RPTM 356 Programming in Recreation and Leisure Services, Section One
Instructor Kathleen Raupach, MS
Back Row: Mike McNally, Chris McKee, Josh Joll, Peer Mentor- Pat McLaughlin
Front Row: Jillian Ritz, Lauren Hosack, Margot Nye, Rachael Splain
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Saturday November 13, 2010
Agency Contact: Susan Smith
Operation Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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Operation: Military Kids
Operations Manual
Signatory Page
We are familiar with the completed assignment. Signed:
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Table of Contents:
1. Introduction
a.
Event planners ...........................................................................................................6
b.
Operating Guidelines of our Team ............................................................................8
c.
Description of the Event ............................................................................................9
d.
Date, time, location of the Event ...............................................................................10
e.
Sponsoring Agency ....................................................................................................10
f.
Target Audience .........................................................................................................11
g.
Initial Brainstorm .......................................................................................................11
2. Goals and Objectives
a.
Outcome Objectives ..................................................................................................13
b.
Process Objectives .....................................................................................................13
3. Feasibility Analysis
a.
Organizational Factors ..............................................................................................15
i. Agency Mission, Goals .............................................................................15
ii. Agency Staffing .........................................................................................15
iii. Supplies and Equipment Available...........................................................16
b.
Needs Assessment ......................................................................................................16
c.
External Inventory .....................................................................................................17
d.
Program Related Research .........................................................................................18
4. Management Plan
a.
Committee Structure .................................................................................................19
b.
Committee Responsibilities / Planning & Implementation Steps ..............................19
5. Sponsorship Plan
a.
List of Sponsors and Non-sponsors ...........................................................................20
b.
Sponsorship Letters ....................................................................................................22
c.
Thank You Letters to Sponsors..................................................................................22
d.
Thank You Letter to Agency Contact ........................................................................22
e.
Thank You Letter to Volunteers ................................................................................22
f.
Thank You Letter to Media Personnel .......................................................................22
6. Marketing Plan
a.
Description of Strategies Used...................................................................................23
b.
Marketing Plan ...........................................................................................................23
c.
Promotional Materials ................................................................................................25
7. Equipment and Supplies
a.
Equipment and Supply List........................................................................................26
8. Event Logistics
a.
Event Schedule for Participants ................................................................................30
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b.
c.
d.
9. Staffing
a.
b.
c.
Participant Rights & Responsibilities ........................................................................31
Schedule for Planners ................................................................................................31
Registration and Customer Relations.........................................................................35
Event Planner Job Descriptions .................................................................................36
Volunteer Training Plan & Agenda ...........................................................................37
Volunteer Job Descriptions ........................................................................................38
10. Facility Layout
a.
Description ................................................................................................................44
b.
Facility Layout ...........................................................................................................45
11. Risk Management Plan
a.
Participant Rules and Policies ...................................................................................46
b.
Facility and Equipment Safety Checklist ...................................................................46
c.
Overall Risk Management Plan .................................................................................47
d.
Release Forms / Waivers (if applicable) ....................................................................48
12. Budget
a.
b.
Budget Spreadsheet ....................................................................................................49
Budget Narrative ........................................................................................................50
13. Evaluation
a.
Review of Goals & Objectives ..................................................................................52
b.
Survey Instrument .....................................................................................................55
c.
Survey Results ...........................................................................................................56
14. Recommendations
a.
Summary of Debriefing Meeting ...............................................................................61
b.
Suggestions for Improvement ....................................................................................61
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Appendix:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.
l.
m.
n.
o.
p.
Team Socials ..............................................................................................................a
Group Rights & Responsibilities ...............................................................................b
Weekly Minutes ........................................................................................................c
Event Photos ..............................................................................................................d
Handouts Given to Participants .................................................................................e
Management Plan.......................................................................................................f
Sponsorship Letters ....................................................................................................g
Thank You Letters .....................................................................................................h
Promotional Materials ................................................................................................i
Registration Materials ................................................................................................j
Handouts Given to Event Planners ............................................................................k
Handouts Given to Volunteers ...................................................................................l
Completed Surveys ....................................................................................................m
Trivia ..........................................................................................................................n
Media .........................................................................................................................o
PowerPoint .................................................................................................................p
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1. Introduction
The PSU RPTM 356; Programming in Recreation and Leisure Services Class was
comprised of five different student groups that throughout the semester would plan and
implement a special event for the surrounding community. Specifically for our group we were
assigned the OMK project. Throughout the first week of classes we heard from many different
agency contacts and then in turn ranked which project we would like to work on. The 7
members of the OMK team all decided we would like to work with Susan and for PA Military
families. We all had different reasons for wanting to choose this project which we later shared
with our participants. We are of group of very task-oriented, creative and driven students that
successfully put on this Family Fun Weekend for the OMK organization. Throughout this
Operations manual our hard work and planning can be viewed as well as a brief glance at the
type of planners that we are.
a. Event planners
Rachael Splain is an RPTM, Commercial Community major from Felton, PA a small
town in York County. She likes to read, swim, play sports, go out, shop and spend
time with friends and family. In the spring she is interning with the MWR program in
Jacksonville, FL. She chose OMK because she wanted to get more experience
working with the military. She is a communicator and recorder. She likes to keep
things organized and normally does so through writing everything down. She has
great verbal skills, and is very detailed. She is also great at listening to everyone’s
opinions and ideas, while trying to find something everyone can agree on. One of
Rachael’s strengths is that she is great at keeping everything organized. She would
like to become more flexible with meeting times and socials.
Jillian Ritz is an RPTM, Commercial Community & Outdoor Recreation options
major from Dallas, PA. In her free time she really loves to hang out with my friends.
She likes to go out to eat a lot, and she likes cooking at home, too. She likes being
active and her boyfriend and she are often going hiking and kayaking together. She
loves softball so if anyone wants a pickup game, she’s in!!! She is looking for a
career with Morale, Welfare, Recreation with the Navy or Coast Guard and thought
this event would provide her with real issues that she will come across in that field.
She feels that she is most comfortable playing the role of the recorder. She is able to
keep things very organized and even when her team is down in runs she’s always
cheering us on. She is usually pretty creative and is often told she dreams too big, in
a good way. She is great when it comes to music. Although she can’t play a sonata,
she might be able to bring some other musical elements to the event. She often hears
that she would make a good mom because she is always the friend making sure
everyone gets enough sleep and food! She feels like she will keep everyone on task
and their minds focused, this one goes out especially to Rachael!
