I recently had the opportunity to visit with a reporter from the Fort Worth Business Press. She asked what lessons I had learned over my tenure at Camp Fire. In giving this some additional attention, I’d like to offer an expanded list of things Camp Fire has taught me over these last 40 years:

  1. Nothing is ever accomplished alone. There is always a better product when there is input from others. Even our best ideas are usually just an expansion of something someone else thought of a long time ago. When we make progress, we know that much of the credit goes to those before us who worked tirelessly to get us to the point where we could take the next step.
  2. Always be open to change – or stated another way: no guts, no glory. This is one that my predecessor, Zem Neill, was famous for saying. I’ve always interpreted this to mean that you must be open to change and you must take some chances if you intend to move forward.
  3. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice or opinions. For those of us who work for non-profits, we know big decisions are best made when we involve the appropriate volunteers and staff, put all our options on the table, listen to their advice, then come to a decision. It’s much better to have all the facts, as seen by different people, before making a decision.
  4. Look at the big picture – but see the details, as well. It’s never enough to be just a big picture person. Others count on you to know details and especially the “why” of the big picture.
  5. Never drive over a camp road where there is exposed blue pipe. I learned that the hard way – and single handedly was the cause of an entire camp being without water. But I’ve never done that again.
  6. The budget is your friend. Some people hate dealing with budgets and the monthly income statement, but those financial reports tell a story, every single month. They tell us if people are attending our programs, if there are staff vacancies, if our fundraising goals are being met, and they tell us if we need to make changes. It’s not always news we want to hear, but financial reports tell us news we need to know.
  7. Always do the right thing. Knowing what the right thing is can be hard, but doing the right thing is more important than doing things right.
  8. Never accept a gift of something someone else doesn’t want unless you’re really sure that you have a use for it right now, not in the future. Otherwise, you’ll be trying to find a new home for it. This was another lesson learned the hard way and it involved a very, very heavy copier which was almost impossible to dispose of.
  9. There are generally just two answers: yes or no. If you don’t ask, then you’ll never know the answer – and it just might be the answer you wanted.
  10. You can never go wrong by being kind. In all fairness, I learned this from my dad – but he was involved in Camp Fire when I was growing up in East Texas, so I’m going to count that as related. My dad was a school administrator and he rarely lost his temper at home or at work. He genuinely believed this saying and I believed him. And you know what? He was right.

Ann Sheets is the President/CEO at Camp Fire First Texas. Ann has been a part of Camp Fire since childhood, beginning as a Blue Bird and later earning the WoHeLo Medallion as a youth member. As President/CEO of Camp Fire First Texas, Ann heads one of the largest and most active Camp Fire councils in the nation. She is a graduate of George Williams College, receiving a master’s degree in camping administration in 1977 and was recognized as the Distinguished Alumna in 2007. She was named the 2012 CFO of the Year – Non-Profit by the Fort Worth Business Press.