Who we are …

This site is dedicated to the mission and goals of the Owasippe Staff Association (OSA). The OSA is a non-profit staff alumni organization that was established in 1978. We are comprised of past and present staff and friends of the Owasippe Scout Reservation, America’s oldest Boy Scout camp in continuous operation.

We do not own or operate Owasippe, but we do help support it. We raise funds and provide volunteer labor for major service projects at Owasippe. Our goal is the continued improvement of the camping experience of Owasippe’s Scouts and families.

We also host numerous social events for our members to maintain and strengthen the bonds of friendship formed at Owasippe.


The OSA comprises present and former staff and friends of the Owasippe Scout Reservation. Owasippe, America’s oldest Scout camp in continuous operation, has been running summer program since 1911. Owasippe is owned and operated by the Chicago Area Council, Boy Scouts of America and encompasses approximately 5,000 acres of woodlands near the city of Whitehall in west Michigan.

Many of our over 400 members have joined out of love for the camps they worked at. The OSA provides a way for members to stay involved in the camp and all that it represents when they can no longer dedicate entire summers to working on staff. It is also a means for us to both strengthen and maintain the bonds of friendship created while working at Owasippe. In short, we work hard and we play hard.

We are not a particularly wealthy organization from a capital standpoint, but we are extremely rich in experience, resources, volunteer skills and loyalty to Scouting and the Owasippe Scout Reservation. We raise funds and provide labor for major projects throughout the camp like re-roofing staff cabins, designing and building rifle ranges at all four section camps, and constructing the craft pavilion at Blackhawk and showerhouses at Blackhawk, Robert Crown and Wolverine. Though some of the projects in the past have been completed with Council-supplied materials, most are designed, financed, managed and completed by the OSA. We adopt projects that improve the program and experience for the Scouts and campers.

The OSA is not an official part of the Boy Scouts of America but is a unique alumni organization which includes members from all professions and areas within United States who share a common bond, Owasippe. Through the generous donations of time, effort, and materials, we have had positive effects on the outdoor Scouting program. The OSA does not seek any monetary profit in its operations nor compensate directors for services.

The OSA is an Illinois registered non-profit corporation. Chartered in 1978, the OSA is organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes within the meaning of Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and Section 331 of Chapter 48 of the Illinois Revised Statutes.