Jenner Octavian Yriarte
Camp Coordinator
Steens nickname: Bonzo (Grandpa Louie Yriarte came up with it, not sure how!)
Years at camp: 44 years, since 1981
Current Location: Grants Pass, OR
Occupation: Teacher at Grants Pass HS (Wellness, Special Ed PE, At-Risk Student Advocate, Advanced Strength Training)
High School: South Eugene HS, OR
Degrees: BA in Health Promotion and Fitness Management (SOU), Master of Arts in Teaching Wellness (OSU)
Honors, awards and achievements:
- Married 24 years to wife Heather, with 3 children: Asher, Ella and Sylvia
- 25th year teaching at Grants Pass HS
- 1999 NAIA Football All-American Safety
- 2001 SOU Football Team Captain
- 2015 Oregon 6A Track and Field Coach of the Year
- Won the 6A Boys State Track and Field Championship in 2015
- 2017 Girls 3rd Place in State (highest in school history)
- 9-time SWC Conference Champions
- Set 22 school records as Head Track & Field Coach at GPHS
- Took the baton of SMRC from his father, Harland, in 2025
Favorite part of camp: Meeting and seeing and being around “cool kids” from around the state and country, Basque Dinner Nite, hearing laughter at the campfires, morning coffee and chats with the staff, “The Swap Meet”, Quaken Aspen Theatre meetings, Friday BBQ dysfunction with Piet Voskes, crib games with staff…
Three fun facts:
- Circa 1985, as an 8-year-old, I used to sell pop and Gatorade to campers for $3–$5 a can (that was a “fortune” back then!)
- Circa 1987, I threw a rock at a tent and had to do KP/dishes for the entire camp as punishment from my dad (it was a long night).
- I used to pump outhouses at camp, and one time our pump went out, so my brother Kael and I used Folgers coffee cans to empty them by hand (you gotta adapt, as Pops would say).