Focused Freshmen Bulldogs
Andrea and Christina This past weekend was quite significant for our family. Denise and I dropped off our daughter, Christina, for her first year at Butler University where she’s in the Jordan College of Fine Arts majoring in Dance Performance.
We did all the typical tasks one does when dropping off a child at college. We put her room together, met and spent time with her new roommate Andrea, toured campus, attended events designed to welcome students and their families and went to the bookstore so I could buy a Butler hat.
During a “meet and greet” of department faculty, Denise, Christina, Andrea and I talked with one particular Ballet professor who asked Andrea “what’s your major?”
“Pharmacy” answered Andrea.
To which the professor said “well you will not seeing Christina during the day because she’ll be training.”
Andrea smiled and didn’t respond; she must have had that look that said “really, dancing all day long?” because the professor added…
Andrea and Christina embracing being Bulldogs “You see, if you want to be a professional you have to be fully committed, you can’t work at it part-time just like you cannot work at being a pharmacist part-time. There’s no part-time training; one has to be fully committed full-time to achieve such a goal.”
I’ve replayed this conversation in my mind since that meeting and I’m convinced that what this professor said is absolutely true. Whether you are pursuing a career in the arts or the sciences, to become a true professional requires more than just a part-time effort.
The realization then set in – Christina and Andrea’s room will be one focused place for the months to come because these two women have serious goals of becoming professionals in their competitive fields. What a gift…to have such focus at the age of 18.
“Evart (and Hawaii) has the Best Sunsets”
I was sitting with friends at the Evart High School football stadium watching the sun set while waiting for the start of the 4th of July fireworks.It was an incredible sunset which led to my friend Don Myers to comment “Evart has the best sunsets.” I thought to myself “that’s a pretty bold statement to make about a small town in northern Michigan”. But truth was I couldn’t argue with beauty of the western sky and I wouldn’t dare step on Don’s pride in his home town by disagreeing.
One evening three weeks later I sat on the porch of SpringHill’s Founders’ House talking with friends who were picking up their kids from camp the next day. As we talked I noticed the sky begin to turn orange and pink and I suggested we move around to the other side of the porch to watch the sun go down.
Once again Evart’s sunset was spectacular.
As we watched I shared the story of the sun setting before the fireworks and I told them Don’s statement “Evart has the best sunsets.”
After a few moments watching the sky my friend Dave Pendley said with a laugh “yep Evart and Hawaii have the best sunsets.”
We all smiled at Dave’s comment but I thought to myself “I’m not quite sure Don Myers would agree. But then again Don’s not from Hawaii.”
Click here to see the rest of my photos of the best sunsets in the world.
Great Organizations are Built on Strong Foundations
“Thank you for continuing to keep the mission of SpringHill alive and moving forward” were the words of one former board member who attended our 3rd annual SpringHill board member reunion.His words, along with all the other conversations were truly encouraging. Their presence blessed us greatly and spoke volumes about their commitment to and love for what God’s continuing to do through SpringHill. It’s this ongoing commitment from folks like these that allow organizations like SpringHill to thrive for decades.
Our day together occurred at our Michigan overnight camp. It started out with summer staff worship, joining pre-opening day staff meeting and then watching our the entire summer staff take their annual photo leading one board member to comment “there are more staff than we had campers in any given week when I was on the board”.
We then enjoyed a meal together in the Founders’ House (or what folks called back in the day…”The Big House”) where we listened to some old stories followed by a “state of SpringHill” discussion. The questions asked and the comments made demonstrated that our board alumnae continue to be committed to the mission of SpringHill and their desire to see it succeed.
But the following two benefits made this day so important for all of us.
First, the reunion allows us to bless our board alumni by letting them see the ministry that’s been built on the foundation of their sacrifice and hard work while acknowledging their contributions and thanking them for what they’ve done and still do to help SpringHill fulfill its mission.
And secondly, it’s a great reminder to our current staff and board of where we’ve come from which helps us to become all God has called us to be and to do all that God has called us to do.
