Among the world-changing entities introduced in 1958 — NASA, the microchip, the Barbie doll — one cannot overlook the Leo Bearman Award. That year, counselor Bob Wood received the inaugural honor, named after the 1950s counselor whom Nardie and Sally Stein described (in Keeping the Fires Burning) as having had “a love affair with the microphone.” The Steins also gave the award a nickname that has endured: YAKDM, as in “You Are King of the Diarrhetic Mouths.”
Creativity is a constant at Camp Nebagamon — whether it’s Cruiser Days or Council Fires or GTC acts. But perhaps nowhere is that more effectively on display than during post-meal announcements. Over the years, counselors have energized campers in countless ways — about a village activity or Wanadoo offering, about a missive from Chief A.K. Agikamik or a goofy Wednesday theme, even (and often) about a not-so-unusual afternoon in archery or art or athletics. And some counselors truly do seem to love the microphone. So The Keylog contacted some YAKDM winners from years past and asked them to recall some mouthy memories.
Ryan Glasspiegel (2007): Before I earned the award, oddsmakers would have made Jackson Breyer a heavy favorite. He had these really extravagant, dramatic announcements that frankly were more compelling than mine. I think I won it as something of a lifetime achievement award from spending five years on staff and working to get better at making the announcements fun. Adam Kaplan got a kick out of how my body would sway with my words, and as the judge and jury of the distinction I presume his amusement from that had something to do with my victory. A couple things I remember, which may or may not have been from the year I actually won it, were playing the ESPN NFL Primetime theme music — that Chris Berman has narrated highlights over since I was a young kid — over the audio system for an announcement. When I worked in tennis, I would start announcements by asking what the word of the day in the project was, and much of the rec hall would yell, ‘HUSTLE!’
Ron Koretz (1986): I remember winning the YAKDM award like it was 35 years ago. You had to pretend it wasn’t important to win, but I tried hard. And I did want to win. I admit it! It was hard work as I spent so much time planning announcements and thinking of new and creative ways to entertain the camp. Every YAKDM winner had their “schtick” and I had a few. But most importantly, standing in front of the camp day after day and making people laugh — and having them look forward to hearing from me! — gave me a self confidence that helped define the person I became.
Michael Deutsch (2018): I won the award in 2018. At that point, I was one of the older cabin counselors. The main reason I won it was because of a bit called “Hot Cakes & Hot Takes.” It was a news/sports opinion show parody. We first did it during the Paul Bunyan Day Council Fire. I have to give a special shout out to my co-writer, the hilariously sharp Charlie Gordon. The segment was me sitting down at a table in front of the fire while eating leftover cold pancakes from breakfast and complaining in a raspy voice about how things had “changed” around camp. For example: “#FruitZone: Back in my day we didn’t have fruit, we had scurvy!” And “#LazyDays: Back in my day we woke up at 6 AM every day, and we complained about it. But it taught us how to complain!” Ironically, considering this award, the most memorable was the rant/desperate plea begging my fellow staff members to stop making so many morning announcements as we didn’t have enough time for cabin cleanup, that some announcements could be put on the project board, and for the campers to use the project board to plan their whole day. It was a great experience to be able to win an award for just eating pancakes and being grumpy.
Adam Bezark (1976, 1978): The YAKDM Award is probably the single greatest honor I have received in my entire lifetime. When we were campers, we’d listen to announcements like an eager radio audience, waiting for the “fun ones” that would liven up a meal. Our heroes — Ken Kanter, Buzzy Katz, Bob Schreiber — were the guys who we could count on to grab our attention or crack us up. By the time I became a counselor, I counted audio recording among my countless nerdy obsessions. I’d scraped up money to buy a fancy — and heavy — portable cassette recorder with Dolby Stereo and handheld microphones (iPod? What’s an iPod?), and I lugged it all over camp. I used it constantly to produce weird voice recordings, ad parodies, and music tracks for my announcements, council fires, and cabin projects. I figured out how to patch the deck into the Rec Hall PA system and thought I’d found Nirvana. Perhaps my YAKDM Award was inevitable, but I was just having fun doing stuff with recordings. As a non-athlete, there weren’t many awards I could aspire to. I was never going to be a Big Tripper, a Davis Cupper, or even a Skish champion. I was a terrible Chef’s Cap contestant. So the only honor that meant anything to a dork like me was that wooden microphone. I was floored when Nardie called my name at the Final Awards Ceremony. The biggest shock, though, was winning the YAKDM a second time two years later. I’m not sure how many have “double-YAKked” since. With that exalted achievement, I could die happy.”
