Curt Peters, director and CEO of the J. D. McCarty Center for children with developmental disabilities in Norman, announced that groundbreaking for construction of the Camp ClapHans summer camp project is 1 p.m. today on the McCarty Center's 80-acre campus.

Key Construction has been selected to construct the $4.5 million project.

Camp ClapHans will be Oklahoma's first summer camp specifically designed and built for children with special needs, said Greg Gaston, marketing director of the center.

The main camp facility will be composed of four cabins that will house eight campers, eight volunteers called "camp buddies" and two cabin counselors each; three volunteer cabins housing 12 boys, 12 girls and eight adults; a headquarters building with offices for the camp director, camp medical staff and dispensary; a mess hall and an arts and crafts barn.

The camp will be open to kids age 8 to 16. Camp activities will include a zero entry swimming pool with splash pad water features, a ropes course, arts and crafts, archery, horseback riding, fishing, boating, a specially designed tree house and a camp fire site for nightly story telling and camp songs.

Camp ClapHans and the mess hall building are named in memory of Sammy Jack Claphan.

"Sammy Jack, as he was known to his friends and family, was a mountain of a man standing six-foot-six and weighing 285 pounds," Gaston said. "He played high school football in Stilwell where he was recruited to play offensive tackle for the University of Oklahoma 1974-1978."

He graduated from OU with a degree in special education and was drafted into the National Football League where he played for the Cleveland Browns and the San Diego Chargers.

Off the field, Claphan was a gentle giant, Gaston said. He found life after football as a special education teacher in his home state. He liked kids, particularly his special needs students.

"Sammy Jack and I were teammates at OU and we trained together during the off season when we were in the pros," said Uwe von Schamann, director of development for the McCarty Center. "When he died, some of my teammates and I were looking for a way to honor him. I approached the hospital's administration about naming a cabin after Sammy Jack and they approved. Later, it was decided to name the entire camp after him as well as the mess hall."

Claphan died unexpectedly in 2005 at the age of 45.

Camp ClapHans will be located in the southwest corner of the McCarty Center's 80-acre campus and will sit on the west shore of an 18-acre lake.

"A key element to the success of this camp will lie with volunteers," said Vicki Kuestersteffen, deputy director for the McCarty Center. "A majority of the camp staff will be composed of volunteers. We will need 32 camp buddies each week. Camp buddies will need to be at least 17 years old and they will be paired with a camper. We will be looking for 12 boys and 12 girls ages 14 to 16 to be camp gofers.

"These volunteers will help in the mess hall, with activities and with some light housekeeping and maintenance work around the camp," said Kuestersteffen. "We see this volunteer opportunity as a learning and experience building position for our future camp buddies. We will be looking for up to eight adults to take on some leadership roles as well as medical staff volunteers."

"That's 66 volunteers per week of camp times eight weeks of camp is 528 volunteers that we want to help make the camping experience at Camp ClapHans a good one for the campers."

Financing to build the camp comes from a combination of fundraising and revenue generated by the McCarty Center, but there is still money to be raised to complete project.

"First we have an on-going effort to raise money for a scholarship endowment fund," von Schamann said. "We have plans to help qualifying families pay the camp tuition by offering quarter, half, three-quarter and full scholarships."

"Second we need to raise about $850,000 to complete the Sammy Jack mess hall," von Schamann said.

During the groundbreaking ceremony a new Camp ClapHans logo will be introduced.

"The logo is four interlocking arms in earth tone colors," Kuestersteffen said. "The interlocking arms symbolize strength, unity, support and diversity. These are all elements that we hope our campers get when they're at Camp ClapHans.

"The name Camp ClapHans is in a typeface that resembles rough lumber for a rustic camp look," Kuestersteffen said.

Camp ClapHans is expected to be open for its first campers in the summer of 2010.

For more information about the J. D. McCarty Center, visitwww.jdmc.org.