Hi Everyone,
From 35000 feet onboard a southwest airlines flight, I would like to say thanks to everyone for their kind wishes and congratulations for Robin and me. As most of you have heard by now, I surprised Robin Hasson, our lower camp girls head counselor, in class Friday morning. Here is the whole story-

Robin is a 1st grade teacher down in Florida just outside of fort lauderdale. I met her class a few weeks ago when I was staying with Robin for a week. They are awesome students and a nice group of kids! Anyway, when I went into school a few weeks ago, I showed them on a map where I travel to, pretty much all around the world! That means they know all of the secret where in the world locations I am going to this winter! Each year, I become a correspondent for Robin’s classes and make a different set of videos special to show her class while I am travelling. Last year for example they got a kick out of me in red square with the Russian hat on!

So when I went to London 2 weeks ago, I figured I can make the excuse to Robin that I wanted to read a book about London to her students, (shout out to Ali for the idea!) Only problem was that we figured out this plan after I had already returned! So, Matt Unger and I looked long and hard and found a kids guide to London sightseeing on Amazon.com

The book arrived just in time (wed night) and luckily it was perfect. It had a 2 line rhyming poem for each place in London! So I showed up to Robins class with this book and spent 15 minutes reading it. When we came to the end, I said there was one more page. On it was a picture of Robin and me with the poem- one more thing for your class to see, Robin will you marry me!

She was caught so off guard and asked me wait- is this for real? I got down on one knee and pulled out her engagement ring and I think at that point it hit her! She began to cry and hug me. After a minute both her principal and I yelled out- you didn’t answer the question! I think her exact answer was “yes, of course”. The principal asked the students if they knew what was going on and one first grader yelled out “miss Hasson just got married”! We said not quite and then enjoyed a great cake with her class.

Robin and I had a cruise prearranged for the weekend and so we had a chance to relax and absorb the fact that we are engaged. I will admit once during the cruise I still said girlfriend, but I will get the fiancé thing down soon!

In closing, I just want to say (although I think it goes without saying) how much camp means to us both. As many of you know, Robin and I met at camp in the summer of 2003 when I was evening activities director and Robin was the girls head counselor. We have been best of friends since that point and realized one summer that we were meant to be together after all those years of being good friends. Camp means the world to us and so it is so exciting to be able to share this story with all of you. Now I promise this blog won’t turn into a wedding planning website but perhaps I will highlight some of the funnier moments throughout the process.

Thanks to all of you- campers, counselors, administration, staff, and camp families for your support and well wishes! A special thank you to JayCal for providing up to the minute coverage and updates on this blog during our very special day!

Hello Canadensis…

A busy day on the road yesterday kept me away from the computer, so I figured I jump on a Saturday for some weekend words.

First and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS to ERIC and ROBIN on their ENGAGEMENT!  How exciting!  Maybe the wedding should be an Evening Activity at camp this summer?  How ’bout it, Forti and Robin?  Ha Ha!  Only joking of course, even though I’m sure the CIT girls would have a blast decorating!  Seriously though, all the best to Eric and Robin and a life together filled with love and laughter.  Go to Eric’s blog for pictures!

In other camp news, as I mentioned, yesterday had me visiting several Canadensis families.  In the morning, I visited Canadensis Alumni Jonathan Kleinstein, who is considering sending his two daughters, Molly and Ella, to camp next summer.  Jonathan, who couldn’t stop beaming about his summers at camp, was excited to hear about our Alumni Reunion on June 19, 2010.  As a camper, Jonathan remembers playing a lot of hockey in the Spectrum, the skidoodle on the lake and turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes as his favorite meal.

In the afternoon, I drove into New York City to meet with some of our new campers for next summer and future summers!  First, I stopped by to meet Jones Pearlman, who will be in the Junior Boys division in Summer 2010 and his brother Ozzie, who will be a camper in 2011.  Jones, who is in 3rd Grade, likes to play GaGa, Basketball, Baseball and Soccer.  He is looking forward to trying the Ropes Course when at camp.  At home, he is also an avid skateboarder.  Ozzie, currently in 1st Grade, likes many of the same activities as Jones such as Basketball, Baseball and Gaga.  While visiting, Jones and I worked on building a website he is putting together.  It was a lot of fun!

Me with Jones (right) and Ozzie (left).

After that, I walked a few blocks to see Gaby Hirsch, who will be coming to Canadensis for her first summer in 2010 as part of our Junior Girl Division.  In the 3rd Grade this year, Gaby is really looking forward to the Horseback Riding program at camp.  Since she is currently rehearsing her role as Molly for the show “Annie,” a production that will be put on in the spring as part of an after school theater company, there is a good chance we will also see Gaby on the Canadensis stage in 2010 as well.  At home in the winter, she also plays piano and loves playing with her dog Dexter.

