I get to run my own camp next summer! "Good Times" is coming to Naperville.

Friends, I'm very excited to announce that for the summer of 2012, I will be starting a Good Times Summer Day Camp branch in Naperville, Il based out of the Players Indoor Sports Center. Since I started camp back in 1986 as a camper, this has been my dream to run my own summer camp. This was a very hard decision to make because of all of the relationships I've forged over the years with the Glenview campers, parents, and staff. One of the greatest privileges I have is watching children grow up from babies at Poko Loko to young adults going to college. Starting a new camp, I won't get to do that in Glenview anymore. But for me to grow professionally, I needed to do this. I'll still be involved with the Glenview & Libertyville Good Times Camps, just not in the day to day operations during the summer. I'm sad I'm not going to be in Glenview to play Bumper Kick ball or look over the latest Poko Loko alumni, but I'm very excited to bring a fun and exciting summer to the families in the Dupage County area.

The Good Times Naperville camp will be based out the Players Indoor Sport Center and will have shuttle buses from Downers Grove High School and Wheaton North High School every morning. Every Monday & Wednesday there will be field trips to places like Great America, Lincoln Park Zoo, Enchanted Castle, and Pump It Up. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday the camp will be swimming at pools such as Splash Country Water Park, Rice Water Park, Phillips Park Family Aquatic Center, & Turtle Splash Water Park. We will play a variety of sports and have fun events every day like potato sack racing, cake decorating contests, and squirt gun wars. We'll end the week with a fun themed cookout. Campers come weekly or daily and there will be no minimum enrollment.

Online registration starts today. If a family registers by December 1st they will get a 10% discount off tuition! Parents only need to put down a $100 deposit per camper. Parents don't need to worry about when the kids are going now, because campers' final schedules are not due until May 15th.

There will be a lot of work going into this project. I've spent many late nights in my office getting the new camp rolling. I'll be sure to blog about my experience and challenges along the way. If you ever been to any of the Good Times camps or sent your children there, please tell your friends and family in the Naperville area about all the "Good Times" your family has had at our camps.

I'll be at Players on Saturday, November 5th from 9am to 5pm to talk about the upcoming summer. Drop on by if you are in the area. Wish me luck on this new adventure. I'm scared, thrilled and excited with this new challenge.