Saul Laquan McKever (Class of 2015) – LDBC Testimonial

I was nine years old when my brothers and I climbed off a dusty coach in the Catskills. Where I came from, summers meant sweating through nights in a small apartment and watching friends drift toward trouble because no one expected anything different. I wasn’t headed down a bad path yet, but I could feel the pull—school felt pointless, dreams felt distant, and no adult had ever asked what I wanted for my life. Then Lake Delaware Boys Camp happened.

Days at LDBC overflowed with the kind of joy I didn’t know I’d been missing. We hiked the Catskill Mountains, chased frogs during our beloved creek walks, and threw ourselves into every kind of game the counselors could dream up. Some mornings the staff surprised us with Olympic‑style theme days—imagine tents becoming nations, the parade field turning into a stadium, and boys battling for bragging rights that felt as big as gold. On special nights, the whole camp trekked out for an overnight campout in which we roasted marshmallows and fell

asleep beneath more stars than I’d ever seen. Even movie nights in the field house were special—we squeezed together under blankets and pillows, whispered the best lines right before they hit the screen, and cheered at every triumph as if it belonged to all of us. Moments like that showed me how good life feels when everyone around you is committed to experiencing joy.

My first summer I was mostly an observer, soaking everything in while the older campers nudged me into the camp spirit. As the years progressed, I was the one calling kids over for a football huddle, leading the competitive chants during mealtimes, or doubling back on a hike to walk beside the slowest camper. Each season added a little more responsibility—helping younger boys pack for the camp‑out, calming nerves before a high-pressure parade, or teaching campers

precision in drill movements. The reward and joy I felt being someone younger campers looked up to helped me to understand that leadership wasn’t about having extra privilege or being in the spotlight; it was about integrity, patience, and having a servant-attitude. Camp changed my temper too. I’d been the kid who had to win every single game and had absolutely no temperance when losing. I never wanted to sub out and allow my teammates more time to compete nor did I relate to the “it’s just for fun” mantra. Fortunately, at LDBC I learned to lose without sulking, to win without showing off and to give those around me an opportunity –whether that meant winning or losing, because the younger boys were going to follow my lead.

My faith also began and was immortalized at camp. Through endless stories, parables, reading and listening about Jesus, I began to believe God might care about a kid like me, and that belief still carries me to this day. Since graduating camp, I’ve worn a cross around my neck every single day as a reminder.

And then there were Jim and Sue Adams. To this day I don’t know why they chose me for the full scholarship they arranged to the elite New England boarding school, St. Mark’s, but the afternoon they told me felt nothing short of an anointing from God. They didn’t just open the door and step back either. Every fall they drove hours to watch one of my football games, took me to dinner afterward, and asked the kinds of questions that let me know they still cared how the story was unfolding.

At St. Marks I captained the football, wrestling and lacrosse teams, was

voted school president, and graduated believing I had endless opportunity. That confidence carried me to the Ivy League, where I earned my degree from the University of Pennsylvania and later began a career on Wall Street. In a few months, I will be applying for MBA programs at schools like Harvard, Stanford and Wharton. LDBC showed me that if it can happen once, it can happen again.

Because of Lake Delaware, I went on to lead, to serve, and to dream far beyond the boundaries I once accepted. Camp didn’t just change my direction; it changed my definition of possible. It gave me brothers, mentors, faith, and the steady conviction that I can lift others the way LDBC first lifted me.

DeNose Testimonial 

For generations, Lake Delaware Boys Camp (LDBC) has been more than just a summer camp—it has been a transformative experience shaping the character, discipline, and leadership skills of young men.

As an alumnus, I can confidently say that my time at LDBC profoundly impacted my life, equipping me with leadership and confidence necessary for success.

If not for Lake Delaware Boys Camp, I would not have had the opportunity to relocate and attend school in Geneva, NY. LDBC provided me with the structure, mentorship, and support that ultimately led me to apply and attend Hobart and William Smith Colleges, an opportunity that shaped my academic and professional future. The camp’s unwavering commitment to developing young men prepared me to embrace challenges, pursue leadership roles, and commit to a life of service.

LDBC instilled in me a deep sense of responsibility and self-discipline. The lessons I learned—through training, leadership roles, and a strong sense of brotherhood—continue to guide me today. If not for LDBC, I would not be the man I am today—a leader in my community, empowering and providing leadership and professional development to over 650 students annually.

The impact of LDBC extends far beyond the summer months. The friendships forged, the discipline instilled, and the confidence gained stay with campers for a lifetime. Supporting LDBC through this grant will ensure that more young men—especially those from underserved communities—have the same life-changing opportunity to grow into strong, capable, and service-minded leaders. I am forever grateful for LDBC’s role in my journey and wholeheartedly believe in its mission to empower the next generation.