Hanging out with Gaby.

After a day like this, it is definitely safe to say that I have one of the best jobs on the planet!  Talking camp all day with alumni, future campers and their parents is just the best!  As is the case each off season, I hope to see as many Canadensis people as possible!

Since it’s been a few days since my last post, I will say CONGRATULATIONS to all those Yankees fans out there for their win in the World Series over the Phillies.  27 Championships!  Wow!  More than any other franchise in any professional sport.  Wow, again!  Did any of you skip school or work to attend the parade?  If so, I hope you had a great day, seeing the spectacle of a ticker tape parade.  And if any of you did go, send me a picture and I’ll post it here on the blog.

Hopefully, the good vibes from the Yankees victory will rub off on the Giants this weekend as we have suffered three losses in a row!  Not good.  This weekend is a must win!  Once again, we will be in the parking lot because it is a home game.  Our arrival time will be at 11 am.  If you are planning to be at the game, stop on by and say hello.  We are in Lot 5F and will be cooking those famous steak tips that Greg Ricken and the rest of the 2009 CIT Boys love so much!  Of course, there will also be our traditional grilled pineapple, too.  Always plenty of food for everyone.

Finally, in response to my last post which made a reference to my curiosity in the term “fancy” ketchup, Jason “J-Cal” Calabretta, who as we all know hates (and is actually somewhat fearful of) ketchup, had a comment.  His direct quote is:    “Saw the little ketchup thing and I wanted to speak up for those of us that don’t like ketchup. There are lots of us out there …nothing makes ketchup fancy! It’s disgusting :).”  Thanks, J-Cal.  Also, thanks to Counselor Shawn Bolton for actually providing us with an actual answer in that it is simply a marketing ploy by the Heinz Company.

More blogging next week.

Until then…Have a Great Weekend…Brian

ERIC AND ROBIN

ARE ENGAGED!

Click Here for a clip from the all new Canadensis Today

This morning Eric Forti popped the question to Lower Girls Camp Head Counselor Robin Hasson at her school in Florida! Eric went to Robin’s 1st grade class to read her students a special story. When he got to the end of the story he read the words, “will you marry me.” More details on Monday and a special Canadensis Today will be posted later today!

“Will you …”

Robin and the Ring

Special Thanks to Julie Santiago for the pictures!

Hello Canadensis…

So, today was one of those days that you just don’t know where it went.  I’m calling today a Weird Wednesday.  First off, I was supposed to go to camp today.  Unfortunately, those plans got canceled.  A shame because I really wanted to see all of the work that has been going on up at camp.  More of camps roads on girls side and senior boys side have been recently paved, so I wanted to see that.  Plus, any day you can be up at camp is a great day!  Right?  So, I sat down at my desk today with a few things that needed to get done.  Before I could even open the documents on my computer, the phone just kept ringing all day.  As soon as I finished one call, another call came in.  It was crazy!  When I looked at the clock, it was already 4 pm and the document that I opened at 9 am was still only halfway completed.  Oh well.  I’d prefer talking to our camp families and all the other companies we do business with instead.  But, it was just so strange for a day when I wasn’t even supposed to be in my office to begin with!

I got some more Halloween pictures sent to me.  Some more awesome costumers!  Here they are:

Ben, Matthew and Jacob went to Philly and participated in the Race For Hope.

Megan as a Bag of Jelly Beans. She won best costume at her school. Congrats, Megan!

David as Harry Potter. Do you know any spells to double your amount of candy?

So, big game tonight in the World Series.  If the Phillies win, it’s on to an exciting Game 7 tomorrow night.  If the Yankees win, this thing is over and New York will win their 27th World Series Championship.  To that I say three words…Let’s Go Phils!  Should be a good game.  Anyone going?  If so, take a picture and I’ll post it here.

As for pictures, here are some of my favorite from the past summer…

Mikayla and Maddie at the Lake

Here's Looking At You, Ethan and Jake!

Carly and Rachel.

Alex Flexes His Guns!

Finally, in something that is totally unrelated, I have an off the cuff question for all of you.  So, I am sitting and having my lunch today (cheese steak with onions) and in the bag are ketchup packets.  On them, they read “Fancy Ketchup.”  So, I ask.  What makes this ketchup fancy?  Hmmmm….

Well, that’s all for today. Keep reading.

Until then…Have a great day…Brian

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!

