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.

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!

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!

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!

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.

This is the first LIVE blog post! I am sitting right now in a jury duty waiting room in Philadelphia. A few weeks ago, I received a summons to appear at Jury Duty for the city of Philadelphia. Of course I wasn’t excited to get this, as I had been here only 2 years ago. Luckily at that time, I didn’t get placed on a trial, and I am hoping the same will happen again! This morning, I arrived at 8:15am and within 30 minutes was selected to be interviewed as a juror. The whole process is interesting, as you have to complete a questionnaire, basically finding out if you can be impartial, fair, etc. Once the judge reviews the questionnaires, he/she interviews potential jurors and asks questions about your job, etc.

They took 60 of us up to a courtroom and we sat waiting for the judge to begin her questions. Luckily, the case was settled just as we were in the interview process, so we were told to sit tight and we would find out if we would be sent home for the day or would have to go back to the waiting room. Unfortunately for us, we had to go back to the waiting room.

After a few more hours of literally sitting and doing nothing, they sent us out for an hour and a half lunch. I went home and brought back my laptop so that I can blog with all of you (sad, I know!) Last time I was here, cell phones/laptops weren’t permitted in the waiting room, however now they are! So, I am “borrowing” some neighbors wireless internet and writing to all of you about my misery sitting in this room all day.

Back to fun camp stuff! Yesterday, Matt, Aunt Terri, and I went up to camp for a few hours. We had a meeting scheduled with a nearby University to discuss them coming to Canadensis in September. From the moment she arrived, she was in awe of Canadensis. And this is the off season, so while it looks beautiful like it always does, it’s not as amazing to see when nobody is there, the grass is long, the pools are empty, etc. The lady had visited 6 other camps, many in our area, and still said that we were the most beautiful of them all…and I am not making this up! It goes to show, Canadensis is awesome!

Afterwards, Matt and I filmed a brief Today Show which will be posted shortly. It shows some of the new paving around camp, highlights the main office/grove renovations, and also gives you a sneak peek into the dining hall improvements that we are in the process of doing. So, I will let you all know when it gets posted, but you definitely won’t want to miss it.

Aunt Terri and I then drove to Scarsdale, NY and met with new camper Jordana Kaller. Jordana is so excited to be joining the Canadensis Family and lives on the same block as Sydney Goldman! It was great to meet Jordana and her family and see how excited she really is to be starting at camp. To quote Jordana, “I wish camp was starting tomorrow!” My thoughts exactly…

After a long day of driving literally around the tri-state area in a big loop, I got home around 11PM exhausted, but excited to have gone to camp and seen the excitement in the eyes of some of our campers. I hope everyone is doing well and not as bored as I am in Jury Duty!

The moment you have all been waiting for- there is a brand-new Canadensis Today show posted on www.canadensis.com –> media room.

It is a very special edition of Canadensis Today including an exclusive interview with a very famous and well known person around the world who currently resides in DC. Go have a look at Canadensis Today!

Today was a wonderful day in the office! Of course, when you are working for camp and everything you do is about making camp better, everyday is fun and dandy, but today was extra special. Actually, step back to last night, when I got to speak to Will Armon! Farmin’ says hello to everyone and he is doing well. Basketball reffing season will be starting within a month or so and he is really looking forward to that.

Today, Brian came to the office for a few meetings. We started the day off with Matt, Brian, and I meeting with our web designer company who created our Canadensis.com website. We love Lisa as we believe she did a wonderful job capturing the fun we have at camp and helping us put our vision of a scrapbook website on paper to the online world. As a side note, she also designed our new prospective brochure which is a box complete with a Canadensis pad, brochure, and DVD. You can look back to a blog in May all about the “box”. Anyway, we met with her to discuss Phase II of our website which is for our pre and post camp groups. As regular blog readers know, during the off-season (May – June and August – September) when camp is not in session, we host schools, temples, marching bands, etc. It is a very important part of our business and Matt Unger is in charge of it. Groundhog and I designed the current website for our groups using a stock template and putting text/pictures together. It is very primitive as you can see if you click on “Rent Our Facility” on the right side of our webpage. It has outdated information, ignores the brand-new amphitheatre/canteen area, etc. So clearly, it’s in need of an overhaul! We are very excited that we will be upgrading that site to look similar to our current award-winning Canadensis.com site. (I say award-winning because our site was actually recognized last year as one of the most innovative websites from an online agency!)

