2020
Camper
 Summer Update
RED PINE CAMP
Hello

The past two months have been a roller coaster for those of us working to plan for camp this summer. In the middle of March, we were sure that camp would happen; that we would be back to normal by June. Now, almost 9 weeks later, we must face an unpleasant reality. The announcement yesterday by the Government of Ontario means that, sadly, Red Pine Camp must suspend all its operations for the summer.

You may wonder why this decision was made, given that the Province of Ontario has started to lift its restrictions on other businesses just in time for summer. The fact is that the situation for every organization is different. If we are honest with ourselves, we could not imagine that restrictions limiting gatherings to family units and groups of less than five people at the beginning of June would be changed less than four weeks later to allow a group of 340 unrelated people from across North America to gather. Through these past two months we have been in close, regular contact with the Renfrew County Health Inspector, and she has confirmed our assumptions. We take solace at the knowledge that the safety of campers, staff and neighbours is at the heart of the decision.

As we have noted in previous messages, this outcome is not a surprise to us. For the past few weeks, we have been exploring our options, and the Board met last night to lay out plans for the summer. Those plans include, if regulations allow, the possibility of offering limited, Picnic Day access to the Camp. We will provide details through the summer as the situation unfolds.


We are celebrating our 100 th anniversary in four short years. Our plan for this summer is to make use of the government support available, leverage our staff and complete a multitude of projects that otherwise would not be possible with a full camp. Rick and Jamie will lead a raft of infrastructure projects, perhaps with the help of several small camper task groups. Janet and Christine will be focused on revising and updating our many policies, programs and procedures to reflect our new environment. They'll also be supporting the infrastructure work, and there is a treasure trove of Red Pine archives that will finally be catalogued and readied for access. Together these projects will greatly accelerate our infrastructure plans, extend the life of our buildings, and make a positive impact on Camp life.

Now that we know we will close the camp for the summer, there are a few matters to address:

1)     Janet will be hosting an online staff meeting tonight for all those originally hired for the summer. In fairness to everyone, we will refrain from commenting further on specific staffing plans until those impacted have been informed.

2)     Regarding your deposits or payments, there are a few options open to you. We realize that the pandemic has caused hardship all through our community, but IF you are able, we encourage you to please consider each option below. We appreciate all that our camp family community can do to help. For any payments you have made to camp:

  1. You may request a full refund and have your payments returned (we need address confirmation to send the cheque); or
  2. You may request to apply your deposit to the next seasons camping fees; or
  3. You may request to convert your payment to a contribution to the 100 for 100 campaign.

Please carefully follow this process to direct your payments:


3) If you have not yet made a deposit, we encourage you to donate to the 100 for 100 campaign. If you would like to direct your 100 for 100 donation to a specific project you can find details here.  Please email janetcottreau@redpinecamp.org to specify where you would like your donation directed.

From a financial perspective the camp will be okay, thanks to the many prudent managers who came before us. Still, the loss of all our revenue for a year will impact our cash flows. We appreciate all that our camping community can do to help.

4)     For safety and liability reasons, we must insist that people NOT visit camp this summer. There will be significant work underway all through camp, and some dangerous situations may exist. Also, there will be no supervision on the dock, so swimming will not be possible. As I mentioned earlier, we hope to be able to host Picnic Days, so please stay tuned for news of that opportunity to visit camp.

It saddens us to think that after all the camp has been through in nearly 100 years, we have finally met our match. But we realize that the bonds that connect us all as Red Piners are stronger still, and that we will return next year to Golden Lake to pick up where we left off with the traditions, friends and camp we love so much.

Neil Knudsen                                                 Janet Cottreau
President                                                       Executive Camp Director
Red Pine Camp Inc.                                     Red Pine Camp

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