Celebrating a Legacy

For the past 67 years, whenever kids have returned to Chickami, they could count on plenty that’s special. Color War. Gold Rush Day. Crazy overnights. Sliding in the mud. 

For 40 of those years, there was something else very special they could count on: Loch would be there.  

Jim Lochiatto retired from Chickami two years ago after making the Chickami Experience better for more than ten thousand kids--not to mention many hundreds of staff members. He did it all: counselor, program director, director, and maintenance director (although he preferred "ecological engineer”). 

Loch put the creativity in Chickami. When a great idea was needed, when something amazing had to be made out of very little, or when Chickami Spirit needed a boost, campers and staff members looked to Loch. 

The Chickami capital campaign team, with the support of the West Suburban YMCA Board of Directors, has decided that Loch should never be forgotten. We’ve been keeping you up to date about the campaign, so we’d like you to be among the first to hear that Chickami’s new multipurpose building will be named after Loch. Absolutely no one is more deserving. 

Feel free to spread the word about Jim’s great honor. We know that it will be greeted with applause from everyone who has been associated with Chickami.