A Letter From Tess

The Alex Canja Scholarship was established in 2006 at the University of Michigan by former camper, Bill Holmes. Bill was a camper at Camp Flying Eagle for six years – from 1963 to 1968 – and was one of those for whom Flying Eagle provided the life-long lessons that mightily contributed to his future success. Air Force pilot, American Airlines pilot, husband, father, successful businessman and philanthropist, Bill made it his mission to find a way to honor Alex – a man he felt had given him the ingredients that made his success possible

Bill knew the Alex Canja story – orphaned at age 11, Alex moved into the YMCA and sold newspapers to support himself. He joined the Flint Central High School swim team, became a star athlete and was fortunate enough to receive an athletic scholarship to the University of Michigan. If not for the scholarship assistance, Alex would never have been able to attend college, would not have received his teaching certificate, would not have coached high school swimming, and would never have dreamed of buying and running a camp for boys. And he never would have met me, also a U of M student. Bill knew that without the scholarship help, history would have been written differently. He was determined to provide a way for Alex to continue to help shape young lives by providing scholarships to help students become teachers and mentors

In 2003, when Bill learned that Alex was ill, he called to say he was coming to see him one last time. But it just didn’t seem possible. We were in Florida, Bill was in Michigan and, by that time, Alex was very ill and we knew the end was near. There simply didn’t seem to be time to arrange a visit. But Bill was determined. The very next day he was on a plane to Florida. He brought his award sashes with him and spent two wonderful hours sharing with Alex how much the Flying Eagle experience had meant to him and what the awards and sashes represented. We were deeply touched by the effort he made and are grateful to Bill, and also to so many campers and counselors who took the time to let us know how much Alex and Camp Flying Eagle meant to their lives.

And how about the power of positive recognition? Alex sure knew how to motivate young boys. Every day we made our bunks, cleaned our cabins and stood at attention during inspection hoping to earn our Cleanliness Award and then Honor Cabin Award. Every day we worked hard at having fun, learning new skills while we earned our Archery Award, Riflery Award, Water-skiing, Fishing, Canoeing, Swimming, Basketball, Baseball, Judo, Trampoline, Crafts, Hiking, Newspaper and Nature Awards – just to name a few. Eight awards earned a Green Eagle. Sixteen awards earned a Gold Eagle. Twenty-four awards earned a Brown Eagle. I worked hard to earn those awards and to this day I am still proud of my accomplishments. I know many of you are, too, because you brought your sashes – covered with awards – back to the Reunion, as did I.

Alex loved nature and he shared that love with us. When we were at camp the bald eagle was on the endangered species list. Seeing one fly over the lake was a special event and Alex would encourage us to stop and savor the moment. Always he taught us to treat the land and its creatures with respect. His enthusiasm and love of nature, like everything else about him, was inspiring.