Already Looking Forward to My Next Birthday
My birthday couldn’t have been better. I spent it in a little cabin on a small island filled with wild blueberry bushes in the center of a lake in the middle of nowhere fishing for speckled trout and walleye with my three sons (the only place better for a birthday might be heaven).We were on our annual fishing trip to Camp Anjigami and their Ogas outpost cabin in northern Ontario. As I sat down for breakfast on the morning of my birthday I couldn’t have been more content and blessed as I ate wild blueberry pancakes prepared by my sons while looking ahead to a day of trout fishing.
In reality this trip’s become a significant part of my life and one of the highlights of the Perry men’s year. It’s an annual ritual where we hang out, have fun, talk about life and experience God’s creation together – just the four of us. There’s really no other reason to make this trip each year.
But there are three other benefits that I count as a bonus:
First it provides a brief but needed change of pace after the intensity of 9 weeks of summer camp.
Second, I always find perspective being disconnected and away from the normal events of life while spending time with my sons.
Finally, there’s no other setting where I sense the presence of Christ in my life more than when I’m in His creation, away from it all. It spiritually nourishes my soul in a way that no other place does.
So as I read the words I’ve just written I realize that as long as we can plan this trip over my birthday I’ll always look forward to growing a year older.
One More Thought About Being Pretty in Pink
As I’ve reflected on yesterday’s pretty in pink celebration (click to see my post on 8/09/11) there’s one other part of the story that’s continued to encourage me. It’s simply witnessing the great enthusiasm of a team who could have found reasons for not being excited about achieving this particular goal.It would have been easy for our Michigan Site and Operations team to bemoan having significantly more campers than planned. Having 10% additional campers, most of who registered later in the process, creates enormous challenges for departments like Site and Operations. But they, as did the rest of our Michigan team, not only rose to the occasion of serving more campers, they strove to beat our stretch goal and then celebrated wholeheartedly when we did.
When every part of a team not only embraces shared goals but more importantly works diligently to achieve them, even at great personal and professional cost, winning becomes reality and for our Site Team a reason to go pink.
So at the end of a great day not only did I love the celebration I’m even more proud of the team who led it.
Pretty In Pink Because We Made Our “A” Plan
Even though my wife Denise’s a breast cancer survivor I typically don’t wear pink. And for the record I wouldn’t dye what little hair I have left any color – especially pink.We also have a policy that asks staff not to significantly alter their appearance during summer camp by adding such things as tattoos or God forbid, dyeing one’s hair an unnatural color.
But when our Michigan Site team asked me at the beginning of the summer to join them in coloring their hair pink if we reach our “A” plan (“A” plan’s our stretch goal) what could I say? To celebrate 7600+ kids attending our Michigan overnight camp would be a great reason to be “pretty in pink”.
Also, frankly, at the beginning of the summer, I wasn’t so sure we’d hit our “A” plan so committing to go pink didn’t seem like such huge risk.
But as we grew closer to the goal and it was apparent we’d reach 7600 campers the Site team made sure I didn’t forget my commitment to join them in being “pretty in pink”.
So today I, along with my wife Denise, joined the Site team in celebrating, in pink, the privilege of serving nearly 7700 campers this summer.
Our t-shirts say “God always has “A” plan. Jeremiah 29:11″.
It’s not just a fitting quote for our Michigan overnight camp but it also applies to what’s turned out to be the largest summer in SpringHill’s history. We’ll provide 17,500 campers a SpringHill Experience – a reason for which I’d have dyed my hair any color.
Leading by Seeing and Being Seen
Todd Leinberger, our Great Lakes Region VP, "seeing and being seen" while helping Copper Country kids catch fish Why did I spend 30 days of the past 90 on the road visiting SpringHill sites and SpringHill supporters? Because of something I learned back in the day when I was a volunteer Young Life leader. To do effective “contact work”, that is to build relationships with students, you need “to see and to be seen.”
I’ve continued this “to see and be seen” philosophy in my role at SpringHill. It’s what pushes me to visit as many SpringHill Experiences and be with as many staff, campers, parents and supporters as I can especially during the summer season
“To see” simply means to be in places where I can witness our ministry first hand, seeing our work and the people who do it and at the same time see those who also support it.
“To see” gives me the opportunity to provide real-time feedback to our team as well as share in real-time the great things being done across SpringHill with our staff and supporters. When I speak about impact of SpringHill on the lives of campers and staff I do so from personal experience.
