ACA, St. Louis Winter Warm-Up

Early Bird registration is available through December 18, 2024.

• Registration includes program and lunch.
• Not an ACA Member? Join today for FREE and get the best rates for this event!

The ACA New Director Orientation (NDO) is a course for seasonal or newer camp directors, assistant directors, program directors, and others moving into camp leadership positions. The NDO is an interactive course that includes activities, lectures, and discussions in a group problem-solving environment designed to address real-life situations at camp. This course covers five critical areas to help directors and supervisors develop the skills they need to be effective leaders. The core areas to be covered include:

1. Leadership and supervision
2. Camper and staff development and behavior
3. Staff training
4. Risk management
5. Evaluation and assessment

$115 - Member

$175 - Non-Member

This NDO course will be offered in a hybrid model with participants needing to complete online pre-coursework, participate in a two-hour virtual course meeting, and attend the in-person training. 

• Registration Closes: Wednesday, January 1 - Early registration is encouraged to allow adequate time to complete online-pre-coursework. Registration includes course materials and lunch on January 14. 
• Pre-Course Virtual Meeting: Thursday, January 9 - 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. CT
• In-Person Training: Tuesday, January 14 - 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CT

Register for the New Director Orientation

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

• 9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. - Registration & Social Time
• 9:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - Welcome & Icebreaker
• 10:15 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. - Educational Breakout Session
• 11:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Roundtable Discussions
• 12:10 p.m. - 1:10 p.m. - Lunch
• 1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. - Educational Breakout Session
• 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. - Closing Activity

Full Schedule with Session Descriptions

St. Louis Winter Warm-Up Detailed Schedule

Collecting and Implementing Staff Feedback: Come learn why it is important to give staff a voice. Discover different ways to collect and implement feedback from staff, and how to improve the camp experience for your staff and to increase staff retention.

From a Staff Crisis to a Staff Wait List: It's an experience THEN a Job: We will take you through 2021 when we almost canceled campers through the off-season for 2025. We changed how we look at staff appreciation, how we manage staff, how we more than just a 4-week summer camp job for them, and more. I will also be able to show our FJC (Foundation of Jewish Camping) staff survey results and how we scored higher than the national average on just about every question (sometimes more than 20% more!). We moved our thinking to "we are two businesses...a business of campers and a business of staff"....and we can show everyone how we did it and what they can do! We will also take them through social media and how those continue the connections to their peers and to the camp family!

United for Impact: How Development and Marketing Work Together to Tell Camp Ondessonk's Story and Drive Growth: This session will explore the collaborative approach between Camp Ondessonk's Development and Marketing teams and how these efforts enhance donor engagement and increase enrollment in summer camp, outdoor education, events, and specialty weekend programs. Whitney Strang and Tony Vrooman will provide an inside look at the unique strategies they use to coordinate storytelling with targeted marketing to connect with various audiences and fulfill Camp Ondessonk's mission.

Connecting All Abilities: Get ready to level up your camp counselor skills in this interactive session all about inclusive programming! Learn how to create a camp experience where every camper feels included and valued. We’ll dive into the history and importance of inclusivity and share strategies to make accommodations on the fly, using the resources you already have. Plus, discover creative ways to adapt activities to fit your budget—because inclusivity doesn’t have to come at a high cost! By the end of this session, you’ll be a pro at making camp fun and accessible for every camper—no matter their needs or your budget! 

A Multi-Tiered Approach to Camper and Staff Care: In recent years, there have been conversations and observations surrounding a shift in camper and staff needs. In the summer of 2024, Camp Ondessonk re-envisioned its camper and staff care model based on systems used in schools, lived experience, and research on current trends. In this new approach Camp Ondessonk introduced a Multi-Tiered Support Model that included changes to certain staff responsibilities, an increase in volunteers with social work background, standing meetings that combined administrators from all areas of the operation, training changes, and more. These changes led to a holistic view of camper and staff behaviors that led to early intervention utilizing resources from multiple areas of camp. Come learn about the journey through the first year of one camp’s attempt to best serve campers and staff in a post-pandemic world, and share in brainstorming what holistic camper and staff care looks like today for the camping industry.

Smart Connections: AI, Cultural Journeys, and Emotional Intelligence: In “Smart Connections: AI, Cultural Journeys, and Emotional Intelligence,” participants will engage in a rich journey that combines cultural exploration with cutting-edge technology and emotional growth. Interactive language activities will help participants learn greetings and phrases from various languages, reinforcing the importance of linguistic diversity. Through role-playing and perspective-sharing exercises, participants will gain insight into different worldviews, fostering cultural appreciation and strong connections. The workshop also highlights inclusivity, with activities demonstrating how welcoming diverse perspectives strengthens any learning environment. To bring a modern twist, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be introduced to show how technology can support diverse learners and promote inclusive practices globally. Coupled with empathy-building exercises, these activities will help campers cultivate a deepened awareness of themselves and others, underlining the role of emotions in creating truly inclusive spaces.

 To learn more about Camp Wartburg please visit https://campwartburg.com/. 

Lodging

Affordable group lodging is available at Camp Wartburg in Lindenberg Village on Tuesday, January 14th. Each cabin is heated an equipped with bunk beds, showers, a common area, refrigerator, and microwave. Participants will need to provide their own linens and towels. Lodging is assigned on a first come first served basis. When registering online, please select option in step 4.

Group Cabin Lodging - $40

Sponsorship opportunities

• $3,000 Title Sponsor*
• $2,000 Keynote sponsor*
• $1,500 Meal sponsor*
• $1,000 Session sponsor
• $500 Snack/Break sponsor

All sponsorships come with a table, and logo recognition on signage at the event, and the events web page.

Sponsorships with an (*) also include two minutes to address the participants.

Please contact Kim Fitzgerald, kfitzgerald@acacamps.org with any sponsorship inquiries.