Early September marks a busy period within the residence halls for the Yellow Jackets at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The craziness of move-in and the excitement of Welcome Week have swiftly passed, and residents all across campus have settled into their new homes. But again swarms of resident Yellow Jackets rise rapidly within their hives for a new sweet scent: Hall Council Officer elections. At the beginning of September, hundreds of residents met to the challenge. Speeches were heated, votes were counted, and in the end eighty residents rose above the rest and prevailed as their 2009-2010 hall council officers. Hall Council officers were eager to begin planning and executing programs within their residence halls. The Georgia Tech Residence Hall Association (RHA) supplies a plethora of resources to ensure that Hall Council Officers may provide their residents with the best programs. However, these resources require some amount of training, so the RHA Executive Board arranged a retreat to the Rock Eagle 4-H Camp for a day of training, networking, and fun!

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Hall Council officers woke up bright and early on Saturday morning and were treated to a breakfast of bagels and juice while they waited for the bus to take them to the Rock Eagle 4-H Camp, about ninety minutes away from Georgia Tech Campus, so that they could escape the stresses of school and focus on RHA and meeting fellow hall council officers. While waiting, many of them began to read the fifty page training manual that the Executive Board provided. When they arrived, they were introduced to the RHA Executive Board through a short, humorous video, and the President stressed the importance of RHA and lauded the officers for their determination to provide quality leadership to their residents. Then to lighten the mood and encourage interaction between officers before lunch, the President led an ice-breaker which required them to get close and incurred much laughter. After lunch, officers broke into groups based on their positions. In groups, Executive Board members explained the role of each officer position both within the context of individual hall councils and the greater RHA. The groups also introduced the officers to an invaluable resource-- each other. Meeting officers of the same position allowed them to exchange ideas and experiences specific to their positions and to learn from each other. When positional training ended, officers listened to a presentation on the RHA constitution, by-laws, and policy book and were given time to specify the default by-laws to their own hall councils. This time period was also used to set goals and begin planning programs for the year. For the remainder of the evening, officers attended various informational sessions on the Programs Committee, the Public Relations Committee, the Financial Oversight Committee, Information Technology, OTMs, Conferences, and resources like the Funshop, Movie Tickets, the RFI and more. At eight o'clock in the evening, officers were turned loose to enjoy an evening of festivities and food: campfire and s'mores, night swimming under the stars, boardgames and football, or just hanging out in the cabins. Sunday morning, officers attended two informational sessions that they did not on Saturday. RHA T-shirts were given to the officers and a picture of everyone was taken to commemorate the Hall Council Officers of 2009-2010. Then officers returned to their residence halls, armed with everything they need to know about RHA to provide the best community on campus.

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There were two main goals of the Hall Council Retreat. The first and most important goal was for the Hall Council Officers to learn everything about the policies, operations, and resources at the Hall Council level and the greater RHA level. They were provided with a fifty page manual that outlined such information and also attended presentations and programs to elaborate and stress more significant information. The second goal was for Hall Council Officers to meet each other and the Executive Board Members and to network. People who share the same or similar experiences as one another can ofter be the most valuable resources. The retreat allowed officers to interact on both a business and a personal level. And finally, as a side goal, the Executive Board wanted everyone to have FUN! The retreat was held at a camp, where officers could relax outside and forget the stress of the busy city and of classes.

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The Hall Council Retreat did not benefit Hall Council Officers only, it benefited the entire resident population on campus. Without a retreat, the Hall Council Officers could not learn how to fulfill their duties properly in order to execute the best programs and provide the best community for their residents. After the retreat, they were fully equipped with knowledge of their own Hall Councils and of the RHA. The Executive Board worked hard to provide them with the best information and resources possible so that they may fulfill their leadership potential.

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The Hall Council Retreat of 2009 was an extremely successful program. It is an annual event and the Executive Board received immediate verbal feedback from returning officers that the 2009 retreat was more organized, more informative, and more fun than last year's retreat. Additionally, the Executive Board collected survey responses to gauge the success of retreat and figure out whether the goals had been met. Officers rated various questions on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). The average motivation of officers was 4.53, the average rating for the job on the Executive Board was 4.66, and the overall retreat was rated 4.27, a 0.84 increase from last year! Nearly all officers responded that they really enjoyed the retreat and felt that they had all the tools to complete their duties.

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A Hall Council Retreat should be held immediately after elections for Hall Council Officers have taken place. It is a fantastic opportunity to educate officers on the policies, operations, and resources of their RHA. The retreat does not need to be as elaborate or costly; all that is needed is a schedule, outline of topics to be covered, meeting place, and of coarse food and fun!

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