Patt Cooper (back, second from right), of Leroy, is the 2008 Michigan Country Lines Volunteer of the Year.

She was chosen for her 30 years of service to the nearby Rose Lake Youth Camp, and to kids in her community.

“I started as the [camp’s] director, but when I retired that little camp got a piece of my heart,” she says.

Cooper is retired from Leroy Elementary School as a remedial reading teacher and school bus driver, and was the camp’s director for about 20 years. She has volunteered for 10 years since, doing everything from setting up tents and painting buildings to raising funds or whatever it takes to make the camp run. Her husband, Keith, “holds the camp together” she adds, by volunteering as its maintenance man.

“There’s a 12-year-old trapped in this 78-year-old body, and this [volunteering at the camp] allows it to get out,” laughs Cooper.

The five-day “back to nature” camp is about “getting kids back to realizing about nature and to regard the environment,” Cooper says. It serves ages 6-13 statewide, and offers everything from swimming lessons and fishing to kayaking, nightly campfires, crafts, games, archery, and other sports. No cell phones or similar electronics are allowed, and only 40 kids are there at a time, Cooper says, so the counselors and kids get to know each other well.

Cooper was nominated by a fellow camp board member, Sonia Williams of Leroy, and was chosen from six admirable candidates that were nominated by readers. She plans to donate her $250 award towards the camp’s new bathroom/shower project.

She also volunteered as a clown and coordinator of games for kids at a local festival for 15 years. The energetic member of Great Lakes Energy Cooperative says, “Any time spent with kids is never wasted.”

For camp information, visit roselakeyouthcamp.com or call 231-768-4610.