October 31, 2017

Our Mission Statement

Our Core Values

1. Bible-based
2. Community
3. Excellence
4. Christ-likeness
5. Diversity
6. Experiencing God in Nature

YES, CAMP BEGINS WHEN YOU GET HERE!

One camp, in trying to present a positive portrayal of camp, often has parents who arrive late. ‘We are so sorry for having to arrive late’. But the camp responds by saying, “You are not late. Camp begins when you get here”.

Jesus is waiting, too, for His guests to arrive (plus, He’s the one providing the transportation!). And we won’t be criticized for being ‘late’. The greatest joy for Him will be “when we get there”!

DIRECTOR’S CLIPBOARD for ALL STAFF

AACP CONVENTION – JUST A FEW DAYS AWAY!

Join us at beautiful Pine Springs Ranch in the Southeastern California Conference for the annual AACP Convention. Check-in will begin Wednesday afternoon at 3:00, November 29. The convention will conclude with Sunday breakfast on December 3, 2017. You might want to plan some vacation days before or after since there are plenty of attractions in Southern California. NOTE: The AACP Board will be meeting that same Wednesday morning at 9:00, so you might want to arrive Tuesday evening.

WANT TO HOST THE 2018 CONVENTION?

If your camp is interested in hosting the 2018 AACP Convention, click here to find out details and submit a request to Ray Queen, the VP for Conventions: rayq@campkulaqua.com

ACA BASIC STANDARDS COURSE AT AACP CONVENTION

If you are planning to have your camp visited next summer, you will need to take the ACA Basic Standards Course. This will be offered at the AACP Convention (currently scheduled for Friday, December 1st). In order for enough materials to be available to the camps, you will want to register through this link: Basic Standards Course @ SDA AACP Convention.

ACA representatives will be present throughout the day to connect with you and answer any questions you might have. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to get a head start on preparing for your visit next summer!

PREVENTING THEFT AT YOUR CAMP

How secure is your camp? Expensive camping gear, tools, and personal items can all be enticing to thieves. Consider the following security protocols:

1. Secure your buildings at night—inside and out. Verify no one is in the building, including bathroom stalls. Properly secure all electronics or valuables. Make sure perimeter lights illuminate the surrounding grounds and all items outside are secured.
2. Implement safety controls. If your camp has a store, remove the cash from the register each night. Two people should verify the amount of cash on hand and place in a safe inside the store or in the main office for safekeeping. Conduct audits regularly to prevent any theft.
3. Evaluate weaknesses in your security. Schedule patrols near the camp lodges, store, office, medical clinic, and equipment storage. They should be regular, but vary the routine so thieves aren’t able to anticipate the next patrol.
4. Be clear on punishment. Potential camp pranksters should understand the camp’s policy on theft or any misdemeanors. Work with your local law enforcement agency to ensure crimes are handled legally. 

Securing your camp will prevent thieves from taking a second look. Get more camp resources at adventistrisk.org.  Frenita B. Fullwood; Manager, Communications & Resources; Adventist Risk Management, Inc.; ffullwood@adventistrisk.org | AdventistRisk.org

ARM UPDATES NEW WEBSITE

Silver Spring, MD. September 24, 2017—Adventist Risk Management, Inc. (ARM) released today a newly designed and revamped website with improved navigation and language options. In addition to customized content, the new site offers several streamlined navigation features, including: insurance and claim forms organized by insurance product, risk management resources organized by ministry, top-bar menu claim filing instructions, and an over-all site design that is intuitive for first-time visitors. The new website has been optimized for mobile use, and provides direct accessibility for clients to reach their account executives. The search functionality has been improved to provide even better search results, allowing users to find what they need with fewer clicks. See the new website and learn more at AdventistRisk.org.

OCTOBER BOARD MEETING NOTES

• Reviewed the finance report
• Reviewed the upcoming AACP Convention
• Reviewed and approved for membership consideration the final Revisions for the Constitution and Bylaws
• Communications updates (more at December meeting)

WHAT’S THAT DOWN THERE? AN INEXPENSIVE DEVICE TO HELP YOU IMPOSSIBLE AREAS

Have you ever wished you could see into a small hole (drain pipe, hole in the wall, between two immovable pieces of equipment)? Get a better look by checking out this inexpensive inspection camera.

LOOKING FOR A CAMP MASCOT?

If you have a few dollars to spend, you will find some very good quality adult-sized costumes at https://www.maskus.com/home.asp. This company, located in Chula Vista, California, provides many animal and people costumes for sports teams, zoos, theme parks and camps.

