Gail Johnson will be the featured speaker at the ACA Illinois Young Professionals meeting on March 22nd, 2007. The meeting will be held at the RAM brewery, www.theram.com, in Schaumburg and will begin at 12:00 PM. To RSVP please contact Graham Little at 847.854.3511 or littleg@ymcaofmchenrycounty.org. All camping professionals are welcomed to attend.
Gail Johnson founded Face to Face Communications, www.face2facetraining.com, and Training in 1997 to fill the need for customized training in the increasingly competitive workforce. Ms. Johnson’s strong communication background gives her a 21st century perspective on training needs:
“Strengthening communication skills between workers and managers, workers and peers, and especially workers and customers is the key to success in this Communications Century. In a strong economy, high turnover or unmotivated employees can turn black ink to red faster than any price war. The company that invests in employee development has the competitive edge.”
Ms. Johnson has designed and delivered hundreds of communication-related workshops throughout the United States. She also taught college-level speech communication courses prior to founding her company. Ms. Johnson earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Master of Arts in Communication Studies from Northern Illinois University. She is a member of the Association for Training and Development. The Illinois Chamber of Commerce has named Face to Face Communications and Training a designated Training Provider for its ITP grant program.
Ms. Johnson’s individualized approach to training has earned her a loyal client base that has grown primarily through referrals. Her client roster spans a broad range of industries, including telecommunications, banking, travel, architecture, legal, health-care, as well as local governments, school and park districts.
In November of 2006, experienced camp leaders and students motivated to impact the camping industry gathered at Timber Pointe Outdoor Center in Hudson, Illinois. Surrounded by lush forest and a brand-new conference center, the students and professionals spent the next few days sharing experiences, life lessons, and mapping the future of the world in youth camps. The Student Camp Leadership Academy (SCLA) is a weekend workshop designed for students to explore, learn, and understand what the camp professional of the future must be and the leadership opportunities within the ACA structure at the Section and National levels to impact the future of camps and youth development. The weekend was spent discussing prominent leadership topics such as communication, networking, troubled youth, and much more. This year’s student group made great headway in helping to pave the way for the young professionals of the camping industry and the challenges they will surely face. Warmed by a nearby crackling fire and overlooking the pristine Lake Bloomington, attendants shared stories of their camping days, their past seasons of summer camp employment, and personal stories of accomplishment and enlightenment. With a combination of personal insight and honest professional guidance from across the country, students from a variety of the nation’s universities and professionals from a diverse collection of organizations collaborated to create a productive, exciting, and inspiring set of tools and visions to be brought out into the camps of our country and the hearts of our children. With the completion of the second annual Student Camp Leadership Academy, we now look into the future for professionals and students to convene again for our third conference in the fall of 2007. The SCLA has been designed as a regional academy to provide additional learning for University students. This program could serve as a pilot model for a similar program in your area of the country. Please visit www.acacamps.org/scla/ for more information on this event.