Conference Recap

Our annual conference, in its fifth consecutive year back at the Center of New Hampshire Radisson in Manchester, was a huge success by pretty much every possible measure.  It seems worthwhile to provide a brief overview of the highlights. 
For a quarter of the conference-goers, the weekend began in earnest on Thursday.  Ninety showed up for a standards course, thirty for the standards update, and another thirty for extended workshops with “the Bobs” (Ditter and Selverstone).  Thirty-six new camp directors opted to take our aptly-named New Camp Directors’ Workshop, and forty-five board and committee members attended meetings in the late afternoon.
Friday greeted the conference with snow.  Dozens of area schools were closed or enjoyed delayed openings, but our conference attendees are a vigorous lot: out of the more than eight hundred people who registered, just thirty folks couldn’t make it.  Those who showed up were treated to the usual wide variety of workshops and seminars.  The keynote speaker, Dr. Richard Ginsburg, addressed a packed ballroom, and other sessions were similarly full.  Bob Ditter filled every seat for his talks on effectively teaching boys and girls; a dozen people sat on the floor in order to attend the ECP-led session on working with young staff.  CampEXPO 2008 also opened on Friday, where over eighty vendors made their services and wares available.  They must have enjoyed the experience – nearly half have already signed up again for next year’s conference.
Forget about sleeping in on Saturday (we don’t do it at camp, so why would we do it at the conference?).  Attendees rose for state meetings at 7:45 am, which were followed by another broad slate of workshops and seminars.  The annual raffle entered its second day, dexterously run by volunteer Michael Drumm, with prizes largely donated either by our vendors or our members.  Everyone seemed to drool over the gigantic commercial grill, though only Paul Davis ended up winning it.  Evening brought the annual banquet, where awards were presented, dinner was consumed, and Mindy Schneider, our guest speaker, ably competed with music blaring from the military ball in the adjacent salon. 
So, what did people like the most about their 2008 conference experience?  “The speakers were excellent,” wrote one.  “Most of them were good to great,” said another.  A third attendee wrote, “I found everything I was looking for in the expo hall.”  Many others spoke of the opportunity to connect with friends in the camp community, sharing ideas and stories with them.  One person said it was a great chance to stretch yourself, “just like we ask of the campers and staff!”