Congratulations Zach Nash!

While we are very proud of all our Anokijig alumni, it's not an every day occurrence that the rest of the world takes notice of our alumni and feels compelled to share a story about the positive values we emphasize at Anokijig. Today happens to be one of those days. One of our alumni, Zack Nash, recently won his age group for the Milwaukee County Parks Tour Invitational, only to find out after the fact, that he accidentally carried one club too many in his bag during the tournament.

The rules are very clear on what must be done in these instances and even though he's only 14 years old and could have elected to simply not mention this oversight to anyone, Zach did the right thing, reported this violation and gave up his victory. While he may not have won that tournament, he scored a big win in life by doing the right thing and we're very proud of him. We know this story may not be salacious or controversial enough for Deadspin.com, but it is perfect for the Anokijig Insider. You can read the full story here- http://www.jsonline.com/sports/golf/101941838.html

Fantastic News!

We have some fantastic news to announce this morning, but first we need to give you a little background. Last weekend, the American Le Mans Series came to Road America for it's annual race. That is of significance to us, because one of our alumni, Dan Binks, is the Crew Chief for the Pratt&Miller Corvette teams that run in that series. Dan and his father, Phil, have both been tremendously generous to Anokijig over the years, not only in their own giving, but in opening the doors for us to meet other folks, who have helped Anokijig in many significant ways.

While there are many people who have played a part in creating Anokijig and transitioning it into an independent camp, the contributions of the Binks family cannot go unrecognized. In fact, it could easily be said that Anokijig would not be here today, were it not for the Binks family. Given their strong connection to Anokijig and our deep appreciation for their efforts, we always look forward to a visit from any of the Binks clan, as they roll through our neighborhood and last weekend was no exception.

Dan brought his family with him (as he often does) and we gave them the grand tour at Anokijig. We also spent some time with Dan at Road America, which is always an amazing experience. It is clear to us that Dan shares our passion for Anokijig and the programs and services we offer for children and families and he is always advocating on our behalf. A few months ago, he mentioned that one of his friends in the racing community might be interested in helping us and asked what our significant needs might be in the near future.

While the debt incurred to save Anokijig is shrinking, it still looms over us as a strong reminder of how close we came to losing this very special place. Dan understands as well as we do, that eliminating that debt once and for all is always our top priority. However, we also know "debt reduction" isn't the most-attractive option for potential donors, so we came up with a suggestion that was very much a concern of ours and definitely needed attention- Anokijig's green Suburban.

This 1997 Suburban has been a tremendous vehicle for us and has been with us for nearly ten years now. Even though it had over 100,000 miles on it when it was donated, it still served us very well and we've subsequently managed to put nearly 300,000 on the odometer! Like any vehicle with that kind of mileage, the Suburban is starting to show it's age. The 3/4-ton chassis has been a blessing for towing heavy loads, like the Allegheny (pictured) and our horse trailers and the four-wheel drive has carried us through many winters.

This truck has also been used to take Anokijig campers on countless adventure trips as far away as Canada, so reliability is even more of a concern in that regard. Our board and staff have been talking for quite some time about finding a replacement for it, but like any other significant expense, they try to prioritize and see if more economical alternatives exist.

It occurred to us that finding a replacement for this Suburban might be a great way for someone to help us in a significant and meaningful way. We began talking to our friends in the automotive world and gathered wholesale and retail prices on used, 3/4-ton Suburbans with four-wheel drive, since those were our two key concerns. Colors and other options were not a concern, but we needed something that could tow heavy loads and handle Wisconsin winters. We found a used Suburban locally at Van Horn Chevrolet and Teresa Van Horn was willing to offer us a significant discount on that vehicle, so it seemed like the perfect fit for our needs.

One of the PR folks at Pratt&Miller put together a mock-up of a similar Suburban with Anokijig logos on it, as well as the logos of the company Dan Binks' friend owns, similar to what we've done recently with other donated vehicles. Dan presented the idea of the Suburban to his friend, Greg Pickett, the owner of Muscle Milk, and Mr. Pickett agreed to help us, with one condition- if he was going to do this, the truck had to be brand-new!

Dan was absolutely floored by Mr. Pickett's generosity, as we all were. We surely cannot thank him enough and greatly appreciate his gift. We try not to overburden Anokijig supporters with tasks and requests, but we felt in this situation, it might be appropriate to mention something to all of you. One of the most-coveted awards in the American Le Mans Series is the "Most Popular Driver" award, which is voted on by the fans. Mr. Pickett happens to be one of the drivers eligible and if you feel so compelled, you can vote for him at this link- http://www.americanlemans.com/primary1.php?cat=poll
Thank you Dan Binks!
Thank you Greg Pickett!

Thank You Anokijig Campers!

Thank you Anokijig campers for another wonderful summer of camping on the shores of Little Elkhart Lake! We had a fantastic summer and we hope you did too. We also hope you'll come back and see us soon and remember, you don't need to wait until next summer. We have great family camping opportunities coming up this month. Until we see you again, please enjoy this video recap of our 2010 summer camping season-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbt5tVUjGdk

Greetings from Anokijig!

