Keller man gets national honor for service at children's grief camp

Keller man gets national honor for service at children's grief camp
By ALEX BRANCHabranch@star-telegram.com
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Denis Cranford of Keller volunteered at Camp El Tesoro de la Vida, a children’s grief camp, 16 years ago, and the first few days weren’t perfect. It was scorching hot, and he was in charge of third-grade boys.

One day, the boys asked whether any of his loved ones had died.

No, Cranford said, but one day they probably would.

If he had any second thoughts about volunteering again, what the boys did next ended them.

"They huddled around a camp T-shirt and wrote their names and phone numbers on it," Cranford said. "So one day, when I lost somebody, I could call them and not have to go through the experience alone."

Cranford hasn’t missed a camp since. This week, he received the President’s Volunteer Service Award for his work at the weeklong camp, held at Camp El Tesoro on the Brazos River in Granbury.

President Bush planned to present the award to Cranford during a stop in Fort Worth, but Hurricane Ike interrupted his plans. So first lady Laura Bush presented it to him Tuesday.

"The whole thing has been quite a surprise," said Cranford, 46.

A few years after he first volunteered, Cranford became volunteer director of the grief camp, which is run by the Camp Fire USA First Texas Council. Every August, it provides activities and specialized programs for about 100 children ages 6 to 16 who have lost family members, usually a parent or sibling.

As director, Cranford personally recruited more than 60 volunteers, raised money and mentored more than 1,000 children, said Angela Downes, Camp Fire’s vice president of marketing.

Planning the camp is a year-round project. Cranford helps do it around his full-time job as a vice president and performance manager at JP Morgan Chase.

"There is Professional Denis who wears a suit and tie," said Sheri Willis, the camp’s lead therapist for 11 years. "And there is Camp Denis who clowns around with the kids and challenges the older boys to see who can eat the most Salisbury steaks.

"The camp is very near and dear to his heart."

Toni Hooten, director of the campsite, which hosts activities year-round, said, "The kids love him. He strikes the perfect balance between work and play. He knows when to have fun and when to be serious with them."

This year’s camp ended a few weeks ago. Cranford is already setting up planning meetings for next year’s.

The kids make the time and energy worth it, he said.

"One of my favorite things is that once they enter camp, social status is left behind," he said. "The kids’ experiences bind them, and they share things they don’t share at school. They are all buddies.

"That’s what I think is amazing every time."

Camp El Tesoro Camp El Tesoro is owned and operated by the Camp Fire USA First Texas Council. CampElTesoro.org or 817-831-2111.

ALEX BRANCH, 817-390-7689