Double H Ranch: Reflecting on 20 Years
It's funny the things you remember. It was a full moon on the night that Derek and I went to Double H Ranch to pitch our services. At the time, Trampoline was just four of us, Sean and Derek working full time at Tramp, and Paula and I pulling lunch and night duty while we held other jobs. We were working late hours, which worked in this case as the development team at Double H Ranch preferred a meeting after the work day.
The introduction had come from Ann Fuller through a chance meeting at a Network of Enterprising Women luncheon presented by the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce. I was a new mom, still getting the hang of not letting the emotional waves of sleep deprivation and new parenthood engulf me in public. I succeeded about half of the time.
We sat in a conference room and talked about the concept of taking their annual report from an informational document to a piece that allowed the emotions and significance of camp to leap from the pages.
I remember how they talked about donor recognition being important, but it didn't have to mean that the document was dull. It was a moment that stayed with me because it allowed me to feel at work—emotions were needed and that was something I knew how to do.
Derek was beside me, listening and nodding in his friendly way. He had a small sketchbook in his hand (I bet he still has it somewhere) and was jotting things down. What I could do with words and emotion, he could do with pen strokes and shapes. We were there to sell, but what we ended up doing was sharing. Listening to their stories, reframing how they could approach making appeals for money, and developing a plan to use belonging and hope as a vehicle for people to find meaning in giving.
We left the meeting, walking toward our cars. The moon shone on the lake and bounced back, bathing the trees in silvery light.
"So that felt good, right?" I asked.
"Yeah, it really did," Derek said.
"Fingers crossed," I said, "Have a good night."
"You too, drive safe," he said.
Twenty years later, I look back on that night and think of all the people who've been a part of our relationship with Double H Ranch. The art director who worked with me on a Camper Sponsorship piece sitting at her computer, shoulder shaking as she wept. We laughed because we knew it was good, and there was a profound gratitude to be able to give. The family members who have donated, the businesses we have introduced for partnerships, the Friendraiser, and Winter 500, the summers Paula volunteered as a nurse.
The spirit that Double H Ranch showed that first night, daring to give a young agency a whirl, has endured. Over the years, we have created illustrations that push the boundaries of expectation and live in a place where wonder and delight play. We tried new things, experimenting and embodying the spirit Paul Newman embraced in his push to let sick kids "raise a little hell."
“If you've never been to Double H Ranch, we encourage you to check them out—they change the world one camper at a time.”
From the idea of limitlessness to the promise of magic, the stories we've written, the campaigns we've mounted, and the projects we've collaborated on, our time supporting Double H Ranch has made us better at what we do.
As Double H Ranch and Trampoline embark on new adventures in 2023, the twenty-year story we'll always share proves that emotion is not something to hide and that together, if we're willing to leap, we can achieve amazing things.
If you've never been to Double H Ranch, we encourage you to check them out—they change the world one camper at a time.