We’re deep into summer camp 2010 and everyone is having a great time with the first days of session 8. The weather is warm the lake is perfect, and yesterday was Western Day. We’ve already competed 7 wonderful weeks with thousands of campers getting the chance to experience the wonder that is Anokijig. With one more session yet to begin this upcoming Sunday, we wanted to let you know that if you know of a camper or are a camper that would still like to have a great experience at camp; session 9 has just a few openings left. This is your last chance to get in on the fun for 2010.

We’ve made it incredibly easy to get a spot for next week; choose your method:

· Easy online registration at https://www.anokijig.com/registration.aspx

· Download a printable form for fax at http://www.anokijig.com/2010%20Registration%20Form.pdf

· Or call our office direct at 1-800-741-6931 (920-893-0782) and we’ll gladly have a real live person ready to help you.

· All of the camp forms that you’ll need are available for download at http://www.anokijig.com/forms.htm

· All late fees are waived and as always we’ll do everything we can to make sure your registration process is as easy as possible.

For details on all of our programs offerings and happenings see www.anokijig.com

So pass the word, during Session 9 Anokijig has in store:

· Pirate day

· 50 horses to ride

· Tons of Sailboats and Windsurfs to sail

· Ukulele band

· Woodworking

· Crafts

· Trail crafts

· Fishing

· Nature

· Drama

· Dance

· Land games

· Field riots

· Archery

· Pellet gun

· Aquatics

· Campfires

· Talent show

· Day trips to Noahs Ark waterpark, paintball, rock climbing, and Fondy Sports Park.

· Beach Party

· The last camp dance of 2010!

· and much much more.

If you are one of the many that have already secured your place in session 9, we can’t wait to see you! Also remember if you recruit a new friend to come to camp you get a discount, recruit 5 new friends and your week is FREE.

If you’re not signed up, don’t miss your chance for another week of Outrageous fun, New friends, Old friends, and Incredible experiences at Camp Anokijig!

See you soon!

Take Care,

Darin Holden
Program Director

"Anokijig Changes Lives"

Where Is The List of Items to Pack or Bring to Camp Anokijig?

The Anokijig Insider blog has been around for over two years now, although it seems like just yesterday that we started it. It's been a great tool for us to connect with many of our supporters and campers, but it's also been a valuable resource in identifying ways that we can improve our presence on the Internet.

We recently noticed that someone from St. Charles, Illinois did a Google search, to find the list of items that should accompany a camper on a trip to Anokijig. Their search sent them here, but we didn't have the information posted here, just a combination of keywords that pushed us to the top of the list. We do supply all this information to all campers with their registration information, but we know how things can get misplaced in a house full of kids.

That's why we also post the information on our main website. We know it's there, because we're the ones who put it there. However, we tried to search the website as we thought a person would, who is not that familiar with Anokijig or our site and we found that it might be a little tricky to locate this specific information on our main site.

We are adding that to a long list of changes that will be made to http://www.anokijig.com/ in the near future, but we won't be able to begin overhauling the website until the summer camping season has ended. Until that happens, we'll provide a direct link here, which should pop up on Google and other search engines in a relatively short amount of time.

So, if you are searching for the packing list for Camp Anokijig, just click on that link and it will provide that information for you, plus a whole lot more. We can't wait to see you!

Learning to Swim- One of Life's Most Important Skills!

There was a time in this country, that many major universities required that students demonstrate proficiency in swimming, prior to graduation. The thought behind this requirement was that universities were preparing young people with the skills needed to survive in the world.

These universities knew that virtually all of their graduates would find themselves in a situation at some point in their life, where they needed to know how to swim and they wanted them to be ready. Sadly, this requirement has been dropped at many schools and many people are now left to learn how to swim on their own. Some families love being in and around the water and children in those families generally learn at a very young age. However, there are many families that do not spend much time around the water and as a result, those children often lack basic swimming or water survival skills.

Swim tests are one of the first activities for all Anokijig campers. We surrouned a beautiful lake and many of our activities take place in it or near it, so we need to know what kind of swimmers our campers are. Some campers come to Anokijig having never learned how to swim, while other campers do know how to swim, but have a fear of any body of water that doesn't have chlorine in it. Our swim program helps all Anokijig campers develop a comfort level in lake water, with many of our campers learning how to swim.

We think this is still an important skill for all of our campers to learn and we're happy to be able to provide this service to children and families. We recently created a YouTube video that also talks about our swimming program, which you can watch here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98BB4UEVx1U

A Problem Every Wisconsin Summer Camp Would Like To Have

As week four of Anokijig's summer camping season draws to a close, we're faced with a familiar dilemma for weeks five through eight- we're sold out! No matter how many times we encourage parents to register early on the Anokijig Insider or our Facebook page, we always seem to run into this same situation.

Kids come to Anokijig in the early weeks and have a blast. They end up wanting to return for another week later in the summer and those campers, combined with late registrations fill up the latter portion of our camping season, leaving hundreds of campers on waiting lists.