After that meeting, Brian and I sat in my office and talked “camp”. Of course we almost always talk camp, but it was nice to sit in the same room and just talk about things. We discussed returning staff members, contracts that had to be sent out, prospective families that are signing up, families for me to come and visit (if anyone wants me to come and visit them- let me know!), and many other camp-y things. Looked down at my watch and it was 1:00! We ran out to Boston Market because Unger found the deal of the century. Boston Market has a $1.00 meal coupon. Not $1 off, but the whole meal is $1 until Nov. 1. They are trying to woo customers from KFC bragging about their un-fried chicken. I have to say, it was a great meal. Of course only paying a buck helped! I hope Boston Market doesn’t get mad at me, but here is the link. (Yes it’s real, and yes they accept it at the stores!) It was quite funny because the lady was telling me that corporate didn’t warn the stores about the coupon and they almost ran out of chicken last night and would probably run out tonight. How does Boston Market run out of chicken??? Beats me!

http://www.bostonmarket.com/restaurant?page=coupons

After lunch, our new assistant director, Pam Levi, came in to meet with me and Brian about her job this year. It is invigorating and exciting having her join the team. Pam comes with a wealth of knowledge about the camping industry, from her career at overnight camp as a camper, to working at a nearby camp for the past several years. As many of you may know, Pam and I ran the evening activities program at Canadensis back in 2003 (yes, I feel old!). Anyway, Pam is so excited for the opportunity to work at Canadensis and can’t wait to get the ball rolling. She will be meeting with many families to get to know each of you, helping us with our camper recruiting, helping to plan our trips, summer calendar, staff hiring, etc. Essentially, a jack of all trades. I know that all of us at the office are really excited to have her around and can’t wait for her to start this coming Monday!

One more quick “exciting” thing- on Sunday, Matt Unger and I will be going down to DC and paying a visit to Sam Ginsburg and Jaycal. Naturally, Jaycal and I have already been planning all week what we will be filming while I am down in DC. We can’t wait to bring you new video clips, more info about the winter projects at camp, etc.

So, it goes back to my title- excitement is in the air. Camp is so special to each of us and to live it every single day is so exciting. I can say that I love my job and I love Canadensis!

What a terrific week it was! I spent an entire week sitting on the Carnival Cruise Ship Valor out in the Caribbean soaking up the rays. I “worked” hard on the ship- I worked on my tan, worked at the Blackjack and Poker tables, worked hard eating alot of good food, oh and worked out at the gym every so often:) The ship docked in Grand Cayman, Roatan Honduras, Belize, and Cozumel.

Most of the time, I really did just spend relaxing, but in Belize I got off the ship and went into the “mountains”, which were really just some low lying hills. The excursion was a tree canopy tour and after getting suited up in our harnesses and helmets (the exact brand and model we use at camp by the way!), I climbed up to the top of 5 sets of zip lines. They ranged from a couple hundred feet up to 500 feet in length and soared high above the tree tops. At the end, there was a rappel straight down a rope, which was really fast and really scary. Of course I had an absolute blast and it did remind me a bit of being back at camp!

As I told you in my previous posts, I always am thinking of camp. So when I saw a Burrito Bar on the cruise ship, I thought what a great idea for camp! They started out with a giant empty burrito wrap and you could add beef/chicken, beans, rice, corn, cheese, guacamole, salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc. Look out for this as a new lunch menu item this coming summer! I think it will be a huge hit.

On Sunday, Robin picked me and a few friends up from the Port of Miami and we walked around South Beach. Unfortunately, there was a cold front on Florida (65 degrees) so it was chilly, especially after being in the Caribbean, but we had a nice time. This morning, I flew back on good ol’ Southwest Airlines and here I am at my desk! Alot of work to still do to try to get caught up just in time to leave for my next trip. On Thursday, I will be flying out of JFK to London until Sunday. Less than 48 hours in London, I am definitely, certifiably crazy! Anyway else going to London this weekend? Let me know.

I will be back tomorrow to update you on camp things and projects which are happening right now as you are reading this. So, stay tuned. Oh, and thanks to all of the guest bloggers last week for doing an excellent job filling us in on their lives. Remember, if you want to be a guest blogger, email editor@canadensis.com so you can fill in for me while I am overseas in London this weekend!

As you can probably assume from the title, I am headed to the Caribbean! On Sunday I will be boarding the Carnival Valor for 7 days of fun in the sun. In what has become an annual tradition with some of my friends, I will be enjoying a week of R&R and a lot of good food!

So this week was a busy one. At the beginning of the week, I was busy getting caught up from being away the week before.  Lots of mail to go through, bills to pay, messages to return! I spoke to alot of camp families and staff members, including none other than Will and Sam, my buddies. It was great to catch up with them and hopefully I will get to see Sam soon and Will at the winter reunion!

Wednesday I went to camp and it was a great trip. It started out as a rainy day, but on our drive up Route 33 it started clearing up and by the time we got to camp, it was blue skies. However, the winds were howling. As you can see from the pictures in my last post (scroll down), the lake looked like white water rapids! Terri, Brian, Neil, and I met with our paving company and we gave them the green light to continue repaving many of the roads throughout camp.

