Camp Regis Applejack March Newsletter

COVID 19 and Camp Regis Applejack

We will keep this relatively brief since there is plenty of general information about the COVID-19 virus and ways to stay safe.  Our plan for this summer is to operate as usual and to follow the guidelines of the NY Dept. of Health, the CDC and the ACA (American Camp Association). As always, we will follow procedures related to the safety and health of campers, like frequent hand-washing and close monitoring of camper health. This is a rapidly-evolving situation and we will keep you updated if there are any significant changes to our plans and policies.
For those who have small children and teens at home, we are compiling a Pinterest Board full of great activities to do during to keep them busy, learning, and having fun. This board will be updated regularly so check back in daily for new content. You can find the board HERE.

Coming This Summer at CRAJ:

Ukulele Building Classes by CRAJ Alumnus Michael Lemma

During his three summers as a CRAJ camper, Michael Lemma’s favorite activities were canoeing the Seven Carries, hiking, making new friends, and music. He remembers canoeing to Paul Smiths where the counselors allowed campers to indulge in tons of treats at the old general store!
Since camp, Michael continued to enjoy many of the same activities and pursued a career in music education- teaching, performing, listening, and helping others reach their goals.
He earned a Master of Arts in music education from Columbia University and has been Director of Music at a New Jersey magnet high school since 1994, where he established a nationally recognized music program. In addition to directing orchestra and jazz band, he is a conductor of one of the nation’s few plucked string orchestras comprising mandolins, mandolas, mandocellos, guitars, and bass! He created unique courses such as Musicians Workshop, where students build guitars, ukuleles, and custom-tuned wind chimes! Soon after, he integrated music and science with Sound Wave Audio Lab, a maker space course where students solder electro-musical devices (mini amps, digital drum machines, overdrive effect pedals, Theremins). Visitors to his classroom are met with a hubbub of hands-on activities and musical sounds!
Michael was Director of National Guitar Summer Workshops throughout the United States, co-founder of Bergen Makerspace, and Director of New Jersey Guitar & Music Society. As a musician, he plays mandolin, guitar, and bass. He was a member of Bloomfield and New York Mandolin Orchestras for over 10 years and formed World View, a flute and guitar duo that performs international favorites. He presents educational clinics at venues from small elementary classrooms to national music education conferences.
Michael is excited to bring music-making to CRAJ! He will be at camp during the week of July 13-20. In Build Your Own Ukulele, students will undertake steps in lutherie to make a fully functioning instrument they take home after the course. In the Campfire Songs for Guitar, students of all levels learn how to play and sing songs in a group or community setting- from folk songs to classic rock!
Michael is married with 2 boys that love sports, outdoors and the arts… and still finds time to perform for community events now and then. He is grateful for the gifts that music lends to humanity and truly believes it can positively influence the lives around us. The memories and skills he took from CRAJ have given him a lifelong love of the outdoors that he now shares with family and other young people… and he still likes to indulge in treats now and then!

CRAJ is turning 75 this year!

Interested in celebrating our Anniversary with a CRAJ Reunion?
Fill out this 75th Anniversary Reunion Survey to help us make a successful reunion for everyone!

We are planning on hosting the reunion on the weekend of August 14th to 16th, so mark the date in your calendar now.
Please forward this survey along to any alumni you know as they may not be in our Facebook group or our Newsletter. Make sure they don’t miss out on this exciting event!

Our Early Birds rate is over but we always have our Alumni Discount!
Enroll Your Kids at Camp Regis Applejack

$1,000 off our 6 week overnight camp tuition (use promo code CRAJALUM6)
or $500 off our 3 weeks overnight tuition (use promo code CRAJALUM)

Don’t have kids? Did you know you can DONATE your Alumni Discount? Email us for more details: alumni@campregisapplejack.com

Know someone who would be interested in sending their kid(s) to Camp Regis Applejack? Forward our information onto your friends, relatives, and co-workers and make sure that the kids in your life are getting the same great summers that you always did.
You can always reach Will and Emily at info@campregisapplejack.com or give us a call at (919) 357-5533 (Will) or (609) 651-7241 (Emily).

CRAJ Scholarship Fund

We are excited to announce the arrival of the CRAJ Scholarship Program. For 75 years we at Camp Regis Applejack have strived to bring in children from all backgrounds to experience camping. We are a firm believer in having no child left behind, and now we have a more sustainable way to ensure that. We are working with the American Camping Association to create this Scholarship Program to make sure that we can continue to provide CRAJ to all future generations, no matter their background.

Camp Regis Applejack at the ACA Tri-State Conference.

The American Camping Association (ACA) held it’s annual Tri-State Conference this past week in Atlantic City. This conference is a great time for those in the camping industry to learn about new or interesting topics and programs that other camps are doing around the globe. Will Bettmann and Emily Yancey represented Camp Regis Applejack at the convention, Will spoke on the topic of Risk Management in his own session, and Emily attended sessions spanning all three days plus the pre-conference workshops.
Will’s session was entitled: An Exploration of Current Lawsuits Against Summer Camps and the Lessons that Can Be Gleaned from Them.
“As an acting summer camp director who is also an attorney, I understand that discussions about lawsuits, liability and legal issues can often feel overwhelming. Accordingly, I will present the core issues in a way that is digestible and actionable. We will start by exploring three current lawsuits filed against summer camps, looking closely at understanding the fact patterns and issues at hand. We will then have a facilitated discussion on how camp directors and owners can run fun, exciting and safe programs that minimize their legal exposure. We will cover major themes such as negligence, the duty of care, industry standards and the ADA in an active, informative and engaging format.”

Check out our Blog for some exciting new and old content.
Summer Camps Build The Soft Skills Our Campers Need For Their Future
Why Camp Regis Applejack
The Applejack Teen Camp Experience
Younger Campers Are Special At Camp Regis
The Way It Was (Part 1-4)