Lisa's Camp Career Turns Ten!

Hi All,

This is a milestone day for our own Lisa Lissner. She has officially been at Chippewa for 10-Years, and she had her celebration through lunch and rest period today. Obviously, as her husband and best friend I am so proud of her, but as her co-camp director, we could not provide our campers and parents with the extraordinary experience that we do, without her.

It’s funny to consider that just eleven years ago, Lisa was on a fast track to the top with the City of Chicago Park Districts. She was a Deputy Press Secretary and doing a significant amount of print and media work. For all intents and purposes, Lisa could have easily continued on that path and been very successful. Fortunately for us, she opened her mind to taking a stab at the camping industry, and devoting her life’s work to Chippewa. That shot became a summer, and then another summer, and another, and now ten.

Lisa, Sari and I have a wonderful working chemistry, and we compliment each other very well. We each have our strengths and weaknesses, but one effectively fills any gaps left by another. Lisa’s key strengths lie in her unwavering concern for the experiences of our campers. She embraces her time here living for, learning about, and loving each child as if they were her own. She spends countless daylight hours enjoying long chats with our campers about their lives and summer adventures. Then, well into the night, during a time when most people experience the luxury of sleep, she is on the phone with moms and dads, sharing, explaining and collaborating. Every remaining moment is selflessly devoted to our own girls (Audry-5 & Vivien-3).

None of us will argue that she has the best job in the world (all three of us do), but it is the hardest job that anyone could ever love. If the reader of this blog is a Chippewa parent, then that parent should walk away from this post with absolute confidence in that their daughter is in the hands of a saint.

The best part for me is that when all is said and done, I get the additional benefit of calling her my wife…

All best,
Cliff