While the highlights of my time make it easy to explain that particular summer, it wasn’t the things I did that made such a mark. Now, almost  20 years later, I remember the summer I was 13 like it was yesterday. It was the year that my counsellor Andrew Boyd, taught me about the person I wanted to be. This single lesson summarized in my mind, the true value of the camp experience.

Never before in my life had I felt as secure and confident as those two weeks I lived with seven other boys and the coolest counsellor at camp. Our cabin was proud to boast that we were “Boyds Kids” only hours after we first arrived. He managed to earn our trust and loyalty by the end of the first day. We were ready to do anything for him, and somehow we knew he’d do no less for us in return. There were so many things I admired about him; characteristics I never forgot as I grew up. 

Boyd listened to us. I remember thinking then as I still do now, that often adults don’t listen! Perhaps it’s because the issues of youth seem simple to grownups who have experienced those same emotions hundreds of times since they were kids themselves. Perhaps that repetition makes the topics now seem boring. Boyd never dismissed us. Not only did he listen, but he took the time to get to know us as a cabin. Our likes and dislikes, fears and interests. He also never missed a chance to introduce us to other staff and campers as we travelled throughout camp.  I always felt important when I was with him and always felt part of whatever was going on. In watching over me while I was at camp, Boyd taught me the value of inclusion. Just as it did with me, being inclusive makes everyone feel important and part of the group.

Even though it was my best summer, the session wasn’t all easy for me. In the senior cabin beside me, there was a kid that I didn’t get along with. He was loud and obnoxious - your typical bully. He would often try to single me out or embarrass me, which became a real obstacle in my time.  A week into camp, I told Boyd about my problem. By then I was certain I could trust him, exposing my insecurity and frustration, I believed he would have an answer. After listening to my problem, he thought for a moment, then offered simply three points: Don’t ignore it,  Don’t be embarrassed by it and Don’t worry about it. He felt these things have a way of working themselves out. For whatever reason, that simple advice made me feel better and in the end, to my surprise, he was right. The very next day I found myself standing in front of a hoola hoop with none other then that bully. Together, we had been challenged to guard a token that rested in the centre. Earlier that afternoon my cabin learned that we were going to be doing our evening program with the other senior boys.  The activity partnered us up with the kids from their cabin and was a series of challenges, campers vs. counsellors. By the end of the evening that bully and I had been successful at preventing the staff from taking our token. We were the only group to win that night and both relished in the attention we were given. Before heading back to our cabins, Boyd took us aside and told us how impressed he was in our work together. He felt our instincts must have been aligned. What was truly amazing was that I never had a problem with that boy again. While we were never really quite friends, we had somehow developed a respect between each other which encouraged him to become a constant supporter of me.

Maybe it was luck, but I like to believe it was intentional. In my telling of that story, it was Boyd who organized the entire thing to help me with my problem. In doing that he taught me that when you are up front and honest about how you feel, anything is easy to overcome when you have the support of someone you trust and believe in.

Although I’ve offered only two examples, I have endless tales to tell of my 13th summer of life. As time moves forward and my experiences become more vast, never do those memories fade, not even a little. They reside in me with such strength,  that I often speak to the staff team about my camper days during our pre-camp training in June. While I know that those memories have changed slightly over time, and my counsellor, whom I remember to be  perfect, is probably not so perfect in reality, the lessons he taught me about the person he was have stayed with me. They have shaped me into the person that I am today. While I never profess to be perfect, I’m proud of the person I am. Not a day goes by that I am not grateful for those opportunities I had as a child; to be at camp, to learn outside and to grow. Those short summer weeks when I was encouraged to take risks, to challenge myself, to overcome fear and to learn how to trust.

 It is my most sincere hope that now, at the end of our summer season, the campers of Couchiching have left camp and gone on to other challenges in their lives with some of these same values instilled. Moving forward with more confidence, more patience,  with a strong sense of value and with a respect for inclusion. While each experience may differ from person to person and from year to year, I hope that our campers sit at home knowing that for two months every summer, there is a place on the shores of Lake Couchiching that is waiting to support and engage them. A place where the lessons of life are available for the teaching every day.