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Margot Nye: She is an RPTM major, in the Therapeutic Recreation option. Her
hometown is Mohrsville, PA. In her free time she enjoys hanging out with her friends
and family. She also likes to run; it is a great stress reliever for her. She wanted to do
OMK because she wants to help the military families enjoy their time together as well
as create connections with other military families. In the group she feels she will be
best at helping with the creative visionary and at times help as an organizer. She feels
she will be good at communicating within the group. Also she feels like she can help
keep everyone on task and make sure things are done in a timely manner. As a team
member she likes to contribute her ideas for the event as well as be accepting of
others ideas. She likes to have fun.
Christopher McKee is from Pottstown, PA, and he is a Recreation, Park, and
Tourism (RPTM) major with an outdoor adventure option. He is also pursuing a
Military Studies minor. In his free time he likes to rock climb, SCUBA dive, slack
line, and ski. He is in the US NROTC which is why he chose Operation: Military
Kids as his special event. He feels most comfortable with the positions of
Communicator, Creative Visionary, and Resource Person. The skills he brings to the
team are excellent leadership traits and a desire to complete tasks to the utmost of his
ability. He is very relaxed and willing to listen to others’ ideas so that the group may
make positive decisions based on all of the possible choices at hand.
Josh Joll is an RPTM commercial/community major from West Homestead, PA, a
small suburb touching Pittsburgh, PA. In his spare time, Josh likes taking long walks
on the beach, eating Italian food, and participating and watching sports. Josh became
interested in this agency after he heard about how it would be helping military
families. He is most comfortable as the Creative Visionary, and can easily see how
things play out in his head. He also plays a mean devil’s advocate. He hopes to use
these skills to help the group imagine things from the beginning to the end before the
first step takes place.
Mike McNally is an RPTM Community/Commercial from Broomall, PA. He likes to
ski, to go mountain biking, to play basketball and to listen to music. He chose OMK
because he thinks it is important to help servicemen and women. He feels that he is a
creative visionary. He is good at getting work done and thinking outside the box. He
brings a good attitude and a creative side to the group.
Lauren Hosack is a senior from North Wales, PA which is about 45 minutes north of
Philadelphia. She is studying Business Management with a concurrent major of
Recreation, Park, & Tourism Management with the Community and Commercial
Option. In her free time, she likes to play and watch soccer, hang out with her
friends, read books, attend country music concerts, and Penn State Football games.
She found an interest in the Operation: Military Kids event because she believes that
it is a great organization and it would be a great chance to give back to the families
that give up so much for all of us. For group roles she can see herself as the creative
visionary. She likes to think outside of the box when it comes to being creative and
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designing crafts. Some of her skills that she sees herself bringing to this group
project would be organization, keeping lists, promptness, and her love for arts and
crafts. She finds herself to be a very creative and organized person who likes to get
things done right the first time and communicate effectively with the rest of the team.
She is a good listener and takes time to listen to everyone's ideas.
b. Operating Guidelines of our Team
Working Together
 We should try not to interrupt each other, and allow every person to have a turn to
talk. Everyone should feel comfortable to speak about opinions. If we do not
agree with the opinions we should try to collaborate and tweak ideas.
 Everyone should carry their own rate and respect the time of others. Expect
everyone to communicate thoughts, ideas and issues.
 We expect our peer mentor to be honest with his opinion, and give constructive
criticism. We also expect him to come to important dates scheduled.
 We expect our agency contact to communicate with us and keep us up to date
with any changing dates. We expect our agency contact to give us direction of
resources.
 Our team would like to be one time, and make every scheduled date such as class,
socials and agency meetings. We want to make it normal to call, email, or text
information pertaining to our event.
Communication
 Everyone should keep an open mind and ask questions if the ideas are
misunderstood. Everyone should listen to one another without interrupting.
 Will try more than one resource of communication while trying to get in touch
with team members. Phone calls are the best way to reach one another, and leave
a DETAILED message. Everyone within the team would greatly appreciate if
calls were returned as soon as possible and hopefully by the end of the night.
 If someone misses a class/meeting try to text before. We will call you if we have
not heard from a member prior to the meeting/class. The person who has missed
will be responsible for calling another member to get information about the
meeting/class.
Preventing Problems
 We will call slackers in the group out, and let them know they need to pull their
own weight.
 Let the member know that what poor quality work is. Give one another advice of
how to make improvements. If someone is procrastinating, possibly see if they are
having too much stress within their life. Ask members if someone else can help
out with the work load.
 First talk to Pat for advice
 Talk to the member that may be slacking/procrastinating
 Think of solutions as a group
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

If the solution did not resolve the problem try another plan
If problems still not resolved, ask Kathleen.
We have the right to:
1. Be treated fairly
2. Be heard
3. Have a great time
4. Relax
We are responsible to:
1. Respect each other
2. Design, implement and evaluate a high quality community event.
3. Create a safe environment for the participants
4. Be inclusive
c. Description of the Event
Event Name: Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’ Family Fun Weekend
Operation: Military Kids is an agency that works to provide support and a
compassionate environment for families who have a member actively deployed in the
military. Throughout the year OMK has many events for the children of these
families and they try to let them see that there are many children going through the
same thing.
This upcoming November OMK will be hosting and sponsoring a family weekend
camp. The camp goes from Friday evening until Sunday morning and during the day
on Saturday we will be holding our event for RPTM 356. This camp will be taking
place at 7 Mountain Boys Scout camp. Therefore our sponsors for this event will be
both 7 Mountains and the OMK organization. Our event will be about 4 hours and
the goals of our portion of this weekend will be to get each family to work together as
a unit and find other family friends that they can relate to who are from the area. For
this weekend our target audience is as stated above, military families with a deployed
family member.
OMK also held camps this summer where children of these families were able to
interact with each other and participate in many diverse activities. One activity that
they previously participated in actually involved picking a theme for the family
weekend; therefore our theme will be: Whammin’, Slammin’, Jammin’!!!
Although the theme is already picked for us we hope to really incorporate all of our
activities and events into this theme. Playing off of this name the theme of our event
was to give our audience the opportunity to “slam” around in our sports portion, get
out of a “jam” in our icebreaker and team building activities and “wham” to the music
during our music hour.
Event Goals
1. 70% of the Military families in attendance of the Operation: Military Kids
Family weekend on November 13, 2010 will have met a new military family
and have created a connection or bond with that family. A bond or connection
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that they plan to continue after the weekend event, as measured by a survey
completed at the end of the event.
2. 45% of the participants at the 11/14 Operation: Military Family Weekend
Camp will increase awareness of other families in the state of Pennsylvania
that are also military families as measured by our survey distributed at the end
of the event.
3. 45% of participants at the 11/14 Operation: Military Family Weekend Camp
will increase their knowledge of programs and events sponsored by OMK by
identifying two OMK programs offered, measured by our survey which will
be distributed at the conclusion of the camp.
d. Date, Time, and Location of the Event
Date: Saturday November 13, 2010
Time: 11a.m. – 4p.m.
