Last Thursday the Light Foundation wrapped up the 8th annual Camp Vohokase. If you haven’t read it, check out last week’s post to learn more about how and why we started this leadership camp here at our farm, Chenoweth Trails, in Darke County, Ohio.

As promised, this week I’m sharing pictures that highlight some of our favorite moments from camp. My brother and I took over 1000 pictures combined so I’ve decided to split this post into three parts. Today you’ll get a tour of our facility and meet the staff. Tomorrow and Thursday I’ll give you a glimpse of the campers as they learn about timber framing, the art of rock stacking, cruise around our flat track on dirt bikes, having a blast playing Knockerball, competing in our annual pizza contest, mastering the ropes course at Camp Yale, and saying goodbye to our seniors at the graduation ceremony.

Our Facility: Chenoweth Trails

Matt named our farm Chenoweth Trails after John Chenoweth who was deeded this land as payment for his service in the War of 1812. In addition to being the home for the Light Foundation’s leadership camp, Camp Vohokase, our 500 acre facility is a working farm and the place we call home each summer.

Timber Frame Pavillion by Colorado Timber Frames

This custom timber frame was designed to shelter our outdoor kitchen and meeting/eating area. In addition to our own programs, this facility is used to host weddings, corporate events, youth groups, family reunions, and church outings. The 20 foot long picnic table seen here was designed and built by Matt’s dad, Bill for the first ever Camp Vohokase!

Our beautiful outdoor kitchen was designed and built by Dean and Derek Marsico, and featured on their show Indoors Out on the DIY Network.

Our campers sleep in yurts; round, portable tents (although ours stay put all year).

Each yurt houses 6 bunks (12 beds) and 12 storage boxes used to hold campers belongings. All were hand crafted by a local carpenter, Mike Christman, using Black Locust trees that were cut onsite to clear the space for camp.

Each year campers and counselors are split between the West Yurt and East Yurt. These two “teams” compete in various competitions throughout camp for “flames”. The yurt with the most flames at the end of camp wins swag bags for each camper. The clean yurt competition encourages the boys to take ownership and pride in their sleeping quarters, and is judged daily by the camp cooks. I love peeking in the yurts each day to see all the creative ways they try to sway the judges…

Notice the roses and chocolates?

Turf Field and Fitness Area

This 50×50 yard turf field was donated by John Huard Jr. and Northeast Turf in 2012, and was built by our staff and campers. 

Our rustic fitness area is where campers participate in morning workouts. NFL quarterback Drew Brees donated all our TRX equipment, which hangs here from the “Octagon of Doom”. Drew, who was Matt’s quarterback at Purdue, and The Brees Dreams Foundation is also currently sponsoring our four campers from New Orleans!

The gaga pit was built in 2015 by our campers as their annual “camp project”, and is a favorite of the Light kids!

The Kraut Creek Amphitheater

This hillside amphitheater was a true labor of love for Mr. Glenn Rehmert (uncle of Brian Rehmert, our Facilities Manager). Glenn donated hundreds of hours engineering and building this one of a kind facility years before becoming an employee on the farm. Alongside him, Brian, Matt, and dozens others labored for approximately 6 years to bring to life a shared vision for this serene gathering place. During camp we use the amphitheater for Sunday morning service and the graduation ceremony for our seniors.

The Pond

Matt put this pond (which I just realized is nameless) in several years ago to provide onsite fishing and swimming for our family and campers. Floating in the middle is a giant dock designed by Matt’s dad, Bill, and built by our campers in 2013.

Meet the Staff

These are the brave men who endure the heat, insects, and 16 energetic teenage boys for ten days in the wilderness. Ok, so you’ve seen the facility and they’re clearly not roughing it out here, but it takes a lot of patience and energy to run this camp, and these guys did an amazing job! I’ll introduce them from left to right:

Matt Light: My husband, Counselor, and founder of the Light Foundation.

DeMarques Jones: Junior Counselor and former Camp Vohokase graduate from our Lafayette, IN class. Also, studies Sports Management at Vincennes University.

Nick Schuckman: Head Counselor and Execitive Director at the Light Foundation.

Chase Crowe: Junior Counselor and former Camp Vohokase graduate from our Lafayette, IN class. Also, studies German at Wabash College.

Brian Rehmert: Counselor and Facilities Manager for Chenoweth Trails and the Light Foundation.

Edgar Flores: Counselor, part-time Program Mentor for the Light Foundation, and Aeronautical Engineer.

Dan Constable: Counselor and English teacher. I should also mention that Dan is NOT a Purdue graduate, as I stated in last week’s post. He attended Miami of Ohio… but we like him anyway.

Camp Cooks

Matt and I have been very blessed to have both our mothers Marilyn Light (on left) and Mimi Jakubczyk (on right) here as the official Camp Vohokase cooks. For the past 6 years we’ve also had my brother Bret Rindoks and sister-in-law April Rindoks (both adamantly opposed to posing for pictures) here volunteering their time helping with meals and endless behind the scene details to ensure that camp runs smoothly.

It takes months of preparation and countless other volunteers to make sure these ten days in the woods are a success. We are forever grateful to this incredible group of people who come together every year with the common goal of making real life changes for the kids who attend this camp!

Make sure to stayed tuned for parts II and III of the Camp Vohokase 2016 Recap!