- Attending: 22 youth (10 YW, 12 YW) and 6 leaders.
- Cost: $40/person
Things we liked about this Conference:
- Workshops were perfect. There were 5 outlined. Two were activities led by youth which created a good balance with the other leader given workshops. Would encourage more youth led workshops in the future!
- Activities were fantastic! Unity "workshop" the first night focused on 'get to know you games' (know your neighbor and hand slapping game) and helped remove barriers and create new relationships. Showshoeing and Cross Country Skiing were also lots of fun, despite the wet weather. There was not enough time for ice sculpture contests or sledding, nor was the weather cooperative for those activities.
- The accommodations were very nice. Each room had it's own bathroom. YM and YW were neatly divided, with a spacious meeting room for the workshops.
- Food was good and easy -- just had to show up at the cafeteria! We ordered hot cocoa and donuts for the first night, and brought some granola bars for after the 2nd day activities.
- The location was very good -- far enough to feel like you were getting away, but close enough for those who needed to go home early (one youth got sick and had to leave early).
Things we'd do differently next time:
- bring board games -- the room was perfectly set up to accommodate some fun board games. There was enough "down" time for youth to take advantage of this if it was available.
- move the workshop location further away from the bedrooms. Some youth would go back to their rooms to catch up on missed sleep, and would need to be encouraged to come back to attend the workshops.
- Prearrange transportation -- there were some problems with making sure we had room for every body and their gear. Some leaders had to leave early which created some concern about getting everyone back.
- Arrange to have one vehicle designated to transport gear only.