Location: Seven Mountain Boys Scout Camp
227 Sand Mountain Road, Spring Mills, PA 16875 (Centre County, PA)
This camp is located 17 miles from campus directly off Route 322
Our camp contact was Charlie Harlerdode who could be reached at 717-363-6664
e. Sponsoring Agency
Sponsoring Organization:
Operation: Military Kids is the U.S. Army's collaborative effort with America's
communities to support children and youth impacted by deployment. Regardless
of whether Families are experiencing deployment for the first time, the second
time or another in a series of multiple deployments, OMK’s goal is to connect
military children and youth with local resources in order to achieve a sense of
community support and enhance their well-being.
Agency Contact:
Susan Smith
Operation: Military Kids Project Coordinator, Pennsylvania
004 Ferguson Bldg.
University Park, PA 16802
Phone: 814.865.2264
Fax: 814.863.4753
E-mail: sjs52@psu.edu
Web: www.Operationmilitarykids.org
Susan Smith is the on-campus representative for Operation: Military Kids
here in Pennsylvania. She works in the Ferguson building located on campus at
the corner of Curtain and Shortlidge Road.
Throughout the year Operation: Military Kids provides activities for the
children of active Military members and this year decided to host a family fun
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weekend where all family members could benefit from this program. For our
class we were asked to aid this agency during their family fun weekend. We were
responsible for providing 5 hours or programming during their overnight
weekend. We planned our event around the theme of family bonding and
collaborative tasks which ties in with the mission of Operation: Military Kids.
f. Target Audience
Our target audience consisted of Military families from across Pennsylvania. At
our event we had 19 registered families; some with active military parents and some
who were in the reserves. We had no specific age target; we targeted families as a
whole.
g. Initial Brainstorm
1.
Some possible themes we are considering for our special event include:
Music: Karaoke, Guitar Hero, Singing Bee, Country Line Dancing, Air Guitar
Seasonal: Hand Turkeys, Pumpkins, Nature Hiking, Bird Feeders
Entertainment: Birds of Prey Show, DJ
Sports: Whiffle Ball, Soccer, Basketball, Capture the Flag
Competition: Minute to win it, Scavenger hunt, Family feud
2. The types of activities the team is considering offering to participants are included
in the previous question. There will be a variety of different age groups that our
team will have to cater to.
When teaching a skill such as line dancing we can have different instructors for
various age groups. Teaching the older children at a faster pace and teaching
younger children at a slower pace. This will allow everyone to actively engage in
the activity while teaching at the appropriate skill level.
Some of the crafts may be a challenge for our younger participants, however this
is family event and we would like to get the parents involved so they can help
their children create a masterpiece. We could also eliminate this challenge by
supplementing an alternative craft to the younger population.
During competitive/sporting activities everyone may not be involved at once. We
can encourage participants to partake in the event while not competing by
cheering on another team. We can provide people on the side lines with noise
makers, and allow them to make signs to cheer on their group.
3.
We would like participants to develop new friendships by bringing the families
together to compete and team build. When our participants engage in
teambuilding they will gain a better knowledge of the role they take on within a
group. OMK would like to see participants reach their personal goals and learn
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something new about themselves and others. OMK would also like to see
everyone complete all activities to the best of their ability.
The most memorable aspects of the event will be the interaction with the families.
Each family will have a particular activity that his memorable to them. We hope
to capture memories through pictures, and arts and crafts for participants to take
home.
4.
Sponsoring agencies will benefit from donating to OMK by having their
company name displayed at the event. Sponsoring agencies will also be able to
write off donations as a tax deductible. OMK’s agency contact expects OMK
group to be prompt and work diligently while keeping everyone’s spirits high.
She expects the event to provide families with activities that involve interaction.
5.
Event Name:
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
- Whammin’ – Music
- Slammin’ – Sports
- Jammin’ – Team Building
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2. Goals and Objectives
Our group designed achievable goals and objectives to be reached throughout the entirety
of our event. The main goal of our event was that Military families that reside in Pennsylvania
would become more aware of each other and of events puts on by the Operation: Military Kids
organization. The goals and objectives we have listed below are ones that were mostly answered
from our survey and relayed themselves back to our goal of families making connections as well
as getting stronger as a family unit.
a.
Outcome Objective 1: 70% of the Military families in attendance of the
Operation: Military Kids Family weekend on November 13, 2010 will have met a
new military family and have created a connection or bond with that family. A
bond or connection that they plan to continue after the weekend event, as
measured by a survey completed at the end of the event.
Outcome Objective 2: 45% of the participants at the 11/14 Operation: Military
Family Weekend Camp will increase awareness of other families in the state of
Pennsylvania that are also military families as measured by our survey distributed
at the end of the event.
Outcome Objective 3: 45% of participants at the 11/14 Operation: Military
Family Weekend Camp will increase their knowledge of programs and events
sponsored by OMK by identifying two OMK programs offered, measured by our
survey which will be distributed at the conclusion of the camp.
b.
Process Objective #1: How the event will benefit the sponsoring organization:
Team OMK will plan, promote, implement and evaluate a family bonding event
for Operation: Military Kids on November 13, 2010 at Seven Mountains Scout
Camp as measured by a family evaluation survey completed at the end of the
camp on Sunday.
Process Objective #2: # of Participants:
At least 75 participants will pre-register for OMK Family Weekend by
Wednesday, 27 October as measured by the registration form of our agency
contact, Susan Smith.
Process Objective #3: Promotional Materials:
Team members of the 356 OMK team will invite the Daily Collegian and the
Centre Daily Times to come and view our event to help promote Operation:
Military Kids in general. This will be measured by email invitations to reporters
on both newspapers.
Process Objective #4: Budget Proposal:
The team members of RPTM 356 OMK will develop a budget for our event by
October 31st during an outside of class meeting to determine what equipment we
need to budget for as measured by our completed budget.
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Process Objective #5: Participant Satisfaction:
At least 75% of the Operation: Military Kids Family Weekend Campers on
November 13th 2010 at Seven Mountain Scouts Camp will indicate “Satisfaction”
with our event as measured by a survey at the conclusion on the camp on Sunday
morning.
Process Objective #6: Volunteer Help:
We will recruit 8-10 volunteers (either Boy Scouts or fellow 356 class mates)
October 30th, and hold a volunteer training on November 6th, as measured by
attendance records.
Process Objective #7: Solicitation of External Donations or Sponsors:
The members of the 365 OMK team will solicit a minimum of 6 local companies
in the State College and Bellefonte areas by November 1, 2010 as measured by
the number of donations that we have received by November 8, 2010.
Process Objective #8: Solicitation of External Donations or Sponsors:
By November 6th 2010 we will have received $100 worth of donated food and
supplies from at least 4 different businesses as measured by our sponsorship plan.