Last year we repaved the entrance and lower boys. This year we will be repaving around the main office/grove area, most of girls camp, and a section of Senior Boys camp. The paver will also be filling a few potholes that we developed from all the rain last summer! While it may not be as interesting as the new canteen was, trust me, girls camp, you will notice it walking to the dining hall and all around camp!

The main office renovations are coming along nicely and the top soil/dirt for the grove and office landscaping should be dropped off on Monday. Did I mention that on Monday I will be on a cruise? haha! I guess I have the vacation fever and that’s what’s on my mind- nothing wrong with that, or so I am told.

Back in the office on Thursday and Friday, I hashed out my travel plans for recruiting this winter. While I can’t tell you specifics, I will be taking 3 recruiting trips overseas this year and on one of them I will be bringing along a special guest, who you all know:) The reason I can’t give you specifics is because Jaycal and I talked last night about the contests we will be featuring on the blog this year during my trips. We came up with some great ideas and some even better prizes so stay tuned to the blog so you can have your chance to win!

Anyway, time for me to hit the gym (something that I can’t believe is in my vocabulary). Make sure you keep reading my blog as Jaycal has a lineup of special guest bloggers all week long for you to enjoy. Be sure to check Brian and Cara’s blogs as well as they will both be in the office all next week providing camp updates.

Have a great week and I will see you right back here tomorrow on today (oops, I mean see you right back here next week on the blog!)

GUEST BLOGGING RETURNS MONDAY!

Hello Blogland! I’m BACKKKK, but not for long. I am back at my home in Philadelphia (or more aptly called my temporary dwelling!) this week and in the winter office today, Thursday, and Friday. Where will I be on Wednesday might you ask? CAMP! I will be heading up to camp tomorrow for the day to have a look around at some winter projects.

As I have been reporting the past few months, we are renovating the main office exterior as well as the grove and landscaping. From what I understand, it is coming along nicely. While up at camp, we are meeting with our paver to discuss which roads we will be paving throughout camp. As many of you noticed, last year we repaved the entrance road (the entire length) up to the parking lot area and then all of lower boys as well as near the health center. So we will be continuing this year with additional paving. I can’t quite tell you what else we will be doing this winter just yet, but between the 3 blogs, Canadensis Today shows, and the Canadensis Courier, we will let you in on the “secrets!”

Flashback to last week- Thanks to Jaycal for the wonderful virtual birthday cake. I appreciate the virtual one posted on my blog as it’s calorie free:) Down in Florida, I spent time with Robin (girls head counselor), Julie (office manager), Eric R. (pool director), and Harold (baker) and his lovely wife Phyllis. To be honest, I didn’t do all that much. I sat at the pool enjoying the sun, went to the gym (shocker), and just relaxed a bit. Oh, I can’t forget Chuck E Cheese. I took Shane (Robin’s friend’s son) there and it was awesome. I haven’t been to one in probably 20 years and it was so much fun to run around, play some video games, and watch him having a blast. Work wise I went to visit an alumnus who lives in FL and has 3 kids. They were a great family and will hopefully be sending the next generation to camp this coming summer! I also met with a referral service representative. Referral services are important to us as they send us prospective families to follow-up with. She repeated numerous times how much she loves Canadensis as she came to visit us in 2007. I told her she has to come back and see the new amphitheatre, canteen, The Summit, Canadensis Today, and much more! Hopefully, she will be coming back again this coming summer for a visit.

I hope you enjoyed all of the guest bloggers. Special thanks to all of them as they helped keep the blog going while I was away. If you missed out on the blog last week- shame on you (just kidding!). Please make sure you scroll back to the archives and see each of our guest blogger entries.

Speaking of going away, this is the month for camp directors to hibernate and catch up a little on some R&R, and I plan to take full advantage of that! After working 6 months, 7-days a week, I can use some breathing time. So, next week I will be heading to the Caribbean with Carnival Cruise Lines and relaxing for a full 7 days! Rough life, right?? The truth is while I am away I miss camp and on each of my cruises so far I have found a few kids out at the pool area who challenge me to go down the slide, etc. So, camp is close to me (especially with all of my camp t-shirts I wear every day!) and perhaps the Carnival Kids Camp Program will need some help planning activities!

Well I better get back to work. I am trying to catch up from being out a week, just in time to leave for another week of vacation! From what I understand, Jaycal has a whole line up of guest bloggers (hint: Tarnoff!) to continue with our guest blogging series next week. And remember, if you want to be a guest blogger we would love to hear from you. Please email editor@canadensis.com and Jaycal will set you up!