The Youth Center & Mattapany Day Camp

When I started at the Youth Center there was a Youth Director that was in charge of all of the Youth programs.  I am not sure where she was during the entire interview process but my first time meeting her was my first day on the job. She was my immediate supervisor.  She was quirky and full of energy.  I really liked her!  She would wear sweatshirts with leggings and heels.  We shared an office space and anytime she would want to talk with me, she would pull up the trashcan, straddle it, and sit on it. I think she was part Sicilian because she would throw an accent in there a lot.  I really liked her quirkiness. 

She was very intimidated by the Child Development Director. She was in charge of all of the Youth programs on Base.  My boss would stumble and fumble all over her words when her boss would come for a visit.  Believe me, I understood why.  

I have always taken pride in my work no matter what it is.  When I walked into that Youth Center it was like an empty canvas.  It was a big open room and I thought we needed to create learning centers for the kids. So I did.  

The big boss was so impressed. She would send random people to the Center to check it out.  The kids loved it too.  The Program Assistants that worked under me and worked directly with the kids were amazing.  I am still friends with many of them today.  

The big boss came to me one day and said I need to talk with you.  She said you have done such a great job at the Youth Center, I want you to run the Summer Day Camp here on Base.  This was a HUGE deal.  This camp was so popular and in demand.  We had to hold registration at the Base theater because so many people would come to register.  The lines were crazy and the waiting list was long.  I thought, why not?  Be BOLD, right?  I think at that time we enrolled 200 kids.  I had to hire counselors, order all of the materials for the summer and be ready to work outside.  The camp was outdoors.  The kids were housed in pavilions and me and my two Assistants literally worked out of a shed.  I was pretty thick at this time (still) so I didn't like the idea of being in the heat BUT I did it. 

I was only in my early to mid-twenties at this time and most of my Counselors were only a few years younger than I was.  That camp was the place to work if you were from that area.  The kids would come home from college and work at the camp and then head back to college when it was over.

For the most part, they all treated me with respect and we had a good summer.  The big boss told me it was the best summer she had experienced with the Camp under my leadership.  That was amazing for me to hear. I had so much respect for this woman.  She warned me one day that my Counselors were not locking up the Jon Boats before they left for the day and to make sure they locked them.  I received a phone call from her after midnight a few days later telling me I needed to meet her at the lake.  The boats were not locked and I needed to lock them. I went, locked the boats and you better believe they were always locked after that.          

There was one particular situation that happened that will go down in history as one of the most embarrassing conversations I have ever had to have with a parent and with my boss. One morning I was walking around the Camp and one of the Counselors was rubbing the kids' backs with what she thought was a back massager, it was not. The boy had been in his mom's closet and brought her special toy to camp.  I can't remember if I took the toy or if one of my assistants did but we brought it to the office.  I called the big boss who I would say was in her late 60s at the time.  I explained the situation and she didn't understand what I was saying. A toy? I was MORTIFIED! I broke it down to her and she was MORTIFIED! She said well call mom and tell her you have it. I called mom, and she was MORTIFIED! She ended up withdrawing all three of her children from the camp and we never saw her again.  I think now that I am older the conversation would have been a lot more reassuring and she possibly would have kept her kids at Camp. I will never know.  That was one of the BEST summers in my professional life. I learned so much about how to lead, how to be flexible, how to listen, how to communicate with parents, how to work in the elements, and how to organize a large group of children and keep them safe. I cherish those memories for sure..  Hard work pays off.  What happens next blew my mind, talk about being BOLD!!!  See you next time!