Process Objective #9: Variety of Activates
We will offer 6 different activities that span across many different genres to spark
interests of all participants at the OMK family weekend which is held at Seven
Mountain Scout Camp on November 13th 2010 as measured by our schedule of
events.
Process Objective #10: Group Contribution
All members of the 356 Operation: Military Kids Team will show their
knowledge of either sports, situational problems, or music related trivia and
activities on November 13th during our event as measured by the group games
that we will be instructing to increase our participants’ attitudes and enjoyment.
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3. Feasibility Analysis
The feasibility analysis provided our group an introduction to our portion of the
event. We met our program coordinator, became familiar with our event site and
its manager, got to talk about who our target market will be, and considered what
problems we may face outside the scope of control.
a.
Organizational Factors
i. Agency Mission & Goals
The Mission of Operation: Military Kids is: “As a team, we believe that
supporting children on the home front is helping to support military
personnel on the warfront. Knowing that their children are being looked
after at home by family and community allows military members to focus
on their mission abroad. We strive to provide support for all military
children with an emphasis on children of deployed personnel. OMK PA
also strives to increase community awareness of issues, both physical and
emotional, faced by these youth. Programs are being established to support
and empower military youth”.
(http://www.Operation:militarykids.org/public/statePOCHome.aspx?state
=Pennsylvania)
The Goals of OMK are to “provide support to these children through
various programs during this difficult time. We recognize the sacrifices
these children make and want to commend them for their courage”. Our
event supports OMK’s priorities because it will provide support to the
children and their families through mutual support between families. By
letting them know that they are not alone, and that there are others in their
community facing the same struggles, our event will help to empower the
military youth.”
ii. Agency Staffing
For this special event, OMK’s Slammin’ Jammin’ Whammin’ Weekend,
our team will be collaborating with Susan Smith, Pennsylvania OMK
Program Coordinator.
Susan graduated from Penn State with a degree in Recreation Parks and
Tourism Management, with an emphasis on Therapeutic Recreation. She
insisted on reminding us when she graduated it was just called Recreation
and Parks, and she prefers working in a hands on environment. Susan is
married with children, and enjoys being outside. Her family is a military
family; her husband has been deployed before; however he will be
attending our event along with her two children. She is currently the
Program Coordinator for Pennsylvania’s branch of Operation: Military
Kids.
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After your event, Susan did an excellent job all semester on keeping tabs
on us and the progress, or lack of, we were making through our team
assignments, team reports, and other documents via email. She was a
rather hands off contact, not pressuring us to do one thing or another, and
gave us full control over our event. She waited until we had questions or
concerns and then gave us her full support, rather than rushing in and
taking control of our team. We did not utilize Susan to the fullest degree
until the weeks leading up to the event. Prior to our crunch time, we met
only for our site visit, as a whole team, at the beginning of the semester.
However, she made herself available to us any time that we chose to meet
with her. She did not feel we needed help running our portion of the
weekend, and instead took personal time. I think the largest challenge we
had with Susan stemmed from her greatest strength. While she gave us
complete control of what we did, when our progress was halted, she did
not step in and try to get our creative juices flowing. This also lead to her
being a “yes man” at times, agreeing with all of our ideas, and not
challenging them to make them better. Overall, Susan helped us with
anything we asked of her, and gave us great support for the planning and
running of our event.
iii. Supplies and Equipment Available
 Craft supplies
 Hula Hoops
 Food for Lunch
 Paper supplies for lunch
 Pennants for the family crests
 The Seven Mountain Boy Scout camp
After the event, we believe that we had the opportunity to receive all of the
necessary supplies and equipment needed to successfully run this event.
Our agency contact was very helpful in giving us the opportunity to meet
with her and look over her supplies prior to the event.
b.
Needs Assessment
Our target audience is military families with at least one parent deployed
currently, previously, or in the near future. We have received a list of the ages of
children who will be in attendance, and the majority of the children are over the
age of six. Being able to hang out with other kids their own age should help to
maximize the experience for them. Our event will also allow the parents to have
time to spend directly with their own children.
It is difficult to locate an exact spot that all military families go to; however much
of our target population is a part of a mailing list through OMK. OMK’s mailing
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list is the primary way it gets the word out about upcoming events. It also gives
information on non-OMK events that the families may be interested in.
Because our event is targeted to families, we will be getting a wide variety of
ages, skill sets, and backgrounds. Gender also plays a large role. A six year old
boy will not have the same interest as a fourteen year old girl, and nor will
activities be able to hold attention for both. Similarly, skills will also range
between the younger and older children on how quickly they grasp concepts, how
much they already know, and how long they will be focused on one activity.
Because participants are pre-registering for the event, it is safe to assume they
have transportation to Seven Mountain Boy Scout camp already.
Because our event focuses on team building, and there are enough varying
activities throughout the day, there is not a single skill set that is necessary to
participate. Coupled with our variation in ages and genders, it makes it difficult
to say if most participants will come with any necessary skills or not. Our group
will ensure that all rules and necessary steps are able to be modified so that every
attendee can participate.
After the event, Because of the “closed event” status and the pre-registration
period, we had a very good grasp on who our audience would be. On the whole,
however, we imagined the children being older, and planned the activities for
more mature bodies. It came as a shock to some of our team to see two year olds
contributing to some of the team activities, and was not how we initially imagined
it.
c.
External Inventory
Because our event takes place in mid-November, the weather can be anything
from cool, rainy, or snowy. We have plenty of indoor facilities, and minor
weather problems will not set back our event. Inclement weather plans and dates
will be decided by OMK and the people at Seven Mountain Boy Scout camp.
Once they decide what the inclement weather situation is, our team will
disseminate the information to the appropriate people by the contact information
given to us.
The away Penn State-Ohio State football game is being played the night of our
part of the event, however OMK is working on having the game being played at
the event, so this should not be a major factor in attendance. The Carrie
Underwood concert is also on the same night of our portion of the event. This
may prove as more of a distraction because of the ties between the military and
country music. Much of our available spots for the event are already filled
however, so the concert also does not seem to be a threat.
After the event, The weather for our event was better than anyone could have
predicted for a November day. It did not have any effect on our activities, and we
were able to use the outdoors to everything we planned on. We thought we may
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Page 17 of 62
have had some problems due to the Penn State v Ohio State game, and the Carrie
Underwood concert; however the pre-registration prevent anything of this nature
to be a problem. Out unexpected external factor we faced dealt with the lacrosse
team showing up. We were able to incorporate them into our event by having
them participate at some points, and allowing them to interact with the children.
Susan had planned activated to be running through the time of our event and we
lost several adults to massages, taking away from family bonding. Morning
activates that were previously arranged delayed the start of our event.
d.