A ‘FRESH EYES’ LOOK AT CAMP

At a recent staff meeting Craig Heinrich, the administrative director for Leoni Meadows, challenged the year round staff to look at camp ‘with fresh eyes’. When he first came to Leoni Meadows some years ago, he created a list of projects that needed to be done to bring camp up to a top notch level. Now, years later, it’s easy to miss some projects that should be done because of getting use to seeing them every day. Each staff member was given the responsibility to find at least one item that would bring their area of camp up to a higher quality of look and service. Suggestions included new carpeting, periodic ‘deep cleaning’, repainting the parking lot lines, etc. Why not take a look at your camp with some ‘fresh eyes’?

GETTING READY FOR SUMMER CAMP…ALREADY?

Here are a couple of ideas for classes/activities next summer:

1. BRICK & MORTAR
   One camp uses some unique terminology for camp classes/activities and break time. Yes, you guessed it…a brick is a class and the mortar is the break time. Bricks are the building blocks and the mortar holds everything together. This camp uses various ‘mortar’ activities in a central area such as social interaction (just sitting and visiting with others) and small games (hoola-hoops), ninja, ping pong, score four, roller ball, etc. It’s not just a time between the classes; it’s what builds community among the campers and staff!
2. MICHELANGELO
   One camp got a bit creative in finding a new class activity. It’s called Michelangelo and is named after the great artist who painted the Sistine Chapel. To participate, the campers lie on their backs (on the floor) and paint their pictures on the paper that has been taped to the bottom of tables.

CAMP STORE – GETTING RID OF THE ‘SURPLUS’

Several things should be done as you approach the end of the year to move our those items that just aren’t selling like you anticipated. Here are some suggestions:

1. Give yourself permission to move out poor sellers. Do not reorder those items.
2. Calculate your LAP - Lowest Acceptable Price for the items you are eliminating.
3. Set a goal for how quickly you want to replace those old items with new stock. This should consider upcoming events and your cash flow.
4. Move it quickly with a stock up sale, gift with purchase, double the fun promotion. Run a flash sale on social media. 

With permission from Patti Biro and Associates; P.O. Box 2994; Fredericksburg, TX 78624
(760) 712-7385; http://www.pattibiro.com

DECEMBER E-NEWS COMES MID-MONTH

As is our practice, the December Issue of E-News will be sent out in the middle of the month so as to be able to include information about the AACP Convention. Look for it on or about the 13th of December.

QUOTES FOR CONTEMPLATION

• When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but, often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. — Helen Keller 
• Quit griping about your church; if it was made up of perfect people, you could not belong. — Unknown
• The phrase that is guaranteed to wake up an audience: “And in conclusion”. — Unknown
• Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care. — John Wooden
• When someone does something good, applaud! You will make two people happy. — Samuel Goldwyn

TRADING POST

This is a section dedicated to those camps either looking for equipment or wanting to donate or sell one or more items. Send your list of needs or items you’d like to get to another camp (donating or selling) to terry@leonimeadows.org.

RESUME’ – SEEKING JOB POSITIONS

DO YOU HAVE JOB OPENINGS?

If you have a job opening for year-round staff, let us know and we can post it here. Or if you are having trouble finding someone to fill a particular position in summer camp, that can be posted here too. Contact terry@leonimeadows.org to get it published.

CAMP ALAMISCO – ‘ONE YEAR’ ASSISTANT CAMP RANGER

If you or someone you know could be interested in this position, please contact the Gulf States Conference Youth Director, Todd Casey at tcasey@gscsda.org.

CAMP WAIANAE – ‘ONE YEAR’ ASSISTANT CAMP MANAGER

For more information, please contact Dennis Anderson, Manager. Camp Waianae, Hawaii Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, danderson@hawaiisda.com, www.campwaianae.org, Office (808) 696-1717, Mobile (808) 282-2921

CAMP WINNEKEAG – FULL TIME ASSISTANT CAMP RANGER

For more information, contact Jose Alarcon   SNEC Secretary/HR Director, Phone 978-365-4551 - E-mail: jalarcon@sneconline.org - Fax: 978-365-3838

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

AACP OFFICERS & UNION REPS

The dates for the AACP board meetings via conference calls are posted here once they are finalized. You will also be notified by email and/or phone call prior to the meeting, along with agendas when possible. Meetings begin at 2:00 Eastern Time, unless otherwise specified.

