Camp ASCCA Blog

Pool Party Night! Cheaha, Redstick, Moundville, and Chickasaw cabins enjoyed time in the pool tonight after dinner.

New counselors, Kathryn & Tyrell, share their experiences from Camp ASCCA’s staff orientation in our newest video! – Clayton Smith, PR Camp ASCCA Summer 2017

After a full day of orientation and training, our staff enjoyed burgers, hot dogs and nachos at the OutPost! Built primarily by Camp Administrator John Stephenson, it has a structure similar to that of a tiki bar, with a concession area where we serve shaved ice, nachos and other fun snacks. ASCCA pictures recreated by Social Media Specialist Kasey Langley decorate the walls and there’s even a stage! A lot of the staff experienced the OutPost for the first time and are really excited about the cool ideas we have planned for it, this summer.

The waterfront is one of the most beloved locations at Camp ASCCA! Campers look forward to sliding down the long slide going down the hill and going tubing in the lake for the entire year. It takes much knowledge and practice to know how to effectively transfer a camper into a small inflatable boat and tube. Today, the aquatic staff taught the counselors how to properly perform the task with Camp Director Matt Rickman alongside.

Today our staff members learned dressing and diaper techniques from head counselors Jay Gosselin and Sarah Shaner. After the explation, unit leaders led practice sessions for the staff to get hands-on experience.

Old and new comers are still enjoying Camp ASCCA’s 2017 Staff Orientation! As we close in on day three of orientation, we have learned how to properly transfer from different spots around camp and the importance of safety at different programs. Other than singing camp songs on the people mover, today, counselors and program staff learned or were refreshed on the rules associated with shooting sports and how to properly transfer campers to and from canoes and horses.

Our 2017 Staff Orientation continued today with more training and visits from several guest speakers, including Dr. Graham Sisson, Jr. Dr. Sisson currently serves as the Executive Director for the State of Alabama’s Governor’s Office On Disability (GOOD). He is a 1987 summa cum laude graduate of the University of North Alabama with a B.S. degree in Accounting and minors in history and english.

Hey guys, my name is April, and I am glad to be back for my second year as an ASCCA PR intern. I can’t wait to continue my experiences here at camp and meet the all the new staff.

Hi Camp ASCCA! My name is Karla Silva and I am one of the new PR interns for Camp ASCCA this summer. I was born in Morelia, Mexico, but I was raised in Mobile, Alabama. I am a communication major with a concentration in strategic communication and a minor in marketing at the University of South Alabama. I am expecting graduation this December. I am the Vice President of Public Relations for the Delta Sigma Chapter of Kappa Delta, a student athletic marketer for my university, the Intern Communications Coordinator for the South Alabama Region of the Alabama Kidney Foundation, and one of the Dollar General Bowl public relations/marketing interns.

I’m twenty years old, originally from Dadeville, Alabama, and currently a junior at Columbia College Chicago where I study filmmaking (or Cinema Arts + Sciences, the fancier name). As a filmmaker, I’m always looking for new opportunities to take my craft to the next level. Whether it be creating narrative films, documentary work, or even promotional material, I’m always searching for new ways to use my talents.

“When you meet one person with autism, you’ve done just that. You’ve met one person with autism,” is a statement the 2017 ASCCA Summer Staff heard from several speakers this morning. Each person visited Camp today to speak about autism and what it might look like for the counselors this summer. The staff is expected to understand that no two people with autism are the same. The autism spectrum is so wide that it is rare for there to be campers each summer with similar behaviors.

We conclude our Adventure Program Staff spotlights with Jared Montague. Some of you may recognize Jared from a video we did earlier this summer, discussing what it’s like being on Program Staff. In case you missed it, he is from Charlotte, North Carolina and this is his first ASCCA summer! He heard about Camp from his uncle who was also a part of our Program Staff years ago.