It is day four and it  feels like we have been here forever, and I mean that in a good way. The kids have fallen into the camp routine in every way. They are all starting to sleep later which is great for them and their staff members. We no longer have any new campers as all the groups are beginning to act like a huge extended family. Everyone now has a CRH story to share and feels like a part of the entire community. Always one of my biggest pleasures is watching the kids come together and form a family. Most kids are pretty nervous when we meet in the offseason. Seeing them work through the new adventures here at camp is very rewarding.

Of course it is my staff that deserve all the credit. A large percentage of them have been at camp for three weeks preparing for our summer. The new staff have gone through the same transition and are now part of our community. Our 18 group leaders 14 of whom have grown up here before our eyes and the remaining four who joined us during the magical Covid summer of 2020 are leading their groups beautifully. They form the key engine in our leadership team. They spend 14 hours a day caring for and making sure your children are both safe and happy.

In spite of the near constant threat of rain it has been our best opening we have had in 20 years as owners. It feels different this summer in many ways. For me personally it is the addition of 30 more counselors and the limiting of numbers in most of our groups. We have less kids on the ground with dozens of more staff members to watch over them. Having over 250 Robin Hood summers on my administration team is the perfect recipe for success. We are not only colleagues of mine but life long friends.

Sweet dreams from the Realm

Chuck here to tell you a little bit about our new complex. All of our Jr. camp boys are now located within easy view from my office. This includes TPs, Jugglers, Squires, Archers and Yeomen. First activity just started, and they are marching off to it. I can hear the excitement as they wander past to get to their activities which include Basketball (TPs), 9 Square (Jugglers), Hockey Rink (Squires), Crafts (Archers) and Gaga (Yeomen) I heard a lot of talk about Crafts and Gaga – Two favorites!

The great thing about this complex in Jr. Camp is that it is all in one area. Each group has for their bunk in their area, a Tetherball, Ping Pong table, benches for sign up, and down near TPJs a small basketball court and playground set up with swings and slide. 

The Squires and Archers are in a new bunk which was once the Art & crafts / Woodshop building. This whole area of camp is close to the Dining Hall and most evenings will be quiet by 9:15pm.

My bunk is on the backside of Archer / Squire bunk. I can easily keep an eye out for them and the whole area from my porch. As I mentioned above, because Arts and crafts/Woodshop have become a bunk these 2 activities had to be moved. Woodshop is now on the backside of the red garage (weight room) which used to be the trip department. This area gives them a little more space for work and play. Arts & crafts has been moved to the back of the playhouse. A beautiful deck has been added and they have 2 rooms in the back of the playhouse for storage and inside work, really more space than they had in the old Arts & crafts/Woodshop building.

Several other new things were done this year. On Sr. Camp Boys the basketball was resurfaced and looks great with a R.H. crest in the center-next to it is an old asphalt volleyball court which was torn up and a sand volleyball court added, making a great lakeside view play area. Girls Camp also got a new playground set up for younger campers. Swings, slides and small climbing wall. Several bunks got new bathrooms.

Lastly the staff got a new staff den – a large 2 room building sitting in the end of the far field baseball area. Nice set up with new furniture and TVs for their use. This is further away from when they used the Lodge and will keep the noise made there away from bunk areas.

Chuck

The only thing I have time to share with you about today is that I am speechless after just one full day. Of course, I have been fearful for days about the weather report of potential rain all day long. You would think I was new at the director stuff – rule # 2 is never look at or stress about the forecast. We woke up this morning to sunny skies and temperatures that didn’t stop rising all day.

This off-season I made a decision to have less campers yet more counselors this summer. The lifting of Covid restrictions allowed us to attract a great International specialty staff. We enrolled fewer middle age campers than we did last summer. We also only took a certain number of new campers in every group, which allowed us to have almost 1.5 to 1 staff to camper ratio. We did all of this while beefing up our hard-court sports and lifeguard totals. You can feel the difference instantly here today. The energy brought by all these extra faces is immeasurable. As we said at our administration meeting today – it feels like day eight here, not day one. The place is running like clock work – for now. Rule #1 from the camp director handbook is to never say out loud or even think about how great things are going.

I have never really followed rules or norms, especially up here at CRH. This staff is different in every way. They are all so enthusiastic and have embraced our mission here at camp. The extra sets of hands and eyes have allowed us to give all the campers the attention and love needed to succeed here. I am so proud of our former campers who have led this staff as always with endless enthusiasm and love for all things Camp Robin Hood.

Sweet dreams from the Realm ….

Once again for the 96th consecutive summer here at CRH, children from around the world have assembled in Freedom NH to enjoy all that we have to offer. They ran out of their vehicles with enthusiasm and gratitude to return to our shared summer home. I loved watching the new campers look around and see the returning campers and staff embrace. Everyone settled in with their groups as we met for our first meal together tonight at dinner. The place was rocking with laughter and happiness. Each group enjoyed the traditional opening night meal of spaghetti and meatballs.
After introducing the administration, I asked everyone to enjoy every second of this summer. They promised to be friendly to each other.  I asked them to always say please and thank you. I asked them to celebrate everyone’s right to be themselves. I reminded them that coming to camp is a privilege and not an entitlement. We will try our best to spend this summer respecting each other while growing together to be a safe and happy community.
I am so honored to be leading this camp and cannot thank you all enough for your trust.