Tune up TimeByPatrick GeorgeCongratulations! You have made it back after a (hopefully) relaxing summer. Thereweren’t any projects or deadlines to worry about and there weren’t any agendas to prepare. You had time to allow the mind to create and the body to rest. Well now that thesummer is over and the new coat of paint on the hallways is about dry ... it’s time to getready for the New Year.Classes are scheduled to begin, and there is a feeling of optimism in the air. This NewYear promises to be better than last year. Nothing else is on the calendar for the nextmonth. So you think you have time to kill. Nonsense! Free Time? Let’s be serious. If youwant your organization to be better than it was the previous year, then this is the time tomake improvements, and get organized for the coming year. In that perspective, youdon’t have as much time as you thought.Do you have some new officers that need to be trained? Do you have a deeply involved project scheduled that will take a lot of planning? Do you have returning officers that willneed some motivation to get things in gear for the new school year?What can you do? Trying to re-invent the wheel isn’t going to work, and trying to find asecret formula in the back of your activities closet probably isn’t the answer either. Youhave two main objectives: motivate and educate. And, oh yeah, still make it fun … so Ilied, three objectives.Take your board or counsel on an overnight retreat or lock-in. You can set up the retreatin your gym or a neighboring church or park cabins. Choose a location based on your budget.Allow your officers to lead some small group discussions and planning activities. Haveyour other delegates lead some sessions of your group’s choosing. This is a good time towork out a plan for those big projects ahead, i.e. Homecoming, Freshman Orientation,Spirit Week, etc. You could invite an art teacher to make suggestions for proper posters,or you could invite a service organization’s representative to talk about upcoming programs or events in your community that your organization may wish to support. Thefall time of the school year in most cases is the busiest time of the year, with gettingclasses and assignments in order. This is in addition to every organization being in fullswing. Having a head start on all those projects will help them go smoothly come crunchtime.

What’s in a Name?

If you want your group to be enthusiastic about spending a Friday night and a Saturdaywith you and 10 to 20 of their closest friends, don’t call it a “Workshop.” A sure fire way

to pull teeth about the event is to give it the appearance of another day at the office. Use aname like Retreat, Fun shop, Leadership Getaway, or anything exciting but avoid theword “work” in any of the names you choose.

Location is Everything

What can you do off-site?

If at all possible, I recommend that you choose a site away from your campus; it will make interruptions less likely. Having the retreat off-site allows you to focus on your organization, not the troubles and worries of everything on the “home front.” Off-sitegives the group an opportunity to relax, and it puts a degree of mystique into the retreat.Obviously the location off-site will most likely incur some expenses. You may have to put forth some funding for food and facilities. Unless you began planning a retreat lastyear, finding an available location for the weekend you need it, may also be a challenge.

What can you do on-site?

Having the retreat on-site has the advantage of being close to all students involved.Usually in the first of the year the on-campus facilities will be available. Unless you havelimited locations to hold a retreat, the cost for using the facilities should be minimal.The problems with having the retreat on-site are obviously the local distractions. We allknow what those distractions are: pets, projects and dates … everything else that takesaway from your time, non-participants dropping by or disturbing the activities. There isalso the obstacle of feeding the group, especially when the cafeteria isn’t open duringyour retreat time.

What about Money?

With the expenses of school starting and everything coming all at once be a common cryamong students of, “We don’t have money for that,” or something else clever. Pocketsmay be thin, but there are several ways to bring the costs down. Keep in mind, food is agreat motivator. The more food you have, the better the potential participation.To help defray the retreat expenses you may offer the site manager a compromise. For example offer a number of hours community service in exchange for a discount on thenightly rate of the retreat area. Sometimes a few coats of paint or some free landscaping

can mean a savings of a few dollars. You can then turn around and count those servicehours towards the group’s year’s total. Another plus would be to take plenty of pictures ...nothing better than seeing students in action. Depending on the facilities you may chooseto cook your own food or get portions of the meals donated from your local fast foodlocations. Your group could choose to bring drinks and snacks and find other creativemeasures to supply the main courses.1.Contact your ring representative for assistance (Jostens, Huff Jones, etc.)2.Write letters to your local Subway, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s ... sometimes they willdonate a meal3.Offer to incorporate a service project to benefit the campground in return for adiscount on the daily rate ... (painting, mowing, organizing, etc.)4.Limit your eating times on your agenda, and have the participants bring their ownsnacks and have your organization provide the larger meals5.Locate organizations with a mission similar to that of your organization to seek donations6.Invite other organizations to participate, and charge them a small fee that can beused to cover some costs7.Remember that donations of materials are just as good as money: folders, pens, poster boards, etc8.Contact local businesses for door prizes

Give me a sample agenda … please

In this retreat have an agenda set up for either a weekend or a day. Require that cell phones be turned off during scheduled activities, and mix it up with information and, of course, some games and activities. This helps to gets the lead out of the group. This is only to serve as an example. Mix and match as you see fit, add in things you want your group to concentrate on. This agenda can be pared down to one day.Friday Evening5:30 pm Snacks- Mixer 6:30 pm Business Meeting7:30 pm Brainstorming Session8:00 pm Dinner & A Movie –Make it An Upbeat one...hint...hint... Pizza goes witheverything!!!9:30 pm Set-up for Saturdays activities10:30 pm Icebreaking or Trust Activities