Spring Lodge Reunion
By: Emily Reider & Chloe Higgins
The weekend of April 8– 10th, 2022, Camp Ondessonk hosted the annual Spring Lodge Reunion. Lodge members from across multiple Councils worked hard mulching the challenge course and main area, cleaning tack and horse saddles, digging out unit fire pits, conducting trail maintenance, spreading sand at the Lake St. Isaac beach, and participating in the Camp Ondessonk Telethon. This year’s Telethon reached over 1000 camper families and was a great success due to the efforts of Lodge members, under the guidance of Sr. Director of Communications, Tony Vrooman.
The Evansville Lodge Council received the prestigious Council of the Year Award! Evansville has completed a variety of projects this year including working on the Health Center Donation drive, writing cards to a local nursing home, helping to host the multi-Council work weekend, making and donating 50-100 spirit bands, and winning the Lodge T-shirt Fundraiser competition. Evansville’s hard work did not go unnoticed, and this award is very well-deserved! Heepwah Evansville!
The Lodge members attended a Palm Sunday Mass in the Chapel hosted by Father Brian Barker. Lodge members helped Father Brian lead a reading of The Passion of Christ. Additionally, the Lodge members attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Pete Korte Lodge staff duplex.
Quotes from the Lodge Officials about Spring Lodge Reunion 2022: (could be fun to include throughout the article, or the newsletter as a whole)
“This Spring Lodge reunion was a great success. Despite the cold, these lodge members showed their love and support of camp with all of their service this weekend. They were also able to connect with old friends, meet new ones, and enjoy the fellowship of Lodge”- Luke Schauster
“The Lodge members at Spring Lodge Reunion showed their dedication to service by spreading their love around camp. As Dan King said at the Korte Lodge groundbreaking ceremony, “many hands make light work.” Through meeting new friends and reconnecting with old ones, they came together in unity with smiles on their faces to make the many projects possible.”- Chloe Higgins.
“Spring Lodge Reunion! Never have I seen a more dedicated, enthusiastic, and hard-working group of campers and staff. The can-do attitude with which they faced towers of mulch, thousands of phone calls for the Telethon, unit beautification, and helping out Stable Round-Up was nothing short of inspiring. A Saturday night bonfire to remember and Sunday morning awards ceremony (Congrats Evansville on Council of the Year!) that lived up to the hype were a perfect way to end an amazing service-filled weekend.“ – Ben McCoy
“I was so impressed by how hard participants of both the Spring Lodge Reunion and Stable Round-Up worked to better serve Camp and its community. It was great to see that there is a high level of dedication and passion for Camp evident in all generations of Lodge members and Camp enthusiasts. Through their efforts, the spirit of Lodge and Camp continues to thrive.” -Tristen Payne
