SBCO Honors Camille Esterman as Volunteer of the Year | Community

Sometimes, good fortune and perfect timing is with us. Such was the case for SaddleBrooke Community Outreach in 2017 when Anne Everett, its long-time treasurer, needed to resign from her position to focus more time on her work as a real estate agent. At the same time, Camille Esterman and her husband, Joe, had just moved to SaddleBrooke Ranch. Steve Groth, then president of SBCO and a Ranch resident, quickly recruited her to fill the vacancy. It was a good fit: Camille is a Certified Public Accountant who had also served part-time on the accounting faculty at the College of DuPage and Northern Illinois University.

Despite having had only two months to unpack boxes following a move from the Chicago, IL area, Camille agreed to take on the task. She had researched SBCO and was impressed by its mission of assisting local children from pre-K through college through its programs to feed, clothe, provide enrichment activities and post-high school scholarships. She says, “Education is the key to helping kids take steps toward a better future.”

Camille shadowed Anne and became her “defacto” assistant treasurer. In 2018 she was elected treasurer and served in this position through 2024. After Joe’s passing, Camille was ready to step away from the treasurer position and in the fall of 2025 actively helped with the transition to a new financial management team.

Camille and Joe chose to retire in Arizona after taking trips with friends rafting the Grand Canyon, hiking around the state, and touring the sights in and around Tucson. And they continued to take many trips near and far after they landed in SaddleBrooke Ranch. But Camille still found time, in addition to her duties as treasurer, to volunteer with SBCO. She helped with the annual Food Drive and Teen Closet, attended scholarship events, served on committees, helped inventory clothing at Kids’ Closet, assisted the Scholarship Endowment committee, and “helped whenever my financial skills were needed.”

As an SBCO volunteer, Camille particularly enjoyed talking with Teen Closet students who had received assistance from SBCO for many years, starting with Kids’ Closet while in kindergarten. “Receiving their thanks and knowing, as they went off to college, that we had helped change their lives was really gratifying,” she said. “SBCO has been an opportunity for me to give back and to pay forward using my skills.”

What would Camille tell others who are considering becoming and SBCO volunteer? “It’s a great opportunity to see the organization’s impact. It’s very visible in the lives of these kids. And volunteering with SBCO is a chance to meet and work along-side like-minded, generous people.”