“It’s with great respect and confidence that Fluke Corporation made our $100,000 leadership gift to Camp Fire USA Snohomish County Council’s capital campaign,” Fluke President Barbara Hulit wrote in August to Dave Surface, executive director of the council.
Another letter endorsing the council’s work and its capital campaign also arrived on his desk in August from Stan McNaughton, president and chief executive of PEMCO Mutual Insurance Cos.
“PEMCO, as well as the McNaughton family, have supported Camp Fire for almost a decade. … We are sorry to hear that children were turned away this year because of a shortage of facilities. … Your success in this campaign will change that,” McNaughton wrote.
It’s friends, support and admiration like Fluke’s and PEMCO’s that Camp Fire has enjoyed for many years in Snohomish County. That kind of support is doubly welcome as Camp Fire pursues its $2.7 million capital campaign to expand Camp Killoqua. So far, contributions totaled more than $500,000 in July, including donations by every member of the board of directors and every staff member.
This is only the second capital campaign in its 90 years of serving Snohomish County youth, always focused on Camp Fire’s mission of “building caring, confident youth and future leaders,” Surface said, “and it’s the first capital campaign in 10 years.”
Projects funded through the campaign will include a multi-purpose pavilion that will double the capacity of the camp, a covered welcome center for extended day-camp hours, an upgrading of the kitchen in the main lodge and new roofs and electrical improvements on several structures, plus some important miscellaneous projects.
Through the generosity of associate board of directors member Rich Boyden and his contractor colleagues, new showers and restrooms for the boys at camp already are under construction. It’s their contribution to the capital improvement goals by building a project that won’t have to be paid for by the campaign funds.
Purchased decades ago, the camp is a rare asset for Camp Fire and more than 60 other nonprofit organizations that use the facilities, including the Girl Scouts, YMCAs, schools, universities and a variety of children’s organizations.
The camp, 20 miles north of Everett, stretches over 185 acres of forest, trails, game fields and waterfront. Last year, more than 8,000 children enjoyed the camp’s programs, tallying 286,500 hours of activities. With the expansion of the camp, Camp Fire expects to be able to increase its hours of service by more than 100,000, for a total of 395,000 hours annually.
For more information about Camp Fire or the capital campaign, contact Surface or the campaign’s coordinator, Toby Brown, at the Camp Fire Training &Resource Center in Everett at 425-258-5437. Camp Fire’s Web site is www.CampFireUSASnohomish.org.
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