Camp is a unique environment.  It is a community of people living closely together, learning by example and depending for success on the presence of excellent role models. Camp staff must demonstrate positive values and  make healthy choices.  At camp, we learn how and when to lead and how and when to follow; how to look for risks, keep ourselves safe and challenge our comfort zones.  We learn how to be positive role models.  This is why we need camp more than ever and forever. 

Give an opening to a camper of any age and instantly you get a camp story. Remember the camper who said, “ I love it here at camp!”  When asked why, she said: “At home I don’t have a lot of friends and I don’t do much, but at camp it’s different.  At camp, I think I might be cool.”   Most of these stories are recalled because camp is about experiences with other people — how you figure out who you are and what you want to become. 

Any camper can tell tales of a staff member she/he looked up to and remembers that person long after camp days are over.  The memory is usually of the positive influence the counsellor instilled on our future.  For example: the counsellor who took you kayaking every day because you just couldn’t perform an Eskimo roll, though you desperately wanted to master the skill. 

My camp director often said, “We become like the things we admire”, a guideline that I have never forgotten.  We use it with camp staff every year. 

Our approach since 1922 at Glen Bernard is to give campers opportunities to build self-confidence and develop successful interdependence in a safe, fun and nurturing environment.  Camp is a great experience for young people and an investment parents never regret. Today’s campers are tomorrow’s role models.

Jocelyn Palm has been the owner and director of Glen Bernard since 1977. Jocelyn originally joined GBC as a staff member following 15 years as a camper and counsellor in Quebec. From 1959 to 1965 she held a number of senior staff positions at GBC including waterfront and senior section director and leader of the counsellor-in-training program. She was also a staff member at the Ontario Camp Leadership Centre (Bark Lake).

Jocelyn was the National Director of the Royal Life Saving Society Canada for 15 years. She is a past President of both the Canadian and Ontario Camping Associations. She is also the previous owner of the Raven Ski & Snowboard Club, a skiing and snowboarding program for youths.

A graduate of the University of Toronto, Jocelyn holds degrees in Science and Education. She has taught secondary school in Toronto.

Advisory committees that include current and former campers, parents and staff, assist with the continuous evaluation of GBC. Jocelyn has a life-long interest in programs that foster the development of leadership skills.