Inside Furman is published monthly during the school year by the Furman University Department of Marketing and Public Relations. For story ideas, e-mail John Roberts, editor.
Marie Burgess, manager of summer camps and conferences, was recently named the 2003 Mentor of the Year by the Association of Collegiate Conference and Event Directors-International. ACCED-I, founded in 1980, has a membership of more than 1,400. Burgess, who came to Furman in 1993, has spent many hours consulting with colleagues at Lander, Presbyterian, Emory at Oxford, and Wofford to help improve camps and conference programs at those institutions.
Summer
shift
Growing number of outside groups book summer camps and conferences at Furman
Ever since parents began sending their children to Furman for tennis, football, basketball and baseball clinics in the 1970s, athletic camps have ruled the summer campus roost.
With the exception of the Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, which now operates its own facility in downtown Greenville, and a handful of music camps, athletic-centered camps have traditionally dwarfed all other activities.
But the tide is shifting.
For the first time since 1999, summer camp sales from outside groups, or organizations that have no connection to Furman, made up more than half of all revenue generated by summer camps and conferences last year. For 2002, 59 percent of the total gross revenue generated by summer camps and conferences originated from outside groups. Athletic camps accounted for 25 percent of sales. Sixteen percent came from Furman-sponsored groups, such as Summer Scholars and music camps. During 2001, outside groups generated 46 percent of total sales, says Marie Burgess, director of summer events.
Burgess explains that prior to 2000 the university hosted a five-week Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, which accounted for most of the sales generated by outside groups.
"It took us two years to recover revenue from the loss of the Governor's School," says Burgess. "But each year sales from outside groups have grown and there was a considerable jump between 2001 and 2002."
And although the final numbers for 2003 aren't in yet, she expects the trend to continue. Recent additions to the campus, such as North Village, and the expanded University Center are helping to attract more professional conventions and programs, which require upscale accommodations and meeting spaces.
The proposed Younts Conference Center and new university alcohol policy will help make Furman even more appealing to adult conferences. Although Furman-sponsored programs and athletic camps, which are operated by coaches, continue to be popular, Burgess says outside adult conferences add more to the bottom line.
"The Furman groups and the athletic camps get discounts," she says. "Outside groups are charged our regular rate."
Though long-term prospects for the summer camps and conferences look rosy, Burgess says a sluggish economy will make a dent in this year's revenue. Last summer, Furman hosted 93 groups and 10,000 participants, compared to 88 groups and a projected 9,000 this summer. The sluggish business climate has caused some groups to cancel summer retreats, and attendance at some athletic camps was down from last year.
One of the largest groups this year was The Sweet Adeline's International Education Symposium, held July 15-20. The event was expected to attract 1,400 participants from all 50 states and seven countries. The organization promotes harmonious singing.
Bobby Lamb's football camps, held in June, drew more than 1,100. And "Wild Week," a program sponsored by MPact youth ministry earlier this month, attracted 700 high school students from throughout the Southeast.
The Atlanta Falcons are also set to return to campus for their fifth consecutive summer training camp at Furman. The 2003 camp will be held from July 24 to August 8. The university also hosted the Falcons summer training camp from 1971-78.