Dan M. De Nose, MPA

Author| Social Entrepreneur| Motivational Speaker| Leadership & Professional Development Consultant

 

Why We Love LDBC – Fosu Family

In March of 2015, my sons were accepted to Lake Delaware Boys’ Camp (LDBC). In June of 2015, just before they were due to report to camp, their Dad, Dominic died unexpectedly whilst still recovering from a stroke he had 2 years prior.  It took everything in me to part with them for 5 weeks the following summer; 2016, but they wanted to give it a try. The first summer of grief, 3 where there used to be 4, it was now just me. I had to begin the process of allowing them to start on their journey to manhood without their Dad showing them the ropes. After our home and home church, LDBC became one of the three places on this Earth responsible for ensuring that my sons became strong, disciplined, Christian men who value humanity, faith, family and self during an excruciatingly painful time in their lives. Today they hold the humane, Christian, military values that were instilled in them at LBBC sacred and have all intentions of passing them down to the generations they create. Little did we know God had sent LDBC into our lives knowing my sons would need it even before their Dad died.

My older son, Devin, joined camp later than most boys. The 2 years prior had been very hectic filled with caregiving for Dominic starting 2013 when Devin was only 9. He had watched his father go overnight from a fit, engaged, jolly father to partial paralysis and very diminished speech. He was disoriented and unsure about how he would find a place that late in this structured summer camp where military responsibility was earned, and promotion occurred from one camp season to the next. He strategized and found his place quickly thanks to the mentorship of camp leadership Colonel Adams and General Adams and to the older boys and staff he looked up to.

A behind the scenes player, he chose to start volunteering in the chapel behind working to make sure the services held 8 times a week flowed smoothly from incense burners, to candles, to hymns to organization of boys on program in the service and everything in between. His operational mind clicked in and over the next 4 years he rose through the ranks to receive the St Francis medal twice and a Founders medal in his graduation year. When he got to camp at 12 some told him he could not earn a Founders medal because of his late start. His quiet, stable, consistent leadership proved otherwise.

I believe only 30 to 40 campers have received that medal in the past 10 years. LDBC enabled him to create his own path and one for his brothers behind him. He had no LDBC legacy, he had no Dad to show him the ropes. Yet still this place, Father D and Father VB, helped him find himself enough to become the first ever Captain Sacristy. Devin is immensely proud to have been recognized in a place where he finds the most peace, the chapel at LDBC. Healing for him happened in the backroom of that chapel as he listened to the service from a different vantage point than most, behind the scenes. The chapel will always be a special place for all of us, not because it is fancy but because it is deeply spiritual. With his camp career being shorter, Devin did not feel like his time at LDBC was finished so he applied to be a Camp Counselor. He returned as the youngest Counselor and spent three years in a row becoming Major Fosu in his final counseling year where he held responsibility for campers and staff. He was awarded a second Founder’s medal.

My younger son Reece attended LDBC when he was 8 years old. The only year they did not attend was in 2020 due to the pandemic. Reece prefers to now be called Emmanuel his middle name evidence of his affinity to his faith and Christian values. Emmanuel grew up at LDBC. His first year he learned how to swim and was super excited to show me how well he had progressed midway through camp at our first Family weekend.  He quickly fell in love with enjoying the simplicity of being a young boy, having bug bites and competing as teams in all things LDBC.

I marveled at how he would come home each summer clearly more mature than 5 weeks earlier when he left. I marveled at how he spent the rest of year walking around the house doing military drill moves and talking nonstop with his tent mates and LDBC brothers about the summer and anxiously awaiting his next rank for the following summer. I marveled at how he planned out what things he would do more efficiently the following year and how he packed his trunk more efficiently each year, taking only the essentials from year to year.

Emmanuel is very competitive naturally. I watched him first struggle to figure out what his niche was and misbehave a little as young boys do in his early camping years. The beauty and magic of LDBC was its patience and gentle guidance from older campers, camp staff and management that helped him find his place at LDBC. When he did, he locked in and told himself he would create a record of Drill Down wins after his first win. Then I watched him execute that always praying strongly and practicing for 4 weeks before each competition. I watched him win the famed, high stakes Drill Down back-to-back and then three-peat which I do not believe has been done since 1909. To win he had to drown everyone out (except for the Major issuing commands), follow his instincts only on trick commands, flawlessly move in unison with his musket rifle in a pressured situation to beat out all other campers whilst being eagerly watched by visiting parents and scrutinized by all watching staff.  His goal for his graduation year was either to be Major or lead his company.  He got to lead his company and had already planned to win the Company plaque if he had that rank, they did.  For him leading a company of boys and being what older boys had been for him 7 years earlier was priceless and where his healing happened. To watch him go full circle over those 8 years has been truly a blessing, a pure joy. I can definitively say that being an LDBC family, spending uninterrupted family time in this disconnected place helped us connect in ways we never imagined. I have been re-trained by and fallen in love with LDBC, and now value disconnected time to connect. This is a practice that we have now agreed to do as a family each year now that our time as a camping family at LDBC is finished.

