Job's Done! It's the New Camp Office!

Kodiak here - I've delayed my monthly "Thursday Thought" until Saturday so that I could show you something new and exciting at camp - enjoy!

It's usually a quiet time of month for Beacon from late October until early January - which is just fine for us. We manage to catch up on paperwork, start organizing themes and programs for the next year, and we're always looking forward to winter camps and our Family Day Festival (you should register for that today!). It is very hard to catch up on paperwork, however, when all the paperwork is stuffed into boxes so that we can renovate the office! 

With a growing team of year-round staff at Beacon, we came to the realization that our cozy little office (which at one time doubled as a staircase during winter months) was a somewhat too cozy and little for our needs. Once the last group pulled away from camp in October, we quickly started tearing down walls and preparing for what we thought was going to be a quick new paint job and flooring with a minor expansion for more space. All the DIYers reading this are laughing - because you know it's never quite that simple. 

Long story short, we felt it was better to fix the office space not just for now, but for the next decade (or more!). We went back to the drawing board and decided to build the office we thought would not only give us the best space, but also allow for a better partnership between the year-round staff at camp and the session directors who work so hard each week of the summer to make camp amazing for our campers. 

But why am I writing so much when a picture is worth a thousand words! Without further ado: the new Beacon office! 

Our new reception desk, with some great barn doors hiding the electrical panels we couldn't completely cover. The great thing about this desk (and the new front door) is that we can now see right down the camp road for those arriving at camp, so we don't have to "wonder" who's arrived! 

One big goal with the renovation was to give our session directors a space that was physically close to our office, so that we could support them better as they plan programs for each week/weekend of camp. It turns out the best place is right in the office itself. (Bonus marks if you noticed and are happy that directors no longer have to photocopy in the dark Central Storage!)

Kodiak and Dash are pretty excited about having workspaces that have enough storage space for all our paper, and also that are close to each other (married couples get to hope for that when they're working in their dream jobs, right?). 

Kodiak's little space is perfect for "keeping an eye on things" while working on future plans, policy and development for Beacon. The rest of the staff are glad to know where he'll be most of the time so that they can avoid him! :P 

There are a great number of people we should thank for all the work that's been done to make this happen. Mark and Judy Vandervecht took the vision for a better workspace and created the beautiful floor, walls and ceiling for the space (and Mark put in more outlets! He's my hero!). Faaron and Tristan: thanks for hanging around so long in the fall just for a chance to use a sledgehammer. Walt, Eveline, Neil: thank you for your work on the new tongue and groove ceiling, the walls and everything!

The amazing team at Belair Office Products (led by Beacon's own Scott Vanderform) not only designed a workspace that meets all of our needs, but also generously donated their time and materials in order to bless our little camp, which is why we get to work in such a beautiful looking space. We normally allocate our renovation resources to camper-facing projects, so this is a special treat for our staff. Thanks also need to go to a donor who wants to remain anonymous for covering any extra costs, which means that this project doesn't affect camper fees at all. 

The office space doesn't look nearly this neat any more - with a group arriving on Friday at 5:00pm, we managed to squeeze every last box that needs sorting into the office and clean the Wheelhouse (where we have been working since October) just in time. And we still have a couple of projects to finish: a window that didn't quite arrive in time, and some trim once the window is installed. Still, we hope you'll stop by and see us in our "new digs" when you come to camp next summer - we're pretty glad to say that we now have the space to welcome you!