CAmP Day

CAmP Day with Fire Department

March’s CAmP Day was spent with the Springfield Fire Department. CAmPers spent the morning learning how our Fire crews provide additional protection for our citizens, including installing and testing fire alarms, teaching fire safety to children in schools, and CPR and Heimlich instruction for middle and high school children. Next CAmPers split into groups and participated in a fire inspection at local businesses, learning about the fire safety requirements. CAmPers also took time to tour a local Fire Station and the Springfield Fire Training Center.

After lunch CAmPers suited up in protective pants and jackets and participated in tasks our firemen have including spraying water from the firehose, rescuing a dummy from a building, using a firetruck lift to reach taller buildings and using the jaws of life and other tools to break apart a vehicle. It was such a fun and informative day for our CAmP class. Thank you to all those in the Fire Department who helped make this such a successful day!

CAmP Day with Health Department

February’s CAmP Day was all about how the City of Springfield Health Department helps the City. CAmPers started the day learning about communicable diseases, milk testing, water testing, STD testing, and how the City counts the pollen each day. Next they learned about different programming the City has including WIC, the NEST partnership and Community Wellness. They also learned about Community Health Advocates and how they work directly with clients to help them navigate systems and learn about the available resources.

After lunch CAmPers toured Jordan Valley Community Health Center to see first-hand the services and programs they offer to everyone in our community, including health, dental and vision. Next CAmPers visited the Animal Shelter and learned how the City operates our Animal Control facility and collaborates with local animal shelters, as well as the process used for pit bull registrations, strays, and missing pets.

The day ended with CAmPers becoming Food Inspectors at a fictional restaurant where actual Food Inspectors took part in obvious and less obvious violations to the health code to see if CAmP inspectors would notice. Inspectors then taught CAmPers what they look for during an inspection and how they work as a team with the restaurant to ensure the health of the patrons there. Thank you to all the Health Department employees who made the day so informative and fun.

CAmP Day with Planning, Information Systems and Human Resources

January’s CAmP Day began with a stop at the SGF Forward Planning Studio to learn about the City’s Forward 2040 plan. CAmPers learned the importance of having a 20 year plan designed by citizens and the work that happened because of the last 20 year plan. CAmPers then designed a length of the upcoming Grant Avenue Parkway and shared what their ideal design would look like. CAmPers also learned about GIS Mapping and how Springfield has changed over the last hundred years.

After lunch CAmPers headed to Springfield Underground to learn more about the Information Systems department. CAmPers toured Blue Bird and learned about how the unique facility stores the city’s data.

The day ended with a trip to Doling Family Center where the Human Resources team engaged CAmPers in a game of January Madness Basketball while reviewing Merit Rules. Congratulations to the winning team: Laurie Duncan, Jared Follin, Stacey Parton, Chris Jackson, Jennifer Charleston and Ben Wahl who showed off both their Merit knowledge and their basketball skills.

Shout out to the Planning, Information Systems and Human Resources Departments for the effort they put in to make this CAmP day fabulous!

CAmP Day with Emergency Communications and City Government

December’s fieldtrip began at the Public Safety Center with a tour of the Emergency Operations Center. Office of Emergency Management’s Public Spokesperson Amy Russell provided a tour of the OEM facility and some insight of the collaboration between City, County and other First Responders with our state of the art facility. We followed our tour with a visit with 911 Emergency Communications. While there we learned about a typical day at 911 as the first contact for those in our community that face an emergency, and the challenges dispatching first responders to those in need. Afterwards we went to the Municipal Court where we met with Chief Judge Thornhill and his staff and learned about how the Municipal Court manages cases for the Springfield City Ordinance and City Charter.

The afternoon consisted of meeting with the City Clerk, City Managers, Law, Public Information and Risk Management leaders and participated in a competitive game of Kahoot while learning about each department. Congratulations to Robert McGinnis, Sheila Samek, Kevin Turner, David Trent, and Danielle Allen on their win! The day ended with a trip to Council Chambers where a mock Council Meeting was held. CAmPers broke into different roles and tackled a Residential Building Code issue illustrating the effort it takes to review and pass Bills and Ordinances for the City. Many thanks to Mayor McClure, Councilwoman Ferguson and Councilman Simpson for taking time out of their busy schedules to come in and participate, as well as all the departments we visited that helped make the day great for the CAmP Class of 2020.

