Key Man: Day 6 - The End is Nigh!

While it may have been Friday the 13th, the date didn’t affect us much here at Patton Campus. We started out our Friday with an impressive flag raising ceremony performed by LT-1, otherwise known as Indecisive Chapter. They memorized and recited a poem, “Toast to the Flag” by John Jay Daly, and everything was really cool. Xander Foly of Les Freres Chapter says “I don’t like poems that don’t rhyme, so that poem was really cool.”

After the poem we headed off to breakfast and from there, we sat down ready hear the “Taking It Home” workshop set up by the JO’s. Jarrid Baker from Thunda Squirrels Chapter “...learned how to bring home what I learned in Key Man to share with my chapter,” and Alex Spence from Wolfpack Chapter “will be taking a lot home about doing the right ritual and making the right moves in the opening.”

From there, it was off to Degree Practice, where the Key Men engaged in their second to last rehearsal before they performed the degrees for everyone that night. Once finished, Wombat Chapter gave a inspirational Ceremony of Light and Alex Spence noted that “they did it will, especially for just one week of practice.” After the ceremony everyone went to lunch and we had tacos! Everyone enjoyed the tacos, Adam Neubauer said “It was delicious, I love tacos!” Mitchell Benoit led his table in an origami folding session and the table ended up covered in paper cranes and dragons.

If the 13th brought anything, it was only a little rain. It did prevent us from holding the Sports Finals outside, so instead we held Volleyball, Kickball, Dodgeball, and Ultimate Frisbee in the Gym with a game of the newly created Ninja (a big hit with the campers) going on in the Atrium. Everyone had a great time with the sports. Les Freres Chapter won kickball with the winning runs scored by Xander Foly and Noah Snowdon, but a great team effort was required for the win. Dibbs Chapter won Ultimate Frisbee and Dodgeball, and Wombat Chapter won Volleyball. Ninja captivated many campers and Alex Spence spoke about to us about parts of the game. He says "It was really fun, we all played fair. It got intense and we had to move fast.”

Friday may be the last full day of Key Man but that doesn’t mean that there’s no work to be done. It was induction day at Patton Campus where all the hard work the Key Men have put in over the past week paid off. Key Men cleaned up after sports, putting on their suits and got gussied up. After some orientations with new members, everyone prepared for the ceremonies of our induction. The degree teams were all amazing, with one of the best DeMolay Degree’s most of us have ever seen. After the degrees everyone met back in the cafeteria for snack and then were released for free time.

Despite the rain earlier in the day everyone was still interested in water as the swimming pool was really crowded. Sadly, however, all good things must come to and after free time ended the Key Men headed off to bed for their last night at Key Man 2010.

Tomorrow, Saturday, will be our last day here at Patton and after closing sessions everyone will say their goodbyes, and most likely exchange contact information, because the friends you make at Key Man are friends you will have forever. We’ll leave you with this quote from Tucker Daland which pretty much sums up how everyone feels about Key Man “Key Man was a lot of fun and it definitely met my expectations, it was really easy to meet people and make a lot of good friends and I learned a lot of new games. I would defiantly come back to Key Man, because it is fun beyond belief!”

Signing off for the last time!

JO Team Three - Chris Labaw, Alex Rauschenberger, Anthony Kallhoff, and Zane MacLeod

Key Man: Day 6 - What Do They Do At Key Man?

We know that some of you still haven't quite figured out what the Key Man Conference is all about, but if you read the blog, and watch for the news stories on http://www.pademolay.org/ you'll get a better idea.



Sports in the afternoon is a big thing at Key Man, but the competitions are somewhat different. We stay away from the "big three"-- softball, basketball and volleyball, and play kickball, ultimate frisbee and dodgeball-- sports that just about everyone can play well! Toss in some crazy outdoor activities, like a slip and slide, and you have a perfect recipe for fun!



... and here is how we talked about sports way back in 1988! (With a special dedication to "Dad" Randy Knapp!)



Key Man wraps up tomorrow morning, so keep an eye out for material in the coming weeks!

Frat!~"Dad" Seth Anthony

Key Man: Day 5 - Rain Won't Bring Us Down!

After the previous days of rain, the cooler weather was like a gift for most of the attendees. With the rain came a special day for everyone here at Patton campus. A special atmosphere was added to the day’s events as we worked through Thursday. With only a slight trickle of rain, “Legit” Chapter raised our nation’s flag and presented the Canadian banner.