“To be seen” provides accessibility to these same groups of people – staff, campers, parents and supporters. By allowing myself “to be seen” I become available. By being available and accessible I’m able to build relationships and through relationships provide support, encouragement and at the same time hear firsthand the necessary feedback they may have.
As we continue to grow I’ll become more stretched in my ability “to see and be seen” as I was this summer. But thankfully SpringHill has fine leaders who now share this responsibility with me and are carrying out this philosophy of leadership in more places and with more people than ever before.
Inspiration from Our 14-year-old Son’s Game Film Evaluation
“Dad can you take a look at this? I watched our basketball game against McBain and evaluated how I did” said our son Jonathan as he handed me a yellow pad of paper covered with notes about how he played (see photo).As I looked closer it amazed and frankly impressed me that our 14-year-old son had taken the time to evaluate his performance with a level of detail and honesty I rarely see in most adults.
His evaluation included tallying how often he used each hand, charting his shots, keeping track of his “good passes” verses “bad passes”, his “hustle” compared to “lazy” plays and finally my favorite “good defense” verses “bad defense.”
In addition to the fact that Jonathan evaluated his entire game and not just his offensive output he also measured himself against a high performance standard. He’s clearly not satisfied with his play and wants to see where and how he can improve.
Since his game film evaluation Jonathan’s been at the gym every day, he’s watched a number of basketball videos and he’s even read a book about Pistol Pete Maravich. He’s committed to becoming better because he now sees where he can improve and has the vision and energy to do so.
As I’ve watched Jonathan over the last month I couldn’t help but reflect on the importance of regular and thorough self-evaluation in my work, family life, relationships and community involvement.
This reflection led to an evaluation of my own where I ask myself “what more could God do through me if I might only follow the example of my 14-year-old son who simply wants to be a better basketball player?”
Hydrate or Die
“Hydrate or Die” are simple, direct and memorable words we told our staff this past Sunday in our morning staff meetings. They reminded us all of the importance of assuring that both staff and campers had plenty of water during the incredible heat wave we just experienced.All summer long we remind our staff of the importance of rehydrating themselves and their campers as they go through their active days. But when the temperatures and humidity reach “heat alert” levels then our language becomes stronger and more insistent – we tell our staff “hydrate or die”.
We know it’s a little hyperbole but there’s truth in these words. If you’re exposed to high temperatures for long periods of time without taking in enough water there’s a risk of serious health issues.
So we give our staff a phrase that will stick with them, reminding them of the important job of taking care of themselves and their campers during a heat wave as the one we just had.
Of course there’s more to taking care of staff and campers in a heat wave than just pithy sayings. We made adjustments to the camp schedule to assure campers were in the water as much as possible. Also we made sure drinking water’s available at activity and housing areas so that campers and staff were never far from something to drink. Also small groups met in the shade and in our Indiana overnight camp we made sure campers slept in air conditioning.
But it’s the power of strong and memorable words that stick with us which provide the guidance and motivation to do the right things in any situation. It’s why leaders create, borrow and use such statements while leading others.
So remember “hydrate or die” as you enjoy your summer season.
Wednesday Night Live and Great Staff
Last night I had the opportunity to enjoy our Copper Country leadership staff’s program called “Wednesday Night Live”. The team did an incredible job planning, rehearsing and then providing a fun, purposeful and engaging program for our 4th thru 6th grade Michigan campers.Wednesday Night Live is a series of funny skits and songs perform in our outdoor Copper Country amphitheater – a setting which is just incredibly beautiful and so classic camp like.
The show’s kicked off by singing led by the band performing at our middle school camp and ends with a drama that depicts Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross with the humor sandwiched in between.
As I stood in the back watching and laughing with some of our staff and volunteers I couldn’t help but reflect on the truth that the most important ingredient to any successful team, be it a summer camp, church or business is the quality of people on that team.
We had an incredible show and evening and frankly we’re having an incredible summer in Copper Country and throughout all of SpringHill because of our quality summer staff.
There’s no more significant and important part of a SpringHill Experience than these great people, working for the right reasons, creating and delivering these great experiences that Christ uses to transform the lives of kids.
They make summer camp a SpringHill Experience.
Click here to see other photo’s from Wednesday Night Live.
