Camp Hope wouldn’t be here without the support of it’s volunteer leaders. The following planning committee and board members volunteer their time to make Camp successful.
Janelle Hilger, LCSW Camp Director
Janelle lives in Kansas City with her husband, Dan and is a Child and Family Therapist. She has been volunteering for Camp Hope since 2008. Janelle earned a Bachelor’s of Science from Kansas State University and attended graduate school at the University of Kansas where she obtained her Master’s of Social Welfare in 2012. She completed a clinical, Play Therapy certification program after graduate school and values the role of play in exploring life’s events. She loves to travel, educating and advocating about early intervention, mental health practices and unwinding at Kauffman and Arrowhead Stadium. She’s a proud Kansas Citian, K-STATE Alumni [Once a Wildcat, Always a Wildcat] Camp Hope Heartland member, and Auntie to two, dashing Nephews and three, darling Nieces!
Andy Bukaty, DO, Medical Director Dr. Andy lives in the Kansas City area, as he has for much of his life. He has been a part of the Camp Hope family since 2008. He married his high school sweetheart in 2000 and they have one daughter, born in 2006, and one son, born in 2009, who rule their worlds. He is a family physician and is fortunate to help lead an organization called Docs Who Care that helps staff rural communities. The flexibility it affords him allows him to work in rural ERs, teach residents in training, devote time to Camp Hope Heartland, and spend a great deal of his time being a dad and husband. He also enjoys film analysis/history, cooking, American history, playing the drums, and cheering for the professional KC teams, Jayhawks and Saint Louis U. Billikens, who represent his alma mater. Finally, he enjoys taking advantage of Dr. Bryan’s fear of spiders, especially at Camp Hope.
Bryan Wohlwend, MD, Chairman
Dr. Bryan is a pediatrician in Kansas City, Missouri. He started volunteering at Camp Hope in 2000 when he was a medical student and has been every year since. He went to KU for medical school and completed his pediatric training at Children’s Mercy Hospital. He loves to travel and enjoys cheering on the Chiefs, Royals, Sporting KC and Jayhawks.
Gail Moeder, Camp Hope Heartland liaison Gail lives in Great Bend, Kansas. She has volunteered for Camp Hope since 1998 as a house parent and has been on the committee since 2003. She is pretty much the “local connection” to Great Bend/Barton County. Gail is married to Alan and is an Aflac agent.
Gina McGowan, Houseparent Director Gina is from Ellsworth, KS and has volunteered at camp since 2000. She was an Early Childhood Special Ed teacher for 4 years, but now is lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mom and community volunteer. She is married to Shawn and they have 2 boys, Parker (born in 2003) and Cooper (born in 2008). She enjoys being involved with children’s activities, helping direct and teach at Kids of the Kingdom, volunteering as a room mother, teaching Sunday School, and being lead director for her community VBS. She serves on her local school board and is the Region 7 VP for the Kansas Association of School Boards in Topeka. Her family enjoys traveling and spending time together doing all sorts of fun activities!
Charlie Dixon, Houseparent Director
Charlie lives in Hutchinson with wife Kathy. They have 3 sons born in ‘81, ‘83, and ‘87. He is the South Central Area Director of Treatment Services for Mirror Inc., a state wide substance abuse treatment, Health Home, and prevention services provider. He is a licensed Clinical Addictions Counselor. In his free time he enjoys traveling with Kathy, taking and printing photos and spending time with kids and grandson AJ.
Amanda Bretches, Activities Director
Amanda has been volunteering since 2008. She lives in Topeka and works at Key Staffing as an HR assistant. She loves reading, watching movies and going to concerts. She has been skydiving twice and is planning another jump with her brother. She enjoys planning all of the fun activities for the campers!
Judy Wagner, Yearbook/Photography/Board of Directors
Judy has been attending camp since 1991. She serves as the Vice President Mission Integration for St. Joseph Health, St. Mary. She currently lives in Victorville, CA; located ½ way between Las Vegas and Los Angeles along with her three cats. Judy is an avid Kansas State University Wildcat fan and bleeds PURPLE!!
Barb Keltner, Media liaison/newsletter/BOD Secretary
Barb has been a volunteer since 1992 and lives in Medicine Lodge where she is the school librarian for preschool students through seniors. She and her husband have two grown sons who are both teachers and three young granddaughters. Her passions are sharing her love of reading and being kind to our environment.