Ken Kanter (1969, 1973): How honored I am to send a few words about the YAKDM award! Let’s begin with the fact that it was named in honor of Leo Bearman, a distinguished counselor in my camper days. It was a joy to fast forward 40 years, when his granddaughter (and David Bearman’s daughter) Rachel was accepted to Hebrew Union College as a rabbinical student, and I could make the YAKDM connection with her! I read the inspiring response that Adam Bezark provided, and I only wish I had been so aspirational in this “honor.” Unfortunately, even though I was given the YAKDM award at that momentous penultimate day of the camp summer, I never worked to ‘win’ the YAKDM prize. I probably received it because I was involved in a lot of activities (GTCs, choir, camp musicals) that seemed to require lots of campers, staff, and lots of reminders!”
Jonathan Gerstell (2013): Credit for my YAKDM award really should go to my trusty colleague in the archery project, Shooty. As some readers may recall, Shooty was a sock puppet who would make archery announcements. Shooty would speak in a very silly, high-pitched voice, and it seems people got a kick out of it. I don’t recall the experience being particularly competitive; really all I can remember is it was a lot of fun.
Ric Best (2011): The highlight of my YAKDM run was a CNOC-run election to let campers vote to determine the menu for the last cabin cookout of the week out of the three options: enchilada pie, pesto carb, or mac n pep. A CNOC staff member was picked to run the “campaign” of their respective dish over a week, and I was assigned to the latter. After teaming up with Rose Mendelsohn (she played Mac, and I played Pep) we staged an elaborate series of campaign announcements, including a spin on the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet from up on the projector area in the back of the rec hall by the “WIN OR LOSE BE A GOOD SPORT” sign. We ultimately lost, but in our concession speech we declared “Mission Accomplished” as an homage to the iconic 2003 George Bush declaration. Like all good jokes, it was understood by exactly zero campers, but they laughed anyway.
Bud Schram (1964, 1965): One of the highlights of my many summers at Camp Nebagamon was the annual awards ceremony along with the final GTC, Sunday Service and Council Fire… and the Final Banquet lovingly prepared by Chef August Jaschi. The awards ceremony not only recognized athletic achievements, but also (going along with the CN philosophy) included awards for Nature Lore, Photography, CNOC, Fishing, Rover Boy, Schramming, and several awards that are no longer presented. But the Leo Bearman Award continues. Being a two-time recipient was truly an honor. I always looked up to Leo when I was a camper.
Joe Laskin (2008): I do feel particularly proud that, not only did I win the award as a first-year junior counselor, but I won it mostly after an impressive second session performance, and under tough conditions — after being moved from the tennis project to air riflery. I didn’t have too many creative announcements, in my opinion. I mean what can you really do for SI or Wannado in air riflery? That said, I did launch what I thought of as a “grassroots” campaign against the tennis program, where I centered my focus around the under-utilized tennis backboard (which now is a climbing wall)! Funny thing is: I loved the backboard, and was so sad to see it go years later. And while I wouldn’t characterize it as “quantity over quality,” I think I had more rec-hall announcements than just about anyone… by a long shot. That was my main strategy.
Kyle Hopkins (2002): For me YAKDM stardom wasn’t necessarily something I was seeking (at least not at first) but was something that came out of being in a cabin group of kids and young men who could make each other laugh. And it was surely a byproduct of the hours and hours spent with a staff of guys that all genuinely enjoyed being around each other on the fishing dock. After a couple of early season announcements got the Rec Hall rolling, we realized that YAKDM fame was within our grasp and then it became something to focus on. My campers and I would plot and scheme to create silly announcements. During projects, as we sat on the dock waiting for the behemoth 5-inch bluegills, we would make each other laugh by creating parodies of songs and endless puns about fishing. Camp always offers these extended periods of time where you don’t need to focus on schoolwork or bills or politics or bullies or fears or the future. Instead you can live in the moment and exert all of your brain capacity to figure out how a human being can move their body and facial features to completely recreate the movements of a Big Mouth Billy Bass as it sings “Take Me to the River.” When it culminates in the execution of the perfect Big Mouth Billy Bass announcement and you involve the boys from your cabin and the staff members from your project — and when the whole camp family feels true joy from what you’ve spent the afternoon creating — I think we get one step closer to understanding the meaning of life. We are experiencing a collective effervescence that somehow makes us all feel connected in a beautiful way. And when I look back on the years I spent at camp, it is these little moments that stick with me most and always make me smile.
