As spring begins to unfold, I know that for many of you this is one of the most intense and consequential times of the year. While the world around us may still be shaking off winter, camps across the country are deep in the final preparations for summer — the season when your mission comes most fully to life.
Right now, you are making decisions that will shape the experiences of campers, families, and staff for months to come. If my experience as a camp director is similar, you are finalizing staffing plans, refining training schedules, walking your sites with fresh eyes, and asking the essential questions: Are we ready? Are we aligned? Are we prepared to offer the safest, most meaningful, and most impactful experience possible?
This work is not small. Summer is not just your busiest season — it is your most important one. And the care, intentionality, and leadership you bring to these final months of preparation make all the difference.
One of the things that continues to inspire me about our field is how instinctively camp professionals understand what young people need — even before the research catches up. In this issue, “The Science Behind the Magic of Camp” helps put language and evidence to what many of you see every day. When dopamine fuels motivation, oxytocin builds trust, serotonin supports confidence, endorphins bring joy, and even cortisol is managed in healthy ways, camps create the optimal conditions for learning, growth, and happiness. Camp is not just fun — it is biologically powerful.
Of course, creating those conditions doesn’t happen by accident. It happens through thoughtful leadership, clear expectations, and well-prepared staff. “Strategic Growth in Camping: Training, Development, and Sustaining Shared Leadership” reminds us that if our strategic goals are truly meant to be lived, training can’t be a one-time event. It must become a rhythm — woven into how we prepare, communicate, and support our teams throughout the season.
Leadership development is also at the heart of “Growing Tomorrow’s Leaders Today.” Camps have always been extraordinary incubators for leadership, and this article’s focus on connection, confidence, and curiosity — the “3 Cs” — offers a powerful framework for thinking about how leadership is cultivated every day in huddles, cabins, activity areas, and shared challenges. As you finalize your staff training plans, I hope you’ll see these moments not just as preparation for summer, but as investments in the future.
And while much of our work is rooted in joy and growth, we know that safety remains foundational — this year more than ever. As you review your emergency plans and readiness protocols, “17 Gaps in Your Emergency Action Plan: How to Fill Them” offers practical guidance to strengthen systems that protect your communities when it matters most. Being prepared allows everyone — campers and staff alike — to fully engage in the camp experience with confidence.
As these final months before summer unfold, I hope you will pause, even briefly, to recognize the impact of what you are preparing to do. In just a few short weeks, your camps will once again become places of belonging, growth, challenge, laughter, and transformation.
This work is demanding. It is complex. And it is profoundly important.
Thank you for the care, professionalism, and heart you bring to this field every day. I continue to believe that there is nothing more important than the work you are doing.
With gratitude,
Henry
