…

Me with Andy and Jonah.

On Thursday night, it was off to Tenafly, NJ to meet new Junior Boy Dylan Carruba.  Currently in 3rd Grade, Dylan is weeks away from starting both his Wrestling and Basketball seasons, two activities he is excited for at camp as well.  While at his house, Dylan showed me his basketball cards collection, which totaled more than 3000 cards!  I had a lot of fun looking through the cards of the New Jersey Nets, my favorite NBA team.  Dylan is a big fan of the Lakers!  This summer, he is also looking forward to Basetball, Arts & Crafts, the Climbing Wall and Hondas!  Here is a shot of me and Dylan… 

Me and Dylan.

I got a great e-mail from Parent Debbie Weltmann earlier this week, letting me know that her daugther and 2010 Upper Senior Rachel had her Bat Mitzvah last weekend and there were many Canadensis campers in attendance.  In fact, there was an entire table of Canadensis!  In this picture, you can see the centerpiece, which was a big Canadensis bunk, tennis racquets, camp fire and real letters Rachel had sent this summer to her parents.  Awesome! 

Bat Mitzvah Girl Rachel and Hannah at the celebration last weekend! Notice the camp centerpiece!

I am really looking forward to this weekend as I will get the chance to see a number of Canadensis campers at two different events!  However, I am not going to reveal either event until next week because one is actually a real surprise that is going to take place tonight.  I will give full descriptions on Monday!  But, it’s going to be a lot of fun!   

Hey Will, I bet you never thought you would get your very own post with our name in the subject!

Congratulations to Will! Last night, we finally caught up after a busy week for both of us and he shared the exciting news that he was awarded the “Most promising basketball official in St. Louis”. As many of you already know, Will is a basketball ref during the winter season at high schools throughout the St. Louis area. From what I observe at camp, Will takes refereeing very seriously and he truly enjoys doing this. So, congrats to Will and we are honored to say that the most promising basketball official in the entire city of St. Louis, at the age of 28, will be refereeing the showcase color war basketball games at Canadensis! Perhaps we should use THAT in our marketing materials. In all seriousness, congratulations brother.

I also am excited to announce that we will be having a Canadensis Today Show camper segment called Canadensis Today IReporter. We will be arming campers with brand-new “flip” style video cameras to use around camp. The campers will be at all the activities, evening activities, special events, etc. We will also be offering opportunities for campers to get involved in producing the Today Show, from setting up segments, designing the set, working with Jaycal on audio, and creating innovative new segments, we are going to be involving campers in all aspects of Today.

As you all know, the Today Show was a brand-new concept last year, and while we met our goal of producing at least one show every day, it’s time to raise the bar. We are working on new graphics and other improvements, but our primary goal this summer will be to involve campers in every aspect of the show. So, campers get ready for a brand-new Today and to be involved in whatever ways you want to be!

Matt and I are headed up to camp Sunday night and staying through Monday, so be ready for pictures, video, and news updates throughout next week right here on this blog. Robin will be coming in this weekend for Melanie Sukonik’s Bat Mitzvah- Mazel Tov and I look forward to seeing some of the camp girls tomorrow! Have a great weekend everybody.

Camper Josh Brownstein is featured in this DORITOS commercial which could be shown during the Superbowl. Click below to watch!

Josh is the kid in the beginning jumping on the bed, and at the end looking into the bag. If his video is selected it could be shown on the Superbowl!

**Click Skip intro in the bottom right corner to get right to the video**