With grateful hearts we give all thanks to God for the blessings bestowed on Camp Arcadia during this past season, the 93rd in Camp’s history. These blessings occur in all kinds of ways for our staff, for our guests and for our facilities. Every year we read the survey notes from our guests which indicate that the Camp is staying true to its mission to provide a setting for Christian families and individuals to vacation with God. At Camp, faiths are strengthened, families are united and reunited, friendships are made and renewed, and fun is had by all. Let us continually give thanks and praise to God for his divine providence as we look ahead to the dreams for our next season and as we rejoice in the memories of the past. On behalf of the LCA board, I thank you for your support of Camp Arcadia.
The Annual meeting, held for the first time at Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Joseph, MI on November 14, was attended in person or by proxy representing 381 voting units. This number established a quorum for the meeting. Currently, there are 1026 LCA members. We are thankful for the LCA members who participated in this meeting and we encourage all members to consider attending or participating by proxy for next year’s meeting.
Pastor Bill Yonker, Chaplain to the LCA Board, opened the meeting with a devotion based on Romans 12, which includes a charge to believers to “practice hospitality.’ His message shared how the LCA’s mission of welcoming others and sharing the Gospel message of our greater home in heaven is being fulfilled at Camp Arcadia.
With many thanks, the LCA board bids farewell to Kathy Allen and Chris Schumann, both of whom completed their terms of service and to Becky Zacharias for her work as a board member. Because of her family’s move to New York, Becky resigned her position this past May. The LCA board then welcomed Phil Jones to the board as an appointee to fill the remaining unexpired part of Becky’s term. During the elections at the LCA Annual meeting, Sandy Becker was re-elected to the board. Paul Culler and Dan Zehnder were elected as new board members. We welcome them to the LCA board.
Program Director, Jason Bauer, announced his resignation from Camp, effective at the end of 2015. We are very grateful to Jason for his work this past year and we wish him God’s blessings as he will return to serving as pastor at his local church. A search for a new Program Director is currently underway.
John Bates reported for the Arcadia Foundation that there are now 87 Legacy Builders who have included Camp as part of their estate planning. The Foundation is continuing to develop its message to encourage members to consider Camp in their estate plans.
Over the next 12 months, the LCA board will be heavily engaged in planning for the Spirit of Arcadia: Building for the Future campaign. The very positive results of this past summer’s Feasibility Study indicate strong support from the membership that we could raise $2.5 million dollars in this campaign to expand the Inn, kitchen, and laundry along with a plan for beach remediation. Over the next 12 months, the board will continue to examine the details of the proposed expansion.
At its meeting on Nov. 13, the board received a presentation from our Co-Caretakers who provided an assessment of the current status of the Camp’s beach along with historical photos and information, on the topic of beach remediation. Five engineering firms from the Great Lakes region are being asked to provide their proposals to Camp for ways to both protect our beach and to provide safe access to our beach. As you may expect, there are many regulatory issues and compliance restrictions from the state and federal government that affect what we can and cannot do.
A committee has been authorized by the board to research the topic of ‘Gender Identity, Marriage, and Family’ as a way to help guide Camp’s future practices. This committee will be comprised of religious scholars who are very familiar with Camp and its traditions.
The board has created a 100th Anniversary Committee that will begin working on plans for Camp’s 100th anniversary celebration in 2022.
The board is continuing work on its Vision and Strategic Plan including goals to maintain our financial stability, improve operational structure and leadership, and the continuing development of the Spirit of Arcadia: Building for the Future. The work on these goals will keep the board very busy this coming year. As we look ahead, the board anticipates making a formal recommendation to the membership at the 2016 LCA Annual meeting seeking approval to officially begin the Spirit of Arcadia: Building for the Future plan which will also include the creation of an organizational structure for a capital fund-raising program. At this meeting the final expansion plan will be reviewed and discussed. This plan will require the approval by 2/3 of the LCA membership represented at the meeting in person or by proxy. We ask for your prayers as the board seeks God’s direction, wisdom, and providence when discussing these plans so that we stay true to our mission of humbly glorifying and serving the Lord.
As always, the board welcomes your input. Please feel free to contact myself or any of the other LCA board members with your comments.
In conclusion, we give thanks to Chip and our great management staff-Franco, Joe, Kurt, and Rachel- for all the work they do to serve and support the ‘camp we all love best.’
In Christ, Deo Confidimus,
Stan Scheumann
LCA Board President
