FRIDAYS WITH FRANKY! ‘Til Next Summer!

Hi Everyone ~ It’s me Franky coming at you again on this lovely Friday!   I thought I’d take some time to talk about our fantastic property manager, Joe Kokan.   As many of you know, Joe is responsbile for keeping camp well maintained and looking great. And if you’ve been to WeHaKee Camp for Girls, you know how wonderful camp looks.   He works hard all year long and takes great pride in WeHaKee’s appearance and how well it operates.

Once the campers depart at the end of each summer, Joe starts right away with preparations for the next year.   Every fall Bob and Joe complete an annual ‘walk-through’ of WeHaKee.   They look at each and every building ~ did you know that there are nearly 40 buildings on WeHaKee’s property?!   At each building, they take a look around and have a conversation about any repairs or improvements that should be done over the next few months to make sure the building is ready for next summer. They also discuss if the building will need any major changes or repairs in the next few years (such as a new roof or windows or maybe adding a new storage space, etc.).   

As they walk from building to building, they also check out the grounds looking for needs for improvements in roadways, stairs or if an aging tree might pose a danger to people or structures.   Both Bob & Joe take notes as they go so that they can update their annual Maintenance Priority List for the coming year.   

Following the walk-through, Joe begins to plan out the rest of his fall, winter and spring to make sure he is able to get to everything that needs to get done.   You may not think there is much to do at WeHaKee in the dead of winter, but Joe is working hard all year long.   Just a few of the things he plans to work on this year include adding a row or two of new benches at the Teepee Firecircle at the end of the Chicagami Trail; putting new windows in the BandAid; building more new benches to be placed throughout camp; replacing the narrow steps near the bottom of the O’Leary staircase and(sadly) removing the large white pine affectionately known as the ‘archery tree’ that recently died 🙁

WeHaKee is blessed to have a such a skilled and caring property manager as Joe.   Not only is he a talented carpenter, plumber, electrician and woodsman, he has a great respect and love for our campers and is always willing to do whatever it takes to make sure their experiences are better than ever at WeHaKee. So the next time you’re at camp and you see Joe, make sure you let him know how much you appreciate all he does for this amazing and beautiful camp!

Have a another great weekend everybody!