With less than one week until the event, I thought it would be fitting to give you all an idea of where we are and where we’ve come from.

When Dave and I started this blog a few weeks ago, we had no idea what would come of it. For those of you who don’t know, Dave is up at Eisner working full-time on the 50th in many different capacities. I, on the other hand, work and live in Washington, DC. For me, blogging on behalf of Eisner has been squeezed into my off time during lunch breaks and and my nights after word. When Dave and I started talking about creating a new platform for Eisner alumni to connect, neither of us saw the magnitude of what it would immediately become.

What has come out of this project (which merely began as a quirky idea for a single YouTube video) has just been truly amazing and inspiring for all of us. The blog has registered over 16,000 hits since it went live just weeks ago and has become one of the most visited Reform Jewish websites. We’ve had around 200 comments and commenters that have logged in from all around the world from the UK and Australia to Minnesota. That alone has been an extremely humbling and rewarding outcome for both of us.

However, what is even more amazing is the community that has rallied and been built around this blog. What could easily be described as “just another website” has become a living history, a breathing community. The connections that have been made between generations, old friends and complete strangers is an incredible, incredible thing. For so much of my camp experience, myself and my friends would always consider cultural aspects of camp that we thought to be “old school” Eisner, you know, the subtle nuances of years and eras at Eisner that impact individuals heavily but change or even end. Things at camp change year after year and Eisner evolves. For me, I always want to hold on to the 1990s and the stories about camp that my counselors would tell us about.

A few summers ago, Greg Kellner (now the assistant director, then head songleader) spoke with a group of staff members about the idea of “Old School Eisner.” While we laughed this idea off for a while, it taught me an important lesson. We are all someone elses’ old school and someone will always be our old school. So to everyone who has posted memories and sent in pictures, thank you for being someone’s old school Eisner. Each of us can claim that legacy.

On behalf of Dave and myself, thanks so much. For me, I grew up with a dad and uncle telling me stories of their time at camp and starting as a day camper. Camp has been the single most transformative experience of my life. I grew up with Dave in New York and helped to bring him as a young staff member years ago. If you ask him, he claims something similar. Even though our experiences differ in so many ways, camp remains a central part of our lives.

For us, this blog demonstrates that everyone has gained something from Eisner, whether it be as small as a piece of advice from a counselor that impacted their experience to those who have met their spouses at the camp and were able to create Jewish family life. Eisner has helped to improve the quality of life for those that enter through the camp gates, and in a much larger sense, has proved to be a central influence of Jewish life in America and around the world.

Thanks so much for reading and contributing.

See you this weekend,

Sam Salkin and Dave Silverstein