Historically, Ganeodiyo Lodge had served as somewhat of a “Alumni Association” for Camp Babcock-Hovey. Many staff members not elected to the Order of the Arrow by their troop often applied once they became adults. Ganeodiyo Lodge also undertook some major projects at camp over the years. With the merger of the councils and of the Order of the Arrow Lodges this defacto “Alumni Association” could no longer be fully dedicated to Camp Babcock-Hovey as we would have to share the Order of the Arrow with our sister camps; Camp Massawepie and Camp Cutler.

Matthew Crance, as part of his ticket for Wood Badge NE-III-186, which took place in the fall of 2009, decided to “present the idea of an Alumni Association to the Camp Babcock-Hovey properties committee and if approved lay the foundation for and Alumni Association at Camp Babcock-Hovey”. Hard work during the summer of 2010 in recruiting members and writing the by-laws lead to the formation of The Babcock-Hovey Alumni Association in the fall of 2010. The mission of the Babcock-Hovey Alumni Association is to serve the youth and adults who use Camp Babcock-Hovey currently and to connect with others who share our passion for the camp, no matter how long we have been away.

The purpose of the organization is to serve the camp through camp improvements and regular work in coordination with the Seneca Waterways Properties Committee. The organization also serves the social function to gather together alumni in regular events to connect past staff, past campers, and their families.

At the first meeting, Matthew Crance was elected as the first President and Jason Dunham was elected as Vice-President, Chandra Theetge was elected as Secretary and Hank Roenke was elected as Treasurer. Edwin Theetge served as the Staff Advisor to the Association. It was decided to switch the annual meetings to the spring/summer time, possibly to the weekend after staff week, so all could come and see camp at it most pristine level. The first project the Association funded was an improved shelter in the Scoutcraft area that was mostly completed in the spring of 2010, with minor upgrades continuing into 2012.

A Logo was also designed during this time period. The Crossed Paddle and Axe were long used as symbols of camp but in recent years the Raccoon had become the camp mascot. It was decided to infuse both ideas into one patch and that resulted in the current logo for the Association.

At the second annual alumni meeting, Matthew Crance stepped down as president so he could focus on his new volunteer position as Properties Chairman for the Camp Babcock-Hovey Properties Committee, which was recently vacated by Hank Roenke after many years at the post. Jason Mellen stepped up to the plate and was elected in as the second President of the Association along with Alexander Peck as the Vice-President. Chandra Theetge, Ed Theetge and Hank Roenke remained at their respective post. The second project the Association tackled was adding a shelter to the Winter Cabins for off-season usage. It was built with the help of Troop 40 in the spring of 2012 at the first annual Raccoon Work Weekend.

In late 2011 and early 2012 the Association would begin planning for the 75^th anniversary of Camp Babcock-Hovey. A big celebration was planned and bringing back a Museum into camp was one of the top priorities, along with reconnecting with as many past alumni as possible and getting them to come back for the 2012 Alumni Day. Jay Laitenberger was the chairman of 75th anniversary committee. The Association is looking forward with much gusto to June 30^th at seeing you all come back down to camp.