There are specific responsibilities to be borne by Councils or
Committees who undertake to promote and establish a Girl Scout camp. The
most important of these are first, to secure the money for the initial
cost, and second, to obtain a Director. The subsequent work of the
Committee will be determined almost entirely by the character and
capacity of the Director chosen.
The prime requirement for a Camp Director is that she be able to manage
a camp and the children. This means first of all, a strong reliable
character, with enthusiasm and love and understanding for people, and
particularly for young people. She must also have an understanding of
the Scout program, as well as the aims and purposes of the Scout
organization, for the children in these camps are Scouts. She must have
a practical knowledge of the administration of a large household.
If in addition to these qualities she is capable of organizing and
planning, the Council can feel itself lucky, because their specific work
in regard to the camp is ended, and they can with assurance turn over to
the Director such questions as choice of location, the camp site,
arrangements for transportation, price of board, determining and
selection of equipment, the type of children, and the length of the camp
year.
They must not forget to give the Director not only the responsibility
but the requisite authority to act, and perhaps most important, be
ready to give her financial backing.
[Illustration: THE TENT "GREEN." Conical wall tents accommodating eight
cots. Not easy to put up and give little head room.]
It must be remembered, however, that many women who are quite capable of
running a camp do not have the particular kind of organizing ability or
business training needed to establish one in the first place. It may be
necessary therefore, for the Committee to divide the work among its
members, or even to engage a professional buyer, or business manager. In
the rest of this book it has been assumed that the Director is of the
former type, and will carry the initial responsibility.