This email is all about the great Scott Brody. But first, I want to tell you about my last week, which you will see in a moment, is very much related to Scott Brody.

I wake up every day and worry about K&E. I’m the luckiest guy in the world because I get to think about the best place on the planet all day everyday.

Just this last week,

• I got to spend time working with Scott’s two day camps, Everwood and Sewataro, on how to do great staff training and think about messaging for camp.
• Got to work with the Sues to put in a new floor in Geof, our facilities director’s house.
• Met with our new chef about how to make sure the food is incredible this year. Can’t wait to tell you more about that.
• Got to be in Rhode Island visiting with a camper and his family talking about being a senior at camp
• Caught up with some of the seasonal leadership team to talk about their summer plans.
• And a million other little things

This is all to say, running camp is a lot of moving pieces, but wouldn’t have it any other way. Because getting to spend summers on the lake hanging out with the most awesome kids and adults on the planet, having so much fun.

That only gets to happen because of Scott Brody.

Scott took over K&E in 1995 from Arthur and Judy, who ran the camps for 37 summers before him and served as his mentors. He’s led camp for 30 years, decades of building the delivering awesome summer after awesome summer.

Now as we head into the 95th summer, Scott’s set up K&E for long-term success. That’s what great leadership looks like.

But Scott’s mission has always extended way beyond K&E.

The reality is, from my perspective, the summer camp industry might not exist in its current form without the work Scott did during COVID.

He led the way to get camps open. He led the way in terms of safety for kids. As ACA National Board Chair, he handled work very few are willing to do which ended up being billions of dollars moving around in PPP loan forgiveness to summer camps.

That kept hundreds, maybe thousands of camps afloat.

Scott didn’t do that for K&E. He did that because he believes in the impact that summer camp has on kids’ lives.

We’ve written a ton about the power of camp here. How it builds confidence. How kids learn to navigate friendship and conflict. How they become more kind. How they discover who they are when they’re away from screens and schedules and all the pressure.

Last week at ACA Nationals, Scott received the Distinguished Service Award. It’s the highest honor the American Camp Association gives to anyone. It’s basically the National Summer Camp Hall of Fame. Is Scott our Larry Bird?

And watching Scott get recognized for three decades of work that’s made camp possible for millions of kids, not just ours, meant everything.

See for yourself:

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We’re the luckiest camp in the world because Scott has spent his last 30 summers caring about K&E and caring about camps all over the country.

He didn’t just build a great camp. He’s spent decades making sure other camps could exist and thrive, too.

And what’s he doing now?

He’s working on Camp Caucus, an ACA initiative focused on advocacy for camps everywhere. Government affairs work in Washington, D.C. His mission is working for all camps. No benefit to himself. Just because it matters. Because more kids need to go to summer camp.

And the cool part? Though Scott doesn’t have to focus on all those operational things I listed above, he’s still going to be at camp this summer.

Leading Friday night services. Playing guitar. Being an incredible mentor to campers and staff.

Scott’s leadership over 30 years has made K&E a place we all still want to spend our summers. It’s the legacy, and it’s why we are here.

We are the lucky ones,

Jack

PS - Let’s talk camp.

My favorite thing in the world, besides running camp, is talking to families about what camp will look like for your kids.

​Schedule a quick call here​

114 Eagle Pond Rd, Wilmot, NH 03287
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