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Campion Academy Alumni Magazine Fall 2019
Dana Dunn DeBernardi, ‘94 Moose Mamas Rescue, page 6
From the Editor I spent some of my growing up years living in Colorado. I’ve heard of and visited Campion Academy for years, even before my brother started working at Campion as a men’s dean. I always loved the vibe - the beautiful campus, the friendly staff, the constant stream of activities and happy chatter. So, you can imagine that the day I was offered a job at Campion was a very good day. Having arrived in December, I’ve had plenty of time to observe the campus and get involved. I can tell you - the atmosphere is still crackling with energy, enthusiasm, and learning. Campion is growing with new programs, including the Enjoying the local agriculture program and the curriculum updates to support more views too! project-based learning. While these updates are exciting, I’m also impressed with Campion’s continued committment to its legacy: fostering student relationships with Jesus, teaching new skills while promoting hard work, and demonstrating how we can impact our communities. I’ve felt the same positive vibe while talking to many of you --the alumni and product of this fine school-in preparation for Alumni Weekend 2019 and I’m looking forward to making more connections in person. I will also be excited to hear both your stories of Campion and what you think about it now. Afterall, you paved the way. YOU are the legacy. -Darcy Force Director of Alumni & Development 2
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Campion Academy Alumni Magazine Fall 2019
Alumni Events Western Slope Chapter Reunion - October 6, 2019 - 4:30pm Grand Junction SDA Church, Grand Junction, Colorado Keene Area Chapter Reunion - TBA - October, 2019 Keene, Texas Lincoln, NE Chapter Reunion -January 30, 2020 - 6pm Atrium, Don Love Building, Union College Campus Loma Linda Area Chapter Reunion - February or March 2020 Wyoming Area Chapter Reunion - April, 2020 Casper, Wyoming Alumni Weekend 2020 - September 18-20 Watch for more information - coming soon! Visit us at campion.net/alumni or sign up for the e-newsletter by emailing alumni@campion.net. Cover photo by Sarah Bell. Fall 2019
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“We welcome you back to Campion!” Reeder’s Digest - Coming Home - 06
“Dana was taught that if something is broke, you fix it.”
Alumni Feature - Moose Rescue - 08
Campus News - Acquainting Agriculture - 10 4
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In This Issue “They were all the things I would have hoped our students at Campion to be.� From the Alumni President - 12
Alum Notes & Milestones - 13
You are the LEGACY. Campion News - 15 Our appreciation to contributing photographers Jonny Loi, Jill Harlow, and Darcy Force.
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digest
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Principal’s Message 70 is a good number. I am impressed by the 70 year class (1949) making an appearance at our Alumni Weekend. That number 70 was also important to Daniel. He knew that in 70 years, Israel would be going home to Jerusalem. At the beginning of the captivity, 70 years seemed like a long time, but as our 70 year class realizes, it goes by quick. The 70 year wait is similar to our waiting for Jesus to return. The ancient Israelites had to wait and rely on the promise that the 70 years would come and they would return home. We have to do the same. We are instructed to wait and rely on the sure promise of Jesus return in 1 Thessalonians. 4:17. I believe there is more that we can do. We can actively prepare the world for Jesus’ return. There are over 6000 people groups that have not been reached with the Good News of Jesus (source: The Jesus Bible, Book of Titus comments). He is not going to return until all the world hears about His
<<< Pictured left: Campion principal Don Reeder pictured as his Mr. Reeder character for Voice of Prophecy’s Discovery Mountain program. You can listen along at voiceofprophecy.com/ discovery-mountain.
Fall 2019
Reeder does a “trust walk” with the students, during activities on the first day of school.
