Hello from Canadensis! I guess you will have to get used to hearing that opening, as I am moving up to camp within the next few weeks. Today I am writing to you from my cozy, warm house on freshman hill!

Last night Matt and I drove up and arrived at camp around 10:45 PM. I have to confess that we made a few stops along the way at both Target and Staples as they had great sales on some items and we needed to buy office supplies for camp! After our shopping adventure, dinner at Friday’s, and stopping for fuel, we finally arrived in the mountains.

This morning, we left camp around 7AM to meet with the Pocono Chamber of Commerce. Camp Canadensis is a member of the Chamber and we had to go and videotape a  free “TV show spot” for local television introducing camp to the community. So Matt drove to Stroudsburg to the meeting and I wrote a 1-minute script as a commercial for camp. We showed up and they told us it’s a 15-second intro. Aaahh, how am I supposed to explain Camp Canadensis in 15 seconds! The show will air in May and will also be on the internet, so I will be sure to post a link on the blog.

After the Chamber meeting, we ran a few errands in town and then returned to camp. After unloading the car it was time for the annual redecoration of our Operations office and clean-up. We setup Sam’s desk , moved a few things around, and then sat down at our desks to do some computer work, make phone calls, etc. At the exact same time, Matt and I looked at each other and said WOW, another winter has passed and it feels like we just left! Of course, we were missing Sam (who by the way is excited that his desk is now on “my side” of the office and he is sort of facing me full time now) as well as missing all of the campers and staff. It really felt like we never left and we were so excited to be back up at camp once again.

Now I am sitting in my house, doing some laundry, and watching TV. Tomorrow will be another day at camp and we plan on checking on all of the renovated cabins, the new canteen, and check on a few other things around camp. Tomorrow night we will head back to Philly, but this time only for about 2 weeks, until we move back up to camp full time!

I hope everyone is doing well and stay tuned for a Vlog (video) posting from camp tomorrow.

Click here for a special message from Will Armon

Coming to our web-site this summer! 

Stay tuned to the blog for more information and new vlogs!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE TEASER FOR CANADENSIS TODAY

Click here to view a video of Eric Forti on location in Upstate New York

Eric and Matt Unger are both currently in upstate NY at a food show. There are over 60 food manufacturers representing thousands of products that they will have the “unfortunate” job of HAVING to taste (including dessert items!!). The purpose is to try and find new and exciting additions to the Canadensis Menu this upcoming summer. Stay tuned to the blog for food updates…

In this picture, Eric is joined by our food purchasing agent, Alan, and one of our food vendor delivery truck drivers at the food pre-show extravaganza gala!

That’s right, 53 days until I move up to Camp for the summer!

I’m really excited for the summer to start, but there’s still so much to do before I leave town, it’s crazy! I spent my ride home from the office yesterday on the phone with my BFF, Color War Counselor Captain 2007, Group Leader 2009, Lacrosse Enthusiast, and all around amazing  human being, Moira Donohue!!! We chatted about how mutually pumped up we are for the summer to arrive, and even talked about some new ideas for the summer. Moira and I have been camp friends for a long time, even before we were Canadensis counselors, and some of my very favorite camp memories are with Moira! Maybe when I get home tonight I’ll add a few pictures of us in our old camp days for you all to giggle over…

Over the weekend we (Matt, Brian, Eric, and I) went off to New Jersey for another installment of New Camper Bowling! We were greeted by a very enthusiastic Pete Tarnoff and got a surprise visit from Brett Levine who accompanied his sister. My team of bowlers were so much fun and we got to talk about all the fun camp activities the girls were looking forward to most! We had some serious laughs over some of the silly bowling styles the girls created and there were a few hilarious incidents in which the bowling balls ended up in back hallways. I can’t wait for this wonderful group of new campers to join our summer family!

Time seems to be flying by as March comes to a close. I honestly cannot believe that April is next week! I’m 110% ready to pack all my winter sweaters away in a box, bring out my summer clothes, and most importantly, start wearing flip flops!!! But for now I’m staying inside on this rainy day, drifting off into thoughts of warm weather, sunshine, and fruit on the fly…

Click here to view the newest Canadensis 411: Winter Update- March 2009

Brrr….it was COLD! Yesterday, I went up to camp and overnight the temperatures hit 12 degrees. The heat was blasting in my cabin, but in the morning I awoke to absolutely no snow on the ground whatsoever and the lake is completely thawed out! This is the earliest I remember no snow (not even piles from the plow) and that means we have extra time to get the leaves raked and make sure the camp is as beautiful as always for our first groups, which will be arriving on May 1. Speaking of our first groups, we are also hosting our CIT 09 weekend as well on May 2 and I am so excited to see them!

