After a week of hot, humid weather, our boys awakened to a misty day with unseasonably cold temperatures. We all had to reach back into our cubbies to find a sweatshirt to give us that extra layer of warmth. Fortunately, the rain was never heavy enough to stop us from being outdoors and playing. We replaced games on the hard courts with sports on our beautifully manicured grass fields and took advantage of our two, brand new beach volleyball courts– a perfect addition to our facility, especially on a day like today.
Yesterday, we added a new activity that had never been implemented into our program. The entire Takajo community, campers, and staff, 600 in total, participated in a saliva-based PCR test. Don’t kid yourself, there were some that were actually breaking a sweat trying to muster up the right amount of drool required to constitute a testable sample. I’ve spent the last year of my life, waiting for this moment. I’ve spent countless hours on phone calls with top, infectious disease doctors and world-renowned epidemiologists. While I was confident heading into the summer that we had a good game plan, I was always haunted by a quote that former heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson once said, “everyone has a game plan, until they get punched in the face.”
This morning, we received our PCR results from 600 samples. There were some inconclusive results, and we are retesting those campers. Additionally, there were two conclusive positives; ironically, campers living in the same bunk, and that bunk has been notified. We quickly isolated these two asymptomatic campers and brought them to the health center for comfort and security. Recognizing that there’s always a chance for a false positive, we gave each boy a rapid antigen test, which confirmed these positive results. For good measure, we also administered a nasal PCR test and are awaiting those results. The rest of the campers and counselors in this bunk tested negative and will enjoy each other’s company and our facility for the next five days until they receive a follow-up PCR test.
I am proud to report that the entire staff tested negative and appreciate their compliance leading up to camp, arriving two weeks prior to the campers, being proactive in getting vaccinated, and tolerating our pre-camp testing regiment. The camp industry has suffered like so many other industries over the last fifteen months. As I speak with my colleagues around the region and all over the country, the issues that some are facing feel almost insurmountable. There are camps that have suffered a significant staff shortage and are unable to get supplies and food delivered to their camps. Candidly, I devote significant time during my day to manage these behind-the-scenes, critical needs. I’ve always believed in deep and genuine friendships and have lived my life with the belief that relationships are only good if both sides are happy. Because of my deep-rooted connections with food purveyors and contractors, we have been able to manage this crisis better than most.
As I roam the campus and watch your boys play, as I visit their bunks in the evening to check on them and say goodnight, I’m seeing them explore, navigate, problem-solve, and accept new challenges– all make this unusual journey worth it.
