Dear CODA Member,

Happy new year and warm wishes to all the camps out there. With a new year comes all sorts of new ideas and resolutions. Some good and some not as good. Eating healthy is one resolution everyone always does, tried it one day… I was still hungry after that meal. Glad I made it through that resolution! All of our camps have new ideas they try each year and many have the same outcome, some good, some not so good. I want to remind you about a good idea that will definitely make some positive changes in how you run your camp.

CODACON Registration 2018

This year’s CODA conference in Orlando on February 18-20 will be packed full of new ideas regarding the new tax codes that will help your camp run more efficiently and will help keep some of your hard earned money in your camp. There will be plenty more new ideas about topics from sexual harassment in the workplace to new marketing ideas with social media and how to reach the maximum number of potential camper families. Missing out on this years conference would defiantly be a “not so good” idea and you don’t want to start your year off with with those kind of choices.

As many of the camps across our country are still trying to recover from effects of everything from hurricane damage, wildfires, and now ice and freeze damage, theres no better place to be than Orlando at our conference where you can spend time getting to know the insurance representatives that will be in attendance. I know in the past I’ve learned many useful ideas from them as we were talking over dinner or even between sessions. The time you will spend networking and socializing with these people and other camp professionals will be invaluable to you and your program. This is defiantly on the “good idea list” for the new year.

Make sure you arrive in time to enjoy the always fun welcome reception for this years conference. It will begin at 6:00 Sunday night. You will receive more details once you arrive at the conference registration desk in the hotel. Space is almost filled up, so be sure to register and reserve your room today!

With the new year comes new updates by CODA (another good idea). We recently updated our member database and changed our billing process so all renewals are due in January each year. This means everyone will be receiving a renewal notice in the coming weeks that will be pro-rated to their last renewal date. Starting in 2019 everything will be back to the normal amount. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this process.

Speed Alman Award

Its time for next year’s Speedy Altman award nominee. Were trying something new (a good idea) where all the camps have the opportunity to nominate someone they feel is deserving of this award. Click on the button below to read the requirements and recognize someone that has made a positive impact in our camping industry. All submissions must be sent in by Friday, February 2nd. The award will be presented at our National Conference.

Newest Partner: bdSource

We’d like to also welcome our newest business partner bdSource. It’s owned by Brett Cogan and he has over 20 years of outstanding customer service and supplying camps with a 1 stop shopping for everything they need from mattresses to janitorial supplies. Brett is not going to be able to join us in Orlando this year, but please welcome Brett and bdSourse into CODA and let him know if you need anything and give him the opportunity to exceed your expectations. You can reach Brett at bcogan@bdsource.info or 516-754-0955

Well I hope this newsletter is full of good ideas or resolutions for you and your camp in the new year. My wife wanted my new year resolution to be when I take her out, treat her just like it was our first date. So tonight I’m taking her out to dinner and then dropping her back off at her parents house. That may fall into the “not so good” category. Find me at the conference and I’ll let you know!

Thanks for taking the time to read this edition of Larrys Letter. We hope to see everyone in Orlando at the National conference. If you haven’t signed up yet spaces are limited, so register today! See ya soon!

Larry