great gift of forgiveness and salvation. The task seems daunting, but Ellen White is clear that human effort mixed with the Divine will bring success. Together, each of us with the Holy Spirit, can reach the World. This Alumni Weekend is themed with “Coming Home”. We welcome you back to Campion and we hope this weekend will help all of us to look forward to “Coming Home” to Heaven. -Don Reeder Campion Academy Principal
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Moose Rescue
Driving the Seward Highway into Anchorage, Alaska, the scenery is majestic and awe-inspiring, with the strength and beauty of the mountains and trees softened by the Gulf of Alaska lapping at the edges of the highway. The view is not always serene, however. The traffic along the highway, at its peak during the months of April-June, is also the scene of wildlife-related accidents. Between 500-700 moose are killed on Alaska highways every year, many of them leaving orphaned moose calves behind. The day can start like any other. However, when Dana gets a call that a moose calf, sometimes twins, just lost its mama and is in need of rescue, the day’s priorities quickly change. Usually the call comes from the public. Grabbing an intern, because they never go alone, Dana will handle prepping for the rescue, giving the Fish and Game a heads up, and off into the Alaskan wilds at a moment’s notice. Running Moose Mamas Rescue is a full-time job for Dana Dunn DeBernardi, Class of 1994. The Rescue is a non-profit and Dana (pronounced DAN-a) runs it while supporting her three children. It is quite a commitment, though one she seems to have come by honestly. Growing up, Dana was constantly exposed to nature, hunting, fishing, and her family is “really, really into conservation.” Throughout her childhood, her parents, grandparents, and uncles would talk about elk, moose, the local wildlife population, and conservation. Her uncle worked hard to reestablish the wild turkey population. Dana was also taught that if something is broke, you fix it. The moose population in Alaska was drastically declining geographically. The orphaned calves most often died when they lost their mothers to vehicle accidents. So Dana took action. She went through miles of red tape, secured her permits, and founded Moose Mamas Rescue. Caring for a moose calf is intense. Sometimes the calf is 2 days old and only 35 lbs. Or they could be 2 months old and they’re 200 lbs. April through 8
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Alumni Feature
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Acquainting Agriculture Huge heads of lettuce, piles of turnips, and green beans, carrots, tomatoes, beets, squash, cucumbers, peppers, onions and more were all recently harvested on the Campion Academy Farm. The summer harvest is a form of celebration of all the work put in throughout the school year by volunteers and the Agriculture class, and evidence of the many ways that God has blessed. The mission of the program is to acquaint Campion students with their Creator through 10
direct contact with His handiwork. As students begin to see the incredible design, purpose and beauty of each plant, the prayer is that they will grow closer to their Savior while learning a valuable skill. The program, called Acquainting Agriculture, is just wrapping up the first year in existence. With the vision of former staff member Anna Perea, and the support of the church community, Campion successfully implemented the new agriculture class and program. Perea spent hours in research, building on her previous gardening experience, to build a crop based on organic, natural processes and planted in an ultra-rich nutrient soil. The processes were taught to the students in the class, while giving them the opportunity to then try out their new knowledge in the garden. In fact, Perea, along with several other Adventist teachers throughout the United States have been developing a curriculum and teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guide so that the model could be more easily implemented at other schools.
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The pilot model focuses on educating the students about God’s character through plants rather than simply for the produce to eat or sell. “It’s been really wonderful to see how supportive the community has been,” commented Perea. “Everything is donationbased, and people have supported both financially and with their time, especially for our work-bees. God has always provided exactly what we needed at the right time.”
must be bundled, the green beans weighed and bagged, and the cherry tomatoes prepped.
In addition to sharing fresh, nutrientrich food with the community, the participation Brazilian exchange students, in the local market Yan and Fernando, worked in the garden all summer. Learn has created a new more about the exchange opportunity for sharing This summer, two student workers worked part-time at the Campion Academy’s program at campion.net/news. mission with the farm. When Perea local community. moved back to Texas “It’s been really with her family, staff “It has been a fun and rewarding experience wonderful to see to sell our produce at the market,” says Darcy and community how supportive the Force, Campion staff member and volunteer volunteers came community has been.” at the farm. “We’re talking to people about together to keep the teaching high school students to garden and project going. Several they’re fascinated. We even met some new staff members have vendors who are interested in sponsoring some committed to bringing the program forward. of our campus events.” The fresh produce is available to the public The program continues to have needs for every Sunday at the Fort Collins Farmer’s both financial donations for supplies such as Market or by appointment at the farm. Student workers and volunteers weed, water, caterpillar tunnels, deer fencing, and ground cover, as well as donations in time through and then harvest the produce before washing volunteer labor. and prepping for the market. The carrots Visit campion.net/farm to support the program and learn more.
-Jill Harlow Communication, ELL Director
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From the Alumni President “They just don’t make things like they used to.” I hear it a lot; about houses. Tools. Furniture. You name it. It seems like no matter what it is, it’s just not built the way it used to be. You know, back when things were built to last. Built solid and with real materials, not the cheap
stuff they’re using today. Doesn’t that make you wonder if the same holds true for the youth of this generation? Do they know the value of a dollar? Do they know how to work? Are they kind and polite or are they so attached to their phones that they don’t even notice others around them? My family had the privilege of hosting two Campion Academy sophomore students from Brazil this summer in our home. I wondered how they would be. How are Campion students 12
built? Are they flimsy like cheap furniture? I’m thrilled to report, I couldn’t have been happier with what I saw from these boys. The students we had in our home were kind, polite, helpful, hardworking and generous. They were all the things I would have hoped our students at Campion to be. A summer was enough time to see their true characters come
out. I was so proud that the Campion students of today are still built as solid as they were in the good ole’ days. Come see for yourself this alumni weekend how the students at Campion Academy truly are. You’ll be glad you did. - Codi Davidson Jahn, ‘01 Alumni Association President
Alum Notes #milestones Carl Dupper, ‘09, recently became the CEO of AdventHealth Winter Garden. Brendan Johnson, ‘02, is a Senior Vice President for Adventist HealthCare. Carissa Hieb Johnson, ‘04, is a Speech Language Pathologist at Adventist HealthCare Rehabilitation. JC Lynch, ‘08, just completed his doctorate in orthopedics from Loma Linda University.
