Volunteer Spotlight, Ken and Eileen Pike
Ken & Eileen Pike
Camp Helen State Park
Ken and Eileen Pike have become an integral volunteer duo for Camp Helen State Park each winter season. The Pikes began coming to Florida each winter from their farm in Wyoming in 2017 and found a home among the volunteers at Camp Helen. With almost 3,000 hours of volunteer hours between the two, their time is always well-spent and full of projects that park management identifies for their capable hands!
Maintenance and building projects are their strong suit, and the Pikes have helped maintain many of the park's historic structures. Over the course of several winters, the Pikes have assisted park staff in extensive repairs to the volunteer bathhouse, replacing siding, flooring and drywall. They also have rebuilt window frames and replaced the seals for all the windows in our historic rainbow cottages; replaced siding and windows in the historic carriage house; and repaired a rotten floor in the bathroom of the visitor center, in addition to other small repairs to every historic structure within the park.
We also can’t forget that Ken has worked on every piece of equipment within our shop and has gotten pieces of equipment running and in good working order that no one else was able to repair. We’re talking about blowers, UTVs, chainsaws and the list goes on!
Camp Helen State Park has come to rely on the dependability and varied skills of the Pikes in maintaining our historical sites and meeting everyday needs, from repairing a machine to assisting with chainsawing after a hurricane. We love their attitude toward service and appreciate their life skills. Camp Helen park staff looks forward to working with the Pikes each winter and tackling new projects together!