Jerry Losey, International President of the Sertoma
Clubs, joined members of Camp Confidence Sertoma on January 21, 2000 for the orientation of all the new members of this new Brainerd area
club, one of the largest charter clubs in the history of Sertoma The
meeting was held in conjunction with the Jaycees $100,000 Ice Fishing
Tournament and the group was also preparing subs to be sold the
following day on the ice. Jerry was looking forward to the ice fishing
experience which is rare in Monument, Colorado where he makes his
home. He commented, " intend to get out on the ice and try
to keep warm while selling those sandwiches." Camp Sertoma
hoped to raise about $7400 with the sales. That represents
about 1/3 of the budget for seven weeks of summer camp for hearing
impaired children this coming summer. The rest of the budget
hopefully will be produced by a Sertoma Club Double Dollar raffle
which should raise about $15,000 when paired with foundation money.
Jerry got involved with Sertoma about 16
years ago. He took office on September of 1999. Working with Jon
Haapajoki on the International Board made him aware of Camp Sertoma
from its beginnings and he enthusiastically accepted Dave Burggraff¹s
invitation to visit the wonderful Brainerd area that he heard
described so often in his discussions with Jon. Dave is the
president of the Camp Sertoma Club and a Governor of the North
Minnesota District.
A retired corporate manager, Jerry
keeps his hand in by doing consulting work. He was very
impressed with Camp Confidence. All of his service work has been with
kids and he likes the Camp Sertoma idea. Sertoma sponsors camps like
this all over the nation including places like Florida and South
Carolina. Mr. Losey began his speech with the comment, "Sertoma
is doing well." He continued by explaining that although
Sertoma's emphasis in the past has been on speech and hearing
problems, the club has shifted it's focus in the past few years to
community needs. "Sertoma Clubs have total autonomy and they are
encouraged to build their programs around community needs,"
explained Mr. Losey.
Camp Sertoma is in its second year as a
nontraditional Sertoma Club. They are labeled
non-traditional because they do not meet as regularly. Quarterly
meetings are usually centered around other major Sertoma events like
regional conferences. Dave remarked in his address to the club,
"Sertomans make things happen". The group at Camp
Confidence are expanding their program to include seven camping
sessions and hope to make good use of the wonderful new facility
donated by Maynard Johnson and his family. Maynard was unable to
attend the meeting but the club gave him their Service to Man Award
and have nominated him for district honors also. The MBJ House
is nearing completion and will be utilized extensively to help those
with hearing impairments enjoy an outdoor recreational experience at
Confidence Learning Center on Sylvan Lake.
Camp Sertoma is trying to network with
hearing impaired in a five state area. Their program has four
major goals this year. First they need more hearing impaired
members for the club itself. Information dissemination and
networking with agencies and groups that work with hearing impaired
students is also a priority. On the drawing board is a
mini-convention for educators and others to be held at Camp
Confidence. The Camp will also be a site for a family retreat
for a special group of hearing impaired who are also facing blindness
this fall.
Camp Sertoma was the brainchild and the
dream of Jon Haapajoki. The Brainerd Sertoma clubs have
committed themselves to establishing a $250,000 endowment to fund the
camp in perpetuity. The first event is the event at the Grand
Casino Mille Lacs on March 31st. A $50 ticket will help the
Sertomans meet their goal of raising $50,000 locally for the
endowment.
A highlight of the meeting was a spot visit by
Bob Slaybaugh who is in charge of program for the Camp and works
directly with the hearing impaired campers. He told the group
about drilling 2 square miles of holes, one every 12 feet, for the ice
fishing contest. He related the story of the group from the
Texas panhandle who panicked when they found out they had followed
"everyone else" out on the ice. They thought they were
in a big field. Everyone shivered when he talked about the
people who were actually camping out on the ice to get first chance at
the best holes. He then talked about what a great experience it
has been to work with Camp Sertoma. The meeting concluded and
everyone went to work making subs. |
