Monday, August 11, 2014

Ten Great Retreat Memories

It's Monday morning, and staff and attendees are all recovering from a fantastic weekend at Retreat! Here are a few of the things from the weekend that made me happy . . .

1. Food. I didn't have to wash a single dish, and the food at the hotel and convention center was delish! Now that I'm home, I'm making up for it.

2. The view. The hotel was right on the Fox River and I enjoyed watching the sunrise over the water every morning. Well, with just one eye open before I rolled over and went back to sleep.

3. Zwick's workshop. It was great having Terri Zwicker back on our teaching team this weekend. She designed and taught a super-fun workshop with a unique approach to her project interspersed with her silly sense of humor. The rest of our teaching crew did a fantastic job, too! I'm so proud and thankful for them all.

4. Newbies. What a wonderful thing it was to welcome first-time retreat attendees to the fold. They were all adopted by members who have joined us in the past, and we're pretty sure they'll come back and see us again! Pretty sure.

5. Accomplishment. Many guests approached me to say they learned so much and created things they never thought they'd be able to do. We love it when that happens.

6. Lighting. Every venue has its advantages, but I appreciated how the convention center had large, spacious classrooms with excellent lighting and helpful technology. Crafting in the dark is fun but iffy. We used cameras to project our work surface to students, which really helped clarify the techniques.

7. Matthew. We all adored the waitstaff that took care of us throughout the weekend, but Matt went above and beyond. He mentioned on Sunday morning how much enjoyed our group. He even stayed up until 1:30 am with a few late-night croppers.

8. Gifts. Our staff spends quite a bit of time selecting, wrapping and preparing gifts and surprises for the weekend. Everyone seemed to love the choices. Yay!

9. Theme parties. We had exceptional participation in our theme nights. They were easy to pack for and made great opportunities for photo ops.

10. Friends. Wow. This is the best part of all. I'm in awe of the close friendships that have been formed as a result of our time together. For me, the most incredible thing was watching the CS Staff work tirelessly in tandem to create a terrific experience for everyone. I'm so proud of each of them and blessed to have a team that is second to none. Thank you, Brenda, Karen, Jacqueline, Deb, Beth, Kay, Kristin, Ron, Julie, Mr. Scott, and Singer!

We can't wait to do it all again in October. Well, we can wait . . . we're a little tired. But we'll be ready for you when the time comes!

Tricia

P. S. We joyously welcome a new member to the Club Scrap family. Congratulations to Kristin and Mark on the arrival of their beautiful son, Elliott Mark Erdman. Kristin worked harder than all of us during retreat weekend!

14 comments:

  1. How I wish that I had been there too but I am so glad everyone had a blast and congratulations to Kristen on the arrival of Elliott.

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  2. Thanks for everything the Club Scrap team did, wonderful weekend, just ended way too soon. I hope everyone had safe travels home.Missing friends already and can't wait for the retreat box of goodies to arrive on our doorstep! Best venue too!

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  3. Sounds like a good time was had by all. I'll be waiting for my RIAB to arrive. I wish I could attend a real retreat, but I'm on pain medication every 4-6 hours. I enjoy hearing about Retreat thru the writings of CS friends. Maybe someday, my dh's brother lives in Germantown which isn't far away, so he could visit them after dropping me off. It's a possibility.

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  4. Sounds like you all had a great time!

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    1. We did! But 2014 Retreat won't be the same without you, Hetty. I sure hope you'll come next year!

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  5. So looking forward to October.

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  6. Can't wait for October!!! Glad to hear Terri is back to teach a class.

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  7. Arlene, I hope you'll be able to make Retreat SOONER rather than later!!

    I couldn't agree with your Top Ten more, Tricia! Especially #10--the CS Team is without the doubt, THE BEST!!! So, so patient and understanding and just plain ol' WONDERFUL!!!!

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  8. two things on m y bucket list:
    A Club Scrap retreat and a trip to Ireland :)
    Someday it will happen

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  9. As soon as I win the Lottery I'm going to hop on a plane, dash across the pond and join a retreat! And yes - I already got me a lottery ticket ;)
    Or, maybe, there could be a european retreat one day ... *beg*

    Anyway I am always happy to read about how much fun everyone had!

    Behula

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  10. What a wonderful retreat, terrific venue, good food, excellent hotel staff... And as always the CS team was a delight, came up with new and amazing crafting opportunities and spoiled us wonderfully! When can we sign up for next year???

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  11. Absolutely amazing Retreat, so many memories and new friends made, laughs shared, and cool stuff learned.
    Congrats to Kristin and Mark!!

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  12. Love your list, Tricia! Reminds me of how much fun I've had at Retreat and motivates me to plan on 2015!! So glad you and your Club Scrap team keep putting your heart and soul and talents into creating these fabulous events! Nobody does it better!

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  13. This was one of the best retreats ever! Everything was absolutely WONDERFUL!! Love the entire CS team and all the great friends I have made over the past 11 yrs!! Thank you and hope you keep helping us make beautiful memories!

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