Friends of Camp Batawagama News Update
December 2025
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Dear Friends of Camp Batawagama,
As this year draws to a close, I want to take a moment on behalf of the Friends of Camp Batawagama to reflect on all that we have accomplished together and to express our deepest gratitude. Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you, we continued to invest in the very heart of our mission: supporting the camp, its campers, and the special community that makes Batawagama such a place of belonging. Once again in 2025, your donations have helped produce real, tangible improvements at camp. We continue to support the purchase of critical gear — from watercraft and lifejackets, to arts-and-crafts equipment — ensuring our campers can explore, create, and connect safely. These are improvements that take camp above and beyond what the annual Iron County millage offers. Looking ahead to 2026, we will soon begin fundraising to build a new totem pole, replacing the one that fell this fall. The totem pole has been a beloved symbol of camp spirit, tradition, and unity. We hope to commission a work that will honor the past while inspiring future generations of campers. As always, your help is essential. If you are able, please consider making a year-end gift to support these efforts and ensure camp remains a second home for young people. You can donate through our website or by mailing a check to: FOCB, PO Box 482, Iron River, MI 49935 Stay tuned to our spring newsletter, website and Facebook page for updates about 2026 fundraisers. Thank you for believing in Batawagama, for investing in its future, and for helping preserve its magic. Camp staff can’t wait to welcome everyone back next summer for youth camp, band camp, Senior Days and more. For full 2026 summer dates, visit the main camp website. With gratitude, Andrew LaCombe FOCB President |
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Remembering a Dear Friend, Bob Salonen
The Friends of Camp Batawagama and Iron County community are remembering a dedicated volunteer. Bob Salonen was the FOCB treasurer for many years and helped run our golf outing fundraiser. He recently retired from the FOCB board and continued to support every event the Friends sponsored, including our spaghetti dinner and dances. This is a picture of Bob and his wife Betsy from our 2024 dance.
Bob will be dearly missed at Camp Batawagama and across our county. Thank you for supporting the magic of camp.
The Friends of Camp Batawagama and Iron County community are remembering a dedicated volunteer. Bob Salonen was the FOCB treasurer for many years and helped run our golf outing fundraiser. He recently retired from the FOCB board and continued to support every event the Friends sponsored, including our spaghetti dinner and dances. This is a picture of Bob and his wife Betsy from our 2024 dance.
Bob will be dearly missed at Camp Batawagama and across our county. Thank you for supporting the magic of camp.
Thank you, Friends! With your support, we were able to help Camp purchase six new sets of oars and oarlocks for our Camp rowboats. We also helped Camp purchase a new 9 horse Mercury outboard motor for our Camp rescue boat. Camp added a new activity this summer and we helped them purchase two outdoor pickleball nets and paddles. Camp informed us that pickleball was very popular with campers and staff!
Letter from the Director
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Back to the Business of Camping
We have made improvements to our 2023 Camp enrollment procedures. This year parents can go to our website: campbatawagama.com to register and pay for their campers online or they can print out the registration form, fill it out and mail it back to camp. We were able to make the registration process more user-friendly and convenient for our campers' parents and grandparents. Thank you Citizens of Iron County We would like to thank the Residents of Iron County for their vote on November 8, 2022 to renew the four-year 1/2 mill for the operational expenses of the Iron County Youth Camp. Your confidence in Batawagama’s long standing values and programs is very gratifying. We will continue to operate and maintain Camp to the highest standards possible, with our focus always on our campers, while providing a safe and creative camping experience for everyone. Thank you Friends of Camp Batawagama Thank you to all the Friends of Camp Batawagama, who have been raising funds for the new Boys' Bathroom for the past two years. Your commitment to the completion of the new Bathroom project and so many other projects at Camp is what helps to make Batawagama an outstanding experience for all of those who attend. It was a great summer at Batawagama! We were fortunate to have many former Staff members returning and we were excited that we could bring back Senior Days and six weeks of Youth Camp. Brian Schulze, Director |
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