BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//ChamberMaster//Event Calendar 2.0//EN METHOD:PUBLISH X-PUBLISHED-TTL:P1H REFRESH-INTERVAL:P1H CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Chicago BEGIN:DAYLIGHT RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU DTSTART:20070101T000000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:Central Daylight Time END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU DTSTART:20070101T000000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:Central Standard Time END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260528T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260528T120000 X-MICROSOFT-CDO-ALLDAYEVENT:FALSE SUMMARY:Youth & Day Camp Committee Site Director Workshop: Sun\, Fun & Safety Done Right! DESCRIPTION:Located within IPRA's Therapeutic Recreation (TR) Section\, the Youth & Day Camp Committee consists of a group of professionals that either specialize or work in and around camps and youth programming at special recreation agencies. If you are interested in joining the committee or simply wish to attend for educational and networking purposes\, you are encouraged to register.Session Description: As summer camp season approaches\, "Sun\, Fun & Safety Done Right!" will provide camp leaders with practical guidance on creating safe\, prepared\, and responsive camp environments. This session will explore proactive risk management strategies\, staff training practices\, hazard awareness\, emergency preparedness\, and effective communication procedures for day camp operations. Through discussion of real-world scenarios and common summer camp challenges\, participants will examine approaches to incident response\, supervision\, and team coordination. The session will also highlight the collaborative roles of Site Directors\, Assistant Site Directors\, and Counselors in supporting camper well-being\, maintaining safe operations\, and responding effectively to unexpected situations throughout the summer season.Learning Objectives:\n1. Demonstrate an understanding of proactive risk management strategies. Participants will be able to explain how staff training\, hazard awareness\, preliminary and ongoing inspections and advance planning contribute to incident prevention and safer camp environments.\n2. Identify and apply key safety procedures for common and unexpected camp scenarios\nParticipants will be able to recognize potential risks and describe appropriate response actions for both routine safety situations and "what-if" scenarios that may arise during camp operations.\n3. Define roles and responsibilities in maintaining a safe camp environment\nSite Directors\, Assistant Site Directors\, and Counselors will be able to articulate their specific responsibilities and collaborate effectively to ensure heightened risk awareness\, preparedness\, prevention strategies\, and timely response to safety concerns.Speaker Bio: Karen Lesniak holds a BS in Therapeutic Recreation from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and has devoted her career to special recreation agencies (SRA's). She spent 13 years at NEDSRA\, advancing from Nature Center Specialist\, Support Services to Superintendent of Recreation. She then served 10 years as Conference Coordinator at SIU's Touch of Nature Outdoor Center\, supporting camps\, facilities\, and safety operations. Returning to NEDSRA\, Karen spent over 12 years as Fund Development Manager\, strengthening partnerships and securing support for therapeutic programs. For the past 9 years\, she has been Superintendent of Administrative Services at SEASPAR\, overseeing safety coordination\, facilities\, first aid resources\, and fleet operations. Karen is deeply passionate about safety\, with a strong focus on risk prevention\, problem-solving\, and supporting staff. She leads comprehensive safety trainings and is committed to fostering a culture of preparedness\, ensuring safe\, high-quality\, and positive experiences for all participants and staff.How to Participate: This event will be on Zoom. Links will be sent to all registrants the morning of May 5.CEUs: Event is approved for 0.1 CEUs for CPRE/CPRP and will only be awarded to members in live attendance for a minimum of 45 minutes. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Located within IPRA'\;s Therapeutic Recreation (TR) Section\, the Youth &\; Day Camp Committee consists of a group of professionals that either specialize or work in and around camps and youth programming at special recreation agencies. If you are interested in joining the committee or simply wish to attend for educational and networking purposes\, you are encouraged to register.

Session Description: \; \;As summer camp season approaches\, &ldquo\;Sun\, Fun &\; Safety Done Right!&rdquo\; will provide camp leaders with practical guidance on creating safe\, prepared\, and responsive camp environments. This session will explore proactive risk management strategies\, staff training practices\, hazard awareness\, emergency preparedness\, and effective communication procedures for day camp operations.  \;Through discussion of real-world scenarios and common summer camp challenges\, participants will examine approaches to incident response\, supervision\, and team coordination. The session will also highlight the collaborative roles of Site Directors\, Assistant Site Directors\, and Counselors in supporting camper well-being\, maintaining safe operations\, and responding effectively to unexpected situations throughout the summer season.

Learning Objectives:
1.  \;Demonstrate an understanding of proactive risk management strategies.  \;Participants will be able to explain how staff training\, hazard awareness\, preliminary and ongoing inspections and advance planning contribute to incident prevention and safer camp environments.
2.  \;Identify and apply key safety procedures for common and unexpected camp scenarios
Participants will be able to recognize potential risks and describe appropriate response actions for both routine safety situations and &ldquo\;what-if&rdquo\; scenarios that may arise during camp operations.
3. Define roles and responsibilities in maintaining a safe camp environment
Site Directors\, Assistant Site Directors\, and Counselors will be able to articulate their specific responsibilities and collaborate effectively to ensure heightened risk awareness\, preparedness\, prevention strategies\, and timely response to safety concerns.

Speaker Bio: \; Karen Lesniak holds a BS in Therapeutic Recreation from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and has devoted her career to special recreation agencies (SRA&rsquo\;s). She spent 13 years at NEDSRA\, advancing from Nature Center Specialist\, Support Services to Superintendent of Recreation. She then served 10 years as Conference Coordinator at SIU&rsquo\;s Touch of Nature Outdoor Center\, supporting camps\, facilities\, and safety operations. Returning to NEDSRA\, Karen spent over 12 years as Fund Development Manager\, strengthening partnerships and securing support for therapeutic programs. For the past 9 years\, she has been Superintendent of Administrative Services at SEASPAR\, overseeing safety coordination\, facilities\, first aid resources\, and fleet operations.  \;Karen is deeply passionate about safety\, with a strong focus on risk prevention\, problem-solving\, and supporting staff. She leads comprehensive safety trainings and is committed to fostering a culture of preparedness\, ensuring safe\, high-quality\, and positive experiences for all participants and staff.

How to Participate: \;This event will be on Zoom.  \;Links will be sent to all registrants the morning of May 5.

CEUs:  \;Event is approved for 0.1 CEUs for CPRE/CPRP and will only be awarded to members in live attendance for a minimum of 45 minutes. \;

LOCATION: UID:e.3289.1462814 SEQUENCE:3 DTSTAMP:20260606T014023Z URL:https://members.ilipra.org/affiliate-calendar/Details/youth-day-camp-committee-site-director-workshop-sun-fun-safety-done-right-1733203?sourceTypeId=Hub END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR