April Update

Hi Everyone and sorry for the prolonged absence from blogging. I know it’s been a while, but things have been busy busy in both the camp world and my personal life.

In the past few months, I traveled to Australia, had back surgery, have been up to camp numerous times, and oh yea one other thing…Robin is due in May and we are busy planning for our newest addition!

So, to start with…camp is looking amazing. I think I mentioned it before, but with the warmer than usual winter, which of course is bad for most businesses in the Poconos, we lucked out. Our maintenance team at camp has been able to accomplish so much more than usual. Numerous cabin renovations have been completed, the brand-new Fitness Center is just about completed (just need to lay the cool rubbery type floor), additional renovations to the front of the Rec Hall, fences are almost completed at the baseball fields (landscaping begins next), the tennis courts are being prepped for major upgrades, and most exciting…beginning today, the water is being turned on!

Back in the winter office, we are full steam ahead. We attended the annual camp directors conference in Atlantic City. We got new ideas for fun and exciting projects, things to buy, and bonded with other camp professionals who all feel the same passion we do towards camp. We even had a surprise visit from Becky J at the convention center. Neil and I were sitting in a workshop session and in walked in Becky J! So random, but fun and exciting of course. Becky is excited to be a GL this summer at Canadensis and we of course can’t wait to see her up at camp.

Two weeks ago, we enjoyed NEW CAMPER BOWLING, where we got to meet many of our first time campers in the JR/LI divisions. It was a fun day and all of the campers this summer seem so excited to be at camp…well of course they are! Each group seemed to hit it off really well and parents were already making plans for upcoming play dates over the next few months before camp. Actually, not really all that many months left now..Open House is less than 2 months away! Wow.

In my personal life, Robin is doing great. Baby Girl Forti (as Robin has named her) is growing well and weighs over 4 pounds now! Robin and I have been busy shopping for everything- from furniture to onesies and having a blast doing so. I haven’t sent over the onesies to be embroidered just yet with the Canadensis logo, but that’s on my list of things to do soon! Robin says hello to everyone and she can’t wait to be up at camp this summer with our daughter.

Switching gears…Happy Passover to everyone who celebrates! Pam, Dave, Robin, and I spent our 2nd day of Passover in New York City, where we saw JERSEY BOYS on Broadway! I love going to see shows and the last few years haven’t had a chance to see that many. However, in December I saw Billy Elliot which was terrific and yesterday got to see another great show! Of course, there is a camp connection (like everything in life) in that the role of Frankie Valli is currently being played by the Uncle of one of our campers! Skye Kades, a new JR girl this summer, was able to work her magic and helped us get amazing tickets to see her Uncle, Jarrod Spector, perform in the lead role. The music was terrific and Jarrod’s voice was simply amazing. An extremely talented guy! After the performance, Jarrod invited us through the stage door and up to the stage, where we saw a bit of the magic behind the scenes. It was awesome to see and Jarrod was so nice. Pam and I invited him up to camp this summer, so hopefully he will stop by and maybe he will perform in Canadensis Idol? Hey, you never know! Thanks again to the Kades Family for making it possible.

Pam, Robin, and me with Jarrod Spector, the lead actor (Frankie Valli) in Jersey Boys on Broadway!

Hopefully everyone enjoyed or is enjoying their spring break from school. I will be moving up to camp over the next several weeks (well more like commuting back and forth when needed). I look forward to seeing as many of you at Open House…and then the rest of you all on OPENING DAY 2012!!