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Echo Ranch Bible Camp has been around since 1964, and it's amazing to think how many kids have visited us since then. The staff is reminded of this every time we drive a camp vehicle with the logo on the side or wear an Echo Ranch hooded sweatshirt into the grocery store.

People will wave as we roll past or stop us in the store and say, "Oh, Echo Ranch! That place was great! I went there when I was a kid."

We get asked about how camp is doing and they might share a memory with us. Forty-five years is a fairly long time, and by now generations of youth have grown up coming to Echo Ranch.

If you happened to have gone to Echo Ranch from 1974 to 1996, you might remember a gentleman by the name of Dean Diller, or Uncle Dean as he was often called. Dean came to Alaska in 1974 from Ohio with wife, Alice, to help build Douglas Island Bible Church and not long after was asked to be the director of Echo Ranch Bible Camp.

Dean has a great heart for kids and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every so often, a camper would tell Dean of their new faith in Jesus Christ and Dean would yell out, "Glory!" With the way sound carries here at Echo Ranch the shout was heard around camp. Dean is a bit of a legend around Echo Ranch and we enjoyed having him visit with us this summer in June.

Recently another legend came to Juneau by the name of Carlos Boozer. You probably heard about his youth basketball clinic and his time spent around town. I don't know if you'd consider the camp legend Dean Diller and basketball great Carlos Boozer to be on the same level but Echo Ranch is where these two titans first met.

Starting in 1985, school groups began visiting Echo Ranch in the spring and fall as teachers wanted their kids to have a camping experience. It was with one of those school groups that a young Carlos Boozer came to our camp. Now, Dean is a man of faith and a Gideon (known for placing bibles in hotels around the world) and thought it would be fitting to hand out pocket sized New Testament bibles to any camper that would want one.

Dean probably gave away hundreds of pocket New Testaments (NT) and since kids have a tendency to lose things, many of the little books never left Echo Ranch. Dean would collect the extra books and give them away later. In 2008, Dean was going through some of his things and found a pocket NT.

In the back under a place where it says, "My Decision to Receive Christ as My Saviour" was the name Carlos Boozer and the date May 16, 1991. Glory! Dean thought it would only be right to give the little NT bible back. After all, it did have Carlos' name in it. Dean now lives in Ohio and through a friend was able to get tickets to a Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Utah Jazz game on November 15, 2008. Dean told a security guard that he had a message for Carlos Boozer and the guard agreed to deliver the message.

Dean recalls meeting Carlos in this way, "The guard told us to come back down after the game and maybe he would come out to see me. He did! It was a thrill to shake his hand! I opened my coat and had on an Echo Ranch Bible Camp shirt.

"I've been there lots of times," Boozer said.

I asked him if he was walking with the Lord and he said, "Yes, you bet I am."

Mission accomplished. Overjoyed, Dean left the stadium not only excited about giving the pocket NT back but also knowing that Carlos' faith was still an important part of his life. It's awesome to think about the variety of people that have been to Echo Ranch and how their faith has been encouraged by this place.

In closing, Dean would just like to say, "God has used Echo Ranch Bible Camp to change the lives of thousands of children of Southeast since 1964. I count it a joy and privileged to have a part in that ministry."

The staff of Echo Ranch agree with Dean and if you see us around feel free to stop us and say hello.

• Jon-Michael Gwinnell is a staff member at Echo Ranch Bible Camp. He can be reached at jonmichael@discoverechoranch.com.