Aspen Grove Conference Center to be dedicated

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    By Jennifer Ripplinger

    At the base of Mount Timpanogos sits Aspen Grove, a BYU family camp and conference area which will be dedicated July 1, 2001.

    The family camp has been in operation since 1963, and the Conference Center was completed in June 2000.

    Jim Kasen, coordinator of Public Affairs at BYU, said the family camp and Conference Center will be dedicated July 1, 2001.

    Neither of these sites has ever been dedicated, he said.

    Due to limited space, the dedication will not be open to the general public, Kasen said.

    He said about 400 family camp guests will be in the camp at that time, and they are invited to the dedication.

    Mark Longhurst, manager of marketing and programs at Aspen Grove, said Aspen Grove functions under the BYU Alumni Association.

    Land in Provo Canyon was donated to BYU from the Stewart family, he said.

    Students and professors used the land beginning in the 1920s. Professors taught the students subjects such as botany and zoology.

    In 1962 Ernest L. Wilkinson approved the land for use as a family camp, Longhurst said. Additional land was purchased at that time. The camp opened in the summer of 1963.

    About 400 guests attend the camp each week, and it runs for about 11 weeks during the summer, he said.

    Children are divided into supervised age groups during the day, and during that time parents can attend guest lectures and participate in other activities.

    “It”s always been a mission of the camp to strengthen families, by providing activities that build self-esteem and teach values to children, as well as educational programs for the adults,” Longhurst said.

    The Conference Center is used for conferencing primarily from September through May. June through August it is used for family camp, he said.

    The Conference Center has a large Timpanogos meeting room that can seat more than 300 people, and it can also be divided into smaller sections.

    There are also four Tree Rooms within the Conference Center. These rooms can also be divided, or combined to seat more than 200 people.

    The Aspen Lodge has 20 guestrooms, each with two queen beds and a bathroom.

    “We”re here to serve departments and we extend invitations to them to come up,” Longhurst said.

    The Conference Center has been used by BYU departments, BYU alumni, the Marriott School of Management and the Law Society, to name a few, he said.

    “There are many organizations that use the facility,” he said. “It”s being scheduled more all the time, as people learn about the facility.”

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