Program Related Research
We watched the weather leading up to the day of the event, and fortunately all
signs pointed to go for us. The weather did not affect any of our plans, which is
good, because we made minimal contingency plans for wet weather. Once we
learned of the game we considered using the Penn State-Ohio State game as a
theme for our event. We also tried contacting Carrie Underwood for our event,
but heard nothing back from her. When we learned of the Lacrosse team and how
many of them there would be, we tried to find ways to easily merge them into our
event, and did our best to include them in our efforts.
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Page 18 of 62
4. Management Plan
Large groups are not always the best way when you have multiple scenarios going on all
the time. By breaking up groups to smaller teams, you create a system with better delegation and
more accountability. Making sub committees to handle different aspects of the event was helpful
because of our group size.
a.
Committee Structure
We decided, upon the advice of Kathleen and Pat, to break our team
into three committees to handle all of the aspects of the event. The three
committees we broke into were marketing, sponsorships, and logistics. The
marketing team was included Josh Joll and Mike McNally, they had the
responsibility of contacting the media, creating a flyer to get the attendees excited,
and placing signs to keep the event organized. The sponsorship team included
Chris McKee and Rachael Splain, they needed to solicit sponsorships and
donations, track expenses for the preparation of the event, and developing and
keeping to a budget. The logistics team included Margot Nye, Jillian Ritz, and
Lauren Hosack, they took care of the organizing activities for the event, training
volunteers, and creating the events goals and objectives. We fell these committees
will allow OMK to successfully plan an event.
b.
Committee Responsibilities / Planning & Implementing Steps
Please refer to Appendix: f
After our event, we realized that no matter how much planning we had done by
splitting into committees it is clear that all group members are needed to
successfully complete a special event.
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Page 19 of 62
5. Sponsorship Plan
Our sponsorship plan was our guiding light in soliciting donations and rewarding them
appropriately. We set up guidelines on how we would reciprocate the donations of businesses
with tax write offs and public acknowledgement of and thanks for their donations. We also used
it as a critique of which businesses would be likely to donate to us, which would benefit the most
from working with us, and which would be able to support us with supplies and equipment we
need.
a.
List of Sponsors
Wal-Mart Super Center located on 1665 North Atherton Street in State College,
Pennsylvania donated a $10 gift card to our event. Mr. Meraglia was our contact
person and we were able to reach him at (814) 237-8401. Wal-Mart is a super
center; we chose to solicit this particular business because they are a large
corporation and would be able to provide our event with ample donations. We
used their gift card to purchase supplies for crafts.
Wal-Mart Super Center located on 373 Benner Pike State College,
Pennsylvania was also able to provide a generous donation of a $25 gift card to
our event. We contacted Mr. Barr at (814) 238-8264 to arrange a time to pick up
the gift card Wal-Mart had provided us with. We chose to solicit this Wal-Mart
after receiving a donation from the Wal-Mart located on North Atherton. We used
the gift card in addition to the $25 gift card to purchase supplies and crafts for our
event.
Giant Food Store located on 225 Northland Center, State College, Pennsylvania
gave a donation of a $10 gift card. We spoke to Mr. Stevens to arrange pick up
times at (814) 237-1837. We chose to solicit Giant Food Store since they are a big
corporation within the local area and would be able to provide our event with a
food donation. We used Giants gift card to buy snacks that were available to the
military families at our event.
Eat N’ Park Restaurant is located on 1617 North Atherton Street, State College,
Pennsylvania. We spoke with Mrs. Stanbrough about receiving cookie donations
for our event. She offered to donate 2 dozen free cookies or provide us with a
donation of twelve cookies at half price, estimated value of $82. We contacted her
at (814) 231- 8558 to tell her we would like twelve dozen cookies at half price.
Our group solicited Eat N’ Park after hearing positive feedback from our
classmates. We were able to use the cookies donation as an activity at our event.
Annie McKee provided our event with a personal donation of $100. Annie is
Chris McKee’s mother; she lives on 891 Ebelhare Road, Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
Chris was able to contact her at (830) 522-0246. Chris chose to ask his mother
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Page 20 of 62
for her generous donation as our event date was approaching, we chose to use
support from our family members since we did not have success with businesses.
Joe & Kathy Hosack donated $60 our event, we used this money to buy posters,
markers, and other craft items for our event. The Hosack family loaned sports
equipment estimated for our outdoor activities. The estimated value was of sports
equipment was $100 .The Hosack family was willing to give our group the
donation to support their daughter and our group. Lauren contacted Joe and Kathy
at (215) 699-4361 to pick up the equipment at 218 Oakland Place, North Whales,
Pennsylvania.
Lisa Fifer & Stacey Splain donated their time and karaoke equipment valued at
$2000 to our event. Our group asked them for the donation since we wanted to
provide our guests with a musical theme. Stacey and Lisa drove from 43 Fifer
Lane, Delta, Pennsylvania to DJ at Family Fun Weekend. We stayed in
communication with them throughout the planning process, contacting them at
(717) 495-5874.
PA Association of School Retirees, Centre County Chapter sponsored our
event by donating $40. Our mentor Susan Smith was in contact with Patty
Michaels. The business donated in past events ran by Operation: Military Kids
and chose to donate again this year. Mrs. Michaels is head of the Community
Service Chair and can be reached at (814) 466-6008. The Centre County Chapters
mailing address is P.O. Box 92 Boalsburg, PA 16827.
Dairy Queen located at 101 South Allegheny Street, Bellefonte, PA 16283
donated buns and an ice cream cake to our event. This was valued at $51. Our
group contacted Dominic Morgante at (814) 933-6935 to make arrangements for
the event. We chose to solicit this particular Dairy Queen because several group
members are very good friends with Dominic and he is the mangers of Dairy
Queen.
List of Non-Sponsors.
The list below includes the sponsors that were unable to donate to our event, but
were solicited for donations.
 Giant Food Store
 Weis
 Subway
 Ci Ci’s Pizza
 CC Peppers
 McDonald's
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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b.
Sponsorship Letters
Please refer to Appendix: g for an example of our Sponsorship Letter.
c.
Thank You Letters.
We have included a sample of our volunteer, sponsor, media personnel, and
agency contact Thank You Letters. Please refer to Appendix: h.
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Page 22 of 62
6. Marketing Plan
Marketing for our event was not a top priority due to our Agency Contact, Susan Smith
already having the means to attract the military families involved. While we did not have much
work to market the event, we worked hard to attract media attention to it.
a.
Description of Strategies Used
Since our event was being promoted by Operation: Military Kids, specifically to
military families; there was not much promotion that could be done on our part.
Josh created a promotional flyer that was sent out to the families registered for the
Slammin’ Jammin’ Whammin’ weekend. Mike contacted the Centre Daily Times
as well as The Collegian, to receive coverage for the Operation: Military Kids
event. He called and sent letters to both news outlets, explaining the event and why
we could use their support, much like a sponsorship letter. Susan Smith also
created a media advisory which was sent out to the local news stations. We focused
most of our energy on electronic media and print media for the day of the event.
We chose to do this because it would give OMK professional and very deserving
coverage for its cause. The attention that was brought to Operation: Military Kids
with media coverage will hopefully be successful marketing for future OMK
events.
b.
Marketing Plan
(See page below)
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Page 23 of 62
Marketing Plan for OMK
Broadcast / Electronic Media (TV, radio, Public Service Announcements (PSAs), CD ROMS, Electric Kiosks, Internet, List Serves)
Business
Operation: Military
Kids Website
Centre Daily Times
Centre Daily Times
Collegian
Contact Person
Susan Smith
Teresa Boner
(local news)
Bryan Cohen
(Photographer)
Laura Kelly
Phone
814-865-2264
814-231-4621
814-231-4635
610-995-8154
e-mail / webpage
Operation:MilitaryKid
s.org
CentreDaily.com
CentreDaily.com
Collegian.psu.edu
#
reached
Deadline
Person
Responsible
Completion
Date
300
N/A
Susan
Her
Discretion
Up to
145K
Up to
145K
N/A
11/12
Mike
11/12
Mike
11/9
N/A
#
reached
Deadline
Person
Responsible
Completion
Date
Susan
Her
11/9
11/12
Mike
Print Media (brochures, newsletters, fliers, newspaper advertising, magazines, editorials, letters to the editor, yellow pages)
Business
Operation: Military
Kid’s Mailing List
Centre Daily Times
Contact Person
Susan Smith
Phone
814-865-2264
e-mail / webpage
sjs52@psu.edu
300
Discretion
Bryan Cohen
814-238-5000
CentreDaily.com
Up to
145K
Mike
11/9
Other / Public Relations (awards, citations, celebrities, spokespeople, contests, coupons, direct mail, information kits, logos, emblems, trademarks, news conferences, photographs, press
releases, PSAs, word of mouth)
Business
Contact Person
RPTM 356 class
Kathleen Raupach
Previous OMK Events
Announcements
Susan Smith
Phone
e-mail / webpage
#
reached
Deadline
Person
Responsible
Completion
Date
75
814-8652785
814-865-2264
kjr103@psu.edu
Sjs52@psu.edu
800
August
Her
Discretion
Operation Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Page 24 of 62
c.
Promotional Materials
I do believe that the target population was involved in the design of our materials.
We tried to make all promotional materials fun and bright to catch a child’s
attention, but also organized enough so the parents would appreciate it. We did
not have a chance to show our promotional material off because it as we knew, it
was not going to be used. With that said I believe had our flyers actually been
handed out, we may have done a better job putting some finishing touches on it.
By that I mean that we could have formatted the pictures so they could have a
background, and maybe give the actual flyer a background instead of plain white.
A copy of our promotional materials is referenced in the Appendix: i.
Operation Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Page 25 of 62
7. Equipment and Supplies
Our equipment and supplies were vital to our event, as few of our activities could be done
orally. Knowing what supplies we had, needed, and would not have become very important to
ensure our activities ran smoothly. By keeping track of these items, we maintained a smooth
setup, execution, and take down of out event.
a.
Equipment and Supply List
Quantity
Item
Source
Have
Get
REGISTRATION / WELCOMING AREA
KR
InKind
$4.23
Out of
Pocket
1
Team Photo in frame
Kathleen
1
Schedule of events poster
Dollar Store
x
JR
$.50
1
Lunch poster
Dollar Store
x
JR
$.50
1
Sponsorship poster
Dollar Store
x
JR
$.50
1
Music activity poster
Dollar Store
x
JR
$.50
1
First Aid kit
Susan
x
$10.00
80
Name tags w/ lanyard
Susan
x
$16.00
11
Directional signs
Dollar Store
50
Pens
Susan
100
Sticker name tags
Best Buy
20
Volunteer/Planner
schedules
Rubber bands
Lauren’s printer
x
LH
Dollar Store
x
JR
200
x
Cost
Who
x
JR
x
$5.50
$4.00
x
JR
$20
$2.00
$62.23
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Page 26 of 62
$9.50
Quantity
Item
Source
Have
Get
Who
Cost
SS
SS
InOut of
Kind Pocket
$40.00
$50.00
FOOD & BEVERAGE AREA
120
100
Hot dogs
Hamburgers
Previous OMK
Previous OMK
7 doz
7 doz
2
1
1
12 doz
3
Hamburger buns
Hot dog buns
Relish
Hand sanitizer
Ice cream cake
Cookies
Assorted packs of
chips
Pretzels
Boca Burgers
Veggie dogs
Pieces of colored paper
(Bingo)
Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen
Kathleen
Wal-Mart
Dairy Queen
Eat N Park
Wal-Mart
3 lbs
1 pk
1 pk
78
Sam’s Club
Kathleen
Kathleen
Margot
x
x
x
x
x
Dom
Dom
KR
JR
Dom
JR
JR
$13.00
$13.00
$6.00
$1.00
$25.00
$85.00
$28.00
x
SS
KR
KR
MN
$8.00
$3.50
$3.50
$15.00
x
x
x
x
x
x
$298
Quantity
Item
Source
Have
Get
Cost
Who
Chalk board Activity
8
Chalk boards
Kathleen
x
MN
InKind
$8.00
20
Blind folds
Kathleen
x
team
$9.00
1 box
Chalk
Wal-Mart
Dom
$1.00
8
Pieces of paper with Lauren’s printer
shapes
LH
$.50
x
x
Out of
Pocket
$18.50
Quantity
Item
Source
Have
Get
Who
Cost
Family Crest
19
Pennants
Susan
x
team
InOut of
Kind Pocket
$6.00
100
Markers & Pencils
Margot
x
MN
$3.00
$9.00
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Page 27 of 62
Quantity
Item
Source
Have
Get
The Challenge
1
All aboard
3
Tarpssizes
40
Cones
2
Cost
Who
In-Kind
Kathleen
X
MN
$50.00
X
JR
$15.00
Lauren’s family
X
LH
$60.00
Wiffle ball bats
Jillian/Susan
X
JR
$5.00
6
Wiffle balls
Susan
X
JR
$2.00
2
Soccer balls
Josh & Lauren
X
JR
$30.00
2
Tennis rackets
Jillian & Rachael
X
JR
$60.00
4
Tennis balls
Rachael & Josh
X
RS
$6.00
2
Field hockey balls
Jillian
X
JR
$10.00
2
Field hockey sticks
Jillian
X
JR
$70.00
1
Corn hole set
Rachael
X
RS
$30.00
1
Ladder Golf set
Rachael
X
RS
$15.00
2
Footballs
Josh
X
JJ
$15.00
9
Hula hoops
Kathleen
X
MN
$36.00
350 ft.
