A new year begins with all its hopes and expectations and as we do each year, we reflect on the past year and look forward to the new year. 2019 was a really good year for Kamp Kiwanis. Past Gov. Hank Baker committed to sending military children to Kamp as his Governor's Project and by the time his term was over, he had raised enough money for 160 children of active military personnel plus another 100 for next year. We thank Past Gov. Hank for his commitment to Kamp Kiwanis.
Our Kamp closing weekend was again a great success with more than 70 Circle K'ers that came up as a SLP program and worked with all of us in closing up the Kamp. I cannot tell you how helpful these young adults were in getting the Kamp ready for the winter. A great deal of gratitude goes out to John Keegan, Richard Hall and Alison Mandel for all they did in coordinating this weekend.
Looking forward to 2020, we first have opening weekend which will be in May (exact date to be announced), at that time we will hopefully have a newly built Amphitheater which we will dedicate to the very generous and great Kiwanian, Ivan Tarnopoll, we hope to see all of you there for the dedication and for your help in getting the Kamp ready for the upcoming season.
In 2020, Gov. Joe Ruggiero has committed to a similar program as Gov. Hank did, he will be promoting for clubs to send “Children of Fallen Heroes”, this program will looking to raise money to send a child of a military person, or first responders who have lost their life in the performance of their job. We look forward to help Gov. Joe with this Governor's Project.
A great deal of other projects is happening at the Kamp to keep bettering this great jewel of the New York District. The Verrazzano Kiwanis Club from the Metropolitan Division has committed to totally rebuild one of the cabins that really needed a lot of work. That should be completed by the start of the next Kamping season, New long lasting metal roofs are continuing to be installed on cabins, all of the access paths will be repaved and as always there will be a great deal of repairs that has to be done due to the harsh winter as we do each year. We do all this so that the children that attend will have the very best outdoor experiences that they can possibly have. If you want to come up and help, you are more than welcome. Never forget, if you are a New York District Kiwanian, this is your Kamp so help us in any way you can.
Column Posted on Web Site January 26, 2020
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