Hello Canadensis…

Didn’t get a chance to blog yesterday due to the fact that I went down to the office in Plymouth Meeting.  On those days, I am in the car for at least 3 hours, which leaves very little time to get other things accomplished.  Yesterday was the first day for our new Assistant Director Pam Levi.  For those that didn’t read the last newsletter (which is still available to read on the website), Pam is joining our year round team after working in the camping industry for a number of years.  She is going to be an amazing addition as she brings in a ton of experience, creativity, organization and camp spirit!  Welcome, Pam!

We actually even sat down for a number of hours yesterday to begin really putting together the summer calendar.  As Eric mentioned in the November 1 Canadensis Today Show (available in the Media Room), we have used the information that we received on your surveys to help with our planning.  Thanks to everyone that filled it out.  Your suggestions have really been helpful, although I’m sorry to disappoint those that were hoping for Miley Cyrus to come to camp next year.  Oh yeah, one more thing, sushi is a bit too difficult to serve for 600+ people so don’t expect that to be on the menu next year.  The meeting, which went for 2.5 hours, really got me excited for the summer.  We even spoke of a possible scenario for Color War break!  Of course, there is no chance of me ever revealing that one.

Later on, Eric and I had dinner with Programming Director Roy Faden.  First off, it was Roy’s 50th Birthday on Friday.  Happy Birthday Roy!  During dinner, Roy also provided great insight for ways of making Summer 2010 even better than last summer.  We are so grateful for having Roy as part of our team.  Producing schedules for all of our campers and staff is one daunting task.  Roy, along with Programming Coordinators Brian Stern and Will Armon, made it possible for the summer to run so smoothly.  The dinner with Roy made the summer feel not so far away either.  In fact, my ride home to New Jersey felt a lot quicker with such a good talk about camp!

Programming Director Roy Faden and his new friend!

I got two great e-mails today that I wanted to share with everyone.  The first was from Jared “Groundhog” Katzman, who let me know that the Video Yearbook is almost ready for duplication.  He is almost ready to submit it to us so we can get it copied for everyone.  It should arrive in the first few weeks of December so be on the lookout!  I thought the DVD, produced by Lauren “L-Mac” McGuire, was so amazing!  The idea of having the campers as reporters was great.  I can’t wait to watch it again.  The other e-mail was from 2010 CIT Samantha Goldberg.  Every once in a while, I will get an e-mail from her that simply screams with her excitement for camp.  This e-mail was no different as Samantha reminded me that we only have 235 days until camp.  She also mentioned how excited she was for the Reunion in January as well as the CIT Weekend in the spring. Apparently, some of the CITs for Summer 2010 will be getting together in an upcoming weekend, too.  At the end of today, I also got a chance to talk with Counselor Martha Archer.  Martha is back at Ohio University in her Junior year.  She said that everything is going well and was so thrilled to receive several invites to campers bar and bat mitzvahs!

So, I have started to receive a number of your Halloween pictures.  Thanks for sharing to everyone who sent one in.  If you haven’t sent one in and would still like to, I will continue to post them.  First off, I hope everyone had a good time trick-or-treating or going to Halloween parties.  The concert I went to was a lot of fun.  And, a lot of good costumes, too.  The best was a group costume of people that went as all the Kellogg’s characters (Cap’n Crunch, Toucan Sam, Snap, Crackle and Pop, Dig’Em, Lucky the Leprechaun).  So now, without further ado, here are your costumes…

Andrew as a Vampire!

Allison (left) as a Cat. Meow!

Alexa (right) and Carly (left) All Punked Out!

Andy as a Monster. According to his dad, Andy apparently scared off a number of the neighborhood kids. Ha Ha!

Dylan as a Lego.

Scott as Hannah Montana. So, I stand corrected; Miley Cyrus can be at camp next summer.

Good stuff everyone!  Again, thanks for sharing.  I think Halloween at camp is going to a blast!

Finally, congratulations to Paula and Josh Halpern for guessing the answer to the last trivia question.  The Monster Mash went to #1 on the Billboard Charts in 1962.  Your Color War bands are on their way!  On one last Halloween and Monster Mash note, if you haven’t seen the Jib Jab video on Eric’s blog, go there now.  It is hysterical!

More blogging tomorrow!

Until then…Have a great day…Brian

First off, way to go Phillies!

I really liked Brian’s idea to use a song title in each of his posts last month, so in keeping with the trend, I will use the title of a Musical Theatre Showtune in the title of each of my posts all month! If you can tell me what show they’re from, I’ll let you post a shout out to your camp friends in my next post! Today’s musical theatre showtune title is in keeping with the theme of the World Series… GO PHILLY!

