Camp Field Day & Local Impact

“The summer camp industry in Western North Carolina has been around for 121 years (the first known camp here was when the Charlotte YMCA started a boys camp in June 1902, exact location unknown).

There are many types of camps in this area that include coed, girls & boys, who function as either independent or not for profit, and who serve as either a day or overnight operation. Examples are not just the traditional summer camps you think of around here, but also sports, church, Scouts, etc.

How many of you, by a show of hands, went to a camp when you were younger? This would be anywhere and any type of camp. How many of you went to camp in this area? Many hands raise throughout the group

I wonder if maybe some of you have decided to live here in this area because of your camp experience?

My parents met each other as sailing counselors at nearby camps Mondamin and Green Cove on Lake Summit. My great uncle, Keg Wheeler, was the Program Director at nearby Camp Arrowhead during the 50s, 60s, and part of the 70s.

We grew up in Charlotte, NC, but my brothers and I went to camp at Falling Creek. I certainly had a positive experience and was able to be a camper, CIT, and counselor, eventually with leadership roles, for 12 summers (1978-1989). There is no question that this experience provided a comprehensive set of skills and experiences that aided me in serving in the commercial real estate management and development business for more than 15 years. I feel very fortunate to be serving on the camp team today as my profession.”

“A camp experience offers a chance for youth to not only have fun, but to make lifelong friends (both younger and older than they are), unplug from electronic devices, and grow important life skills that I would argue are hard to gain in many places. We offer an environment where people engage in person, and are offered a chance to do things that they can’t easily do at home. Campers and staff are in a community where it’s not just encouraged, but it’s cool to build their skills in:

• leadership,
• critical thinking,
• teamwork,
• perseverance,
• responsibility,
• exploration,
• independence,
• spiritual well-being,
• affinity for nature,
• curiosity,
• self-control,
• optimism,
• and conscientiousness, to name a few.

As a business model, we are unusual since we hire many seasonal employees and operate about 8 to 10 weeks of a year. This makes it especially difficult being the only source of income to cover the year-round operation that include the full-time employees and physical plant operations and maintenance.

Seth Swift, who serves on the Henderson County health department team, and who had a positive camp experience himself in this area, is an advocate for summer camping, and has led an effort to dive into the research of summer camping in this area.

They have discovered that there are over 60 traditional camps in Henderson County that are no longer operating today.

There are currently about 25 traditional summer camps operating today in Henderson County and over 50 in just the three western North Carolina counties of Henderson, Transylvania, and Buncombe counties.”

“I’m happy to report that our industry is doing well and has mostly adapted with the changes and needs over the years. Many camps will fill their camper enrollments relatively quickly.

The challenges we experience are the same as many of your businesses. This includes finding, qualifying, hiring, and training staff. Our camp alone has almost 20 full-time employees and we signed over 200 seasonal staff contracts this past summer. This includes food services, medical team, facilities, and of course the counselors.

Fortunately the camping world attracts great people.

Our industry works well together, sharing many of the important operating aspects that are needed to have a healthy camp. Not all industries, I feel, have this type of camaraderie where we’re all focused together on the goal of offering an experience that positively impacts all of its community.

The camp industry worked together to form the North Carolina Youth Camp Association, or as we call it, the NCYCA. It is a 501c6 entity that allows us to lobby issues that will potentially affect our services and business.

We are very pleased that Sandi Boyer has served as the Executive Director of NCYCA for almost 10 years now. Sandi is here today and is going to share some highlights about this important group. You can see more about NCYCA here on their website.

Thank you!”

-Yates Pharr