Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Even with campers losing a total of eight teeth over the last three days, 2026’s Camp HERO was deemed “great” by organizers.
“It’s been great. The weather’s been great, the kids have been great. Very few bumps and bruises,” said Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) Public Information Officer Sgt. Doug Light Thursday. “Actually, when I say this don’t take it the wrong way, but I think we were up to eight teeth that were lost. Not because anything bad happened, they just fell out during camp. But, it’s been great.”
Thursday was the third and final day of Camp HERO. Campers got to hear from former inmate and gangster Ryan Kauffman, listen to KCSO deputy Shaun Mudd talk about bullying. Indiana State Police officers discussed internet safety and KCSO detectives provided a crime scene scenario where campers had to solve the crime. Rise Up and Bowen Health offered presentations, and down by the grandstand at the fairgrounds was a shortened version of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA)’s new entrance standards physical agility course.
Light said the ILEA course was one more new thing that was added to camp this year.
Lutheran Air landed at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday. “It gave the kids a chance to meet the crew and see a helicopter up close,” Light said.
Camp concluded with a meal, graduation ceremony and awards. There were about 300 campers each of the three days.
Before the ceremony for the eighth Camp HERO, Sheriff Jim Smith said, “This is the most kids we’ve ever had, which always makes my heart happy. I always push every year - kind of joking, but kind of not - because I always want more kids. It would be great if one day we didn’t have to turn any away, but I understand with the volunteers and everything that it would be tough to do.”
Even with the amount of kids in the camp, he said it was still pretty impressive.
“I was out here for the lunch on the second day and (was impressed with) how quick they were able to feed that many kids in an orderly fashion and take care of them in that regard, safely, obviously,” Smith said.
Then there were all the different stations the campers went through each day.
“Kids are having the time of their life, but the best part about it is, they’re also learning along the way. They’re getting a little glimpse of what we do, what our profession is, whether you’re talking about law enforcement or fire, EMS,” Smith said.
He recalled a situation a few years ago where a camper learned CPR at Camp HERO and ended up having to use what he learned to save a life.
“And that’s what it’s all about. So they’re having fun. There’s plenty of time for playing around ... but they’re also learning along the way and I think that’s one of my favorite parts,” Smith said.
The fun is contagious as some of the adults - officers, firefighters, EMTs - become some of the biggest kids out there and have the time of their life as well, he said. “It’s multiple agencies. We’re all in it together and doing it for the kiddos of Kosciusko County. I tell people all the time of how blessed we are to live in this great community. This is just another awesome example of it.”
Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory Chief Joel Shilling said Camp HERO is kind of a different change-up from the community service the fire department normally does.
“We also do our Family Safety Day (Sept. 19), but we’re honored to be invited by the Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Smith and Justin to be out here and just participate with them to try and engage with the kids,” Shilling said.
Firefighters on Wednesday had a bunch of activities for the campers.
“It’s a blast for us. It’s a nice change of pace. Not only is it fun for the kids, it’s also fun for the adults,” he said.
Every year, Smith said Camp HERO gets tweaked a little. As an example, he points out that this year the campers got to experience scuba diving instead of just watching it.
“It certainly takes a lot of effort, but many hands make light work,” he said, adding that he was “super proud” of all the effort that went into the camp.
Camp HERO all starts with KCSO Sgt. Justin Smith, who serves as the camp’s director.
“Once I was elected I asked him to take the lead on Camp HERO, and within there he has his key leaders that he leans on, but, obviously, on the days of the camp, it’s just even beyond that - all the volunteers and everyone that comes together. Certainly, it takes a committee. A lot of great ideas, but if you don’t have the right people to execute them, I say it all the time, you’re stuck there standing there with a really great idea. So you have to have the people help you make those visions happen, and Justin’s done a great job with that,” Smith stated.
Ceremony
Light served as the master of ceremonies for the graduation ceremony. He summarized the last three days in one word: Amazing.
“Amazing staff. Amazing campers. And amazing weather. We hit the trifecta this year, it was awesome,” he said.
Sgt. Smith told the campers and their families, “To echo Doug, the weather was great, the kids were great, the staff is incredible. I can’t thank them enough. These squad leaders, the camp staff, the other staff in our office and outside agencies, we absolutely can’t do it without them. Our sponsors from our community, that’s the only way this thing happens and we can’t do it without their continued support and we seem to get it and more every year.”
He thanked the sponsors for their support and the parents for entrusting the camp with their children over the last three days.
“We had no major issues to speak of, other than a lot of lost teeth, but other than that, we had a really great week, so thank you all,” Sgt. Smith stated.
Light clarified that they were lost teeth and no teeth got knocked out.
Sheriff Smith then gave his comments, remarking, “I think it was yesterday, Justin, I grabbed a hold of him when I stopped out here and asked him how things were going. He said, ‘All is pretty well. We keep losing teeth.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ But I guess they (the campers) are at that age so it makes sense.”
When he asked all the kids if they had fun this week, he got back a loud, resounding, “YEAH!”
The sheriff got a little serious for a moment.
“This has been a rough week. The beginning of this week, we lost one of our very own jail officers. So it’s been emotional. I’ll tell you that, the staff didn’t waver. They poured into your kids like no other, and you need to know that because it was tough for them. They had to dig deep. They’re hurting, you all know that. I’m hurting as a leader because, quite frankly, I don’t know how to lead in these situations. Normally, I’m not lost for words and I have my stuff together. I struggled this week. I’m being vulnerable telling you that, so I know they are hurting. But you would never be able to tell by the way, again, that they (poured) into your kids,” Sheriff Smith said, asking for a moment of silence for jailer Hunter Pacely.
Pacely, 24, Warsaw, died Sunday, July 26.
After the moment of silence, he talked about this year’s Camp HERO was the biggest one yet and how he always teases they’re going to have even more campers next year. He recognized the various professions that helped out at the camp, including law enforcement officers, prosecutor’s office personnel, fire departments, EMS personnel, dispatchers, counselors and support staff.
Award Winners
Light and KCSO deputy Joel Popenfoose presented the Iron Man and Iron Woman Awards. Liam Saunders and Adalynn Lindsay took top honors in the senior category (ages 11-13), while Archer Reinholt and Emery Brewton took top honors in the junior category (ages 8-10).
The top three finishers in the Top Shot competition were Knox Shilling, second runner-up; Michael Rodriguez, runner-up; and Mackynzie Holladay, first.
The Jeffery B. Shaw Leadership Award is in recognition of Sgt. Shaw, who was lost in the line of duty Nov. 12, 2009. This year’s recipient was Emmett Grimm.
The Phil Hochstetler Counselor of the Year Award is named after Det. Sgt. Phillip B. Hochstetler, who was lost in the line of duty June 29, 1994. The award is voted on by all of the campers for their favorite counselor. His granddaughter, Madeline Hochstetler, presented the award to Caleb Snyder and Mariah Rumple.
The Sheriff’s Award for Excellent Camper went to Jerrik Pearson.
Alicia Mediano, Lutheran EMS director, presented awards to one camper per squad, including Issac Esterline, Derrick Penn, Blake Lindsey, Harvey Hughes, Henry Minear, Emma Egolf, Madeline Hochstetler and Odette Anderson.
ILEA endurance challenge awards, presented by Light and Kyle Denton, KCSO, went to Lane Likens, Michael Rodriguez, Liam Saunders, Roman Lafollette, Callie Vazquez, Evan Coats, Emery Brewton and Jeffrey Hall.
The ceremony concluded with Sheriff Smith recognizing Sgt. Smith for serving as the Camp HERO director the last four years and doing a great job.