Dupper
Allie Chacko Stacey, ‘10, just graduated from Loma Linda University with her M.D. She is now in an OB Residency. Seth Stacey, ‘10, just graduated from Loma Linda School of Dentistry. He is now employed through Pacific Dental Services. Rob Pride, ‘91, has been recently honored again for his leadership roles Pride in relation to the Loveland police force and the local community. He was promoted to Sargeant in 2015 and received the Meritorious Service Award in 2017. Jeanette “Jan” Newbanks Reagin, ‘56, is a Registered Nurse (Gordon Keller School of Nursing, 1962; Millersville University BSN 1986). She currently works as a RN Medical Case Manager, working with people who have been injured on the job. She has been working as a RN for 57 years now.
Our Sympathies Marlene Newbanks Leach, ‘56, passed away 08-20-2019. She lived in Moyie Springs, Idaho. She is survived by her sons, Robert Etherton (Carol) of Idaho, and Rick Etherton (Debbie) of California; as well as 4 granddaughters; and her sister, Jan Newbanks Reagin, ’56. Sally Saturley Hunter, ’56, passed away 11-10-2018. She lived in Laguna Woods, CA. She is survived by her son, Ray Hunter (Tracy). Ned Swaeby, ’56, passed away 05-08-2018. He lived in Longmont, CO. He is survived by his wife Kay Conley Swaeby, ’57; and his sons, Steve (Jeannie) of Colorado and Robert of New York State. Fall 2019
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Courtesy Jonathan Klingenberg
June is the busiest time of year, due to the influx of tourists and traffic. As the only release program in the state, these months can be extremely busy with as many as 10 calves at a time. A group of 5-6 interns stay with Dana over the summer. Because moose aren’t grazers, but browsers, Dana has to gather tree limbs to hang around the pen to provide food in addition to the formula. An adult male will eat about 60-70 lbs. a day so one calf can eat up 50 lbs. Moose calves grow very fast, up to 5% of their own body weight a day, so they need a constant source of nutrients. Formula for the little calves is the program’s biggest expense. A schedule, complete with alerts and alarms, is set up to make sure each calf gets their 8 feedings a day.
From the beginning, Dana felt like her involvement with Moose Mamas was a God thing. Many days have dawned where there weren’t enough resources to continue the rescue and support her family, or where just the volume of work was daunting for one woman and 3 months of interns. Dana says that God always provides, He always comes through. Now the program is growing, with new opportunities presenting themselves.
God always provides, says Dana.
Moose Mamas Rescue keeps the calves for about three to four months. By the time the calves are big enough to be on their own, they are about 350400 lbs. Dana and her interns tranquilize the moose, fly them across the inlet, find a remote lake, land on the lake, and then put them in a temporary pen. Before the moose are released, they are fitted with collars. They say a prayer over each moose and then let them go. The moose are affixed with a collar to help provide statistics for research on the population. The collars are specially designed to expand with their necks for about 12-15 months, until the collar falls off. 14
One of the opportunities includes teaching conservation and responsibility to local elementary students. The students collect water bottles for the Rescue to use in feeding the calves. The bottles are then double- recycled. Another huge blessing came when three of her interns dedicated their lives to Christ this summer. Two of them were athiest and they’ve all gone home to share their experience with their families. “I feel like God is working on a bigger picture with this project,” Dana explains. “The path is being shifted to connect the program with people who need help, giving them a chance to interact with animals. The human to animal connection is amazing. We’re praying hard over these opportunities.” Moose Mamas Rescue is getting ready to release the eight calves raised this summer. Learn more about Moose Mamas at moosemamas.org. -Darcy Force Director of Alumni & Development
Campion Supported Thank you alumni for your continued support. You have made an impact! View and download the 2018-2019 Impact Report at campion.net/give. To request a copy, email alumni@campion.net.
Warriors for Campion
Supporting the Campion Legacy Endowment Goal -- $10 million Total raised to date -- $2.5 million
Residence Halls
The furniture in the dorms are original to the buildings! Sponsor a room for $3,500! Goal -- $125,000
Reeder Classic
Proceeds from the Reeder Golf Classic go towards Campionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Student Aid Fund, helping hard-working students afford their tuition. Students receiving scholarships have applied for financial aid and work towards their tuition. Goal -- $15,000 Total raised to date -- $5,147
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September 20, 2019 9:00am Ute Creek Golf Course
Fall 2019
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