The 13th annual golf outing event will take place September 29 at Hawks View Golf Course in Lake Geneva. Interested individuals can register by visiting the camp’s website at Covenant Harbor and selecting the “special events” link.
Williams, who hailed from Gary, Indiana, first came to camp on a Golf for Kids scholarship because his family could not afford to send him. Following his death, other counselors and campers immediately began leaving online tributes at his “MySpace” Internet account. To read the original online news story, please see Antwan Williams.
“We felt that it was appropriate to name the outing for Antwan,” says Jim Steere, adding that the family gave permission for the fundraiser to be named in his honor. “He meant a great deal to the kids and his fellow counselors. He was an example of how important these scholarships are.”
His camping experience set him on a path to attend Covenant Bible College-Strathmore – he graduated shortly before he was killed in the accident. Williams had planned on returning to the school to serve as dean of men.
Steere’s wife, O’Ann, who is a counselor, has helped the Covenant Harbor staff grieve the loss of Williams. “We have seven staff members who were just devastated,” he says.
Staff members have been changed as they have worked through the experience of William’s death, Steere explains. “There’s this heightened sense that how you live your life now really makes a lot of difference.”
Staff members also developed “a pretty keen sense that we are frail, we can die young,” Steere says. “It was a reality check.”
O’Ann taught the counselors how to explain the loss to returning campers. “You never want to say, ‘God wanted to take him home.’ ” Steere says. “That would scare children. They would wonder, ‘What about me?’ ”
Camper Katie Beavers recently responded to the online news story of William’s death by writing to the Readers Share forum on the Covenant website. “Antwan, you were always my favorite male counselor at Covenant Harbor,” Beavers writes. “I wasn’t gonna go to camp this year, but after hearing this, I really want to. I really wish you could have been here this year. Rest in peace. I miss you.”
Last year, a record 120 golfers raised $28,000 in scholarships. The camp awards between $45,000 and $50,000 a year in scholarships, says Steere. The difference between what is raised at the outing and what is given is covered by other donations.
Steere tells the story of one mother who did not come from a Covenant background. She was so excited with the positive impact the camp had on her children, who had been going through a rough time, that she donated $25,000. Many of the scholarships are awarded to students who do not come from Covenant backgrounds, as was the case with Williams.
Copyright © 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.
