If you do not know the answer to that question, you are not alone. Most people know that the Kansas City Rotary Club is “the club with the camp for kids”; thank you Jane Lee, and they know that the camp is focused on disadvantaged and differently abled children. Folks may even know how long the camp has been accepting campers. And hopefully, all of us have read the article that Rotary International published several years ago that shared our camp’s story with the Rotary world. So, just what is the Gee’s Trust and why does it matter.
In 1923—24, Robert W. Gees was President of the Rotary Club of Kansas City. He and his wife Clara owned 40 acres of land in eastern Jackson County adjacent to what is now the Jackson County Park and Lake Jacomo. Mr. Gees wanted the property to be used as a youth camp which would be maintained and operated by Rotarians to provide the youth of Jackson County, who might otherwise be denied such privileges and benefits, the advantages of camping. Mr. Gees' own words were : "Contact with nature and the out of doors, amid forest and hills, far removed from the dirt and grime and noise of the city, under proper supervision and instruction, is conducive to the improvement of the physical and moral life of the citizen, and thereby promote the general welfare of the State and Nation”.
It was decided that the youth camp could best be operated by a separate, not for profit corporation. On December 3, 1923, the Rotary Club Boy's Camp Association came into existence. The Association consisted of all of the members of the Rotary Club of Kansas City, Missouri and the board of the Rotary Club also served as the Youth Camp board of directors.
On May 12, 1924, Mr. and Mrs. Gees leased the property to the Association for a period of ten years, with the Association having an option to purchase the property. Because of their generous nature, the Gees realized that the money to purchase the property was needed instead for camp improvements, such as a cook house, mess hall and a suitable swimming hole. So, on January 10, 1928, Mr. and Mrs. Gees deeded the property to the trustees of the Robert W. and Clara M. Gees Trust. The original trustees were A. Allen Taylor, H. Porter Fones, Raymond M. Havens, Oscar W. Thomas and New England National Bank and Trust Company. The trust recited the fact that the premises were being used and occupied for the purposes of a youth camp by the Rotary Club Boy's Camp Association and directed the trustees to continue the Association as a tenant "so long as it shall, in the judgment of said trustees, use and occupy said premises for the purposes mentioned in this trust.
On March 29, 1957, Jackson County, Missouri filed a suit against the trustees, the Rotary Club and the Association in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri at Independence. The purpose of the suit was to condemn a portion of the trust property for the construction of a Jackson County Park and Lake Jacomo. In January of 1958, the trustees received a court award and an easement, conveyance, and agreement to provide access to and use of the camp well. Even with the easement, the loss of the condemned property necessitated the rebuilding of the camp water supply system.
Since 1971 Jackson County has leased 12.28 acres to the Youth Camp east of the camps property. The camp needed the additional acreage to support our parking lot, remote tent camping as well as the two lagoons which handle the waste from the camp buildings.
In 1977 a separate Board of Directors was created to run the Rotary Youth Camp Association so that the Club board no longer carried the dual responsibilities of running the club and the camp.
The Trustees meet once a year with the Camp Director and the President of the Rotary Youth Camp Association to review the report of the camp’s performance in the previous calendar year. The Trustees must visit the camp at least once in each calendar year to validate the condition of the property.
The current Trustee’s are Marc Horner; Chairperson, Kermit Bright, David McCaughey and Matt Meyer.