Happy November camp friends! I do love the fall, and today is the perfect fall day! I hope most of you are enjoying the day off of school; two Canadensis regulars even spent some time visiting the office today!

Can you tell which sister's in the photo?

It’s always nice to see camp friends outside of camp, and I was especially excited to see CJ and Mel today! We spent some time catching up, and the girls showed me a few funny Sukonik family photos, including an original camp photo from CJ’s first camp picture day! We had a lovely lunch at Redstone and it hardly even felt like a day at the office with all the fun we were having!

I’ll be spending the rest of today and tomorrow interviewing some new staff applicants who have applied to camp recently, as well as working on the staff hiring college tour that we’ll begin next February! We are going to some great new locations this year, and I’m so excited to meet new people and hire some more amazing new staff.

The Glee Soundtrack debuts today! Anyone else so excited?!

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!

Hello Canadensis…

…and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I hope everyone is getting ready for the festivities this weekend and will be dressing up as well.  I would love to see all of your Halloween costumes this year.  If you send them to my e-mail at brian@canadensis.com or at info@canadensis.com, I will be sure to post them on this blog for everyone to see!  From what I know so far, some of you have some creative ideas for costumes.  I remember a few years ago, Danielle Faden and Becky J dressed up as Color War for Halloween.  Very cool.

I also sent out an e-mail today to all 2010 Campers and Parents that we will definitely be doing Halloween at camp next summer, so save all of your costumes and make sure you pack them in your trunks.  I know many of you also attend Halloween parties at your school or local community center, so if there are any games / activities that you do there and think would be good for our Halloween Day at camp, let us know.  We’d love to get some good ideas!

As for me, I will be going up to Albany, NY for a concert.  I know, surprise.  Ha Ha!  It is actually a pretty cool concept for a concert, too.  The band that is playing is called moe.  If you’ve never heard of them, you can check them out at www.moe.org.  Anyway, they are an improvisational band and for this Halloween, they decided that they would let their fans choose their set list of songs.  For a month, fans could vote on a website from a list of around 100 songs (originals and covers) of what they would like to hear.  The songs were tallied and now I will find out tomorrow what they will play.  I thought this was a really great idea.

Of course, Sunday will bring one of my favorite football match-ups of the year with the Giants playing my most despised rival the Philadelphia Eagles.  In fact, many of you from the Philly area remember me on the Comcast Pre-Game last year speaking of my dislike for the Eagles.  That was funny!  For this game, since it is in Philly, one of the guys we tailgate with is having a party at the restaurant he owns called Griffins in Cresskill, NJ.  If you know of it and will be around, be sure to stop on by.  I think it is $15 per person.  Should be a good time!  Especially if we destroy those Eagles!

I spoke to counselor Jamie Jacobson today.  She is doing well at Syracuse University, now in her sophomore year.  She says that she see’s fellow Canadensis Counselor Rachel Dender on campus a lot since both are in the School of Education there.  Jamie J says hello to everyone at Canadensis!

Jamie J with Brianna.

I also spoke with counselor Tony Davis yesterday.  He’s doing well at Central Michigan University, where he is finishing up his English degree on his way to eventually teaching High School English.  Turns out, Tony D is living with fellow Canadensis counselor Chris Poag.  He said the two of them having been doing really well in Mt. Pleasant, MI, where he also says he runs into counselors Andi Riemersma, Brandon Clothier and Sarah Smalley.  Tony is very excited that he will be back for his second summer at camp in 2010.

Tony at Color War Bucket Brigade grabbing a pitcher from Ian. Don't spill it!

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the new feature here will be showing some of my favorite pictures from Summer 2009.  Continuing in chronological order, here are some more from Week 1…

Some of the Boys from Bunk 11

CIT Meg with Sydney and Rachel.

Boo Needs a Hug!

Things really do get crazy on Crazy Night! Right, Girls Bunk 9?!

Well, I hope everyone has a fantastic Halloween Weekend.  My weekend starts out really nice as I am having dinner with my family, including my brother Michael who I very rarely get to see because he works for a touring theater company.  Currently, he is working on the national tour of South Pacific which is off for one week before he goes back on the road in South Carolina.

And that also ends our blogging in the month of Rocktober.  As you can see, my subject for today is Halloween related.  The Monster Mash was a hit song written by Boris Pickett.  It’s a cooky song that I’ve always enjoyed, especially for Halloween.  So, for my last trivia question of Rocktober (first one to respond wins color war bands), in what year did The Monster Mash reach #1 on the Billboard chart?

Will blog more next week.  HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  Don’t forget to set your clocks back on Saturday night.  We get an extra hour of sleep!

Until then…Have a great day…Brian