It gives Camp Courageous great honor to recognize Transamerica as a company that has been a true TRAIL BLAZER for almost the entire history of Camp Courageous, going back, nearly 50-years.

Before taking the name Transamerica, the company was first known as Life Investors and then Aegon. Life Investors started supporting Camp Courageous during some of the camp’s earliest years, through company and employee support and volunteerism.

Life Investor employees like Theron Thomsen and Art Christoffersen were long time Camp Courageous Board Members. They would carpool in Theron’s van to camp’s board meetings with fellow board members Dotty Cummins, Kay Pitlik, Bill Quinby, Jim LeMaster, Rich Altorfer, Jim Klinger, and Frieda Thomas. Many adventures took place in that van, as one could imagine with those personalities!

In 1985, to celebrate Life Investors 25th Anniversary, they raffled off a McLaren sports car to benefit Camp Courageous. The raffle was the largest fund raiser to date for the Camp and raised Approximately fifty-five thousand dollars. The drawing was held on Valentine’s Day, and the winner was a University of Iowa student.

Pictured here, in the back row (L-R) are legendary Life Investors employees: former governor, and then CEO of Life Investors, Bob Ray, Marie Swope, Wilburn Hollis, Chery Peyton, Pat Ryan, Art Christoffersen and Charlie Stortz. In the front row is: Pat Baird, Theron ‘Tommy’ Thomsen, and Jim Kuchenbacher.

Life Investors introduced thousands of new friends to Camp Courageous. For years, the entire Cedar Rapids operation, led by Chris Vorhies; who is the daughter of Camp Courageous honorary board members Dan and Carol Vorhies, would compete among departments to see who could raise the most money for Camp Courageous, and who could produce the nicest Pineapple Gala Auction items. Year after year, their donations would fill the Camp Courageous straight truck with items, once including a canoe filled with camping items, and gift baskets with every theme imaginable. The baskets were so good, each one was a worthy live auction item for the gala.

From there Chris Vorhies and the Transamerica team took on the Camp Courageous Sprint Triathlon, which has recently been retired after 15 years of success, raising around half a million dollars for the camp!

Since the very beginnings of Camp Courageous, Life Investors, Aegon, and Transamerica, have been involved in every major construction project; including, but not limited to, camper cabins, a staff dormitory, staff housing developments, the indoor pool, accessible sidewalks and the new nature trail, the multi-purpose field, the zipline, miniature golf, the construction of Lake Todd and Durgin Pavilion, the music park, and the list goes on and on. They truly have been at the foundation from which the Camp has grown.