Things up at camp are coming along really well. Tom, Jimmy, and Val have worked incredibly hard this winter to ensure things are ready. A bunch of cabins were renovated, cubbies are still being built, the small pavilion has a brand-new floor, we put new roofs on many buildings throughout camps, most of the roads have been paved, and much much more! Oh, did I mention the new canteen? I must have forgotten, haha. Check out my video at the top of this post from my time at camp and you will see a sneak preview of where the new canteen is located. I didn’t take you inside just yet as we are still putting the final touches on, but I promise that I will bring you a video soon of the inside!

So as soon as the temperatures stop dipping below 32 degrees (freezing) at night, we will begin the process of turning on the water. I say we because once I move up (April 20), I like to help here and there, but when it comes to climbing underneath cabins and crawling through the mud, it always seems that I am really busy and must leave to take a phone call, how convenient, right? Just kidding of course?

Anyway, I am really excited to be moving up to camp because it means camp is that much closer. I promise to post as often as I can once I move up to camp and bring you pictures and videos throughout the coming months. Enjoy the video at the top of this post from my day at camp and stay tuned because Matt Unger and I are going up next week for a day as well!

Finally, I wanted to announce the winners of Where in the World is Eric Forti- Part 2. Before I do, I have to once more reiterate how much work Jaycal continues to put into this blog. Whether I was sending him a video to post at 3AM Eastern time while I was in Russia, or I would blackberry messenger him to send me the next clue, he always made himself available and kept up with the blog postings immediately. I owe him a huge thank you for all of the work he does behind the scenes and vow that this summer I will try to get him on videos and in pictures more often…With that being said, congratulations to the following winners of Round 2. Remember, they get an ice cream sundae party for their entire bunk at camp as well as an exclusive spot on our Canadensis Today morning show that we will be filming at camp each morning for all of our family and friends who are NOT at camp and stuck back at home!

And the winners are:

Counselor Winner: Peter Tarnoff

Camper Winner: Oliver Harris

Hey Everyone! Sorry for the lack of blog posts this past week. At the start of the week, I went up to Tarrytown, NY for a menu planning food conference. About 15 camps got together to discuss their menus and the food ordering process in an attempt for all of us to gain some knowledge in this field. It was very productive, with fun mixed in of course! Following the conference, I went to Syosset, NY where I had a production meeting with Jaycal to discuss our new Canadensis Today Morning Show. We have some amazing things planned and I can’t wait for summer to come and starting this internet morning show for camp families and friends.

After the meeting, the Calabretta’s took me to dinner and then I stopped over the McCord house briefly for a quick visit. Casey asked me to record a little webcam video on facebook for the 2009 Super Senior Girls (Shout-out!) and we chatted a bit about the upcoming summer. Brett had just come home from his rock band practice with a guitar in hand!

Tuesday through Friday I was down in Atlantic City for our annual tri-state camp conference. It is the largest gathering of camps each year and an opportunity for all of us to attend sessions to discuss all aspects of camp. Actually, there was a session on communications and THIS VERY BLOG was highlighted during the session! Camps are in awe about what we have created with both Cara and my blogs and some camps are going to being their own.

It is so exciting when tri-state arrives, because it’s such an energizing and exciting conference. Anytime you put hundreds of camp directors together, we talk and talk and talk about CAMP! We discuss everything from our operations (laundry, dining hall, transportation, maintenance) to activities offered throughout the day to special event/evening activity programming, etc. There is also a huge exhibit hall with over 100 vendors selling the latest and greatest items for camps to buy. Matt Unger and I did a bit of shopping, signed up for our Senior Day at Camelbeach, and there are some very special surprises coming for this summer!

100 days until camp. Actually, it’s now Saturday morning, so its 99! Double digits, absolutely AMAZING. In truth, the number for me is approximately 30! I move to camp in 30 days to start getting things ready for all of you for an amazing Summer 2009. I can’t tell you how excited and energized I am after meeting with all of these other camps for summer to arrive. We have a lot of planning to continue to do as well as a lot of preparations up at camp (like turning the water on), but camp will be here before we know it and Summer 2009 will be a blast!

