Last week, the year round Matawa team (Jen, Wendy and me!) headed down to Oregonia, Ohio for the YMCA’s Mid-America Camping Conference (MACC) at Camp Kern. We spent 7 hours in the car talking about next summer at Matawa! Monday to Thursday, we gathered with friends and colleagues from all over the Midwest to share ideas about marketing, programming, staff training, camper safety, and much more! We got to hear from brilliant keynote presenters, including Neil Nicoll, CEO of the YMCA of the USA! The best way I can describe MACC is a week of camp for the camp directors! We cram a ton of fun and learning into one busy week, and get a lot of great memories and lifelong friendships along the way! The winter months can seem long when Summer Camp is so far away, but this amazing week really recharged our batteries and got us excited about planning for the next four months! Also, I might be a little biased, but I think “Camp People” are just the great! Through a silent and live auction made up completely of items contributed by camp directors, vendors and presenters, the MACC participants raised over $10,000 to help support another YMCA Camp and Red Cross efforts in Haiti. Talk about generosity! Wendy and I will be a part of the planning committee for the 2011 MACC and will help to make next year just as educational and fun as always!

Annie Hernandez

Hello friends of Matawa!! Welcome to our blog! We are so excited about our new website and this new exciting way to share camp happenings with you all year round! Check back regularly to read the latest blog entries! Camp is covered in snow this winter! We haven’t seen the grass in over a month, and the Ga Ga Ball Arena seems to be collecting as much snow as possible. I had the pleasure of plowing and salting camp for the first time ever! We finished off 2009 with a largest and best Winter Camp of all time!! The campers and staff enjoyed lots of camp activities, like the climbing wall, indoor archery, and arts and crafts. We also spent the day at Sunburst tubing, skiing or snowboarding. As most of the participants haven’t been skiing or snowboarding for all, everyone got to take a morning lesson and learn how to hit the slopes in style! We brought in the “New Year” on the 29th at the annual New Year’s Eve’s Eve’s Eve Ball with lots of dancing, noise makers and two piñatas full of candy. The four days went by way too fast and no one wanted to go home at the end! After having so much fun with the amazing staff and campers, we can’t wait for summer camp to come!

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2010! Annie Hernandez, Summer Camp Director