Camp Clark site of annual Nevada-Vernon County luncheon

Do you ever wonder what's going on out at Camp Clark? If so, the Nevada-Vernon County Chamber of Commerce is holding their annual luncheon there on Friday, Feb. 17. Everyone, not just Chamber members, is welcome to come out, take a tour of the camp, have lunch and find out what the National Guard is doing there and how it impacts the Nevada economy.

Deadline to register for the luncheon is Tuesday, Feb. 14. Cost is $10.

And they will not be serving MREs or the normal Army chow.

Chamber Director Gina Ensor said the Vernon County Youth Task Force and 15-20 students from the Dream Big program at Nevada Middle School will be providing the lunch, which will be lasagna, salad, bread and a brownie for desert. They are using the luncheon as a fundraiser to help pay the cost of bringing Willie Jolley, a motivational speaker, to Nevada later this year to speak to all of the middle school and high school students in Vernon County about positive choices and the keys to overcoming obstacles. He will also do a program for area adults the same day.

All of the $10 registration fee for the luncheon will go to the kids providing the meal, Ensor said.

Dream Big teaches middle school students to dream big and think about what they want to be in the future.

Col. Greg Mason will be at the luncheon representing the Missouri National Guard Adjutant General, who is unable to attend, as well as State Rep. Barney Fisher.

Ensor said the program for the luncheon will be the economic impact of Camp Clark on the local economy.

The training at Camp Clark can run two days or 30 days, depending on what program they are going through, Ensor said.

Currently, there is a unit training at Camp Clark for deployment to Afghanistan to teach people how to garden, she said.

As part of the program at the luncheon, there will be an opportunity to try out two simulators at the camp, as well as to take a bus tour of the entire camp, Ensor said. Tours start at 10:30 a.m. Friday and the luncheon runs from noon to 1 p.m.

A HumVee simulator will be available. It is used to train soldiers how it feels when the vehicle rolls over and another attraction is a simulated firing range.

"We'll get to play on these," Ensor said.