After a delicious breakfast, the Key Men moved on to the breakout sessions. One of the session’s, “Life as a JO”, looks into what is expected from a JO (Jurisdictional Officer), and what it involves. Trey James, a member of “Dibbs” Chapter, commented on the information presented, saying “I didn’t know some of the things JO’s did.” They then moved onto selectives, were the Key Men could choose between "What Makes a Leader," "How to Effectively Recruit Members (or, Get Off Your Butts and Bring Your Friends Into DeMolay!)," and the workshop Trey chose, "The Arrrrrrrrrrrrrt of Cooperation In Your Chapters."

In this workshop, “Dad” Anthony started of with a quirky character, and led the program as a pirate. Everyone in the workshop was on a sinking ship, and needed to choose an island to go to. All the Key Men received cards that gave them hints on to which of the islands was the best. However, the cards included some secret missions that turned people against each other. At the end, everyone learned a lesson on how to work with different people (pirates) and different view points, and still maintain a focus on their objective.

Lunch was next, and after some delicious subs, it was time to begin the Masonic Village Service Project. The Masonic Village houses many residents who have retired and enjoy spending their time relaxing. Today was different for the residents as the DeMolays had a choice to go visit a resident or aid the staff with a wheel chair square dance. To begin, all the participants were helped to the lower level where the dance was being held. The Key Men then split up into their groups. The visiting group made some new friends. Trey James met the one of the oldest living Masons in Pennsylvania, Thomas J Bell, who at the young age of 94, told him about his various experiences and a few tips on life. He also just received his “70 year member” pin which he showed Trey. Trey says “when I’m that old I hope I can tell as many stories as I have heard and still be able to walk around”. The square dancing group had fun playing around, being led by a great caller. David Gerstenfeld summed it up pretty well when he gave his opinion of his favorite thing from the Village; “The square dancing with the patients, I liked how happy we were able to make them.”

Although the daily sport competitions were cancelled due to rain, it didn’t bother most as it allowed them time to play their own games. Examples include Phil Sisco’s game of “Risk” and Lukas Conrad’s big game of dodge ball. A great day was ended with a great snack, and everyone enjoyed some super cheesy nachos. We only have one full day left in this awesome conference, and even though we will enjoy the break from work at the end, we will undoubtedly miss great days like this!

Bro. Chris Labaw
JO Team 3

Key Man: Day 5 - A Little Information About Your Friendly Neighborhood Youth Director

There is an active DeMolay here this week that attended his first Key Man in 2002 and has so much knowledge and experience that Key Man Director “Dad” Greg Schaffer and Assistant Director “Dad” Dave Berry decided to appoint him Youth Director (YD) for the 2010 Key Man Conference. Our "YD" is none other than Pennsylvania’s very own Jake Palo, who in 2007-2008 served as the State Master Councilor.

After he was informed of his position he started to promote the 25^th annual Key Man Conference along with assisting with changes that have been made this year. Some of those changes include new dimensions to the JO program, Key Man chapters creating promotional videos, an anti-bullying seminar, and adding a Trivia/Wing Night on Wednesday. His goal of the program was to make each DeMolay feel as though they have a special role at Key Man and amplify their enthusiasm about the Order. He hopes that they take what they learned at Key Man home to their Chapter and teach those lessons to other members.

When asked what he got out of the program before becoming YD he said “A lot, since, I’ve gone through every aspect of it - including three years as a regular DeMolay, the Jurisdictional Officer (JO) program, and now being a staff member”. As all Key Men do, he enjoyed the welcoming environment, the friends he met from our neighboring country of Canada, and Brothers from several different states as well.

While being a JO, he loved the even closer bonds of friendship he made with his fellow officers. He also enjoyed being a positive role model for the younger members. Now finally, as a staff member he sees how the whole picture fits together and knowing that “being apart of something that is so much fun and so influential to members” really makes it worth it. Palo says that, he hopes to continue his DeMolay career by returning on staff in the future, because he knows how valuable of a program Key Man really is!

Bro. Chris Labaw
JO Team Leader - Team 3

Key Man: Day 4 - Do you want fries with that?

As Key Man rolls along, we find ourselves with another newsletter in our hands! So, hot of the presses, I'm happy to present:

The Quarter Pounder, Issue 2

On another front, we've finally had some rain here at Patton Campus, and hopefully today will be a little cooler than it has been.

Until next time!

Frat!~"Dad" Seth Anthony

Key Man: Day 3 - Another Update!

We’ve passed the point of no return! It’s Wednesday, and we’ve officially hit the halfway point of Key Man Conference 2010. Tuesday night, a presenter came to speak to the Key Men about cyber safety. Mrs. Deb McCoy owns her own company that deals with electronic communications and laws pertaining to it. She gave an eye-opening presentation on what you can and can’t do with your online speech and texting. All the Key Men learned a lot; there was a long question and answer session with everyone getting in on the conversation.

