Ready for Summer

We have been rapidly preparing for summer here at Camp Manito-wish.  Memorial Day Weekend saw 200 volunteers putting in the pier, taking inventory of the trail equipment, cleaning all of camp and general camp setup.  

We have completed 2 Wilderness First Responder Courses, one Wilderness First Responder Recertification course, one Wilderness Water Safety Course, a Swift Water Rescue Course, and an ACA Canoeing Instructor Course.  The Leadership Program is running 3 consecutive Schular Scholars Programs from June 1 through June 23rd.

Still to come we have a second Wilderness Water Safety Course, Wilderness First Aid and Summer Camp and Outpost Staff Training.

Enjoy the photos below from Memorial Day Weekend in the Leadership Center and one from the final simulation of the first Wilderness First Responder Course.

Report from Manito-wish Spring Board Meeting

Greetings fellow Manito-wishers!

Last weekend Sarah Judkins, Sam Kruckenberg, and Katie Lindahl joined camp’s Board of Directors for the Spring Board Meeting. We brought with us your message of a smooth (and fun!) hiring process, your excitement for the summer, as well as your thoughts on the new four week session, transitioning from school, and your continued interest in making camp green.

Many things were discussed and exciting work is being done at the board level. Camp has developed and adopted a new mission statement. When you read it much of it will seem familiar, but it puts more focus on character and leadership development – a key element of all our work. It also brings in the word challenging, which was felt to be paired well with the word enriching to describe life at Manito-wish. The mission statement now reads as follow:

“To enrich the character and leadership development of each person who has a Manito-wish experience by challenging them to grow in wisdom, in stature, in favor with God and with one another.”

The hiring process is going well. Although we are not quite fully staffed, most key positions are hired and there are plenty of remaining applicants to fill the open spots. Also, as you all know Brandt Christopherson has moved on to a new job with REI in Madison. The Summer Program Director position has not yet been filled, but the full time staff are working hard to hire this position. They are confident, but also know that if they can’t fill the position they will be able to take on the extra workload this summer before casting a broader net for applicants in the fall.

An ad hoc tripping committee has started work to guarantee the availability of great tripping environments for camp. Six new Department of Natural Resources (DNR) sites are being established; four of the locations have been picked while 2 more are in the works. Camp has the ability to influence where these sites are established and is working with the DNR in hopes that they will be in our heavy tripping areas. The committee is also looking at the availability of land in key tripping areas and is looking for ways to acquire more Manito-wish owned sites.

In the realm of property, we can all be excited for new bathrooms in Schwartz this summer! Also, a Map Pavilion is going to be built south of the Manito-wish Leadership Center (MLC) parking lot. It will display maps from all – summer and outpost – tripping areas. A donation has also been made to rebuild Powerhouse Cabin. This project will start in the fall.

Work at the board level continues to restructure board governance. This includes the development of a strategic plan. We are happy to inform you that environmental sustainability is a key part of this strategic plan.

I hope you made it through what turned into a very long email. Please feel free to contact any of us with any concerns or feedback about camp at the board level. Also, we would like to remind you that anyone can get a copy of the meeting minutes, just request them from Anne (anne.derber@manito-wish.org)!

Enjoy spring and get excited for a great summer at Camp!

-Katie, Sarah, and Sam
krlindahl@u.northwestern.edu
sarah.c.judkins@gmail.com
kruckesb@muohio.edu

Summer is coming!

Well, after a touchy spring of warm, then snow, then warm, then cold, I think the lake has finally decided to open up. This afternoon I took a look out the PO (Program Office) window to see open water beyond the Sail Shack, which normally wouldn't surprise me, but since I've been here in January all I've seen has been ice. It's a little early to officially declare the "ice out" but it's getting there.


[View from the Trips House]


[Here's what Matt and I found walking down by the Sail Shack this afternoon]


[Wilderness Program Director Jay Creagh helps Mika get a sense of the epic Upper Dam Portage. She was still a little confused about the whole river right vs. river left terminology, or the English language.]

The kitchen renovations have been moving along and will be ready to start serving up delicious meals in a couple weeks. Here's a couple pictures of Nash nearing completion.

[View of the kitchen from the north end]


[View from outside of Boyce]

One last thing: Matt and I will be in Minneapolis, for the Midwest Mountaineering Expo, so if you're in the area, stop by. There's plenty to see and do, and it's free. We hope to see you there.

