Dixon Camp Memorial Reef #2

10 Walter Florida Limestone Reef Modules With A Super Reef W/ 1 Limestone Reef Inside Funded By OAR Donation Deployed On 6/17/2014

“Dixon in one word? Sunshine.”

Kitty Camp,

Dixon’s Mother

Prankster. Daredevil. Always laughing. Always the life of the party. No matter how you describe Dixon Camp, one thing is for certain—he loved life. “Dixon was the Energizer Bunny,” says his twin brother Elliott. “He was respectful, cordial, courteous, and kind. He didn’t have an enemy in the world.”

When Dixon died suddenly at age 28 from sudden cardiac arrest, his family, grief-stricken, was at a loss on how to best honor his memory. “Instead of flowers, we wanted to do something befitting of Dixon, said Byron Camp, his father. Because the Camp family spent summers at St. Teresa Beach, a family friend suggested they create a reef. “Charley Redding encouraged us; his family had created Robby’s Reef to honor his son. We didn’t want to copy them, but Dixon loved spending time with friends and family at St. Teresa Beach. And he had lived through Robby’s death and participated in the fundraising efforts for his reef, so it seemed like a good idea. It felt right.”

The family started an annual golf tournament to fund Dixon’s Reef and began working with OAR to locate a site and design the reef. “At first, we were still mourning and not the most organized,” remembers Byron. OAR guided the family in finding the right site on the southernmost tip of the “Carrabelle Ten Mile,” a section of ocean ten miles offshore from St. Teresa Beach. They also submitted permitting and secured matching funds. For the actual reef construction, the family worked with Stewart – to create three super reefs.

In all, the process took five years. On the day of deployment, the ocean was placid as the family spread his ashes. Military jets in route to nearby Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County flew over and tipped their wings. A big sea turtle swam by. The moon came out in the middle of the day. “It was bittersweet,” said Kitty Camp, his mother. “We’re sending our son’s ashes 70 feet to the bottom of the ocean, but at the same time creating a living, breathing habitat. But he’d be proud of it—he’d be right in the middle of it all.” Adds Byron, “The reef does make you feel like he lives on—I know he does.”

For more information, visit www.dixoncampreef.com.