New director’s cabin unveiled as camp opens for fourth season in Readfield
AUGUSTA — As an Olympian, Julia Clukey knows sometimes the best things take four years to accomplish. Wednesday, June 17, Clukey and the Kennebec Valley YMCA hosted a ribbon cutting for the camp’s new director’s cabin. Julia Clukey’s Camp for Girls opened for its fourth season as a place for girls entering fourth- through eighth-grade to develop self-confidence and a healthy lifestyle. As the camp opens, more than 50 percent of the girls at camp have received some type of scholarship, according to a news release from Nancy Marshal Communications.
A group of young campers helped cut the ribbon, along with several of the YMCA staff and community members that donated more than $100,000 to make the cabin possible.
“I am proud to be part of the great team that has made this cabin possible. That includes the leadership at the YMCA, the local organizations and businesses who helped with fundraising and the designers and contractors that built this facility from the ground up. As an Olympian, I am very familiar with the concept that you have to wait four years for something special, and this building is certainly very special. Much like when you make the Olympic team, it is such a rewarding feeling to see the results from everyone’s hard work and dedication that made it all possible,” said Clukey in the news release.
The new director’s cabin was designed by Benjamin Stoodley and Arielle Cousens, two students from the architecture program at the University of Maine at Augusta. The design work was part of their senior project.
The new, four-season, 1,116-square-foot cabin includes a heating system and a wood deck overlooking Maranacook Lake. The cabin will be used for Julia Clukey’s Camp for Girls, Camp KV, the Kennebec Valley YMCA and will be available for local community organizations and businesses to rent, as well.
After a successful fundraising campaign in the community, the new director’s cabin replaces the original director’s cabin at Camp KV built in the 1940s. Lajoie Brothers Inc., of Augusta, was the general contractor for the cabin that improves the camp’s current kitchen facilities and medical treatment area, and provides additional space for changing areas. The cabin is at a higher elevation than the original cabin location and provides remarkable views of Maranacook Lake.
Financial support for the new director’s cabin was provided by several local individuals, organizations and businesses including Kennebec Valley YMCA, Kennebec Savings Bank, Pine State Trading Company, The Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association, The Windover Foundation, Norm Elvin, Robert Fuller, Elsie Viles, Margaret O’Connor, Mary Denison, Mark Johnston, Scott Goldhammer, Ranae L’Italien, Bill Sprague, Jack Smart, Roger Pomerleau, and Jim and Alison Nichols.
The cabin was completed in the final days before the first day of Julia Clukey’s Camp for Girls that will take place June 17-20 and 22-26 on Maranacook Lake in Readfield. In the past four years, Julia Clukey’s Camp for Girls has received a wide range of support from local businesses and organizations.
To learn more about Julia Clukey’s Camp for Girls at Camp KV, visit www.clukeyluge.com/camp.
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