CAmP Day with Art Museum

November’s Field Trip started with a workshop with Dale McCoy about personality types. First each CAmPer took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to learn what each of their personality types are. Afterwards Dale guided us through activities where we learned about each of the four quadrants of personalities and the benefits of having each one on a team. I loved learning how our personality types are similar to our dominant hand. Our personalities consist of each of the eight traits, but some traits are more comfortable to us than others and we use them more naturally.

We ended the day with a tour of the Springfield Art Museum viewing the collections of both local and non-local artists. It was interesting to learn about how the Art Museum contributes to our city and the different experiences they offer. My favorite part was viewing the exhibit on homelessness and learning the personal stories of those individuals displayed. Many thanks to Dale McCoy, Nick Nelson and the Art Museum staff for your help with a fantastic day.

CAmP Day with Public Works

October’s Field Trip was all about Public Works and how they keep our city running. We started with a presentation from Dan Smith where we learned overall facts including the 600 miles of stripes and 1770 lane miles of roadway the city maintains in Springfield. After the overview we heard a presentation from Urban Forestry about the importance of trees in our community and planted a tree as part of our CAmP experience that will be there for many years. Next it was time to break into small groups and start our rotations. In each station we were able to learn about a specific part of Public Works and experience a part of their day. In the Backhoe station Joshua showed me how to use his backhoe and how precise he needs to dig with this massive machine to avoid all the important pipes and lines in the ground already there. I then had a chance to dig my own hole using the machine. We then went to the Traffic Management Center where we learned how the city manages the traffic lights to enable the best flow of traffic through the city and alert emergency personnel of accidents. My last rotation of the morning was with Dump Trucks where we learned about how the city keeps the roadways safe from dangerous weather and I survived the terrifying experience of driving the large truck through an obstacle course. For lunch, the wonderful Public Works team, led by Dan Jessen, smoked some barbeque brisket and beans for us to eat and it was fantastic! After lunch, rotations consisted of riding in a street sweeper and learning about how important it is for the city to keep the roadways clean, pouring a sidewalk, and exploring a box culvert while learning about water and stream management. The day was full of learning experiences and I was fascinated with all the many things the Public Works team does to help our city every day. Many thanks to Ron Bailey and the entire Public Works team for an outstanding day!

CAmP Day with Environmental Services

CAmP Class of 2020 started their CAmP experience with a jam-packed day at Environmental Services. The day started with a tour of Jordan Creek. We donned our rain boots and walked up the bed learning about the history of the creek, the current state of it, and the bugs they look for to see if there is a healthy ecosystem currently inhabiting the creek. Next, we were off to the Landfill where we toured the facility and rode in very large machines. We followed that with a tour of the Yardwaste Recycling Center where we learned more about recycling, food waste, and air quality. Afterwards we took a break for a most delicious lunch of burgers, brats and homemade onion rings and French fries that the talented members of Environmental Services cooked for us! It was delicious! After lunch we participated in rotations learning about the multiplicity of things that Environmental Services does to keep our city clean and healthy. During these rotations CAmPers were able to operate machinery, use CCTV cameras, play with lots of fun equipment, and learn the nitty gritty details about keeping the sewers maintained. We ended the day with a hayride around the Southwest Treatment Plant where we learned about each step in the process of how the city cleans our water. We would like to send a shout out to Colten Harris and all the Environmental Services team for their role in making the day a success by taking time to give us a glimpse of your typical day. Thank you, it was most appreciated!

CAmP Day with Workforce Development & Graduation

July’s fieldtrip started at the Missouri Job Center where we met with the finance department, played CAmPopoly, and learned how difficult it is to balance Department’s needs when putting a City budget together. Next, we heard several presentations from various staff members at the Missouri Job Center about all the many programs they have there and how they help those in our community who are looking for a job or to increase their skills. We also took time to tour the Mobile Career Center, the Job Search Floor, and the Career Closet.

