I’ve not been very good at keeping up with this blog, even though I really want to. There are so many aspects to community recreation programming that I get stuck in my tracks when I think about what to write.
So I am asking you what you want.
I don’t get many comments on my posts despite my readership numbers. It’s understandable, as I rarely leave comments myself. I simply enjoy reading other writer’s posts and move on.
I’d like that to change. So I am asking you for a favor.
It’s very easy to do.
Leave a comment on this post, even if it’s just this once.
I want to get to know who you are. I want to make sure that my future posts are what you want, that I am bringing you the information and ideas that you value.
In your comments, I would be thrilled if you would answer any or all of the following questions.
1) Who are you and where are you from?
2) Do you work for a city recreation department, camp, school, etc.?
3) Why are you here at my blog?
4) What kinds of articles are most helpful to you (marketing, adult programming, special events programming, after school programming, teens, tots, sports, something else)?
5) If you could have me write about one thing, what would it be?
NOTE: These questions are just conversation starters. If you would rather talk about something else, I want you to feel free to do so. Comment however you wish.
I appreciate you taking time to participate. Not only will your responses help me focus writing posts that you want to read, but I think they will help others see that they are not alone in their quest to better their community, and their own jobs.
Thank you!
Let the comments begin…
February 3rd, 2010 at 8:25 am
I do like reading your blogs and your numerous ideas. I am in Round Rock, TX (just north of Austin) and work at a local community center. The articles about programming are the ones most helpful. After you’ve been in the recreation field, you sometimes get stumped and need a refresher on new ideas and how to run them. My focus at my job is on after-school, youth sports, adult sports, and teens.
I would like for you to continue to publish great ideas and also how they are best structured (i.e. once a week for 2 hours, etc.). I like to read about “how” to run the program.
Thanks.
Betsy
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:04 pm
I’m like you, I don’t usually leave comments on blogs that I visit. But I like the idea that you are trying to gauge your audience. We do this in our profession all the time. What special events does our community want, what programs do are kids want, etc. So here goes
1) Who are you and where are you from?
I’m David, a recreation supervisor from Southern California.
2) Do you work for a city recreation department, camp, school, etc.?
A city recreation department, and of course, we have our own camps in the summer.
3) Why are you here at my blog?
There really isn’t a whole lot of information out their for our industry, especially in the way of blogs. I like to see the different ideas you have or ways you do things.
4) What kinds of articles are most helpful to you (marketing, adult programming, special events programming, after school programming, teens, tots, sports, something else)?
For me special events and youth programming (ages 7-12) are my areas of responsibility. I’m always searching for new ideas and ways to run them. I’m also in charge of my own marketing and like to see new ideas other than flyers and the brochure.
5) If you could have me write about one thing, what would it be?
I love your camp site and get a lot of ideas from there for our summer camps. On this blog I would love to see guest posts.I like to see ideas, opinions, and experiences of a variety of people in the industry.
Thanks for the blog and keep on writing. It’s a great resource to have.
February 8th, 2010 at 7:52 am
Thanks for the comments Betsy and David. I really appreciate it. I’ll focus on posts that you would like to see more of.
May 13th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
Hi Curt,
Have you had any success with writing press releases for your programs? I’m having a difficult time coming up with a story that would reach our clientele and it seems boring just to advertise our new programs?
What are your thoughts?
May 15th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
We do the normal press releases as well, highlighting our programs. I do know that newspapers like stories, especially when they are accompanied with photos. I spoke with the editor of our local paper (which is something you may want to do with your local editor) and she suggested that you find a human interest story. Find a camper who was changed by his or her camp experience or a staff member who has a great story about what camp did for them.
The editor also suggested that we write a short story about an extraordinary thing that will be happening at camp this summer. For example, last year we had a former Survivor contestant come and speak with the campers about what it was like to be on the television show Survivor. That would have been a great press release. Unfortunately, we didn’t capitalize on it.
I hope those suggestions help.
May 30th, 2010 at 5:29 am
Hi. I’m a homeschooling mom on a budget in Tampa, FL. I have lots of children (10) and grandchildren (3) and they all have friends. I want summer to be different from the rest of the year and can’t afford to send everyone to summer camp (although I dearly loved it as a kid). Therefore I have created Rainbow Camp. I put out a schedule of themes, activities, and events for the summer. We do crafts, field trips, activities, etc. It’s like a little day camp. Ages range from 3-17 with the older kids being my “CITs” and the youngest kids doing much shorter attention span stuff. On any day we have from 6-12 kids involved.
I’m always interested in new activity ideas. New skit ideas are also fun. This summer we’re doing a “playground survey”. Each week we are visiting a different public playground–we have some really neat ones in the area. We will be evaluating each playground on variety of play equipment, use of water (in Florida, many playgrounds have water elements), uniqueness, overall “coolness”, etc. Then we’ll make out award certificates and have an awards ceremony for the parks. I’ll be taking lots of pictures so we’ll have a slide show running for the awards ceremony.
May 30th, 2010 at 11:35 am
Hi Carol, it takes a lot of time and effort to put together a summer camp program. My hat’s off to you. You should visit my other site SummerCampProgramDirector.com. I think there is a lot of information you can get from it, and I’m adding more ideas and suggestions every week. Your playground evaluation program is very unique, very creative. Good luck this summer.