The following Press Release interview was written by Jeff Crider shortly before Bud’s passing:

When he was an adolescent and into his early teen years, Bud Styer had such a jumble of teeth that he was afraid to open his mouth at school. He has 13 extra teeth, including two front teeth that would stick out of his mouth if he didn’t keep his lips closed. He was one of four children of two hardworking parents, but they just didn’t have the money to take him to the dentist. “I didn’t smile until I was a junior in high school,” he said. And that didn’t happen until he took a part time job at age 14 and hired a dentist on his own to fix his teeth. “I found a dentist who was willing to let me make payments of $35 a month. It took me three years to pay for my dental care.”

In his adult life, Styer became a successful owner and operator of several Wisconsin campgrounds. Now 72, he wants to help parents of limited means to get their children the dental care they need so that they don’t have to suffer like he did as a child. Styer has partnered with the Wisconsin Association of Campground Owners (WACO) and the Gilbert Brown Foundation to provide children with free dental examinations. He’s calling the program, “Mr. Bud’s Smile Program.” “The Gilbert Brown Foundation will pay for the initial consultations. Then we will do fundraising to pay whatever additional care the children may need,” said Lori Severson, who works as executive director of both WACO and the Gilbert Brown Foundation. WACO will work through its network of over 200 Wisconsin campgrounds and local school districts to identify children of families of limited means who need dental care. WACO and the Gilbert Brown Foundation will also reach out to dentists across Wisconsin to see if they can identify partners who are willing to support this dental outreach effort with their professional services. “We know there are lots of good people out there. We just need to see who is willing to help us,” said Gilbert Brown, whose namesake charity has provided funding for over 150 children’s charities over the past 20 years.