Springing Forward
Like a thief in the night, the warm, spring breeze slipped in--blowing across the hills and dales of Illinois and Indiana until it finally arrived in our little backyard in northeast Ohio. It lingered, gently swaying our still bare hickory trees and immediately lifting the spirits of a family (and town) a bit worn down by a winter that was longer and colder than normal.
As we piled into the van for the ride to school, I found myself quickly agreeing to my kids’ demands to “Roll down the windows!”
The balmy 51-degree wind slipped through the car windows, blowing our hair, reddening our cheeks and cleansing our lungs. It was awesome. In our minds, it was the first day of spring, even though the calendar said we were still more than a week away from relief and the time police were making us wait one more day to “spring forward.”
Of course, that’s how change of all types happens. You can’t control it with a calendar. You can’t organize it neatly on a clock. All you can do is initiate it and then hang on for the ride.
Here at Camp Business, we were forced to relearn this lesson recently.
About six months ago, we started what I thought would be a simple re-design/re-development of our Web site. I wanted something that provided a true forum to communicate, share and network with other camp professionals around the world--a place you could visit to find a quick program. A place you could commiserate with others who feel the staff training pain. A place you could share successes with others and be recognized for your creativity.
Well, as we dove into this project with our trademark enthusiasm and, perhaps a dash of recklessness, the ideas tumbled out, were corralled, organized and then instituted. What was supposed to be a six-week project turned into a six-month project and, in the end, I’m proud to report that I’m happy with the results. I hope you are too--check it out at www.camp-business.com.
I’d love to announce that the site is done, finished, complete. But, the truth is, we’ll never be done. Like we do with the magazine, we’ll keep brainstorming and inventing (we’re already developing two new portions of the site--more to follow on that when it’s launched), so keep checking back to see what crazy thing we come up with next.
I know we’ll make mistakes--OK, a lot of mistakes--but in the end we’ll get it right. So, if you get a chance to visit the site and don’t like something (or do like something), make sure to tell us so we can fix it or keep it. If you have an idea for a feature you’d like to see, by all means let us know.
At the end of the day, we’re all part of the same community. It only makes sense that we all spring forward together!
Till next month…
Rodney J. Auth
Publisher