Meet The 2009 Staff: Azael Meza

It is a pleasure to welcome Azael "Ozzie" Meza, our 2009 Challenge Course Director, to the Manito-wish community! Ozzie comes to us from his previous job as a Project Director/Program Coordinator with the Lac du Flambeau Natural Resources Department. During his six years in that capacity he visited Camp many times beginning in 2002, when he brought groups interested in environmental education and leadership activities to utilize our wonderful facilities. He is excited to now be working full-time at Manito-wish, where he is no longer a visitor but an integral part of our 2009 staff team. A few interesting facts about this interesting man:
- Born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico; Came to United States for good at age 23
- Moved to Wisconsin in 1998; decided he liked cold weather
- Moved to the 'Northwoods' in 2000
- Was the Weekend News Director/Production Assistant at Channel12/Rhinelander in 2001
- Married in 2000 to Lisa from Appleton, WI
- Two children: Sylvia, age four, and Stella, age two
- Loves the Porcupine Mountains, Sylvania and his own backyard (Chequamegon N.F)
- Currently lives in Lac du Flambeau
- Has climbed mountains in Mexico!

Ozzie is excited to get the summer started. He has already begun untangling massive piles of ropes and carabiners at the ropes course shed, and has had the opportunity to fill out a maintenance request form, which is fun. Here are three things he's pumped about:
-Seeing Camp running and working at full capacity
-The spring-to-summer transition at Camp
-Paddling with you!

Welcome, Azael, to Camp Manito-wish! We are fortunate to have you working with us.

LumberJack/LumberJill Canoe Trip

Hey staff: This is a message that went out to all of our campers recently. I wanted to get it out to you too in case you know some potential campers that may be interested.

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The LumberJack/LumberJill Canoe Trip

If you are entering 6th - 8th grade this is an excellent opportunity to paddle the Northwoods and have fun while building outdoor and leadership skills, and making friends.

This is a 7-day experience with 5 days on trail. Potential paddle routes are the Trout Lake Circle, Gresham Lake route, or the Sylvania Wilderness in Michigan.

LumberJack for Boys: July 5-11
LumberJill for Girls: Aug. 5-11

Click here for more information and to download an application.

Manito-wish on Coolworks.com!

Check out our Camp Profile and Seasonal Professional Advertisement on Coolworks.com. You'll notice that our Profile gives general information about Camp, and our Seasonal Pro Ad is geared specifically towards Program Area Directors and male Counselors. These are the two areas we are still looking to hire, so if you know anyone who can fill these positions, tell them to apply. And, as always, if they use your name as their referral, you just might win yourself a nice piece of Mountain Hardwear clothing.

That's all for now. Blog out.

Employee Handbook - Overlooked?

When you were hired on to work for Manito-wish, chances are you were sent a link to our Employee Handbook, asked to read it, and asked to sign a form saying you've read and understand the entire thing.

Now I don't know about you, but when I update my iTunes, or sign up for some online service, a Terms of Service thing pops up. It's usually about a billion pages long, and lets face it, I don't read a word of it. I scroll to the bottom and click "I have read and acknowledge the terms of this service". I then proceed to posting clips of the Daily Show on You Tube and violate everything I just agreed to.

I'm hoping that is not what happened when you were asked to read the employee handbook. When it comes down to it, this lays out the expectations in which keeps our campers safe. It's things you can get fired for, what you're liable for, and the expectations you're held to for your employment here.

The biggest surprises, and granted, the ones I really don't like dealing with, are the situations that pop up where people say, "Wait, that's not fair, I never knew that was an expectation!" Then I proceed to pull out the one page receipt you signed (or your job description) and say, "Really? Because you signed this form saying you've read and understand all of this."

Employee Handbook

Firstly, I'm going to encourage you all to click the above link, and go back through and re-read this handbook. There is a lot there, but its worth it. Here though (to peak your interest) are a few examples of things you may not have known:

Time off for Seasonal Staff (p. 53): "...Manito-wish will strive to see that each seasonal staff member receives a total of 2 non-consecutive hours off each day. Additionally, seasonal staff members will be off at least 24 hours every 2 weeks, in blocks of not less than 12 consecutive hours. Staff are expected to be in Camp at all times, with the exception of authorized time off..."

Unacceptable Conduct (p. 37): "...Allowing unauthorized persons (including family or friends) to enter the premises, unless prior authorization has been received by management..."

Speaking to the Media (p. 31): "...All inquiries from the media should be referred to the Executive Director. Employees may not speak to the news media, under any circumstances, as an official or unofficial spokesperson of Camp Manito-wish YMCA without receiving prior clearance from the Executive Director..."

Pay Practices (p. 16): "...Manito-wish expressly forbids staff members from accepting tips or gifts from anyone. Participants or anyone offering tips should be encouraged to either contribute to the Campership fund or the YMCA World Service fund..."

Ready to read a little more? After reading your Handbook, please feel free to submit any questions of clarification to your supervisor. We want to make sure we're all on the same page before you begin your employment with us.