Zeman?'s Camp Courageous support will be remembered

"He was the most caring and knowledgeable individual you'll ever meet, and he instantly fell in love with the camp because it hit home with him," said Charlie Becker, executive director of Camp Courageous, a year-round recreational and respite facility for people with disabilities.

"His sister Barbie had special needs, and he knew that, just like in her life, people made all the difference here." Zeman, 55, known to millions across the country as "America's Home Improvement Expert," died of a heart attack Wednesday while on vacation in Mississippi. Zeman was host of "Homefront with Don Zeman," a nationally syndicated home improvement radio show aired each Saturday morning in more than 300 markets across America and Canada.

Becker said Zeman found out about Camp Courageous through a contest he sponsored on his radio show about a year and a half ago. Barb McMickle of Cedar Rapids, listening to KMRY 1450 AM, won the prize -- a top-of-the-line General Electric refrigerator worth about $3,000. But instead of keeping it, McMickle wanted it to be donated to Camp Courageous, Becker said.

The camp was building a dormitory at the time, and Becker asked if they could split up the money for the fridge and instead use it to buy a washer, dryer, stove and two refrigerators for the dorm's first floor. Zeman made that happen. Then, when he found out the camp needed those items for the dorm's second floor as well, he and his wife, Nancy, took up the cause and sponsored a telethon over his show to finance them.

Because Zeman understood well the camp's importance for families and the campers, Becker said, he continued to offer his assistance.

"Charlie, before you go out and buy anything, always check with me first," Becker remembered Zeman saying.

Zeman also had visited the camp several times and even came all the way from his home in Savannah, Ga., to attend the camp's Pineapple Gala this year at the U.S. Cellular Center, Becker said.

Upon Zeman's death, his family requested that, in lieu of flowers or other gifts, memorials be made in his name and sent to Camp Courageous, P.O Box. 418, Monticello, Iowa, 52310. The camp is funded entirely through private donations.

-- Contact the writer: (319) 398-8488 or alicia.ebaugh@gazcomm.com

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