About us

Software should make the work easier.Ours was built to.

Core Registration was built out of frustration with the software our industry was handed: hard to use, disconnected, and too often making the job harder instead of easier.

Our story

Built out of frustration.Shaped by the people who use it.

In this day and age, software is supposed to make our lives easier and our operations run smoother. In the camp industry it often did the opposite. Registration lived in one system, payments in another, health forms somewhere else — and the people running the operation spent their days moving the same information between them.

Running several systems has its benefits, but together they created a lot of undue stress and slowed everything down. It hit hardest at smaller camps, the ones without a full administrative staff just to keep up with the daily processing.

So we set out to build one system instead. Core Registration was envisioned, and then built, with feedback from some of the largest camps in the industry and from nonprofits. Their input formed the foundation: software that is user friendly, feature rich yet easy to use, and customizable, so that every organization can make it their own.

What guided it

Three things we would not give up.

User friendly

Built for the person at the front desk on the busiest day of the season, not for a training manual.

Feature rich, yet easy to use

Registration, payments, health, check-in, staff and communications in one place, without the clutter.

Yours to customize

Your words, your forms, your rules. Every organization sets Core up its own way.

The people behind Core

Three co-founders.One operator, one engineer, one camp director.

Co-founder

Phil Penton

Phil brings more than 30 years of software industry experience to Core. He has helped build and scale technology businesses, develop strong teams and guide companies through growth across the country. He brings that experience to Core with a focus on building a platform and organization that can grow with the people they serve. A Chicago-area entrepreneur and member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), Phil combines a practical understanding of technology with the experience of running and growing businesses.

Co-founder

Gray Harrison

Gray turns complex operations into software people can actually use. His experience spans federal government and FEMA projects, manufacturing, and the implementation and customization of business software. With a background in operations and nearly a decade building software, he focuses on systems that are scalable, adaptable and easy to understand. He embraces AI to improve software development and bring new capabilities to the teams using it. At Core, he leads engineering with a practical goal: make powerful tools feel simple in the hands of the people doing the work.

Co-founder

Graham Harrison

Graham brings 25 years of hands-on summer camp leadership to Core. He continues to serve as an active director at Victory Ranch in Bolivar, Tennessee, working alongside camp teams and serving the families who trust them. He knows what a busy camp day asks of a director — and how much harder it becomes when the software gets in the way. After using several camp platforms, Graham helped launch Core to make registration, communication and daily operations easier, so camp teams can spend more time caring for campers and their families.

Our team

Behind the co-founders is a development staff of software engineers and a technical support team who work with us every day.

Software engineers

A development team building Core alongside us, every module and every release.

Technical support

People who know the product and help your team get set up, move over and keep running.

Come build the next season with us.

Core Registration launches in 2027. Join the waitlist, or book a custom demo and we'll walk you through it.

Join the waitlist