Preston Rogers, Fundraising Director and former camper
Preston began attending camp in 1994 at the age of 7. He lives in Olathe with his wife, Emily, and 2 dogs. Preston has worked for Sunrise Oilfield Supply as a store manager since 2011. He studied Geology at the University of Kansas and graduated with his B. S. Geology in 2010.
Sarah Forster, Outreach Director and former camper
Sarah has been a part of the camp family since 1995, when she started attending day camp at the age of 5. She attended Camp for 11 years and later returned as a volunteer houseparent. Outside of Camp Hope, Sarah is a 7th grade Social Studies teacher in Wichita.
Lorraine Davis, RN, Head Nurse
Lorraine is a pediatric nurse at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. She has volunteered at Camp for over 2 decades.
Carol Losew, Arts and Crafts
Eileen Cottingham, Kitchen Director
Eileen grew up in a wonderful family with 9 siblings, and starting cooking at a early age. She started in food service as a waitress at 15, and loved the relationships she built with customers and co workers alike. She has owned her own restaurant for the past 20 years, and has a passion for really good food. She loves simple, homemade, real food. She is always trying new recipes or just making her own as she plays with food.
Ad Hoc Committee Members
Dianne Lux, Parent Advisory Member
Dianne lives in Olathe with her husband, Larry, and their three teenagers age 18, 16, and 13. She currently works part-time as a resource para educator. She has an undergraduate and master’s degrees from Wichita State University in Health Care Administration. She enjoys family vacations, outdoor activities from running, hiking, golf and antique shopping. Her oldest son, Nathan, was diagnosed with two brain tumors in August 2009 at age 11. He went to Camp Hope the following summer while undergoing treatment and he returned happily for five years. He graduated from high school in 2016 and looks forward to being a Camp Hope volunteer. Camp Hope gave so much joy and happiest to Nathan in a time of so many unknowns. Nathan has fond memories and many friends as a result of Camp Hope. Dianne would do anything to support Camp Hope and its mission to continue to provide this camp experience to these special kids.
Sharon Fergusen
Sharon lives in Lenexa, Kansas. She has been a Camp Hope volunteer since 1995 and was kitchen director from 2000 through 2016. She is married, has 2 children, and 5 grandchildren. She enjoys traveling, baking (especially with her grandkids), and reading.
Emeritus Committee Members
Emeritus Committee Members are people whom the committee and board of directors wanted to honor for their dedication and service to Camp Hope.
Ken Miller
Ken was the camp director for the very first Camp Hope held in Salina. Ken is a retired science teacher/coach and currently lives in Salina and has attended Camp Hope since 1983. His wife, Beth has volunteered for more than 20 years; son Stan also spent several years as a houseparent. Ken served on the Camp Hope committee for 34 years.
Dan is a Manager with CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, a professional services firm in Overland Park, Kansas. He provides audit, tax, consulting, and accounting services focusing on the nonprofit industry. Dan grew up in Waukesha, Wisconsin and traveled to the state of Kansas where he attended college at Kansas State University. He graduated from K-State with a Masters of Accountancy in 2009. While at K-State he met his wife, Janelle, who he married in 2016. In his free time he enjoys traveling, spending time outside, and cheering on his favorite sports teams (Packers, Wildcats, Brewers, and Royals).
Gary Morsch, MD, MPH, Board of Directors (ad hoc)
Gary is the founder and president of Heart to Heart International, a global humanitarian organization based in the Kansas City area. Dr. Morsch believes that each of us longs to make a positive difference in our world, and that every person is uniquely gifted to do so. As a frequent speaker, his passion and enthusiasm continually challenges people to commit their lives in service to others. His own life-long commitment to volunteerism has taken him literally around the world. As a physician, Dr. Morsch continues to practice family and emergency medicine through Docs Who Care, a medical staffing company he founded in 1995, serving critical access hospitals throughout the Midwest. Dr. Morsch has authored several books with his most recent titled; You’ll Never Be The Same – Transform Your Life By Serving Others. Dr. Morsch is married with four children and nine grandchildren. He and his wife Vickie enjoy living on a farm south of the Kansas City area. To learn more about Dr. Morsch, visit his website at www.garymorsch.com.
