Volunteers Needed!

*The Young Professionals are leading the efforts to make the ACA National Conference green! We need volunteers to help us come up with recommendations for conference organizers/attendees and people to help us put these into place. Even if you cannot attend the conference, we welcome your ideas! Please contact kimbetts@horizonsva.com if you are interested in volunteering. We’ll communicate by email and/or conference call prior to the conference in February.

*We are looking for a few people to help us organize a Young Professionals social one evening during the National Conference. Please contact kimbetts@horizonsva.com with ideas or to volunteer.

Hey YPs–

We hope you all had a great summer! There is a great educational opportunity coming up for YPs around the country that we want you all to be aware of.  The Student Camp Leadership Academy (SCLA) is a weekend retreat that brings together students, camp professionals, national ACA staff and leadership to explore, learn, and understand what the camp professional of the future must be and the leadership opportunities within the ACA structure at the local and National levels to impact the development of youth and others.  The next SCLA is November 7-9, 2008 at Camp White Eagle in Leaf River, Illinois.  For more information, please see the SCLA Website.

This is an opportunity every YP should consider.  If you would like to attend, ACAYP will help you find a way.  Many of the ACA sections sponsor student members to attend the SCLA, so simply Contact ACAYP if you would like assistance finding a scholarship to attend.

READ THE NEWSLETTER HERE

Hey YPs–Help spread the word:

The ACA is offering expanded benefits for student membership, which still only costs $35 per year. Please encourage all of your staff members to join the ACA, and encourage all of your directors to foot the bill!

Below is a letter from ACA CEO Peg Smith with more information

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It’s busy season…

With summer on it’s way, we want ACAYP to begin to be the resource that you all hope it will be. In working with the Pioneers in Camping, we have begun a relationship that will allow us to partner any YPs with a true expert in the field. If you would like advice on any question or specific topic from somebody who has been in the business for over 30 years or longer, you can either post your question here on ACAYP.org or on our Facebook group message board.

Peg Smith has begun to engage the ACAYPs in the discussion of where YPs fit into the structure of ACA as it restructures with its 20/20 plan. If you would like to get involved in those conversations, please email Andy.

Please continue to sign-up for the mentoring program as well at www.ACAYP.org/Mentor. The launch is on it’s way.

Thanks for your continued interest in ACAYP,

The ACAYP Board

ACAYP: Nashville Revisited

Dear YPs—

Thank you so much for your participation in Nashville. Whether it was your attendance at the opening YP meeting, the Pioneers in Camping luncheon, or the mixer at Rusty’s, we want to thank you for helping to create a buzz about the impact that YPs can make on each camp around the country and on the ACA as a whole. With the national conference over, we must continue to improve ACAYP to serve YPs like you nationwide and to bring new voices to the ACA altogether.

What’s Next:

1) Sign up for the new ACAYP Mentoring Program at www.ACAYP.org/mentor. We already have over 50 mentors signed up, many from the Pioneers of Camping group. This is a fantastic opportunity to network with an established camp professional, seek advice, and keep your career moving in the right direction. www.ACAYP.org/mentor

2) Join the ACA Young Professionals Group on Facebook and stay up to date at www.ACAYP.org. On either site you can communicate with other members, post information about upcoming events, or seek out advice from other YPs on any topic you’d like. Updates to both are coming soon…

3) Let us know how you would like to get involved! We are looking for people to help on several projects, including:

• Increasing YP involvement and opportunities on college campuses

• Establishing or improving regional YP groups like EPIC and ECP in each section

• Creating a regular newsletter and online resources specifically for YPs

• Creating programs at the national and regional conferences for and by YPs

• Any other project you would like to undertake…let us know!

As the board of ACAYP, we are committed to serving you in any way we can. In order to do so, we need your feedback. Please post on the Facebook group, www.ACAYP.org, or email us with suggestions for what you would like to see ACAYP do at this year’s regional conferences, next year’s National Conference in Orlando, and anytime in between. This organization has tremendous potential. It will take each of your efforts to achieve it.

Thank you,

-The ACAYP Board