2018 Summer Recap

One significant quality we hope for campers to leave with at Camp Huawni is honesty. One definition of honesty is the quality of being truthful. One example of this is telling the truth even after doing something wrong. It is hard to know the truth in others, but much easier to know in ourselves. This is why I’d argue that honesty usually involves telling the truth about ourselves. We long for our campers to be able to tell the truth about themselves. This is one telling sign that we are living out our true significance.

As summer winds down, we get the opportunity to look back— how good it is that memories last. We get to take an honest look at how we did as a steward of your child’s development. This starts with taking a sobering look at summer 2018 in hopes of making summer 2019 the best yet.

Thank you again to our Huawni Parents (95 to be exact), who shared with us timely and constructive feedback. So, without further ado, here is your 2018 Summer Recap!

Making Huawni History

We celebrated a handful of unique milestones this summer. To start, we unveiled a new Starter Camp which was over half full! Furthermore, we had more sleepaway campers attend Huawni than ever before (603). We also hired 67 summer staffers, the most in Huawni history!

Camper Experience

The bottom line for us is camper experience. How did camp go for our campers?

We’ve found that one of the best ways to gage this is to go to campers directly. This summer campers rated their sleepaway camp experience a 4.5 out of 5, with 4 being good and 5 being excellent. We also highly value feedback from our parents, which is why we send out a post camp survey each session. When asked, “How satisfied are you with your camper’s experience at camp this summer?” Huawni Parents answered 6.4 out of 7 (with 7 being extremely satisfied). This is equal to a 9.1 out of 10 rating. Our summer campers rated their cabin counselors 4.62 out of 5, with 4 being good and 5 being excellent.

What Parents Said…

It’s always best to hear directly from our camper parents. Here is what parents said about their child’s sleepaway camp experience.

[Our daughter] was a huge help to her cabin mates that were unsure and homesick. THOSE are the qualities I love to hear about. Teaching children to think of others and be empathetic is a lost trait in my opinion. Any parent that’s looking for the years of nostalgia after school got out for the summer…look not further! Camp Huawni is everything I remember about being a child in the 80s. When kids played simple games, outside, and had dirt stained clothes to show for it. – Huawni Parent

Before Camp, our camper was lonely and bored staying at home. After camp, she liked being outside and learning how not to rely on her phone [as much]. She wanted to be outside more and didn’t rely so much on her phone for entertainment. – Huawni Parent

Our daughter stays true to herself and camp reminds her to be helpful and respectful to others even when they are not so much to her. Camp Huawni is the best camp I could have found for my daughter. She enjoys being away from the everyday hustle at home. She enjoys being away from technology for the two weeks and having good times with the new and old friends she sees and meets every year. – Huawni Parent

Our son said “there is one thing I learned at camp, you have to try new stuff and not be afraid.” Before Camp this rarely happened. I recommend the Camp Huawni experience, we’ll be back next year! – Huawni Parent

My son had trouble making friends [before camp]. He was shy when I dropped him off so I worried about him. That week I received my 1st letter wouldn’t you know he told me that he’s made so many new friends. I was crying by the end of the letter. On closing day I walked up to his cabin and he was in there playing and having fun with all the kids. On the way to the dinning hall together other campers would say hi to him. For once my outdoors child was accepted somewhere. On the way home we even ran in to other kids two hours away and they stop and took time to talk to Cooper. Instead of asking for a phone or a Xbox he went outside with out animals and did his chores. I feel like he was able to be his self and enjoy being a kid at camp. We are counting down til next year. – Huawni Parent

I love that they are completely unplugged for the 2 weeks. It is invaluable! The staff and counselors truly care about every child and they have the opportunity to get to know the kids and are able to foster relationships because of the smaller size of the camp. – Huawni Parent

Our son is an easy going child who is almost always happy. No challenges this year. Riley attended another top rated summer camp in Texas in 2015 and 2016 before Huawni. He said he liked Huawni better. He didn’t mind no A/C. He likes the food at Huawni better. – Huawni Parent

Our daughter had another outstanding experience, really being herself and feeling truly valued for who she is. She told me she decided since it was her last year as a camper, to say yes to everything this time and that meant she had so many amazing experiences and made lasting memories that will sustain her throughout her senior year and her life. – Huawni Parent

[Our daughter] gained some real independence and confidence and was not so frazzled and irritable. [After camp was over] she engaged in conversations and was what I call “present” for all of us. – Huawni Parent

The Camp Huawni PEOPLE make this camp the BEST…the campers, counselors and staff are all like a huge family! – Huawni Camper

Improve?

Here is what parents said that we can improve.

More access to counselors during Opening Day
Improve the food options
Update pictures more regularly
Make sure campers write back to parents per fax backs
Bring back KWNI Huawni Radio
Better recognize last year campers on Closing Day
Upgrade girls camp bathhouses
More SOJ (camper devotionals)
More water activities

Ratio

Another key number we dissect each summer is our camper to counselor ratio. Most top rated summer camps in Texas have an 8:1, or maybe even as low as 5:1, camper to counselor ratio. More quality staff means more attention for our campers. Here is a look at our ratios for the summer.

Starter 1 – 2.5 to 1
Main 1 – 3.3 to 1
Main 2 – 3.2 to 1
Main 3 – 1.8 to 1
Starter 2 – 2 to 1

What’s Next?

Our Returning Camper Discount deadline is quickly approaching (Saturday, September 15th, 2018). Please make sure and enroll ASAP to get our biggest and best discount of the year. We have a 100% tuition back guarantee until April 1, 2019, so there is little to no risk signing up today.

For new families, you may apply for Camp today and then you will be put first in line to be enrolled on September 16th.

Finally, we are about to begin our off season camp projects in hopes of making Summer 2019 the best yet. We are hoping to upgrade our Dining Hall, redo the outside of Pine Top/Pine Bottom, and possibly add a boys camp cabin. We also hope to unveil a new activity! Be sure and stay connected with us through social media…we will keep you posted!

It is an honor and privilege to partner with our Huawni Families in growing up your children. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

All the best,
Travis