From the Director’s Desk- Mission Supporting Mountain Bikers
Dear Camp Friend,
Years ago, when I worked for a different camp, the boss often spoke about the distinction between “mission work” and “mission-supporting work.” For nonprofits like Camp Ondessonk, mission work neatly fits into the organization’s primary purpose. Mission-supporting work, on the other hand, doesn’t necessarily resemble the activities or services typically provided by a nonprofit, but it does generate revenue that helps fund an organization’s primary purpose.
Late in the summer of 2012, we received an inquiry from the organizers of the Southern Illinois Fat Tire Festival. They were looking for a new home for their annual October gathering, a camping event previously held at the nearby United States Forest Service Lake Glendale Recreation Area. Fat Tire Festival needed a new home, and Camp Ondessonk’s operating budget could always use an injection of mission-supporting revenue. Our weekends were already too booked to provide weekend cabins in October, so we suggested they host a tent camping event at Kane Lake, on the East side of Camp’s property. The arrangement has since blossomed into a fantastic partnership, and the festival now attracts a multigenerational crowd of smiling, authentically welcoming, bike-riding people of all abilities, sizes, and shapes.
October 16th through 20th was the 21st annual Southern Illinois Fat Tire Festival. It was the 14th held at Camp Ondessonk. According to Jon Greenstreet, who’s been involved since the beginning, the event morphed out of an annual Lake Glendale gathering of mountain biking friends that started somewhere between 1998 and 2001. Jon and the team at Bike Surgeon, then a Carbondale, Ill., bike shop, hosted the first gathering under the Southern Illinois Fat Tire Festival name in 2004. Jon and his wife now own the Bike Surgeon store in downtown O’Fallon, Ill. The original Carbondale store is operated by a different owner. They moved nearby to Carterville several years ago. Meanwhile, the festival has grown into an event that attracts about 200 participants every year. An additional group of 40 people, consisting of Bike Surgeon staff and volunteers, is responsible for event planning, marketing, programming, and event facilitation. They also ride when they are not running the show. Our staff team provides food and site services, including cabin preparation, trash & recycling management, and bathroom cleaning.
I spent most of Fat Tire Festival weekend working on an outdoor project. I was close enough to hear a nearly constant stream of laughter and cheers from kids and adults. It sounded a bit like Summer Camp, its existence directly strengthens Summer Camp programming, and we can’t wait to do it again next October.
Whether as a mountain biker, Summer Camp volunteer, or mission supporting donor, please keep Camp Ondessonk in your life for the rest of your life.
Sincerely,
Daniel W. King
Executive Director
Click here to learn more about Camp Ondessonk’s upcoming events.
