Robert J. Patterson

Bob Patterson is a member of the administrative team for the Michigan 4-H Great Lakes and Natural Resources Camp, where he has been a volunteer for more than 20 years and an annual donor for the past 10 years. Through his involvement with 4-H Great Lakes Camp, he has helped to make the camp a multi-award winning educational program and has influenced more than 1,400 young people in their appreciation and awareness of the great outdoors, many of whom have pursued careers in natural resources. Bob began his service with 4-H Great Lakes Camp as the camp cook, but his service has evolved over his tenure with camp to become today, its co-director, and the recognized single most consistent partner in the sustained success of the camp. As a seven-day camp, 4-H Great Lakes Camp is required to operate as a licensed camp. Bob has worked to become the expert in state licensing and works each year to ensure that Michigan 4-H meets the state licensing requirements for the annual camp. He annually manages camp counselor orientation and training, working to prepare camp counselors for the arrival of the more than 100 campers each year with a very intense and in-depth camp counselor training program designed to ensure not just the safety, but the full education and enjoyment of the 4-H campers when they arrive for their week of camp. He also plans and orders the food that serves to feed 115 camp participants each year. Bob served as a Michigan 4-H Foundation trustee from 2003 to 2010, working to solicit and steward private resources for support of Michigan 4-H Youth Development. He has also been a Mecosta County 4-H volunteer and is a perennial volunteer each year at Kettunen Center’s Breakfast with Santa holiday event for children. Bob also volunteers, as partner in Patterson’s Flowers in Big Rapids, to decorate Kettunen Center seasonally to improve the aesthetics for the more than 10,000 annual guests served by the 4-H conference facility.