Camp Echo Monthly Alumni E-News March 26, 2003 Back issues are archived at The Camp Echo E-List is now at 574 members. Spread the word! If you want to be removed from this list, reply and let me know. ***** Next issue: "around" April 21 ***** Table of Contents ----------------- Donations Update Spring News from Fremont Taking Stuff Up to Camp Family Camp Openings Camper Registration Update Alumnni Notes - Joyce Jackson, Hanna Nesper Announcements - Black Sheep Inn, Zenol's Birthday Donations Update ---------------- Thanks to the generosity of various Echo alumni, Camp Echo has received donations of two cars, two computers, two cameras, and a number of video tapes for the bus rides to and from camp. An inventory of our sports equipment reveals that we are in need of baseball gloves for right-handed campers; we have plenty for leftys. If you have a glove to donate, drop it off at the YMCA. We're always in need of equipment for our program areas. A few of the items that we will be purchasing this year are listed below. If you would like to donate towards a specific item let me know. - 4 pair youth or trainer water skiis - 8 rescue tubes for various waterfront areas - 8 four-man tents - 6 camping/cooking stoves - 8 walkie-talkies for intra-camp communication Spring News from Fremont (by Rob Johnston) ------------------------ Greetings form Camp! Spring has officially passed on the calender and apparently Mother Nature gotten the message. The nearly two feet of snow that was on the ground here a mere 10 days ago has completely disappeared and we are enjoying milder weather. The ground is, of course, quite soft, and puddles and run-off are the rule. Although the lake is still frozen over, it won't be long before the ice is gone and geese, ducks and swans return. Access to the penninsula is clear and the process of opening up Camp has begun in earnest. Contacts with vendors and contractors are being made and the shaping of the facility for the coming season is underway. Most notable will be the improvements to the Kybos, particularly Kybos North and Way North. They will be getting new molded sink/ countertop units. The Women's side of Kybo North is going to have new stalls, and both shower rooms in Kybo Way North are going to be outfitted with hot/cold water control valves like all the other showers in camp have already. In the Jay Johnson Trip Center new shelving for the storage room and storage cubicles for tripping campers and staff are slated to be completed by mid April. Brian McGinn is coming up in early April to help with these installations in the Kybos and Trip Center. As the days grow longer and the temperatures continue to rise we are all looking forward to the 2003 Camping Season with enthusiastic anticipation. Ruby and I are looking forward to seeing all of our Camp friends very soon. Till then ... think Summer!! Taking Stuff Up to Camp ----------------------- Folks driving up to camp April 25-26-27 or May 2-3-4 who have room in their car for a bicycle or a computer, please let me know. Family Camp Openings -------------------- Memorial Day Weekend: 8 camper cabins Family Camp Week 1 (August 16-22): 1 camper cabin, 3 old staff cabins Family Camp Week 2 (August 23-28): 15 openings, all cabin types Labor Day Weekend: 14 openings, all cabin types Also: Hobby/Craft Weekend May 16-18 Adult Alumni Weekened September 12-14 Women's Wellness Weekend September 18-21 Interested persons should call the Program Support Office at the McGaw YMCA, 847-475-7400, then enter extension 287 at the prompt. Camper Registration Update -------------------------- Please help us spread the word to your extended family, neighbors, and friends at work. Here's what's still open at Camp Echo: Boys entering grades 6 & 7 for one week camp June 22-28 Boys entering grades 4 & 5 for one week Pathfinders June 15-21 Boys & girls entering grades 4 & 5 (Pathfinders) for June 29-July 11 Girls entering grades 4 & 5 (Pathfinders) for July 13-26 Entering 8th grade boys and girls for Trailblazers June 29-July 11 Entering 9th graders for Outpost July 13-26 or July 27-August 8 Entering 10th/11th graders for Isle Royale and Georgian Bay trips Entering 11th/12th graders for the Taste of Southwest Trip LITs (entering grade 11) for Session 1 June 15-28 Interested persons should call the Program Support Office at the McGaw YMCA, 847-475-7400, then enter extension 287 at the prompt. Alumni Notes ------------ Joyce Jackson writes, "After working at the Evanston YMCA for almost 10 years, LeRoy and I worked at the Rockford YMCA for almost a year and then decided to move back home to Waukesha. We worked at Waukesha Memorial Hospital together until LeRoy retired in 1998. I continue to work there and will retire next April after 25 years! We read the February issue of the newsletter and enjoyed it. I enjoyed my tenure as Camp Echo Registrar and have many great memories of those days -- all the camp mailings and all the great kids I had the pleasure of working with. We hear from Roger Marshall at Christmas and Didi and Rafe. What is Rick McAdams doing now?" Hanna Nesper writes, "I was a camper from 1987 to 1991, and a counselor from 1994 to 1997. I'm living in Portland, Oregon and working in Internet marketing for Powells.com, the largest independent bookstore in the world. I'll be married to Matt Newell this August, with two Echo friends as bridesmaids -- Hannah Miller and Stacy Towne Radlinski. I can't tell you how excited I was to find Echo on the web. It was so fun to explore the website; I'm looking forward to hearing what everyone is up to." Announcements ------------- The Black Sheep Inn, Ecuador made it into Outside Magazine's March 2003 issue as one of the Top Ten Ecolodges in the World! Michelle Kirby & Andres Hammerman Mark your calendar -- April 23 is Zenol Moore's 80th Birthday! Zenol was a long-time Camp Echo and Evanston YMCA staff member. Please surprise her with a card or note on her special day. Her address is: 1480 Jefferson #207, Des Plaines IL, 60019. Her email address is: NOT NOW -- MARK YOUR CALENDAR -- ZENOL'S BIRTHDAY IS APRIL 23 (Zenol is getting a customized newsletter without this section!) Share The Spirit! -- Rob Grierson Camp Echo Director rg@mcgawymca.org