Camp Courageous announces board elections

     The Camp Courageous Board of Directors announced the election of the following officers and members for the 2017-18 term. The president of the Board of Directors is Jim Zimmerman, retired principal at Sacred Heart School, Monticello. Zimmerman has been involved with Camp Courageous for nearly 40 years as an advocate, educator, and extremely active volunteer. He and his wife, Mary, have been exceptional volunteers in a variety of organizations in the area. Their grown children have all been involved with Camp Courageous since their earliest days and continue to be active. Now the next generation, the grandchildren, have become involved in aspects of the camp.

Officers:

     • President: Jim Zimmerman, retired principal, Sacred Heart School, Monticello

     • President-elect: Jim Foels, farmer, Brooklyn

     • Secretary: Mary Van Houten, banquet manager, Kirkwood Hotel, Cedar Rapids

     • Treasurer: Randy Faulkner, president Hawkeye Dry Ice. Cedar Rapids

Those re-elected to a three-year term included:

     • Margo Ahrendsen, camper parent, advocate, farmer, Oxford Junction

     • Mary Johnson, retired, Rockwell Collins, Marion

     • May Van Houten, banquet manager, Kirkwood Hotel, Cedar Rapids

Other board members include:

     • Steve Carter, branch manager, Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group, Cedar Rapids

     • Greg Greco, financial planner, Cedar Falls

     • Larry Greco, retired Cedar Rapids Police Department, Solon

     • Merlin Hulse, retired farmer, Tipton

     • Jill McDermott, camper parent and school counselor, Maquoketa Valley, Monticello

     • Ralph Palmer, retired owner The Ar-Jay Center, Cedar Rapids

     • Diane Pitlik, former non-profit director and special needs advocate, Cedar Rapids

     • Kay Pitlik, retired special educator/advocate, Cedar Rapids

     • Trish Recker, Engs Commercial Finance, Cedar Rapids

     • Amanda Schlemme, camper parent, accountant, farmer, Cascade

     • Kevin Van Houten, volunteer, Cedar Rapids

     • Mag Welter, retired special educator, Monticello

     • Chris Wiese, VP sales LimoLink, Cedar Rapids

     • Winnie Williams, retired Fawn Creek Homes, Monticello

Retiring from the Board of Directors were:

     • Aaron Cook, farmer, Wintrop, served on the board for over a decade.

     • Jim Klinger, retired, Cedar Memorial Funeral Homes, Cedar Rapids, served on the board for nearly 30 years.

     • Dan Vorhies, Newton Sales, Monticello, served on the board for nearly 25 years.

     Camp Courageous is a year-round recreational and respite care facility for individuals with special needs. In its 43^rd year of serving campers, Camp Courageous will serve over 7,000 campers with special needs this year. The camp is run on donations, without government assistance, without formal sponsorship, and without people paid to raise funds for the camp. What this means is everything that is donated to the camp goes directly to benefit the campers. Camp Courageous is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to meet the emergency needs of families.