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Matt LeClere
is the Principal at Nielson Elementary School
and the Moderator of Central Church, both in Galesburg. Matthew and his
wife Kelly have been married for 17 years and have a 4 year old
daughter, Abigail whom they adopted from the Hunan Province of China.
Matthew graduated from Monticello High School and
University of Dubuque majoring in Elementary Education. From there he
went to Grandview College in Des Moines and received a Special Education
endorsement on his teaching certificate. He then went to Drake
University where he earned is Masters Degree in Education. Matthew is
now enrolled in the Doctoral Program at Western Illinois University.
Coming from parents who served on the Camp Wyoming
Board, Matthew was no stranger to Camp Wyoming. His first memory of
Camp was attending the You & Me sessions with his father as well as
participating in all the Labor Day Family Camps. Growing up through the
ranks of Camp, Matthew volunteered when he was in high school and later
became a counselor on staff. After a long respite, Matthew, Kelly &
Abigail along with some friends came back to Camp Wyoming last year for
the Labor Day Family camp. He found that coming out to Camp Wyoming was
like coming home. He plans to make Labor Day Family camp an annual
event with his family.
Matthew’s favorite meal is breakfast and loves to
eat breakfast for dinner. French toast, bacon, and scrambled eggs are
foods he could eat over and over. For fun Matthew likes to golf in a
weekly golf league, spend time with his family, camp, and sing. His
greatest joy in life is watching his daughter grow and learn from her as
she looks at the world through innocent eyes. Playing “Princess” with
her is enjoyable since he still gets to be her Prince, something Matthew
said he will take that as long as it will last.
J
Matthew says, “Camp Wyoming means more to me than
most anyplace I have ever spent time. It is a special place that needs
the support of everyone who has ever been touched by an experience in
Camp Ministry and needs to be recognized and preserved as a sacred place
where Christ’s love and mission can be carried out and fulfilled through
close familiarity with nature and the proximity to God’s creation. It
is the perfect and best venue to deliver Jesus’ message in the world to
children and young adults and help build their own faith stories.”
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