[On being co-chairman of Troy Camp]:

"I was not your typical Troy Camp chairman. They were looking for counselors for the summer after my junior year and somebody asked me to be a counselor and I agreed to do it. When we returned from camp that fall, they were looking for a chairperson and a co-chair with Patti Reynolds (who was your typical Troy Camp counselor). I really took on the role as being the chief fundraiser, chief publicist, and assisting Patti with as much of the administration as I could."

 

[On redirecting Troy Camp recruitment to schools in the immediate USC neighborhood]:

"The real hero of Troy Camp is Otis Healy, who started Troy Camp and really created something out of the sky. When Patti and I were chairs we really didn’t think too much of the Watts riots and what we could do with Troy Camp as a result of the riots. We were thinking in terms of how could we have a successful camp for children in the USC area and make a true learning and meaningful experience for them. Historically, the Eastside Boys Club had prepared a list of over 100 campers and given it to the chair person and said 'Here’s your campers for the week'. We decided that we would still honor the relationship with the Eastside Boys Club, simply because we couldn’t cut them off 100% right away. We took a select number of campers from them, then we went to five local elementary schools and got the rest of the kids. Our goal was to shoot for 120 campers." 

 

[On approaching elementary schools to help recruit campers]

"It was a matter of approaching the various principals and saying ‘Here’s what we want to accomplish, here’s the organization. You may have heard of us. Can we get your help in selecting campers?’ We got an agreement from the schools that yes, that was something we want to participate in. They were receptive."

 

[On Troy Camp counselors]:

“40 or 50 applied and we accepted 23. They were just students that wanted to do something worthwhile. All of the counselors would chip in to help a camper. Most of the kids didn’t have everything they needed to go to camp. We had to go out and get them sleeping bags, or tennis shoes. Or hiking shoes. Or even in some cases, swim trunks. 90% of the kids had something missing that they needed at camp. If somebody showed up without shoes, miraculously the money would somehow appear, usually from the counselors, to buy that camper shoes. They’re good people."

 

[On Pass the Can and Bill Cosby]

"Normally, you’d raise enough money during the homecoming football game to accomplish most of what you wanted and needed in the budget. We had an unfortunate situation where in that particular year, Notre Dame was leading 37-0 at halftime. The total amount we raised that day was $500 (compared to $3000-$4000 normally). Out of the $500, Bill Cosby put a $50 in the can down at the track, so we did not do well. That's when the university stepped up and gave us $1500 to cover our remaining costs. It cost about $7000 to run camp for a week for 120 campers."