10 Summers Made Better

As the director of Camp NAC, Amanda Brown works year-round to plan and prepare for the summer ahead. This year, marks Amanda’s tenth year with Camp NAC. She began “making summer better,” for children when she was only 14 years old. Over time, Amanda has taken part in each role there is to have. She was first hired by the gymnastics director to be a camp counselor. Since that time, she has progressively moved up to the assistant director and now the director of camp.
What does Amanda like most about Camp NAC? She loves playing and interacting with the campers. In the last ten years, Amanda has learned that summer camp has a big impact on the campers who attend it. At Camp NAC, campers will create friendships and memories that last a lifetime.  They partake in programs that challenge them physically and mentally, while continuously having fun in the summer sun.
In ten years a lot can change and in Amanda’s time here she has seen the location and size of camp nearly quadruple! When she started, there were about 50 campers that attended Camp NAC. Today, there is upwards of 300-400 children that attend Camp NAC each summer. As the size of camp increased, so has the staff. Amanda feels that the Camp NAC staff is one of the biggest improvements in the last 10 years. The staff is well-trained, enthusiastic and “prepared for anything and everything.”
With a background in education, Amanda thrives to integrate an assortment of educational activities in the camp’s programs. One of her biggest challenges as the director is making sure there is a program for every type of child. Within the next 10 years, Amanda would like to see more technology integrated into camp. Her goal is to add more technology while at the same time keeping the campers active.
Throughout her years at Camp NAC, Amanda has made countless memories. Each year she looks forward to making up different dances at the color games. This activity is interactive and fun for the kids and the staff. She also loves partaking in the classic camp prank that sneaks up each year, although she is still waiting for the day in which she gets tricked by the camp staff. Until the time when they stop being “all talk, no action,” Amanda is looking forward to many more years as a part of Camp NAC’s undeniable success.