Sunset For Owners Of Summer Camps

http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2007/07/01/sunset_for_owners_of_summer_camps/

This article appeared in the July 1, 2007 Boston Globe.  Here’s a quote from the article:  

Though they own valuable recreational real estate in the region, the families who run summer camps in New England aren’t anxious to cash out to the highest bidder when they retire and see their properties redeveloped into luxury resorts or vacation getaways. Many owners instead would like to keep the camps in the “family,” — their children, other relatives, or former campers for whom the camp experience is integral to their lives. 

And apparently it’s not hard to find them.  For every privately owned camp for sale, there are about 30 potential buyers available who are interested in keeping them as camps, said Jim Earley, owner of New England Camp Realty in Westwood. Early said most owners would rather sell to other camp owners to continue the camp’s mission.  “I’ve never met a camp director who just wanted to bail out for the top dollar,” he said. “Then there’s the emotional factor . The owners would hate to see the campfire bulldozed.”

Later, the article highlighted CampGroup and referenced me.  Here’s the pertinent excerpt “There is another alternative besides selling within the camp family or on the open market. CampGroup LLC is a family-owned company that buys and operates camps throughout the Northeast. Started in 1998 by the father and son team of Bruce Zenkel, 73, and Dan Zenkel, 48, now the firm’s chief executive, CampGroup has 10 camps in its portfolio.  If a camp is financially sound, Dan Zenkel said, the company keeps original owners on as directors. CampGroup focuses on the business side — bookkeeping, budgeting, purchasing, legal issues. The company views its role as “relieving the stress” so the former owners can “continue to act as owners,” he said.  The Zenkels too camped in their boyhoods. Bruce Zenkel attended Camp Winadu in the Berkshires, which his company now owns. Dan Zenkel attended various camps for nine years.  Still, CampGroup’s place in the industry is unsettling to some.”

So, what would the writer say now.  The article was written at the height of the economic boom, when loans were easy to come by and the stock market was flush.  Are their 30 buyers now for every seller?  I doubt it.  I think there are many fewer camp buyers and many more sellers.  Also, the real estate development cash out alternative is no longer there (at least for now), since the banks don’t seem to want to lend.  So there better be some willing camp buyers or these properties are going to go fallow.  Then, where are the kids going to go.  Whatever you think of CampGroup, it saved a lot of camps and made the industry stronger.  To the extent it was unsettling, it was because it arose, in part, from a recognition that the mom and pop business of camp, was not going to survive much longer.  Too bad there aren’t more CampGroup’s out there.

What is the future of traditional summer camp?

I have done a lot of thinking about the direction of the summer camp industry.   Traditional private camps and, in particular, resident camps, typically provide a wide variety activities and attempt to foster character development, intelligent risk taking, leadership, responsibility, empathy and other important values.   Camps do so, in large part, through having campers live together in cabins with several young adult counselors who serve as role models and leaders.   There are also many camp-wide activities, such as campfires and all-camp competitions, songfests and the like, that foster the same values. 

Over the past few years, many parents and campers have begun to discount the character growth that traditional camps offer and instead have sought out experiences that provide some sort of immediate benefit.  While some, including me, view this as unfortunate, it seems to reflect the reality of our increasingly competitive and specialized society.  Parents want to know how camp will help their kids in the short term by improving their skills in a particular area, whether it be soccer, web design or movie making.  Campers want to pursue their own interests, not be forced to partake in activities that they’ve never tried and have no interest in trying.  As a result, the growth in camping has been in specialty camps which focus on one particular activity.    Unlike the vast majority of the traditional camps that I have described, the specialty camps are generally located in facilities, like colleges and secondary schools, where campers are housed, 2 x 2 in dorms.   These settings do not allow for cabin life with counselor role models, and therefore can not promote character development in the same way that a “traditional” camp can. 

I believe that summer camp must be transformed to meet the market demand for specialized or affinitized experiences while, at the same time, exposing as many children to what is best about camp.  Many who would not consider a “traditional” camp are likely to consider and attend a “specialty” camp which is also traditional.  In this way, camps can evolve and grow.

“Because of Camp” new ACA PSA

http://acacamps.org/becauseofcamp/CA ACA has just this new PSA titled “Because of Camp.”  It consists of two videos (though I could only find one)  containing fourteen celebrities discussing how their lives have been changed… Because of Camp…™ . The first video is fifty seconds in length and includes appearances by Emma Roberts, Hill Harper, Lisa Loeb, Kerri Strug, Michael DeLorenzo, Justin Chambers, Paul Adelstein, James Pickens, Blair Underwood, Sharon Lawrence, Frank Sesno, Glynn Turman, Ashlan Gorse, and Lisa Raye.   I’m not sure if all of these people are real celebreties, though I guess nowadays pretty much anyone who appears on a reality show on a cable channel qualifies.  But I think the spot is great.  Kudos to my friend and colleague Dayna Hardin who brought such a degree of professionalism to the project, along with Marla Coleman and Gwenn Thurmen (sp?), without whom this would not have been possible.  I think it’s a great step  in the right direction for camp.  This is what ACA should be doing, getting people to go to camp.  The next step is getting them to go to ACA camps.  But you have to start somewhere, and this is a great start.  Visit http://www.acacamps.org/becauseofcamp/ to view the PSA.

Running A Camp Business – Tips For Doing It Better

http://www.acacamps.org/members/knowledge/business/cm/0609zenkel.php

The above article originally appeared in the September/October 2006 issue of Camping Magazine, the magazine of the American Camp Association. I have learned some things since, but people have told me (unsolicited) that they have referred to it frequently to help them run their camp. I hope it helps those who come across it here.

Here’s a brief excerpt from the article:

Running a summer camp is a noble endeavor. Summer camps impart skills and values to all types of children. Nevertheless, every summer camp, small or large, private, religious, nonprofit or for-profit, is a business. If a summer camp takes in less money than it spends, it will eventually fail. Not coincidentally, summer camps that run well as businesses are usually effective in executing their mission. The same talents and skills required to run a business—focus, persistence, attention, and intelligence—are also required to run a quality summer program.

We have devoted much of the past eight years seeking to learn how to best manage summer camps. We certainly do not have all or even most of the answers. But we do have some ideas and suggestions. This article compiles many of the ideas and tips that we have developed ourselves and adopted from veteran camp professionals.

The tips are organized into four categories: Revenue, Operating Expenses, Facility Management, and Miscellaneous. Not every idea or suggestion applies to every camp. Some apply only to traditional camps—those that occupy real estate, the primary purpose of which is for use as a summer camp. Other suggestions apply to nontraditional camps, which occupy real estate used primarily for noncamp purposes such as schools, churches, and community centers.

About This Blog – What is the “camp buzz”?

This Blog is intended to keep up with the latest trends and happenings in the world of summer camps. Not just so-called “traditional” camps, but all camps, of which there are thousands upon thousands. Over the past 11 years, I helped found and then oversaw the creation of CampGroup, LLC, which, as far as I know, is the largest for-profit camp concern in the world, at least as measured by revenue. During that time, I not only did my best to build CampGroup and to do so in an ethical and positive way, but also to build bridges to others across the camp world. On February 11, 2009, I resigned as CampGroup’s President and CEO. This was entirely my choice and was largely precipitated by a desire to develop and run a company that I could truly guide and lead. I am currently exploring a variety of options both inside and outside of the camp world. In the meantime, I have decided to enter the world of blogging, not sure exactly what will coming of it, and hoping that I can figure it out. Stay tuned. Stay tuned. Daniel Zenkel