A Letter to Leadership

One day a long time ago i walked into my college for a lecture to find a poster on the door promoting a summer at an American summer camp - it piqued my interest, I attended an info session and before i knew it sign had signed up and received a large envelope in the mail with my placement in camp: Windsor New York, Trade Winds Lake Camp Inc - I left my family behind in the Netherlands and over the next thirty plus years my life took its twists and turns with one permanent feature - summer camp in upstate New York. There is a direct line from that first moment seeing the advertisement for Camp America, to my being the CEO at Frost Valley YMCA .

It is not an exaggeration to say that I owe everything to camp, or more precisely, I owe everything to the people I worked for and met in camp, and the camp experiences that shaped me into the person, and professional, I am today.?(And, if you would ask me to pick one person, it would be the owner of Trade Winds, Arthur Fishelman.) ( Laura Markham , show him this :))

One of the things I love most is the start of camp, before the kids arrive, and seeing young leadership like yourselves starting or continuing your summer journey. You have so much to give, but even more to gain. ?I remember those early summer days all too well, and the memories bring me much joy.

I wish for you what camp did for me: every time I was given an opportunity or a challenge, it was the confidence and skills I developed at camp that gave me the leg up. “I learned that in camp”

I recently asked some of you to, in your head, think of your goals for the summer. It is true that the opportunities in camp are as diverse as the staff and kids who attend. Nevertheless I want to give you three goals that I think subconsciously guided me in my years as a counselor and a young leader. Here they are:

• CHANGE ONE CHILD’S LIFE - by that, i don't mean just one, but one, and then the next one, and then the next. Everything you will do in the next few months is in the service of that goal. Make no mistake, you have an enormous power to make an impact that lasts a lifetime. Use that power, and use it to the best of your ability. Remember that the flowers you plant today may not bloom until much later, but bloom they will.
• SEEK OUT GROWTH - whether you like it or not, you will not be the same person when you leave here at the end of the summer. But you do have something to say about how and how much you will have changed. Do hard things. Raise your hand first when a job needs doing. Do every job you are asked to do with a smile. And focus on what is in front of you, doing the best possible job you can, at that time, in that moment. And, at least as important, don’t focus on others - their performance does not affect yours. That's what servant leadership truly is.
• HAVE FUN - does this need saying? I think it does. Have fun when the sun is out and your groups are easy. Have fun when it's raining and your groups are challenging. Create deep friendships. Support each other. And above all, be kind to each other during the always crazy camp adventure.

I hope your personal goals sound somewhat like that, and, in that order of importance! I can assure you there will come a time when you look back and realize what you did, and what you received in return. #becauseofcamp #summercamp2024

Here is to another magical summer in the Valley - good luck everyone!

Riel, CEO