To the Camp Olson Community,

Camp Olson YMCA cares deeply about the safety, health and well-being
of each and every camper that attends Camp Olson YMCA. I want to
inform you about an incident that occurred at Camp Olson in late June.
News articles about this incident are now being reported in the media
and I want you to know about our response to this incident and provide
an avenue to address any of your questions or concerns. I apologize
that this story broke in the media before I could share this information.

On June 25 a male counselor who was working for the first time at Camp
Olson allegedly arranged a late night encounter with two female
campers. Immediately upon learning about this incident several hours
later we contacted the Cass County Sheriff's Office and reported the
incident to other appropriate authorities. The male counselor was
taken into custody; he was immediately fired by Camp Olson and denied
access to Camp property. Charges were filed by the Cass County
Attorney's Office. The female campers received counseling from Cass
County Victim Services and we continue to stay in close communication
with them and their families.

Camp Olson has strong, clear policies against this type of behavior.
All staff members participate in an intensive training program that
covers appropriate staff and camper interactions and we forbid
fraternizing between staff and campers. Staff members are expected to
serve as role models to our campers, upholding the mission and values
of Camp Olson through their everyday actions. We are treating this
situation with the utmost care and concern and will continue to follow
our crisis management protocols as we address this incident.

We also want to emphasize that criminal background checks and a search
of the Dru Sjodin Sexual Offenders Database are conducted on all
employees of Camp Olson. Both Camp Olson YMCA and the Cass County
Attorney's Office confirmed that this staff person had no prior
criminal record.

The news article describing this incident in local newspapers can be
found at
http://www.brainerddispatch.com/stories/070908/new_20080709052.shtml.
A shorter version of this story is also being covered by other media.

I deeply regret that this incident occurred. On behalf of Camp
Olson's staff and board of directors, I want to assure you that the
safety and well-being of campers is our utmost concern. I ask that
you join with us in keeping all those involved in your prayers. Thank
you for your continued support of Camp Olson YMCA. Please call or
email me if you have any questions or concerns; I welcome the
opportunity to talk with you.

Sincerely,

Russell Link

Camp Olson YMCA

Executive Director

218-363-2207

www.campolson.org