4 minute read
Making A Difference
Stan Wegrzynowicz, Class of 1954
Stan Wegrzynowicz has worn many hats since his days at De La Salle. An All-State runner at DLS, he ran track at the University of Notre Dame, after the Irish football coach, noting Stan’s 134 lbs., sent him to see the cross-country coach. “I was Rudy before there was Rudy,” Stan laughs. He spent several years teaching in various Catholic schools, including De La Salle in 1958-59. He has coached football and basketball, and still coaches track, most recently the girl hurdlers at Cousino High School. Stan took over the Business Operations for the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Stores in the early 1980’s. When he left in the late 90’s, he was handling 19 retail outlets.
Stan became the Director of Camp Ozanam for the St. Vincent de Paul Society in 1973, and managed the camp in the Port Huron area for 15 years. In those days, the Camp, along with its sister camp, Camp Stapleton, managed by various religious orders, accommodated 1900 boys and girls from low-income families, ages 8 - 14, over two months in the summer.
Each year the St. Vincent de Paul Society holds a reunion Sunday at Camp Ozanam for past counselors and benefactors. After attending one of these reunions a few years ago, Stan decided to become re- involved.
And so Stan is now wearing yet another hat, helping to raise funds for
Stan with granddaughters Lydia and Sophia.
Camp Ozanam. This past summer, the camp hosted approximately 500 children, four groups of boys and girls for 4.5 days, rather than the two-week stays of years past. He has fond memories of the camp and its impact on children. “One boy said, ‘I can drink all the white milk I want.’ Another boy started to come to camp when he was 7, and was our most difficult camper. Over seven years, the staff refused to send him home, wanting to help him mature. As he got older, he became a camp counselor. He attended my wife’s funeral earlier this year.” Stan also says the kids loved the camp. “Approximately ten, typically from dysfunctional homes, would run away and hide, saying they didn’t want to go home.”
Stan is working with Cyndi Popp, a past DLS parent and a current member of the DLS Board of Trustees. She was
Nick Lemanski (‘11) and Cyndi Popp. Nick worked as a Counselor at Camp Ozanam this summer.
a Camp Counselor during high school, and became the Program Director during college. “I made lifelong friends at the camp,” she said. Cyndi is also a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and serves on the Camp Committee. Stan and Cyndi have met with Gleaners and mid-Michigan food banks, seeking help in reducing food costs, although Stan says they have limitations on what they can do to help. Cyndi says Stan is “dropping bugs in people’s ears” to help get funding for
Stan Wegrzynowicz
The Chapel at Camp Ozanam.
the camp, and still rolls up his sleeves to see what can be done. “He brought in one of his friends, a facilities manager, to develop a priority list of things needing repair - roofs, windows, and so on.” Stan would like to see major donors step forward, but is also concerned with finding boosters. “Back in the 70’s, the President of the St. Vincent De Paul Society was Bartholomew Seymour, the Alfred Taubman of his day. Seymour would write the check to cover the camp’s bills. When he died, there was no one wealthy to replace him. We need more people to step up. It would be wonderful to have Camp Stapleton re-opened for girls.” Although Camp Stapleton closed several years ago, the site, like Camp Ozanam, is available for rentals. Br. Bob Carnaghi, FSC, President Emeritus of De La Salle, fondly remembers Camp Ozanam. “I was fortunate to be chosen to attend Camp Ozanam in my youth. What a wonderful experience for me and what a great help to my parents who were struggling to make ends meet after the Depression.” He adds, “This experience remains with me - OZ, OZ, ANAM, it is the bestest camp that am!” Stan is passionate about helping the camp. “I encountered another camper about six months ago, who told me, ‘If it wasn’t for my relationship with the St. Vincent de Paul Society and my experience at Camp Ozanam, I don’t think I’d be alive today.’ “It was refreshing to me to see the beauty of the relationship between various ethnic groups and the diversity in the cabins,” said Stan. “It’s a wonderful thing for human relationships. To me, that was the most significant thing besides giving kids a chance.” To learn more about the camp, please visit http://svdpdet.org/need-help/camps/
