About ACA

ACA Fact Sheet
ACA Spokesperson Biographies

Facts

• The mission of the American Camp Association is enriching the lives of children, youth, and adults through the camp experience.



• Founded in 1910, ACA is a tax-exempt corporation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service code.



• ACA's over 7,000 members encompass all segments of the camp profession, including agencies serving youths and adults, independent camps, religious and fraternal organizations, and public/municipal agencies. ACA is the largest association serving the organized camp industry.



• ACA is the only organization that accredits all types of camps, with up to 300 national standards for health and safety that are recognized by courts of law and government regulators. ACA accreditation is a standardized, voluntary system of review with a fifty-year history.



• More than 11 million children and adults benefit from a camp experience at approximately 12,000 camps throughout the United States.



• In 2005, despite the ever-growing menu of opportunities for child and youth development and the current economic conditions, camp enrollment has increased 1 to 3 percent over the past year.
  



• Of the more than 2,400 ACA-accredited camps, approximately 14 percent are dedicated to meeting the special needs of campers with physical, emotional, or mental challenges, and approximately 57 percent are resident (overnight) camps only, 41.7 percent are day camps only, and 15 percent offer both day and resident programs.



• More than 70 percent of ACA camps offer coed programs, 34 percent offer female-only programs, and 23 percent offer male-only programs.



• According to ACA's survey of camp directors, females make up 55 percent of total camp enrollment and males make up 45 percent.



• Nonprofit organizations, including the YMCA, YWCA, Camp Fire USA, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, Woodmen of the World, churches, and synagogues operate 78 percent of all summer camps. The other 22 percent are privately owned and operated, primarily by multiple generations of individual families.



• A recent opinion research study supported by ACA revealed the following details about parents' perception of the camp experience:
   
  • Recreational fun is an important value of camp
  • Personal experiences are the most common source of information for peers and parents
  • Development opportunities dominate the range of benefits
  • Safe and secure facilities, along with positive, fun activities for their children were important
  • Parents assume oversight of all camps is being done. Because camp involves children, they presume someone is checking
    

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ACA Spokesperson Biographies

Peg Smith, ACA Chief Executive Officer
Peg Smith Bio

Peter Surgenor, ACA President
An advocate of the camp experience as a contributor to human and faith development, Peter Surgenor is the national president of the American Camp Association. As the chief elected volunteer, he serves as spokesperson for the more than 2,400 ACA-accredited camps nationwide and over 7,000 ACA members. A certified camp director, Peter has served in Presbyterian faith-based camps for over 30 years, and brings extensive experience to his position. His experience includes participation as an ACA volunteer since 1977, and he has also been active at a local level as president and board member of ACA, New York. On a national level, Peter has served as an ACA national board member, chair of ACA’s National Education Committee, faculty for Camp Director Institutes, and a leader in the ACA standards program. As president, Peter is committed to keeping ACA strongly focused on the organization’s contributions to the development of campers of all ages. Peter has extensive experience as a speaker, including print interviews, public speaking, and live broadcast.

Expert Resources

Marla Coleman
Marla Coleman is a past president of the American Camp Association, the co-author of Crisis Communications: A Handbook for Camps and Other Youth Programs, and the author of the blog, “Bedtime Stories for Parents.” She and her family own and operate Coleman Family Camps. Marla is a spokesperson for the camp experience, which provides a community where trained counselors encourage youth to take healthy risks and build on their successes. For more information, or to read her blog, visit www.MarlaColeman.com.

Bob Ditter
Bob Ditter is a senior level child, family, and adolescent therapist who works with people who work with children. He is nationally known as the author of the Camping Magazine column "In the Trenches," and for his work with Disney, Sea World, the Salvation Army, YMCA Girl Scouts, JCC, and many other youth organizations. He is a special consultant to America's Camp, the camp for children whose parents were lost in the Twin Towers on September 11, and has received the highest awards from the American Camp Association for his contribution to camp over the past twenty-five years.

Linda Ebner Erceg, RN, MS, PHN
Starting with Camp Chinqueka in Connecticut and currently with the Concordia Language Villages of Minnesota, Linda Ebner Erceg has worked as a camp professional since 1969. Currently specializing in camp health services with a keen focus on risk reduction initiatives, Linda is also executive director of the Association of Camp Nurses, an international nursing organization she helped launch in 1990. Linda is an ACA Standards Visitor, serves on ACA's National Education Committee, is a Board member of ACA's Northland Section, and a frequent presenter at regional, national, and international camp conferences. Her publications include The Basics of Camp Nursing and several articles for CompassPoint and Camping Magazine.

Ethan D. Schafer, Ph.D.
Ethan completed his doctorate in child clinical psychology at Case Western Reserve University, where he is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychology. He also works in a private practice in the Cleveland area. He has over fifteen years of camp experience and has been consulting with summer camps for several years.

Ann Sheets
Ann Sheets is a certified camp director, parent of two children, and a professional with Camp Fire USA First Texas Council. Ann is the immediate past national president of ACA and has been an active ACA volunteer for over thirty years, serving also as national treasurer, national board member, standards instructor, and conference presenter. Ann speaks eloquently on the camp experience, and has done so in numerous media interviews and presentations.

Dr. Christopher Thurber
Dr. Christopher Thurber, Ph. D. is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in children's adjustment and emotional health. He is nationally recognized as a leading expert on homesickness prevention. A summary of his research appears in the widely acclaimed book for new camper families entitled The Summer Camp Handbook. Dr. Thurber has discussed many aspects of the camp experience on National Public Radio, CBS News, and the Today Show. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard and his Ph.D. from UCLA. During the academic year, he is the school psychologist at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire.

Stephen Wallace, M.S. Ed.
Stephen Wallace has broad experience as a school psychologist and adolescent counselor. He serves as Director of Counseling and Counselor Training at the Cape Cod Sea Camps, Chairman and CEO of SADD, and Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Mount Ida College. Stephen is a researcher, writer, and speaker who focuses on youth development and decision-making. He is a regular contributor to regional and national broadcasts and his bimonthly columns appear in newspapers across the country.

Edward A. Walton, M.D., F.A.A.P., F.A.C.E.P.
Dr. Walton is assistant professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has been involved in camping and camp health research for twenty years, and his scholarly articles concerning camp health issues have appeared in major medical journals. He consults on camp health issues for the American Academy of Pediatrics and serves on the National Board of the American Camp Association. He has also shared his youth development and camp expertise at medical and other professional conferences, in broadcast and print media, and on the internet.

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