News & Press

‘TIS THE SEASON…FOR COLDS

by Erin Tiffany, RDN, LDN, CNSC, AMSkier Partner
December 21, 2016

As a mother of two young children, I feel like there is never a time when every family member is healthy during the winter months. Fortunately, by using food as our main line of defense we can strengthen our immune systems and fight off those runny noses and coughs once and for all! Here are a few key tips to keep everyone healthy this season.

How Can Foods Help Fight a Cold?

By improving the immune system and promoting healthy gut flora, which rids the body of toxins, bacteria and viruses
Through their antimicrobial and antibacterial properties
Through micronutrients (found in fruits and vegetables) which play a critical role in the development of the white blood cells that protect your body
By providing the necessary fuel to build antibodies and fight off infection
By decreasing inflammation
By providing immune boosting antioxidants
By maintaining the health of mucous membranes that line our nose and throat

Foods Rich In Protective Antioxidants (which neutralize free radicals and protect cells)

Garlic (fresh is best)
Tea
Turmeric
Cauliflower
Dark chocolate (with a cocoa content of 70% or higher)

Foods Rich In Protective Vitamin C

Red peppers
Citrus Fruit
Dark leafy greens (spinach, kale, arugula)
Berries (blueberries and strawberries)

Foods that fight inflammation and/or enhance the immune system
Note: Chronic inflammation prevents your immune system from working properly, and can contribute to colds and flu as well as more serious diseases

Wild Salmon (also rich in Vitamin D)
Oils – olive, avocado, coconut
Beef (due to high Zinc which promote white blood cell production)
Oats (contain a type of fiber called beta-glucan that has immune boosting properties)
Probiotics reduce inflammation, increase the bodies white blood cell count and help line the intestinal tract to protect from bad bacteria and viruses

No matter what you eat, remember to stay hydrated! Drink plenty of water and tea; tea is rich in antioxidants. Keep warm, too – research has shown that hot drinks can ease sneezing, sore throats, chills, and tiredness. Of course, if you are ill you should always consult a doctor.

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Snowmobiling – You’re Not Invincible

There’s nothing quite like snowmobiling. Roaring through the freezing cold in a snowy winter landscape on a powerful machine makes drivers feel invincible. The spirit of adventure and challenge found on a snowmobile is riveting, but the thrill may end in a lot of pain or worse.

There are stories upon stories of close calls and deaths as a result of snowmobiling accidents. In many of these stories, it’s clear that the worst could have been prevented if some precautions were taken. Make sure to stay safe and warm by implementing these five tips into your snowmobiling routine.

Be familiar with the area.
Before riding, take some time to learn about your location. Identify potential hazards like frozen lakes, fallen trees, rocks, and other objects hidden beneath the snow.
Maximize visibility.
Heavy snowfall can greatly decrease visibility, especially at night. Wear glasses or goggles and make sure that your headlights are functioning. Remember that the headlights of other riders can be blinding, so always drive cautiously at night.
Dress to stay warm and dry.
A helmet, mask, jacket, gloves, boots and tall socks are necessary for spending hours outside. Be strategic and find gear that is water and windproof, and avoid cotton and other clothing materials that retain moisture.
Carry a repair kit and other gear.
Be prepared for the unexpected with a kit that contains spark plugs, tow rope, and other tools. A cell phone and first aid kit are also essential, and a flashlight, map and extra pairs of socks and gloves may come in handy.
Go out with other riders.
Don’t be a lone wolf. You’re always safer sharing the experience with other experienced riders. Before heading out, it’s always important to let friends or family know where you are going, how long you expect to be out, and anything else you’re planning.

Don’t let carelessness and unpreparedness ruin your fun this winter. Putting these tips into practice will help you to be prepared, prevent accidents, and make the most of your snowmobiling experience!

Having an uninsured snowmobile can also ruin your winter fun. Contact us today to see how we can help you with your snowmobile or similar.

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WHY EVERY CAMP NEEDS A FULLY AUTOMATIC GENERATOR

AMSkier Broad & Bright articles are SKI-Way articles that have been opened to the public. Full access to SKI-Way articles, podcasts and other media is exclusively available to AMSkier camp clients. Interested in becoming a client? Tell us about you and your camp!

WHY EVERY CAMP NEEDS A FULLY AUTOMATIC GENERATOR

Dan Isdaner
November 6, 2012

The impact that Superstorm Sandy has had on homes and businesses is a chilling reminder of the need for proper emergency planning. Among the many results of severe weather, loss of power can have a serious impact on a camp’s ability to continue safe and normal operations. This guest blog from Dan Isdaner about fully automatic generators is both informative and very timely. – Gary Kimball, AMSkier Partner

In years past, when a severe storm would knock out power at camp for hours at a time, the only thing we could do was put campers back in their cabins, make sure the refrigerators and freezers were locked up and keep our fingers crossed that Central Maine Power would restore power as quickly as possible. But as summer weather patterns have become more erratic — and power outages a more common occurrence — the thought of installing a permanent, fully automatic, self-contained generator went from being an idea to a reality.

Losing power for any length of time can be detrimental to any camp (day or residential). Extended power outages affect all aspects of camp life: the kitchen, the health center, the dining room, the bathrooms, office operations including phone lines and, most importantly, the safety of each and every camper and staff member of your summer family.

A self-contained generator has an automatic transfer switch that recognizes when you are no longer receiving power from your local utility company. Within seconds it switches the generator on as your main power source. There are a few considerations when choosing a generator:

• You can elect to have selected emergency circuits. This allows you to decide which buildings you want to receive power, making it a more cost-effective option than an automatic system.

• No matter which generator you choose, make sure you have enough wattage to support the buildings that you want to be turned on during a power outage. For example, if you lose power during the day, you may not find it necessary to have power on in all of your indoor facilities; however, a power outage in the evening will offer a completely different protocol.

• Identifying what size generator you will need depends on the size of your camp and the number of buildings you want to generate. It is important not to overload the generator and only run what the wattage can handle.

If you are the director/owner of a camp, investing in a permanent, self-contained generator not only offers peace of mind, but also enables you to run camp confidently, without missing a beat.

Hospitals, schools, nursing homes and other entities who are in the business of caring for others all have emergency generators, and camps should be no different. Parents entrust us to keep their kids safe — making sure you can withstand a power outage is an important step in that direction.

Have you had experience with generators at your camp? Please share generator brands or solutions that have worked for you.

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SCOOP: BANNING CAMPER/COUNSELOR “RELATIONSHIPS” – BEYOND ROMANCE

Alan Cooper, Esquire
October 3, 2012

As a life-long camper (two years in day camp, eleven years at sleep away camp, four years as a counselor) I remember one of the sweetest times as a camper was when our counselors would participate with us in recreational activities. Camper/counselor basketball and soccer games, chicken fights, tossing us about the pool – it was like having your big brother allowing you to hang out with him and his friends.

Unfortunately, like many other popular activities of yesteryear such as trampolines, diving boards, canoe jousts and rat tail fights that are no longer allowed due to liability exposure, the time has come for camps to eliminate those activities that involve direct play between staff members and campers.

The reason is simple. Two twelve year-old campers collide on the soccer field. One is injured. Because collisions with other players of one’s own age are an inherent and acceptable risk of the sport, there is no liability. The same is not true of a collision between a twelve year-old and a twenty year old, which is not an inherent risk as parents can rightly claim that by allowing their child to attend camp that they did not accept the risk of colliding with someone twice their son or daughter’s size. A softball thrown from one eleven year-old girl to another that breaks someone’s nose is an inherent risk. One thrown by a twenty-one year old is not. In short, nearly every time a camper is injured while “playing” a game or sport with a counselor, the camp will be found liable for the injury and ensuing damages.

I realize that by doing so you are taking away yet another sliver of what makes camp so special. But like so many other things in our litigious society, the potential costs outweigh the benefits.

TWN: 20 DAYS TO OPENING EXERCISES …AN ALMOST LAST MOMENT REMINDER

Norman Friedman, M.Ed.
May 8, 2012

Bruce Lipton’s (our Scholar-in-Residence) reminder of the level of responsibility accepted by camp directors as they care for other people’s children is worthy of both reading and including in staff communications. Due diligence is accomplished by constant review of all the issues relating to total safety.

Bruce Lipton

Yesterday morning I heard a news report on CNN about the autistic child that was allegedly abused by a teacher. We know this because the father put a recording device in the child’s pocket in an effort to reveal the abuse for the purpose of stopping it, both for his son and to draw public attention and awareness to this problem.

Dr. Steve Perry, Founder of Capital Preparatory Magnet School and CNN Education Contributor said when interviewed, “One bad teacher can mess you up pretty badly,” when he supported the father of the autistic boy’s decision to put a listening device in his son’s pocket. (http://www.dr-steveperry.com/)

It seems to me the same patterns of behavior can be modeled by counselors in camper bunks. As a senior camp professional I know firsthand the diligent work that goes into training and preparing our staff to be the nurturing and compassionate caregivers we claim them to be. That said when I look in the “mirror of reality” the reflection is not always picture perfect. Do I really know what interactions are taking place in a bunk at any given time of the day or night? Can I say with certainty that we hired and trained the best most caring and considerate staff, and that they are behaving in such a way that if the town gossip and his canary were watching that I would not have to worry about what would be said?

Today is May 1. The entire month of May for me (I dare say for most Camp Professionals) is like the night before a major exam, a big trial, a huge presentation, an important speech, etc. There is still so much to do and so little time to get it done. There are the tangible tasks and then there are the “big questions” like the ones raised above to be addressed. None of us are good enough to do it all alone.

The value of networking with other professionals that know what I am doing “the rest of the year” – because they are doing the same thing is invaluable.

We all have engaged and accepted the awesome responsibility to be the caregivers of other people’s children, to be partners in raising and developing our future citizens, and the anticipatory anxiety that is heightened in the month of May is a keen reminder of this awesome responsibility that produces that rare feeling of accomplishment at the end of August when looking back.

‘Wisdom can only be acquired by the sustained development of an inquiring mind’