After the presentation, we headed over to the cafeteria for a Trivia and Wing night, lead by two interesting characters, Fezzy and The Brain. After a round of random topic trivia, we all got our share of wings and celery. Through the night, there were more questions and more wings, and at the end of four rounds of trivia, three teams emerged as the winners, Team “Facebook Hackers” being the "grand champions." All in all, it was a night to remember.

Today the Key Men had another special visitor. Mrs. Cynthia Hollinger from the Masonic Village, which is across the street from Patton Campus, came to talk to us about our activity that we will be doing tomorrow. For those of you who don’t know, the Masonic Village is basically a retirement home for Masons and their families. The campus is beautiful, and there is everything there from wonderful apartments to a fully equipped medical center. Tomorrow, the Key Men will be going over to the Masonic Village to talk to the residents and square dance with them. Don’t worry, we’ll tell you all about it tomorrow, so don’t forget to check in again later! As for the other interesting occurrences for the day, Adam Cline, a member of Erie Chapter, in Pennsylvania, and Legit Chapter here a Key Man, showed us his awesome dancing skills by demonstrating the Macarena dance. We asked where he learned to dance like that, and he said, “All the Erie Chapter dances I’ve attended since I was young… ger.” Erie Chapter must have tons of dances, because that was some mighty fine Macarena.

Sports have been continuing throughout the day and everybody is having a great time. Ritual practice is continuing, and the degrees are really starting to take shape and look professional. The quality of these kids continues to amaze the people who work with them. As our conference proceeds, we are having an awesome time! All the Key Men are learning a lot about DeMolay and how to lead their Chapters back at home, and maybe one day they will be part of Key Man’s JO program! Check in soon for the updates on the rest of the week, and the news straight from the kids living through it.

(Continuing to be...) Bro. Alex Rauschenberger
J.O. Team 3

Key Man: Day 3 - Living and Learning

Key Man is on its third day, and we’ve already learned so much. The Key Men are adjusting to life on Patton Campus, fitting in what sleep they can between all of the fun.

Workshops are always a crucial part of the learning experience at state events and we have already participated in many, with the most recent one being about how to plan a functional prospect party, that can promote the order, and be tons of fun.

The Chapters are participating in the daily sports tournaments and are having a great time rotating between Dodgeball, Volleyball, Ultimate Frisbee, and Kickball. For sports today, we learned Zach Pilarcik has a strong throwing arm and Alex Spence and Liam Baker are amazing at Dodgeball.

As most of you know the Key Man Conference has been around for twenty-five years and over those years young men have been coming to Patton Campus to expand their DeMolay knowledge. Now we have a new generation of young men here at Key Man, like Rex Collins and Dominic Bruno. Both young men are thirteen and from Westmoreland Chapter here in Pennsylvania. Even though they are both from the same home Chapter, at Key Man Rex is in Legit Chapter and Dom is in Dibbs Chapter. Rex says that he expected Key Man to be a kind of “Crash Course” in DeMolay and did not think Key Man would be as much fun as it actually is. Dom says he wanted to go to Key Man to meet new people and make new friends. So far between the two of them they have consumed eight glasses of Strawberry/Banana/Kiwi juice, twelve glasses of chocolate milk and two cappuccinos. If you think that’s a lot then you will be really surprised by Miguel Mendoza-Andrade of Legit Chapter, he has drank a whopping seventeen glasses of Chocolate Milk; good thing he has lots of activities to work it off!

Keep logging in each day for more Key Man updates!

Bro. Alex Rauschenberger
Jurisdictional Officer, Team 3

Key Man: Day 2

As of Sunday, the 25th annual Key Man Conference began, and the campers started a week long experience that will change their outlook on the DeMolay world.

When the Key Men first arrived they were quickly introduced to the concept of "Reality KMC" and were split up into the conference Chapters. These new Chapters will be their family for the week as they work through the experiences a normal Chapter would have to face. One of the first tasks for the the attendees was to pick a name for their Chapter. Many interesting and clever names emerged after the Chapters turned in their decisions. We now have Dibbs, Les Frères, Thunda Squirrel, The Legit, Wombat, Wolfpack, and Indecisive Chapter.

Each Chapter has duties at Key Man that they must carry out as well, such as prayers at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the daily raising and lowering of the flags. All the Key Men are adapting to their vigorous Key Man routine of waking up early and working hard. The young men are bettering themselves and becoming leaders in their chapters. Tune in tomorrow for another Key Man update!

Bro. Chris Labaw
Team Leader of Jurisdictional Officer (JO) Team 3