Finally, it was time for CAmP Class of 2019 to graduate from the program. City Manager Jason Gage and Mayor Ken McClure were there to congratulate the CAmPers and hand out their awards. Congratulations Class of 2019! It was so great to get to know everyone as you learned about all the different ways the City and its employees work together to help the citizens of Springfield.

Many thanks to our finance department: David Holtmann, Tammy Beeman and Nikki Crisp; our Workforce Development Team: Dennis Wiggins, Katherine Trombetta, Bill Smillie, Daniel Snyder, Sally Payne, Cindy Bennett, Jenny Lourwood, Steven Butts, Jamie Moss, Wendy Graves, and Cody Naeger; and special thanks to Julie Greer, Cara Burch, Dale Dalton and Public Works, and Chris Akins for helping with the reception. It takes so many people to make this program a success and we genuinely appreciate every one of you and the help you give.

CAmP Day with the Police Department

June's fieldtrip was all about the Springfield Police Department. We started our day with a briefing by Lt. Chris Wells followed up by exploring the various police vehicles. We were then given a tour of police headquarters and learned about the many different careers the police department has for both civilians and sworn officers. We stopped along the way and enjoyed a fingerprinting demonstration. After lunch we went to the shooting range where we took turns shooting police weapons, learning about the amazing work done by our K9 unit, and watching a demonstration from our Special Response Team.

So many people helped to make this day special for everyone. Many thanks to Lt. Chris Wells, Jasmine Bailey, Captain Tad Peters, Sgt. Jason Friend, Ofc. Matt Lilly, the K9 Team, and the Special Response Team for making the day so special.

CAmP Day at the Airport

May's fieldtrip was to the Airport. The day began with a special presentation by Brian Weiler discussing the overall vision of the airport and fascinating facts about how it is run. Afterwards we split into two groups to tour different parts of the Airport.

In a terminal tour we learned about the intentional design of the airport to reflect life in the Ozarks. We learned about how our baggage is handled and the importance of TSA employees in keeping us safe. We also were able to tour the trucks the Airport uses to keep the runway safe for the airplanes.

In the area tour we first visited the tower and learned about how these operators keep the airspace organized and safe for each airplane. We went to Premier Flight Center and learned about OTC's Aviation program and how they are training the next generation of pilots. A few campers even got the opportunity to try out their flight simulator! We toured customs and the fire house and learned the important role each of them play at the airport.

A big thanks to Al Berry, Sarah Flippo, Brian Weiler, Chuck Cowan, Eric Sanders, Chris Jackson, Robert Record, Mark Scully, Ky Neuleib, Pam Boyce and Dan Ream for making this wonderful day possible!

CAmP Day at Parks

April's Fieldtrip was to various Parks around Springfield led by Anne-Mary McGrath. We started our day at the Valley Water Mill Equestrian Center where we learned about their equestrian program and got to hear from some of the riders that use their facility.

Next we went to Dickerson Park Zoo where we took turns touring the Reptile, Giraffe & Commissary areas. The campers were able to go behind the scenes and see some of the great things our Zoo employees do to keep the animals safe and engaged.

We then toured the Cooper Tennis Facility and played some rounds of Tennis. During lunch we learned more about the Springfield Lasers, Ozark Greenways, how our Park Rangers help our parks, and about ongoing outdoor initiatives.

My favorite part of the day was going to Dan Kinney Park and learning about the Miracle League and the amazing opportunities given to children with disabilities to be part of a team and play baseball.

Next we toured the Davis House and participated in an archery activity. I enjoyed seeing all the different Olympic Uniforms the Davis house had on display.

We ended the day at the Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park where we toured a few of the gardens and learned about park programming.

So many people to thank for the fun packed day: Anne-Mary McGrath, Bob Belote, Matt Coats, Emma McKinnon, Joey Powell, Amanda Nguyen, Kyle Wartick, Dave LaFevers, Paul Nahon, Ranger Dave Moore, Mary Kromrey, Justin Smith, Cyrus Taylor, Jeff Cumley, Amy Francka and Katie Keith. We appreciate the time you took to teach us about the wonderful things our Parks Department does for the City of Springfield!