Jay and Drew in Canada

Drew and I are in Banff, Alberta for the Wilderness Risk Management Conference. For us flatlanders it is great to be around so many mountain features. From our hotel room we can see three peaks. This place is beautiful and we are expecting snow tonight. We are in classes and sessions with some of the big players in the field. After talking with folks from NOLS, Outward Bound and other organizations from around North America it is great to find out that Manito-wish is known throughout the field. Feel free to contact us for further information about the conference.

So um, Madison, what are you doing the night of Nov. 8th?

Jay and I want to catch up with all of you - yes all 5 bagillion of you at "Manito-wish South" - on November 8th.

The Cork 'n Bottle String Band will be playing at the Memorial Union Rathskellar from 6p.m. to 8p.m. We'll meet you there - bring your friends. Later, we'll all go out for pizza - Jay said he's buying pizza.

Heading to Neenah

If you live in the Fox Valley area, we are coming to visit. The Merizon Family will be having an open house to recruit campers on November 13th at 6:30-8 p.m. in Neenah, WI.

This is the first this season of on-the-road camper recruiting, and we wanted to invite you are staff along to talk to families about Manito-wish. If you are interested in attending, or just want to know more, contact Gami - she can tell you all about it.

We will be all over the place pretty soon recruiting campers - come visit us if we're at a town near you:

http://www.manito-wish.org/office/events.html

We'll keep you posted on our staff recruiting college tour as we get closer to winter.

Staff Recruiting Incentives

Jay is on this kick that everyone wants to work at Manito-wish - they just don't know it yet. With this in mind we want you to get your friends to apply for 2008. And for that we will buy you stuff.

Here's how it works - get a viable applicant (not some sketchy guy) to complete a staff application, three refence forms, and an interview and you will get the following:

1 lead = $20 to Trading Post
2 leads = Mt. Hardware Vest with Manito-wish logo
3 leads = Mt. Hardware Jacket with Manito-wish logo
4 leads = Mt. Hardwear Sleeping Bag
5+ leads = Mt. Hardware Viperline 2 or 3 person tent or equvilent

Staff Applications can be found at www.manito-wish.org/staff/staffapply.html. Make sure they put your name down as the recruiter!

Tips and ideas on how to recruit coming soon.

(Incentinves apply to recent seasonal staff only. Your past campers count as 0.5 a person.)

Rehire Applications

Rehire applications will be going out via email on Monday, October 15. A rehire is an invitation sent to current seasonal staff to apply to work at Camp for the following season.

This year all rehires will be done via email to cut back on the use of paper and be more efficient for you, our staff.

If you do not recieve a rehire it may be for reasons as simple as us not having your email address. Please contact Drew, Jay, Mark or myself and we can work with you from there.

Hiring for the 2008 season begins November 1, 2007. Our goal is to have 20% or more of our staff hired before the New Year arrives.

A Letter From Your Board President

What a Summer!!

Great weather, excited campers, low water, and a passionate staff dedicated to delivering a fun, life enriching experience to our campers. For you it was a summer full of challenges, learning opportunities, teaching moments and significant responsibilities. You could have chosen different employment for the summer, perhaps that paid more and offered more free time. But, you chose employment that offered the opportunity to be a role model for young kids. The person who introduces them to new relationships, experiences, and opportunities. The person who helps them to discover new things about themselves. The person who makes sure their experience is fun and safe.

This summer we challenged you even more than normal because we didn’t hire enough seasonal staff. For that I can only apologize. It was not our intent and we are developing a plan to help ensure it doesn’t happen next summer. Necessity is often the mother of invention. I heard several stories about creative ways to adapt to the challenge, as well as heroic efforts from staff members to deliver our program. Thanks to all of you.

The creativity shouldn’t get lost. It should become a tool we use in the future, either as part of a tool box or as a new Camp Tradition. Please share with Drew any creative things you did, or observed others do that you think should be part of Camp.

As you settle back into your “normal” lives and reflect back on the summer, think about how much you grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and one another. Camps mission doesn’t stop with campers. It affects all who sign on for the Manito-wish Experience. If you haven’t noticed it yet, please know that the skills you developed as a Seasonal Staff member will be very helpful to you in the future.

Thank you for your passion and dedication. More than1000 kids had the summer of a lifetime because you chose to work at Camp. Think about how much more you will benefit if you return next year…

Bob Yeomans
President
Board of Directors

PHOTOS for the ASTONISHER

The Astonisher is full production and we are wrapping up choosing our photos.
If you have any photos which you would like to submit for consideration in the Astonisher and other Manito-wish material, please email them to Gami at gami.miller@manito-wish.org by
MONDAY, OCTOBER 15 at 12:00 p.m. cst.

Please be sure all photos have a file name which includes your name and, if it is an Outpost trip, the session and location.

Thanks!

Farwell AC's

The five year experiment has finally come to an end. Planning for 2008 I decided that the Assistant Counselor position be put to rest. Gasp! Shock! Blasphemy! I know. It's been five years and the vision of an AC in every South End cabin has not come to fruition, so it's time to try something different.

Now what? Counselors. We're shooting for a Counselor for each wilderness trip. This would allow for adequate bonding time between the Counselor and their specific campers in camp as well as on trail. This would also relieve coverage issues, and put TA's where they love to be - on trail.