Rope
Kathleen
X
RS
$100.00
30 ft.
yarn
Margot
X
MN
$2.00
1
Key ring
Jillian
X
JR
$.20
5
Half sized
boards
X
JR
$3.00
2
Rolls of duct tape
Wal-Mart
X
JR
$6.50
15
Pinnies
Lauren
X
LH
$12.00
5
Boxes
Wal-Mart
X
MN
$5.00
10
Plastic utensils
Lauren
X
LH
$1.00
50
Index cards
Dollar Store
different Susan
poster Wal-Mart
X
JR
$1.00
$538.70
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Page 28 of 62
Out of
Pocket
$1.00
Quantity
Item
Have Get
Source
Cost
Who
Music/Arts & Crafts
In-Kind
1
Karaoke set
Rachael
X
RS
$2,000
2
Televisions
Jillian
Rachael
X
JR
$250
1
DDR set up
Margot
X
MN
$350
1
Guitar hero
Alison Gearing
X
JR
$325
4
Boxes (guitars)
Kathleen
X
MN
-
4
Face paint supplies
Wal-Mart
JR
$2.40
100
Toilet paper rolls
Susan
JR
-
5
Rolls of ribbon
Wal-Mart
X
JR
$5.00
2
Bags of rice/beans
Wal-Mart
X
JR
$13.12
1
Roll of duct tape
Wal-Mart
1
Power strip
Jillian
X
JR
$4.00
80
Paper plates
Susan
X
Team
$2.50
&
X
X
Out of
Pocket
$3.67
$2,955.69
Quantity
Item
Source
Have
Get
Cost
Who
Thankful Tree
In-Kind
100
Big & Little leaves
Margot
X
MN
2.50
40 sq. ft.
Brown construction paper
Chris
X
CM
4.00
Out of
Pocket
$6.50
Quantity
Item
Source
Have
Get
Cost
Who
BUILDING & FACILITY EQUIPMENT (not already included above)
1
Kitchen
JVC
X
CH
InKind
$125
1
Athletic Field
JVC
X
CH
$50
1
Dining hall
JVC
X
CH
$170
1
Extension cord
JVC
X
CH
$10
$355
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Page 29 of 62
Out of
Pocket
8. Event Logistics
Keeping the participants engaged is vital to the success of an event. Keeping the planners
and volunteers all on the same page creates a smooth event, that maximizes safety and fun for
participants. All of this falls back on the event logistics, and making sure every detail of the day
is planned, rehearsed, and understood.
a. Event Schedule for Participants.
TIME
ACTIVITY
LOCATION
11:00-11:15
Introductions
Mess Hall
11:15-11:30
Chalkboard Game (12
participants – See how well
you really do know a member
of your family!)
Mess Hall
11:30-11:45
Decorate Family Crest/Banner Mess Hall
11:45-12:00
Get in circle and explain to
Mess Hall
group at large what you put on
your banner that is important
to your family
12:00-1:00
LUNCH! (and Bingo Card
distribution and completion)
Mess Hall
1:00-2:30
The Challenge
Outside; Field, etc.
2:30-2:45
The Singing Bee – Fill in the
lyrics
Mess Hall
2:45-3:00
Chorus Words
Mess Hall
3:00-3:30
Line Dancing – Instruction
and Activity
Mess Hall
3:30-3:50
Giving Tree Activity;
Distribute Hot Apple Cider
and Hot Chocolate
Mess Hall
3:50-4:00
Event Survey Distribution and Mess Hall
completion
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Page 30 of 62
b.
Participant Rights & Responsibilities
During our event we had a poster stating our rights and responsibility for each
participant. Those are listed below:
● It is your right to have a fun afternoon of activities
● It is your right to feel safe from threats and intimidation
● It is your right to choose to not participate in any event
● It is your right to participate in a drug and alcohol free area
● It is your right to receive help when asked for
● It is your responsibility to apply the “golden rule” towards fellow participants.
● It is your responsibility to listen to all faculty and volunteers for OMK
● It is your responsibility to participate actively and communicate with those around
you.
● It is your responsibility to maintain a safe atmosphere for both yourself and your
fellow participants
● It is your responsibility to ask for help when you need it
In terms of consequences for not following rights and responsibilities we did not
include any in our introductions. Having it as a family fun weekend it would have
been unrealistic to stick with or enact any consequences.
c.
Schedule for Planners
SET UP
o Arrive at 7:30 
 Set up Registration Table in Mess Hall
 Hang up signs in Mess Hall – Lunch … Rights and Responsibility …
Registration … Jammin’
 Set up DDR/Guitar Hero/A&C Station
 Get Pens/Pencils/Nametags Ready
 Tape up signs (arrows – event names)
 Set up activities:
o Obstacle Course
o Cones at Key Ring Relay
o Set our All Aboard
o Set out Tarps
o Set up HULA HOOPS
o Get Duct Tape Strips Ready
o Get poster board ready for family string write
o Get PVC pipe / bucket / marbles ready
o Trivia cards ready at station
o Cones near Tree Counting
o Mine Field – Boxes, mark area off with cones, utensils
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Page 31 of 62



Give volunteers a tour and hand them map and rules of their event
Go over emergency equipment – first aid and fire extinguishers
Check all puzzle pieces – make sure they are at each station – sample in
mess hall
EVENT START
 Introductions of the OMK 356 Team: All 356 Members be here at the Mess Hall
 Who we are
 Why we wanted to be there – Tell why we choose to work on OMK
 Tell what we are most excited about for today’s events
 Ask who was at the OMK Summer Camp and Explain the Title of the Day (WSJ)
 Explain that we will having them participate in activities that will put them in
a jam and have a slamming and whamming time
 Thank Susan and Charlie
 Go over the Right and Responsibilities Poster
 Talk about plan for the day and go into next activity
 Chalkboard Game: All 356 Members be here and watch this activity
 6 Adults and 6 Children
 Sit back to back
 Children explain to the partner how to draw the image they are given
 Child has printed out images
 Partners have chalkboard and chalk – need to listen to child and draw the image
 Audience can see the image and see what the adult is drawling
 Talk about how although you talk everyday sometimes communication between
family members gets lost in translation! In the games today we will be working
on teamwork!
 Family Crest: All 356 Members be here to watch this
 Explain to families that this crest should represent aspects of their life that they
find important to them
 Examples: Trust, Reliability, Religion, Sports, Cultural Food, Each other, Pets,
Music, Vacation Spots… Etc.
