Welcome to the Holiday Home Camp Alumni Association!
Your connection to Holiday Home Camp since 1987.
Hello Holiday Home Camp Alumni!
I would like to welcome you to the Holiday Home Camp Alumni Association website. I hope that you find the site informative and enjoyable. Updates will be added periodically, so check our site for additional news and photos on a regular basis. I want to thank Katie Budrow for all of her hard work and dedication in creating this site. I know that she has spent countless hours getting the site ready for your review. Let's give Katie a GIANT Holiday Home (HO HO!!) thank you for all that she did to bring this site to you!
Bill Herron
Alumni Commitment to Holiday Home Camp
The Holiday Home Camp Alumni Association Inc. was established 24 years ago with the mission statement of assisting Holiday Home Camp with efforts in improving the camp facilities through volunteer efforts. The Alumni Association continues with that same commitment today with your donations and volunteering. Your continued support is necessary for our future endeavors with Holiday Home. Thanks for what you have done over the past 24 years and remember that we make a difference. Thank you for being so generous with your support!
Letter from Executive Director Tim Magill
Dear Holiday Home Camp Alumni,
My wife Susie and I were honored to join the team here at Holiday Home Camp in late December as associate director and executive director, respectively. I offer this message as a brief introduction of ourselves and explanation of why we are so honored to make this amazing place our new home and work.
Susie and I my careers have involved service in a variety of educational, recreational, business and development venues. Most recently, we came from The Orme School and Summer Camp of Arizona, where we held various administrative positions. Prior to that, we were privileged to work in several settings devoted to changing kids’ lives for the better. Thus, when we decided to start a new chapter in our lives we were very selective in our search; we specifically sought out opportunities that put kids first through programs, people and experiences designed to build adults.
Holiday Home Camp presented us the greatest opportunity for just that kind of positive impact. From our first encounter with Holiday Home, it was clear that this is a place that cares about kids. I have already heard so many stories about how Holiday Home has changed people’s lives – unbelievable stories about kids rising above heartbreaking circumstances to become responsible, caring and productive adults - stories from board members, alumni, mothers of current campers, past and current staff and even current campers. All of these stories describe Holiday Home Camp in almost magical terms as a place of possibility, a place of safety, a place where a kid can be a kid, a place where a child can feel the support of a community and the joy of contributing to that community in return. I plan to share some of these stories with you in the months ahead and invite you to take pride and revel in their life affirming message.
In the meantime please accept our thanks. Thanks for the warm welcome we have received from the board, alumni, staff and community. Thanks also to our generous contributors and you who make HHC possible by giving of your resources and time.
Please also accept this open invitation to contact me or Susie personally. It is so important to us to get to know you, our alumni, personally. If we have not heard from you recently, please reconnect with camp. Please give me a call or send me an email: 262-245-5161, extension 11 or exec@holidayhomecamp.org. Tell me your story and how HHC has impacted your life or that of a loved one. Call to refer a child or family in need. Call to schedule a visit to see first hand the joy that can still found at a magical place on the banks of Geneva Lake… a place called Holiday Home.
Tim Magill, M.S.
Executive Director
Spring 2011 Work Weekend
May 20 - 22, 2011 - Holiday Home Camp - Williams Bay, Wisconsin
Mark your calendars and contact Bill Herron by May 16th to confirm your participation in the 23nd Annual Alumni Work Weekend at Holiday Home Camp!
The required skill levels vary, but there are enough projects to keep everyone's little hands busy! Projects cleaning the Cook's Cabin, cleaning the kitchen and dining room, cleaning Founder's Hall, yard work, and more!
Lunch and Dinner will be provided on Saturday.
Participation in the Alumni Work Weekends has dwindled over the last few years to just a handful of individuals! Just remember we volunteer our time and talents for the children that need and benefit from their time at Camp! Volunteer your talents to a place that gives so much others!!! See you on May 21st!
Alumni Deaths
Mike Harden...Mr Weegee, passed away on October 13, 2010 in Columbus,OH. Mike died after a battle with cancer. He was 64.
Mike was a counselor at Holiday Home in 1964 & 1965. He was enjoyed by campers & staff for his sense of humor, his stories and his songs that he played on his guitar. He enjoyed working with the campers and was always able to make the most homesick camper smile and give camp at try...soon forgetting that they were ever homesick. Mike enlisted in the Navy in December 1965 where he served as corpsman in Vietnam. He was stationed out of the Great Lakes Illinois base and would visit camp during his leaves.
He received his bachelor's degree in journalism from Ohio State University in 1973. Mike wrote a variety of different columns for the Columbus Dispatch creating the alter ego of Aunt Gracie from the fictional perch of Methane, Ohio. He won many state and national awards, wrote many books including the "Fight for life".
Mike is survived by his wife,Debra; daughter Annie; sons Erik and Aaron; stepdaughter Jen; and six grandchildren.
Mike shared his gift with those around him whether it was a 10 year old camper at Holiday Home or the countless number of his readers who followed his writings. He was an individual who cared about people. We will plant a tree in his memory at camp on May 21, 2011.
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Dorothy Jensen passed away on February 25, 2010 in Kenosha, WI. Dorothy turned 93 in December 2009. Dorothy was dedicated to Holiday Home for over 40 years. During her tenure she was the Camp Secretary, Agency Consultant, Camp Director, and Board Member. Dorothy was committed to having children attend camp to experience time away from what they lived in the city, a respite from an unpleasant life. Some of you may remember that we referred to Dorothy as the "Grouch", a term of affection, because we knew in our hearts how much she cared about us. She was a wonderful friend, a mentor who always would state her opinion while giving you sound advice, she was caring individual who in her own way made every effort to make sure that you were making the correct decision even though at the time it didn't appear that way.We were very fortunate to share our time with Dorothy, we will miss her and all that she did for us and the children of Holiday Home. Our thoughts go out to Ken and his family. Memorial remembrances should be sent to Holiday Home. We will plant a tree at camp in memory of Dorothy on May 22nd.
June 1, 2010
On May 22nd, Katie Herron Budrow, her husband Jeremy Budrow, Bill Mercer, Tim Turk, his daughter Sarah Lopez and her husband Cesar Lopez planted a Red Sunset Maple tree in memory of Dorothy. The Dorothy tree was planted between the laundry and the northwest corner of Crane-Maxwell. During all of her years at camp, Dorothy's room was on the second floor of the northwest corner of Crane-Maxwell where she maintained that she could hear the kitchen boys and counselors sneak in and out of camp after curfew. She knew where were even in the late hours of the night.
I attached a small light bulb to the top of the tree before it was planted. Dorothy told me hundreds of times over the years that she was going to be reincarnated as a light bulb after her death so that she would always be "bright". I wouldn't be surprised if the tiny light bulb lights up from time to time! I will watch Dorothy's tree grow each time I visit camp and be so very thankful for her wonderful friendship for so many years.
See the Photo section of this website for the planting of the Dorothy Tree. Boidy's tree is planted across the road from Crane-Maxwell.
Bill Herron