Chambliss Center for Children celebrated more than 50 years of partnership with Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park with Lake Winnie Day.
This annual, whole-day event offers the chance for children, parents and staff alike to kick back, relax and enjoy all the activities and rides Lake Winnie has to offer. More than 200 children from the children’s extended childcare program, along with the families in the residential program, joined in at no cost.
“We are beyond appreciative of the long-time support we have received from the Lake Winnie family,” says Lesley R. Berryhill, Chambliss’ director of Special Projects & Events. “Everyone looks forward to going to Lake Winnie. It’s one of the most anticipated days of the year. We hope to continue the partnership between our two beloved community institutions for decades to come.”
Five generations of women from the Lake Winnie family have served as constant support for Chambliss Center for Children. Founder Minette Dixon, who opened Lake Winnepesaukah in 1925 with her husband Carl, began inviting orphaned children from the formerly-named Children’s Home to the park for boating and fishing. During the winter months, Ms. Dixon would volunteer at the agency. Her love for the children and the organization was passed on to her daughter Evelyn, who continued to host the children at Lake Winnie every year, as it expanded into a full amusement park.
The family’s involvement has gone beyond inviting the children to the park. Tennyson Dickinson, great-granddaughter of Minette Dixon, volunteered as a teenager. In 2002, she began her tenure as board president of the park.
“Serving the children and families of Chambliss Center was my great-grandmother’s passion,” says Ms. Dickinson, Lake Winnie’s director of sales and catering. “She instilled that value to our entire family and it’s an honor to have them at both our amusement park and water park every summer.”