NEWAYGO COUNTY, Mich. — On Sunday, the former Executive Director of the Festival of the Arts, David Abbott, died from cancer. Camp Henry in Newaygo county is honoring Abbott for his involvement at the camp and in the arts community.
"He made a splash wherever he went. Big bright colors, always dressed to impress. Always ready with a hug and a kind word and to get people connected," said Jeff Jacobs, the Executive Director at Camp Henry in Newaygo County.
Jacobs said Abbott loved the arts and had a passion for connecting with people.
"Certainly the arts, certainly youth, certainly fashion and being well dressed. He enjoyed a good cup of coffee and an ice cream cone. That's a cool thing, that we're able to honor him in the way that we will. He was a connector and brought people together," said Jacobs.
Abbott passed away after his 8th battle with the disease. His love of the arts pushed him to be the first-ever Executive Director of the Festival of the Arts in Grand Rapids. Abbott attended Camp Henry as a child and was heavily involved with camp over the last few years.
"We've been needing a new welcome center for years, and in fact, David was on the board of directors when they directed us and said, 'Jake, we really need to get this building up and running.' So, that's a $2 million building and within that building will not only be offices and conference rooms and a camp store—but now David's ice cream and coffee shop," said Jacobs.
Jacobs said Camp Henry hopes to honor Abbotts life by dedicating and honoring the new coffee and ice cream shop in his name.
"We're hoping to capture him in the ice cream and coffee shop. I imagine it will be decorated with bright splashy colors. We're hoping to have fun photos of David throughout. We also want to kind of connect his love of the arts of having kids artwork displayed in the ice cream and coffee shop and kind of bring that full circle," said Jacobs.
Jacobs said Camp Henry is hoping to break ground on the Coffee shop in August after they raise more money to reach their five million dollar goal for the shop.
More information on the ice cream shop created in honor of David can be found here.
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