The Whitefish Parks and Recreation Department’s Summer Camp Program has been making summers fly by for children since the program began in 2009.

Liz Records started working for the city two years after the program began as a part-time camp counselor. She is now a full-time recreation coordinator and in charge of the summer camp program which is held at the Roy Duff Memorial Armory.

She said while the program, which finished this season last Friday, has evolved over the years, one thing remains constant.

“Fun is always our number one priority, for sure,” she said.

This summer, campers visited the Whitefish City Beach on Mondays, took field trips each Wednesday and on Fridays, they visited one of the many lakes in the area.

“So, Tuesdays and Thursdays are really where we rely on the counselors to get creative and come up with fun excursions for the kids,” Records said. “We try to pick a location and an activity at each place. They might go to Kiddie Park but they’re also playing capture the flag.”

The campers were often seen this summer enjoying Memorial Park after arriving there via bicycles. A few campers agreed that one of their favorite things about camp was, “That we get to bike ride everywhere.”

The camp boasts a 10 to 1 ratio of campers to counselors and this summer, the camp served about 60 kids a day. In order to get a bit more breathing room at the Armory and allow for more kids to participate in camp, Records and her staff got creative and moved the older campers, the 9-12 year olds, to the Whitefish Community Center.

“So much of the fun that is had is really just the culture that’s built at summer camp by the staff and the counselors and the kids that build such great relationships and trust and respect with each other so I give them all the credit for making summer camp what it is,” she said.

Records hired 14 counselors and two directors who worked a variety of shifts, to run the camp this year.

“Every year, I have quite a few returning staff. And I definitely have staff that come from our after-school program and slide into summer camp. They get familiar with the kids and the routine and the facilities,” Records said. “I feel really lucky. The staff this summer was amazing”

In addition to delivering fun for the kids, the summer camp program provides much needed affordable child care. Records recognizes that child care is expensive for families in this community and said they try to keep the camp at a reasonable price point while also having fun activities planned for the kids.

She said families need to be ready to commit to the whole summer when registration for the camp opens on April 1. While Records was able to accommodate most of the campers on the extensive wait list this summer, she encourages parents to sign up for the days they need in the spring.

“This year I also offered local families an opportunity to enroll in summer camp two weeks earlier than non-residents,” she said. “So my families that are in after-school [programs] and living here year round were given a little head start in securing their child care for this summer.”

Payment plans and scholarships are always available, thanks in part to a grant through the Whitefish Community Foundation. Records encourages everyone to apply for the scholarships.

Part of the evolution of the summer camp program involves its location. Summer camp started out at the Stumptown Ice Den before it had year-round ice. It then moved to the middle school before landing at the Armory.

The format of the camp has also changed over time. Running field trips was very expensive, even when businesses gave a discount for the visits.

Instead, they ran an adventure program which involved a higher fee to cover the cost of more expensive field trips. After the pandemic occurred, they reigned the program back in and this was the first year they were able to implement field trips again.

Through it all, Records has been a constant with the summer camp program. She is grateful for the opportunity to work with the Whitefish Parks and Recreation Department.

“I've been here for 12 years now and I started seasonally and I'm full-time now and I just feel so lucky… I get paid to play, really,” Records said. “I just love our community and I feel like making those connections with the families in our community is really the heart of my job.”

While the summer camp has concluded for the season, Parks and Recreation programs continue throughout the year.

“We’re gearing up for afterschool and flag football and we’ll just roll right into our fall and winter programs,” she said. “I feel like I just blinked and summer just went.”