Convening for Convention

Around mid-July of every year, my attention turns to the annual PA DeMolay Convention. Besides being employed by PMYF, I also volunteer to help with this event by serving as its Director. I'm going into my fourth year with this program, having chaired Conventions in Harrisburg, Cranberry, White Haven, and now York. Next year we are going to my home town, Erie, PA, and I look forward to sharing what the "Gem City" has to offer with all of our members. But, for the time being, my attention is on Convention 2012 in York.

We have a great program planned, with some new innovations that we hope the members like. While going to a theme park used to be a hallmark of the Convention experience, the costs have just proven too great. With the average park ticket coming in around the $60 mark, plus busing (which costs about $15 more per person) we just don't feel that it adds that much value to the program for that kind of cost. So, this year we have decided to bring the theme park to us.

On Saturday night we will be having a huge party at the Holiday Inn where we are staying. We have a DJ, two "Game Trucks" (which will allow 32 guys at a time to play video games), inflatable amusement attractions, and full use of the pool at the hotel. One of the things we've consistently heard from our attendees is that they wanted more free time to enjoy the hotel and to just "hang out" with their friends. We hope that this kind of event will be a good compromise for everyone.

Not everything we are doing is at the hotel though! Participants have the choice of a free tour of the Harley Davidson factory on Friday afternoon, or going to play paintball during that same time. Everyone will finish Friday off with a trip to Speedway 94, in Hanover, PA, with a giant figure 8 go-kart track which is sure to please. These activities should provide a nice balance and keep the program interesting for all.

As with previous years, we will be conducting a post Convention survey to see what everyone thought of the events. These surveys are where we look to find information for making the program better each year, so everyone needs to take the time to fill them out! This is your chance to impact Convention for years to come.

Alright - time for me to get back to my preparations (and my yearly nightmares over something going wrong!)

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony