A number of people asked me if I find visiting weekend stressful. I can’t help but think back to when I was a group leader, and I walked in to then owner Morty Goldman’s office the morning of a busy Saturday visiting day. Morty had his feet up on the desk and was reading the New York Times. I asked Morty, “How could you possibly be so relaxed, when in just a few hours, a few hundred visitors are coming into camp.” Morty put the paper down and calmly said, “If we’ve been doing everything right for the last few weeks, if our intentions are honorable and are doing the best we can, then visiting day should be great.”
That exchange has stayed with me forever, and perhaps is the reason why I don’t feel stress over visiting day weekend. While we take great pride in our facility, we recognize that our camp is only as good as its staff. Each year, I start the opening session on our first day of orientation talking to our counselors about the importance of being a good role model, a good mentor, and a good friend. I explain to the staff, that while some might view this as just a summer job, there is a direct correlation in being a good counselor and being successful in anything they choose to do later in life.
The ability to adapt, the need for teamwork, to be reliable and loyal and accountable for one’s actions, translates to anything our staff will have to do after they leave for the summer. As I look around on a humid visiting day weekend and see my waterfront staff accommodating hundreds of swimmers at a time, tennis counselors instructing on courts, basketball counselors motivating their boys, and kitchen staff workers working diligently to feed all of our guests, I take great pride in the team that makes Camp Takajo a unique summer experience for your boys.