What I value is that my sons now know for the entirety of their lives that they need not be dependent on cellphones for connection. They have been able to willingly embrace technology free 5-week summers and now demonstrate a healthy balance and usage of their phones.  This will serve them positively in life as their peers struggle to exist without phones for 24 hours. At LDBC, less is more, and simplicity is valued, again a value that my sons now hold dear. They now embrace the fact that they can sleep on a wooden floor in a simple sleeping bag in a flapped tent for weeks or in a comfortable bed and be just fine either way. In fact, as graduates, they now fondly miss the intense brotherhood bonding time where human interaction is valued over all else.

Being a part of a legacy that has existed since 1909 is priceless to my sons and to me. We all feel the most spiritual when we are in those woods, cut off from cell phones and technological encroachments. The legacy that includes leading in various dimensions of our world quietly and impactfully serving others and our country is cherished at LDBC. I am proud to say my sons are now a part of that legacy.

Twenty-five 3-hour drives in both directions were more than worth it and great for soul searching. Nine years later, my sons have evolved from confused, angry, grieving boys aged 12 and 8 to young men taking their places in this world with their LDBC family and brothers on all sides. Devin is soon to be a senior at a prestigious business school studying Entrepreneurship and thriving. Emmanuel, thanks to recruiting during the summer at LDBC and our extended LDBC family is soon to be a junior at a prestigious boarding school excelling in academics, leadership and basketball on full scholarship.

I can only hope that this place remains in existence forever and that more boys get to experience the true gift to the world that LDBC is. Our family will never be able to repay LDBC for what it has done to heal us nor for what it will be for generations to come in our family, wild dogs, porcupines, no cell service, canons and all! I have had some of my proudest moments as a widowed Mom at LDBC. I can truly say LDBC helped bring me back to life in the summers on my young, widowed motherhood journey. I wish Dominic could have experienced it, I know it would have impacted who he would be today. I know he would have been proud of what his sons have become thanks in part to LDBC.

 

Respectfully submitted, Racheal Ankrah-Fosu

 

Why We Love LDBC – Fosu Family

Letter of Support – McKever (1)

Letter of Support – Dan DeNose

Changing lives since 1909! This boy’s camp in the Catskill Mountains in NYS is a magical place. A place where boys as early as 8 or 9 years of age can escape to for 5 weeks each summer for a “Back to Basics” camp experience. No technology allowed! Each day begins with a chapel service led by the Amazing Father “D” Donahue, followed by breakfast, sports, sports and more sports, then dinner and evening activities. Campers sleep in raised platform tents that are expected to remain tidy and in order. Military discipline with no bullying allowed and ranks. This teaches the boys to respect and understand leadership. There are male and female counselors which gives the boys positive female role models. Boys make friends for life. Bonds that are based on personalities and common interests not the color of your skin or the socioeconomic status of your family. Thanks to the generosity of the Gerry Family and the many families and alumni that attended the camp, this continues to be a gift for boys summer after summer. I for one, feel so blessed I have been able to give this gift to my son. I wish this camp was a right of passage for every boy. It can be a gift you can give YOUR son. AMAZING!!!

Kelly Chacchia, Parent of camper

My attitude changed for the better because of LDBC. It unlocked the potential that I had inside me.

Dan DeNose, Grad 2004

Camp is a very special place. It allows you to get to know yourself and gain the confidence required to do anything your heart chooses.

Eric Schubert, Grad 2004

I never knew a place that could have such an affect on a person. To make one love life more. To create friendships that had never existed. I’ve never felt more welcome.

Jelani Price, Grad 2010

I’m not sure most people could appreciate the wonderful effect LDBC has had on my son after he started attending Camp. At LDBC he is living testimony that the concepts taught at LDBC, brotherhood, faith, challenge and structure—fundamental to a boy’s growth—are key to his maturing process. I have noticed many differences in my son since he began attending LDBC. Now he faces challenges in stride where before he got easily frustrated. Now he appreciates achieving honestly earned rewards and experiencing new things, where before he was more focused on acquiring material things. I have observed that he is more responsible, copes better with failure, is better mannered and knows what it means to work towards a goal. When my son entered LDBC he bore the burden of certain level of insecurity, emotional immaturity and his time there has alleviated him of a lot of that. For that I am truly thankful for LDBC.

Parent of camper

LDBC taught me independence, teamwork, trust, loyalty, dedication and devotion to duty and most importantly the value of people. What I learned from LDBC was how to endure, persevere I was given the ability to learn to lead and received an education in faith and hope. I had an opportunity to be involved in a diverse setting where I learned that the color or ethnic background are the not measure of a person. We lived as brothers and became part of an extended family learning to treat others fairly and without prejudice.

Richard Vargus, Grad 1976