Cote family's generosity recognized by foundation
The Cote family, long identified with Grand View Lodge, Camp Lincoln and Camp Lake Hubert in the NIsswa area, will be honored this month for the generosity it has shown to a variety of area charitable causes.
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The Cote family will receive the sixth annual Award in Philanthropy from the Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation on July 15.
Reception is 5:30 p.m. and dinner is 6:30 p.m. July 15 at Grand View Lodge's Gull Lake Center.
Tickets are $40 per person and must be purchased by Friday. They may be purchased by calling (877) 253-4380 or online at communitygiving.org. Click on register for events in the upper right hand corner.
The Cote family has been selected to receive the annual Award in Philanthropy for its many donations to charitable causes. This family photo includes Bo Cote (left), Mary Boos, Randy Cote, the late Judy Cote and Sam Cote. Not pictured is the late Brownie Cote.
The family members will receive the sixth annual Award in Philanthropy from the Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation on July 15 at the lodge's Gull Lake Center.
The Cote family's roots in the Brainerd lakes area go back to Brownie Cote's early association with Camp Lincoln as a college-age counselor in 1919. He later bought the camp in 1923, according to his son, Randy Cote.
Brownie Cote died in 1991 and Judy Cote died in 1995, according to their son, and giving back to the community was a life lesson they imparted on their five children.
The Cote family has been selected to receive the annual Award in Philanthropy for its many donations to charitable causes. This family photo includes Bo Cote (left), Mary Boos, Randy Cote, the late Judy Cote and Sam Cote. Not pictured is the late Brownie Cote.
"They've been big donators for a number of years," Randy Cote said of his parents. "I just think the community ... we need to assist the community we live in and prosper in. We just give back like a lot of people do. I think that some of the people like ourselves that have had some success want to kind of give back."
The family's contributions have been numerous and consequential.
Working in partnership with other contributors and the Brainerd School District, the Cotes' five children, Randy, Mary Boos, Bob, Sam and Brownlee (Bo), donated $575,000 for the Nisswa Community Children's Library. The library was completed in 2001. Randy Cote said the donation for the library was, in particular, a memorial for his mother.
In addition, many contributions have come from the Cote Foundation, various business enterprises and individual family members.
One entity that has benefited from contributions from Cote Foundation is the Nisswa Enhanced Reading Foundation, which has provided thousands of books for area teachers and students.
The Cote family donated the land for the Lutheran Church of the Cross. The family also donated more than 2,000 feet of shoreline and more than 100 acres on Gull Lake to the Minnesota DNR so that it might be preserved and used by the public.
Among the other charities that have benefited from the Cotes' generosity are Habitat for Humanity, Bridges of Hope, St. Joseph's Medical Center, Community Education in Crosby, senior support services.
The Cote family purchased Grand View Lodge in 1937. In addition to the youth camps, Camp Lincoln and Camp Lake Hubert, the Cote Family Companies include Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson, Ariz., Grand View Real Estate in Nisswa and ETOC Development.
In a statement released by the Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation, Sam Cote, executive director of the summer camps, said his parents instilled in the children a successful entrepreneurial spirit and a responsibility to give back to the community.
"My parents taught us the fulfillment of bringing together young people and their families in the great outdoors," Sam Cote. "But we also learned the importance of maintaining a strong relationship with the community. The people of this area have been very good to us over the years. We therefore believe it is our legacy to help meet local needs.
Fred Boos, husband of Mary Boos, said the family feels strongly that it is important to support the areas where its businesses are located.
Bob Cote, head of the Cote Foundation, said young people have been a particular priority for the family's giving.
"We want to make a difference in people's lives - particularly among children," Bob Cotes said in the statement.
The Brainerd Lakes Area Community Foundation, which is affiliated with the St. Cloud-based Central Minnesota Community Foundation, started the award program six years ago. Previous winners were John Sullivan, Clarence and Fran Holden, Bernie and Linda Roberts, Bruce and Kathy Buxton and Arnie and JoAnn Johnson.
"Libraries and reading are important for kids," Randy Cote said. "If you're a good reader, you're a good student."