The History of the CK-NJ Logo

So the other day, I was unpacking my summer clothes and rummaging though some old camp stuff and I stumbled across some CK-NJ history. I found the old sketches we had of the CK logo. Some of you, I figured, might like to know the history of our amazing camp logo.

When I started working for Campus Kids we used the text logo at the top. Tom has told me that a lady who was a friend of one of his old colleague's, drew the logo as courtesy. Although no money was exchanged, Tom assures me that they sent her a VERY NICE bouquet of flowers. We usually printed it in the horizontal format you see here but occasionally it appeared in a vertical format with Campus above Kids. The style of the logo was intended to be reminiscent of the lettering on a college jersey and emphasize that we were on a school campus.

Later on, we realized that just the words weren't really campy enough. Some people saw the logo and assumed we were an academic program. We didn't want that so we decided to add a graphic of some kids. Tom didn't want something too detailed, more of a silhouette drawing that would look good in one color and any size. My wife Vanessa drew the second sketch you see there as a basic concept. It evolved into the third sketch by the time she was done. What she was going for was to show that it was boys and girls at CK and that we were both sports and arts. Also, (if you couldn't tell) the girl is playing Frisbee and the boy is doing the art. We started using that logo around 1997. In 2002, we reverted back to the text logo because we felt it wasn't saying enough about us.

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 2006, Tom and I were sitting around talking about how we needed to bring a picture of kids doing camp activities back to the logo. We felt people were not noticing our advertisements because the text was just boring and didn't feel summer campy enough. So I took out my sketch pad and drew the concept you see to the right. We wanted to show a variety of activities, not just the generic sports and arts depicted in earlier graphic. We also added the Sundial, which was the centerpiece of camp and would be easily recognized by any current CK-er. At the time, two big activities for us at camp were skateboarding and guitar. Remember, 2006 was the summer of the first CampStock! So we knew we wanted to include those in the graphic. Here's a little piece of CK logo trivia: the guitarist in the logo is based on a photograph of long time CK-er, Josh Katz, performing on stage. Anyway, we showed my terrible little sketch to Vanessa and it evolved into the logo we use today! It is usually depicted how you see it here but in some situations we add the year.

I hope you found that interesting. Stumbling across those old drawings was a pretty cool find. Well, camp is right around the corner and we're getting ready to move our operation over to the summer office. See you soon!

Jeremy

The Staff Makes the Camp

Of course, we wouldn't have a camp without the campers, but we couldn't have the kind of camp we want without the staff. Despite our beautiful facilities (at Blair Academy) and great variety of program activities, it's the type of folks we hire and how they perform that gives our camp its soul and personality.

That's why the process of working with our staff is year-round. Each month of the year there is something taking place that involves staff recruitment, hiring or training. It starts way back during the previous summer, when staff job performance is assessed, so that we enter September with solid thoughts as to who should return next summer and in what roles.

As we prepare for a new summer, we break our staff into five parts: leadership team, returning counselors, new counselors, staff assistants, and "other" (a very important category that includes nurses and administrative staff). Each segment has a timeline for identifying who should return, recruiting new staff, and conducting orientation and training.

Staff fill out applications (or "application updates" for returners), provide references, and have interviews with me. Orientation truly begins during those interviews, because that's when we begin to establish a working relationship with the staff member and the staff member begins to understand more about our philosophy and expectations.

There IS an onsite orientation week in June for all staff, but that's just a part of our orientation program. In the months leading up to that week, we provide lots of information about camp via special web pages, online forums and an online video training library. So when the staff arrive for the start of the formal orientation, a lot of work has already been completed.

Our Leadership Team (directors, head counselors, activity coordinators) also meet for three days in January for an intensive planning session, followed by months of work on our online discussion forums.

Even our youngest staff members -- the staff assistants -- have a special weekend orientation in the spring to prepare for their varied and important jobs.

All of our preparations culminate in that very important Pre-Camp Staff Orientation time in June, when we finally have the entire staff together and the very last preparations are completed. Day #1 finally arrives and we all put on our fresh new staff t-shirts and greet the busses as they roll up alongside "the bowl". When I see the happy faces of campers and staff as they greet each other and form into their bunk group "families", I know that the year of staff preparation was worth it, and that it's definitely true that "the staff makes the camp."

Tom

Friday the 13th!

 Guess what happens tonight in Blairstown, NJ, home of Campus Kids-NJ? The Historic Blairstown Theater Reopens tonight! If you ever takena stroll down Main Street, you can't miss this charming little theater. After working on for two years, the owners are bringing the theater back to life tonight to show the classic horror movie Friday the 13th. I'm sure all you CK-NJ trivia fanatics already know that the original film was shot in Blairstown. Anyway, I just had to mention that!

But before I head off for the weekend, I've got some camp news for you. I'm sure lots of you have seen all the countdowns on Facebook and know we're getting very close to move-in day. Tom, Teri and I will begin getting the camp office set up the first week of June. Then the leadership team arrives and we start getting everything else ready. We've been busy reading all your camper choice surveys and answering questions about camp. There's still some space left, though! If you aren't signed up, get your parents to call us up ASAP!

We keep adding to the list bunk group names based on the suggestions sent in by campers. Some recent favorites of mine include Syzygy Sisters and Total Eclipse of the Heart. You can see the full list here. Keep your suggestions coming, here!

Coming soon to a blog near you: the history of the Campus Kids Logo!

See you soon,
Jeremy

The First Week of May

May 1st came and, in the blink of an eye, the first week of the month is gone! As you can imagine, the pace around here quickens, along with the excitement for camp. Long months of preparation are about to pay off because camp starts next month!

May is the month of planning final logistics. Now that we know who most of our campers are (though they are still signing up!), we can work out the last details of our bus routes. Likewise, with almost all of our staff in place, travel plans for all of them are being plotted. Lots and lots and lots of forms are arriving daily at the office: health forms, camper choice, personal information, etc., so we're reading all of those and incorporating that information into our plans. The final decisions about staff pre-camp orientation are being made. The art supply order was just placed, with other orders for equipment and supplies to be finished up soon. Teri, Jeremy and I are starting this week to call families of new campers to check in and see what questions they have. And the list goes on and on. It's a lot, but it's very exciting. I'm even finding it a bit hard to sleep some nights because I'm so excited about camp!

We're also still giving tours up in Blairstown and campers are still signing up where we have space. Every season is beautiful at Blair Academy and Spring is certainly spectacular. Here's a photo from a recent weekend:

Aside from "Blair" who is still sitting in front of West Hall finishing up her drawing, what's missing from these photos are our campers and staff! These flowers may be gone when we arrive in June, but the leaves will be on all the trees, the weather will finally be hot, the days will be long, and the 21st season of Campus Kids will begin! Let the first Frisbee be thrown, the first drum beat heard, the first dives be taken into the pool. Camp is coming!

Tom