By Matt Pedigo
C-T News Editor

Administrators of a $20 million dollar charitable operation now under construction
in Allen County say the project is on pace for its scheduled opening in 2008-and a
visit by high-ranking state officials drew praise for it last Thursday. Camp Courageous was announced in March 2005, and construction began on a

168-acre tract on Burnley Road donated by Betty Turner Campbell. When complete,
the non-profit, donation-funded Camp Courageous will offer a variety of recreational
activities free of charge for chronically ill and terminally ill children and their
families. The facility will offer activities ranging from bowling and horseback riding
to hiking and swimming.
Last Thursday, a state government helicopter landed at the construction site,
carrying two high-level Kentucky officials: Cabinet for Health and Family Services
Secretary Mark D. Birdwhistell and Tom Emberton Jr., commissioner of the

cabinet's Department for Community Based Services. President/Executive Director Roger Murtie briefed Birdwhistell, Tom Emberton, State Sen. Richie Sanders (R-9th District) Governor's Office Liason Brian Smith and Allen Judge/Executive Johnny Hobdy on the camp's construction process. Murtie noted that Camp Courageous will feature its own medical facilities and living quarters for families. Experts on an array of serious pediatric illnesses had been
consulted for input in the construction and design process, Murtie said.

"We can host about 40 families a weekend," Murtie said. "And we could have the
Smiths say, "We'll share a cabin with the Joneses and host even more." For additional medical service when needed, Murtie noted that the site at 1500 Burnley Road was chosen in part because of its proximity to The Medical Center at Scottsville, only about a mile away. In addition, Murtie said, while the camp complex itself was about 68 acres of the 168-acre tract, Campbell owned hundreds more
acres of surrounding property, allowing plenty of space for hiking, horseback riding and other recreational endeavors. Murtie also noted the camp's ultra-modern infrastructure. Camp Courageous has worked with the state's Connect Kentucky broadband communications initiative to make its entire campus wireless communications-capable. Due to the absence of a county or municipal sewer system in its area, Camp Courageous will also have its own wastewater treatment plant, Murtie said. It also features fire hydrants. Both for aesthetics and weather resistance, utility lines will be buried. Tri-County Electric Membership Cooperative is in the process of running three-phase electrical
service to Camp Courageous. Birdwhistell said projects like this are particularly poignant to him. He has a daughter afflicted with osteogenesis imperfecta, commonly known as "brittle bone disease." Patients with this genetic disease can break bones extremely easily; some have broken their legs simply by rolling over in their sleep. She has benefited from a similar operation, Louisville's Home of the Innocents. "It's been a phenomenal experience for her," Birdwhistell said. "She's really gotten to know children with similar conditions. "You've created a win-win with what you're doing here," he told Murtie. "I think this will be a pleasant asset to the Commonwealth of Kentucky as we strive to address asthma, diabetes and other conditions so manifest in Kentucky," Birdwhistell said. "This offers a win-win situation for families and children of the Commonwealth. This impresses me-it offers the potential for a lot of fun in situations where children are faced with so many other distractions that make fun
impossible."

Birdwhistell also said he felt Camp Courageous had "huge potential" for partnerships with health care facilities across the state, state agencies that offer family and children's service and similar charitable foundations that serve ill or badly injured children. Several Camp Courageous building, including the horse barn and a large maintenance equipment structure, are already standing. Camp Courageous Vice President of Communications and Operations Stormi Norman said the 6,746 square-foot administrative office building is actually slated to open around Christmas this year, and the entire operation's construction process is on schedule.
"We've had no surprises," she said. "We're lucky the land has been so friendly. And
(for the most part) the weather has been beautiful."

The project's general contractor, Nashville, Tenn.-based Hardaway Construction
Corporation, projects completion by the end of 2007. The first few months of 2008
will be spent furnishing and equipping the facilities before the grand opening, she
said. Camp courageous is also assembling its staff, which already numbers
five-Murtie and Norman, Louisville-based Vice President of Development Becky
Romans, Director of Finance and Administration Toney Carey and a newcomer
who's not new to the field: Camp Director Ed Collins. Having previously worked
with Murtie on the NASCAR-affiliated Victory Junction camp for ill and injured
children in Level Cross, N.C., Collins will be coordinating recreation and activities
for Camp Courageous. The interview process for a medical director has also
begun, Murtie said.