Continue to stay tuned to this blog for the announcement of Round 2 winners from Where in the World is Eric Forti. As part of our 100 days till camp celebration, we have new and exciting announcements in the coming days!

Hey Camp Family!

Over the last few days I’ve been in Atlantic City at the American Camping Association’s Tri-State Camp Conference. (Phew! That’s a lot to say!) It’s basically a great big group of people who work for all sorts of camps coming together to share ideas and listen to speakers and basically get really excited for the upcoming summer! Most of my sessions were geared towards learning fun new games for staff orientation, building strong CIT and JC programs, and some new tips and ideas for working with counselors and campers. I learned a lot, and at the same time I felt like I shared a lot of great insight with other camp staff!

One of the sessions I went to dealt with camp online safety. You’d be amazed to hear how many questions people had about Facebook safety and policies, and about how they could use social networking (a great big term for things like Twitter and Myspace) in a positive way. So one of the facilitators says that there are two camps out there that have GREAT examples of good social networking. Guess who one of those two camp was…

CAMP CANADENSIS!!!

And what was the one social networking tool that Camp Canadensis has that makes them amazing?

THE BLOGS!!!

That’s right! Our blogs were the topic of discussion in the class! I raised my hand and said “That’s MY blog!!!” and everyone turned to see who I was. I got to tell everyone about the blogs, how Eric and I both write on them and keep you all updated with all the latest camp news, and how I like to write about the fun I have with my camp friends in the off season. So I just want you all to know how famous you are…!

The convention was a really great experience and I’m so excited to bring all the new things I learned with me to camp this summer and use them to make this season the best it can be!

After work today I’m going to head home and try to catch up on the piles of laundry that are growing in my room, and hopefully tomorrow will be a relaxing day off! Sunday I’m off to New Jersey again for another installment of New Camper Bowling!

In other news I’ve lost my Blackberry and I’m now in the market for a new phone. I think I’m going to jump ship and hop on board the iPhone craze. Anyone out there have good phone advice?

Eric is currently at a camp conference without internet access but will update again soon!

100 Days till Summer ’09!

Hi Canadensis Bloggers!

Sorry for not posting in a few days. I returned home from my adventures on Tuesday evening and was at work bright and early on Wednesday. Of course there is so much to catch up on when you are gone from work for 2 weeks (plus 3 weeks before that for Australia, etc.) Such a rough job I have, right?? Hehe.

I also came down with a nasty cold- fever, running nose, sore throat, etc. It definitely was because of all the flying I am sure, but I guess it’s a small price to pay for being able to travel so much and see the world, quite literally.

Planning for camp is in full swing. Matt Unger and I spent yesterday working on the operational stuff. Things like fire extinguisher inspections and recharging, power generator testing, kitchen fire suppression systems, drinking water inspection, telephone line installations for our phone room, etc. I know all very stimulating conversations, but someone has to have them! Matt has been so busy picking up the slack from my travels and trying to schedule everything to happen in the month of April. You see, we have a narrow window of opportunity to do all of these tests/installations in because the water can’t be turned on at camp until the snow melts and temperatures are above freezing. We have groups (including our CIT WEEKEND!) up at camp beginning May 1, and so the month of April is BUSY.

Speaking of the month of April, Matt and I will be moving up to camp on April 20. That is about 5 weeks from now, WOW! How the winter really flies.

What else can I tell you about- Cara and I worked on ordering the t-shirts today for Visiting Day, staff shirts, etc. The new shirt designs are really exciting and I am sure you will all be excited as well to see them.

Finally, our 2009 Staff Message board has kicked off. For all of our staff, we have a message board forum where they can visit and introduce themselves, new staff can ask returning staff members questions, etc. Each March we kick it off and it’s a favorite of many of our staff members! Sorry to all the campers, but its only for staff, although hopefully someday you will be one!

Saturday I am going to meet up with Sam Ginsburg (shout out to Sam) for lunch and then I have tons of laundry to do from my trip. Then on Sunday, we have new camper bowling for our new campers in 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd grades. I am looking forward to meeting many of our new campers!

That’s it for now. Have a great weekend and keep checking the blog because next week Jaycal and I will be announcing the winners of Round 2!