For me, that is the true value of the camp experience.

Marty

 This arcticle was taken from the 2010 Cooch Chonicle. 

I often hear talk of the fast pace world we live in. Rarely in a positive way, people typically bring it up when reflecting on how impatient our society has become where the need for everything instantly, outweighs the ability to properly pay for it: A world where disposable income has become essential at any age and the desire for money a primary focus. A place where communication is accomplished more often on line then in life. These things and more are often used as criticism and although I agree with some of it and worry about much of it, I am relieved when I remind myself that my job encourages me to go against the grain. While at Camp Couchiching, money has no value, the pace of the world is slow and controlled, electronics have no use in communication and the most valuable item our kids strive to earn is a $5.00 Delicio Pizza, served to the winning cabin of the Tour de Cooch at the end of each session. It is a world very different from that we live in, and after spending time here, the experience in unforgettable. I love Camp for the magic it promotes and the creativity it inspires, but most of all, I love it for the lasting impact that it holds.

Camp is not a two week decision over one summer holiday, but rather one of the largest most significant decisions a parent can make for their child. I was reminded of the significance of that very decision during a weekend reunion we hosted this fall. On a warm and sunny September weekend, Camp Couchiching welcomed over 100 guests for a two day alumni celebration. It was the Somerville’s 25^th wedding anniversary, and they had invited friends from all over to join them at their party. What made this 25^th so special was that the couple met while attending Cooch and are now married with three kids, all of whom have spent  a great deal of time at camp. There social circle is diverse from years of experience, however the most consistent through line is one drawn from their friends made here at camp. The common bond between them, their experiences and on the shores of Couchiching, is visibly strong and memorable.

Throughout the weekend I was fortunate to meet and speak to a number of alumni and guests about camp; most of whom I had never met. It was a treat to talk to people who now, have grown up and become professionally successful, building families and fortunes in the decades since their time at camp. What really captivated me about these discussions was that it was evident through conversation that after so much change and development in each of their lives, it was camp that was constantly reflected upon and credited for who they had become. Camp held such important meaning to them. I couldn’t help but think that at some point in their lives they themselves were children. Years ago, this group of alumni were the smiling faces leaning how to shoot a bow and arrow or singing songs at campfire. At some point in their childhood, back when decisions were made on their behalf, it was their parents that made the choice to send them to camp. I wonder if those parents realized how that one decision would shape the adults that stood before me. Where they aware that years later, camp would still be as important as ever in the lives of their children now mature, even though they have long outgrown the body paint, slip and slides and their love of tuck? Do you as parents realize the importance of the decision you have made for your child?

Regardless of where I go, or what I do in life, camp will always stay with me. Although to most the word “camp” means simply fun and games for kids; to me the word holds a far stronger meaning. I try to be modest, listen to people, and work to understand their perspectives because of camp. I am patient, accepting, confident and creative because of camp. I am forgiving and trusting, willing to fail and learn from those failures because of camp. I am the person I am today, because camp has taught me how to use my education and experiences to interact with people and the world around me. Each summer our staff team strives to accomplish that goal with our campers by giving their very best in programming but most importantly, by simply being there with the kids to listen to them, challenge them and engage them always. It might seem crazy that something as ridiculous as camp can be such a life changing component to the development of your child but I believe that it is.

This past weekend the alumni of years past taught me that success is important in the short term, but will be best measured decades in the future, when your kids return to camp as adults and reflect on how their time at camp helped shape who they have become. In spending time with them over a weekend this fall, putting faces to stories of the past, and realizing the impact their camp experiences continue to have, I am refreshed and recharged at how totally amazing it is to be a Camp Director.

Camp teaches us all how to take a step back and slow down the pace of the world. In a few weeks or a month, it allows us to recognize that things that are truly important cannot be bought or bargained for and that real happiness cannot be achieved without having others there to share in your moment with you. Here we learn that time spent together holds the most valuable life lessons anyone can learn.

Marty