Fort Wilderness to dedicate new staff housing

Fort Wilderness Ministries has announced it will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony at 3:15 p.m. Thursday, May 9 for its new 5,500 square foot Summer Staff and Volunteer housing building known as “The Waters.”  Given the camp property includes five lakes (Spider, Blair, Turtle, Frick and Lost), this facility pays homage to this precious natural resource, the organization explained in a press release.

Steve Lehe, Director of Construction noted, “It truly takes a team effort to bring a facility like this to fruition, from Billy Borkenhagen our staff architect’s design to our partnership with KSW Construction of Rhinelander. This is a warm and inviting space that will serve thousands over the coming decades.”

“The Lord has provided an extraordinary team and resources to see this much needed facility completed in a little over one year,” added Todd Leyden, executive director. “This incredible jewel, combined with countless staff and volunteers will allow us to annually minister to thousands of campers at our main camp facility for years to come.”

Chief Human Resource Officer  Katie Lutz shared, “I am excited to see how the Lord works through the lives of the summer staffers and volunteers as they serve campers. This beautiful facility will provide much needed space to create wonderful opportunities for growth and community building.”

“The Waters” is one of a dozen projects of the Fort Future capital campaign. According to the release, this endeavor will enable Fort Wilderness to construct much needed new facilities including a stables building, a year-round creative arts and nature center, expand its trails program in partnership with the DNR, plus add additional infrastructure including septic and a road. To date, gifts and pledges total more than $7.8 million with a goal of reaching $9.6 million within the next year. 

Fort Wilderness is a year-round Christian camping ministry annually serving more than 6,500 youth and family members on three sites. The facilities are located on Spider and Blair Lakes in Oneida County. Founded in 1956, by Truman and Jan Robertson, Fort is celebrating its 68th year of camping ministry in the Northwoods.