Contact: Danielle Endvick, WFU Communications Director
715-471-0398,
dendvick@wisconsinfarmersunion.com
Farmers Union hires Facilities Manager for WFU Kamp Kenwood
Wisconsin Farmers Union has welcomed Brad Henderson to their staff. Henderson will serve as Facilities Manager for historic WFU Kamp Kenwood on the shores of Lake Wissota near Chippewa Falls. Each summer, the camp becomes home to hundreds of youth who learn the values of cooperatives, family farms, social justice and civic engagement.
Henderson, a native of Racine, attended UW-Madison and graduated with a civil-environmental engineering degree in 1993. With his intrepid wife Julie, he moved to Eau Claire to raise his family and began working for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. For 20 years, he assisted small villages and large cities in their efforts to provide safe and abundant drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act. More recently, his interests have been drawn to water quality issues related to the increase in sand mines and high capacity wells in northwestern Wisconsin.
His involvement with WFU began when his daughter Sarah (now Eau Claire County chapter president) attended WFU Kamp Kenwood. “My daughter and I rode our bikes from Eau Claire to Kamp Kenwood,” he recalled. “The setting on the shores of Lake Wissota was beautiful but what impressed me were the stories Sarah shared during our two-hour ride home about what she learned about leadership, co-ops and sustainability. I knew we would be involved with WFU for a long time to come.”
“The opportunity to serve Wisconsin Farmers Union came about when changes in my life and our government meant I wanted to focus my energy full-time on issues important to our communities,” Henderson said. “I was drawn to WFU for its awareness and promotion of sustainable food, from urban gardens to family farms. I found myself relating to WFU’s work on behalf of family farms, local food, sustainable energy, cooperative business and healthy and active living, and I am pleased to be able to help the WFU staff accomplish their goals.”
Henderson will be responsible for care of the camp and facilities. He will assist with event bookings and oversee construction projects on the 23-acre Kamp Kenwood property, which hosts reunions, weddings and other events on weekends between camp sessions.
“We are very pleased about the energy and ideas Brad is bringing to our team,” said WFU Executive Director Tom Quinn. “He has seen the benefits of camp with his own kids and is passionate about the camp program, the property and the role it can play in educating future leaders in agriculture, conservation and the cooperative movement.”
Henderson replaces outgoing Kamp Kenwood caretaker Julie Burgess, who served the camp for nearly 20 years.
Built in the 1940s through the cooperative efforts of Wisconsin Farmers Union members, WFU Kamp Kenwood offers summer youth camp programs focused on cooperatives, family farms, sustainability, leaderships, conservation, rural communities, social justice and active citizenship. Learn more at www.kampkenwood.com.