• September 12
• October 10
• November 14, if needed
• November 29 - 9:00 – 3:00 before AACP Convention at convention site
• December 3 - 9:00 to noon after AACP Convention at convention site

COOK’S NOOK

MINI-PUMPKIN PIES

INGREDIENTS
2 prepared pie crusts
3 eggs, divided
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Roll each pie crust out onto a floured surface to a rough rectangle about 11 inches square. Cut each pie crust into 12 3-inch rounds. Fit the little pie crust circles into 24 mini pie dishes.
3. Separate one egg, and place the egg white into a small bowl.
4. Beat the egg white until slightly frothy, and brush the edges of each mini pie crust with egg white.
5. Place the remaining yolk into a bowl, and beat with remaining 2 eggs.
6. Mix the softened cream cheese, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice into the eggs to make a smooth filling.
7. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the filling into each crust.
8. Bake the pies in the preheated oven until the crust edges are golden brown and the filling is set, about 15 minutes.
9. Allow to cool before eating.

PRAYER & PRAISES

If you know of a special need or praise that should be lifted up in prayer by your fellow encouragers, please send an email with that request to terry@leonimeadows.org. Be sure to mention if it is URGENT. Special E-messages can be sent out quickly rather than waiting for the next E-News edition to be sent out. We serve a God who listens AND answers.

Each month camps in specific unions are invited to share their special prayer requests and praises (although they can be shared at any time). Here is the list of the E-News Issues and which union is featured that month: 

• January - Mid-America
• February - Southern
• March - Pacific
• April - Southwestern
• May - Columbia
• June - Atlantic
• September - North Pacific
• October - SDA Church in Canada
• November - Lake

1. Final plans and preparations for the AACP Convention
2. Safe travels during the holiday seasons
3. On-going camp projects
4. Guidance in preparing for summer camp 2018
5. Continued blessings on the year round camp ministries

Special Prayers & Praises from our LAKE UNION CAMPS

6. Camp Sagola - Plans for fundraising the rest of the money needed to complet the lodge.
7. Camp Sagola - Plans for summer camp, the spring retreat and campmeeting
8. Camp Akita - That God will continue to reveal his direction for camp; and that he will give us eyes to see and ears to listen to His voice.
9. God’s continued protection, especially with winter storms
10. Health of our year round camp staff
11. Successful completion of on-going camp projects and goals

INSPIRATION, ENCOURAGEMENT & COUNSEL 

AN ACT OF LOVE IN THE CONCERT HALL OF HEAVEN

It all happened at one of the Andre’ Rieu concerts. The sports arena had been turned into a concert hall. The orchestral music held the audience spellbound. Then Andre’ Rieu announced that one of his favorite songs by Johann Strauss would be performed next…The Blue Danube…and that should anyone wish to get up and dance, they should feel welcome to do so.

The music began and little by little couples, some older and some younger, moved out into the aisle and gracefully swung and swirled to the music. The cameras focused on the orchestra and then panned to different couples.

Then, part way through the song the camera focused on one couple…an older man and woman. They were beyond the years of dancing…for him especially…you could tell it was an effort for him just to stand. But the audience could tell that they both must have enjoyed dancing together in their younger years. It was obvious that this was a chance to relive those special moments. The orchestra played the merry and graceful waltz, but, no, the couple was not dancing. The wife was lovingly holding onto the hands of her husband who strained to grip hers as she was swinging their arms back and forth to the rhythm of the music. Smiles were on their faces as they enjoyed the moment together, reliving memories of yester-years.

It only took a few split seconds as the audience simultaneously saw the beauty and love between the husband and wife and the significance of the moment. The entire audience spontaneously applauded loudly their approval of the heart-warming scene much to the surprise (and joy) of the elderly couple.

At camp, miracles still happen. New love is kindled for one another. Weak or broken relationships are re-established and healed. Older ones can find time to enjoy the younger generations. Encouraging words, listening ears, a kindly smile and a helping hand can make a big difference to those who enter into your camp experience. But notice this…it is by keeping Jesus at the center of everything you do, holding His hands and listening and responding to the music of the heavenly orchestra, that joy will fill your own heart as well as those in the concert hall of heaven!

AACP E-NEWS is the regular communication to all of our AACP members. This message is sent to you because you or your camp is a member of AACP. Its purpose is to provide news, announcements, reminders, and ideas on a regular basis. If you have any items you would like to include in E-NEWS, please email them to terry@leonimeadows.org and list the subject as ‘AACP’. Please include your name and camp name in the email and any contact information as appropriate. For email address corrections or additions, or to unsubscribe, please contact Norm Middag at bnmiddag@gmail.com. We do not hold any responsibility/liability for the excerpts/announcements/articles.