Camp Kyle wins Award

Camp Kyle was awarded the 2019 Chris Holt Youth Environmental Education Award for an outstanding environmental education program for youth. This award is sponsored by the Iowa Association of Naturalists and the Iowa Conservation Education Coalition. Camp Kyle is a one-day program aimed at teaching the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts that your dreams are just one shot away!

Kyle Longerbeam was a 25-year-old man from Fairfield, Iowa, and had a love for all things outdoors. He chased his dreams by moving to Alaska in 2011 in hopes of becoming a hunting guide, own some land, build a home, and to obtain his license as a pilot. He achieved all of that and more in just 5 years. In December 2016, the plane he was piloting never arrived in Anchorage and after a day of extensive searching, debris was found in a lake located just miles from the runway. There were no survivors.

This event, created and inspired by his memory, was held for the second year at Jefferson County Park on Friday, July 24th. Sixteen youth entering 6th-8th grade attended. The Camp Kyle Committee would like to thank its generous sponsors and volunteers: Pete Tollenaere, Gary Roth, Sabin Sirdoreus, JD Diers, Jon Trumpold, Therese Cummiskey, Jessica Anderson, Abbey Lutz, Carla & Terry Longerbeam, Libertyville Savings Bank, Washington State Bank, Edward Jones, Pilot Grove Savings Bank, HyVee, and the Conservation Foundation of Jefferson County.