We do still have room in Week nine, which runs from August 8th to the 14th, but outside of that week, we're packed solid. If you weren't able to send your child to Anokijig this summer or weren't able to send them back for another week, there's still an opportunity to join us on one of our three remaining family camping weekends. These weekends are tremendous values have become an annual tradition for many of our families. For more information on our family camping weekends, please visit this link- http://www.anokijig.com/10family.htm

Summer Camp Space at Anokijig Still Available, but Limited

Week Three at Anokijig has been a lot of fun and we still have six more weeks to go!  However, if you want to send your child to Anokijig and haven't signed up yet, you're running out of time.

We now have waiting lists for Weeks Five through Eight.  If we find we are able to accommodate children on waiting lists during one of those weeks, we'll certainly do our best to fit them in.  Week Nine still has plenty of space available, but don't delay or it may fill up on you as well and summer will be over!  For more information, call Camp today at 1-800-741-6931

Space Is Still Available, But Filling Up Fast!

The July 4th holiday has left plenty of room at Anokijig next week, but that's certainly not the case in the weeks following. Weeks Five and Six at Anokijig are already sold out and Weeks Seven and Eight only has a few spots remaining.

Our Stamper program is also at or close to capacity for the rest of the summer, so if you are interested in participating, call Camp today! Our Fishing Expedition programs are always popular and this year is no exception. Fishing Expeditions II in Week 5 is very close to capacity, but there is still plenty of space in that program during Week 8.

Our Mini Camp program is at capacity for Week 8, but there is still space available in other weeks. Ranch Camp only has a few spots remaining in Weeks 5 & 6, so if your child would like to learn more about horses, don't wait too long to sign up.

Our day trips to Noah's Ark in the Wisconsin Dells have been so popular, we've made them available in Weeks 5-9, but Week 5 is already full. This is a very popular day trip, so if your son or daughter would like to sign up, now is the time. Our Paint Ball day trip is offered every week this summer, but it is filling up fast in Weeks 5-8. There is still space available in each of those weeks, but don't wait too long to sign up!

For up to the minute details on available programs and activities, you can call the Camp office at 1-800-741-6931.

A Luxury For Some, a Necessity for Anokijig

Like many non-profits, Anokijig has a long list of things we need to help provide a wonderful experience for our campers (not the least of which is a generous donor, who would like to help pay off our bank loans).  When we first saw these golf carts a few years ago, we thought the big tires were just for showing off and didn't think they actually served a purpose.  As we've acquired a few golf carts over the years at Camp, we've come to realize they do have a functional purpose, at least at Anokijig.  This particular cart is an ST Express, manufactured by EZ-GO, but other manufacturers make similar versions.

Anyone who has ever visited Anokijig can tell you our terrain can be very hilly and some of our roads can be quite rocky.  The golf carts we have now do an admirable job of handling that terrain, but many times they are just not up to the task.  Our golf carts have tires that were designed not to tear up well-manicured grass, not scramble over a rocky hillside on the way to a tent section.  Bottoming out on rocks and flat tires at Anokijig are not uncommon.

Our golf carts are also limited in their seating capacity at four, while this cart has three rows of seating.  This is especially important when families are at Anokijig.  We frequently shuttle families to and from sections on check-in day and we're often limited in what we can carry.  Sometimes there's only enough room for mom, dad and some luggage.  There is also a big need on family weekends, when larger families need help moving around camp or from remote parking during our special events.

We don't expect someone will read this blog today and we'll have a new golf cart at our doorstep tomorrow, but we at least want to put the information out there, so folks know there is a need.  Someone may know a person who has one of these carts, but rarely uses it and might be interested in making a tax-deductible donation.  We suspect this cart might be similar to the RTV that was donated by Ken and Melody Cavan a few years ago.  We never had an RTV before, so we didn't recognize the specific need for it.  Now that we have one, we don't know how we ever survived without it.

If you know someone who has one of these carts or a dealer or manufacturer, please tell them about Anokijig and help us better serve the children and families who visit us!

Leadership Training- Free of Charge!

Did you know Camp Anokijig offers a comprehensive leadership training program free of charge? It's true and it's one of our most valuable, but least-talked about program areas. Many camps charge a fee for this training, but we have always believed this life skill is too important to restrict only to those who can afford it.

Many of the staff members who go through our program move on to careers in fields involving education and mentoring youth and Anokijig's leadership program and the experiences they have here are often the catalyst for that career path. We once lived in a world (and country), where military service was required of our young people. While we are thankful for the sacrifices made by previous generations, we still acknowledge that the leadership skills and training those generations learned through military service to our country are still needed today. That's not to say we put our participants through boot camp, but they do learn many valuable lessons and skills that many of today's young people simply are not exposed to at all.

Our senior staff is already at Camp and we're just wrapping up our lifeguard training. We can't thank our wonderful donors and supporters enough for making these programs available to all who are interested. If you'd like to learn more about our leadership training and staff opportunties, please visit this link- http://www.anokijig.com/staff_benefits.htm