 Need Art Supplies ready – Markers, Stickers, Glitter, Pens, Pencils, Rulers
 Explain Family Crest: All 356 Members be here to watch this
 All family members will form one large circle
 Everyone will go around and explain the three parts of their family crest
 Distribute Nametags: All 356 Members be here to watch this – Figure out who will be
distribute
 As the family talks about their banner walk up to them and distribute nametags –
and a marker … they will be responsible for filling in their own name
 Thank everyone for explaining their crest
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Page 32 of 62







 Let them know they can be reflecting on these things all day and when we gather
at the end of the day we will once again reflect on what each family is thankful
for
Lunch
 Charlie is cooking
 Hamburgers/Hotdogs
 Baked Goods
 Chips
 Drinks
 Veggie Tray
Bingo Cards
 Each person will receive a card while they are waiting for lunch
 While waiting for food and after eating they can walk around and mingle filling in
their bingo card
Clean up lunch
Award a winner for filling in their Bingo card
Begin to explain to the group at large about splitting into groups
 6 Groups spilt up: 3 or 4 families per group
 Groups will be distinguished by stickers on their nametags
 Families within groups will be identified by color of the font
THE CHALLENGE: 356 Members at your stations – YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF
GIVING DIRECTIONS
 CHALLENGE: You have from 1 – 2:20 to collect as many puzzle pieces as
possible.
 At 2:20 you need to head back to the mess hall for the Jamming part of today.
 Collect puzzle pieces from all 11 activities
 Explain about collecting puzzle pieces
 You will work towards completing the image as a team but more
importantly with your own family
 We will explain how rules are posted at each station
 Volunteers will be near each station to give instruction, advice and tips
 They also will distribute the puzzle piece when you successfully
complete the event
Explain that Arts & Crafts and Musical activities will be available all afternoon:
Rachel
 A&C
 Door hangers
 Musical Instruments
 Guitars
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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








 Sun Catchers
 Karaoke
 DDR
 Guitar Hero
VOLUNTEERS ARE HEADING TO STATIONS DURING THIS EXPLINATION
Planners will lead the groups to their starting location
Gather everyone back in the mess hall at 2:30 and get ready for the MUSIC
PORTION
Singing Bee: Rachel Leads This
 Each team will sit at a table together
 We will distribute song lyrics to them and they must fill in the refrain as quickly
as possible
 We need to print out all of the lyrics
 2 songs per group – one kid and one adult
Sing Off – Word Game: Jillian Leads This
 All six groups will be given a word
 Love, Dance, Sun, Stop
 We will need to have at least 7 examples of each word
 We will first demonstrate what we want them to do
 Given word love – you have a few seconds to come up with a song chorus
that has that word in it
 Examples: Don’t STOP believing … STOP in the name of love …
And I can’t STOP loving you … etc. ….
Line Dancing: All 356 Members Demonstrate
 Chicken Dance, Cotton Eye Joe, Macarena
Giving Tree: All 356 members say something you are thankful for with our group!
 Each family will make one (big) leave to put onto our community tree
 Explain that now reflecting back on spending the day with your family say a few
things that you are thankful for
 You will be able to view this tree all weekend and know what you are thankful for
 Tree will be about 4/5 feet tall
 Each family is also working on the little leaves on their take-home family tree
Hand out Apple Cider and Hot Chocolate and Surveys
THANK YOUS!!!!!
After the event
The planners schedule when close to plan. In the beginning we stuck to the
planner schedule very well. When it came to the challenge this is where we had some
changes. Lauren and Margot were not at a station during the challenge portion of the
event, they walked around from station to station and the mess hall to make sure
everything was running smoothly and answer any questions if needed. Jillian was
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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floating back and forth between the mess hall and the challenge. After the challenge
portion of the event went a little over time, not all of the families were able to finish all
of the activities. Once we got all of the families to the mess hall, our schedule fell apart.
We had several music activities, such as, singing bee, sing off and line dancing. We ran
out of time to fit all of the activities in to the event. Also families were tired and just
relaxing and making crafts, that were set up throughout the mess hall. Instead of having
all three of those events we only did the line dancing. We decided to alternate line
dancing and karaoke. The participants really enjoyed the karaoke, there for we decided
to keep that open. All of the event planners and most of the volunteers lead the line
dancing portion of the event. When leading the giving tree event planners and
volunteers passed out the leaves but the event planners did not say what they were
thankful for. After the thankful tree families were given ice cream cake and apple cider
and asked to complete a survey. For the first portion of the event the schedule was
fallowed fairly well, however the second portion of the event had some adjustments.
Overall the entire plan worked and as a group the event planners were flexible and
worked well with the necessary changes.
d.
Registration and Customer Relations
For registration materials, basic information like names, ages, address and e-mail.
Also, branch of service and special needs incase anything needs to be addressed, will
be collected from the participants. Susan, our agency contact, started the registration
process during the summer. Participants will need to pre-register for the event as there
is no door registration. The registration deadline is October 27 and registration
materials must be mailed or hand-delivered to the OMK office, there will be no phone
or email registration because there is a $20 registration fee per family. Credits card
payments cannot be accepted. Both registration form and fees (in the form of a check)
need to be handed into the OMK office before the registration process can be started.
All materials should be received by Susan in a timely manner because only about 75
participants can register. No late registrants will be accepted!
Once participants have registered successfully, Susan will make a confirmation
form. The first states the name and date of the event, the names of the people in the
family that are registered, the balance due if any, and contact information. No tickets
will be issued but the confirmation form will serve as a reminder of the event.
The event is a weekend long event, participants will not or should not need to
leave and re-enter the facilities. About 2 weeks prior to the event, Susan sends a
detailed information pack that includes letter, agenda, packing list, medical forms,
photo release forms, etc. This will help gather specific information on special needs
and dietary restrictions/preferences.
After the event:
OMK thanked the participants for their dedication to our country, at the beginning
of the event, as well as, the event was a way for OMK to say thank you. At the end of
the event, OMK thank participants for participation of the event. I feel we were
effective in thanking to participants. Especially in the beginning, it was a little
emotional for some of the participants.
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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9. Staffing Plan
A staffing plan enables every worker and volunteer to know where they should be, when
they should be there, what they should be doing, and how they should be doing it. A properly
implemented staffing plan will ensure a smooth running operation.
a. Event Planner Job Descriptions
Margot Nye:
Title: Team Leader
Responsibilities:
 Attire; White OMK shirt
 Checked each station to check progress
 Made sure event was running smoothly
Skills Needed:
 Organization
 Communication
 Leadership
Lauren Hosack:
Title: Team Leader
Responsibilities:
 Attire: White OMK shirt
 Answered any questions
 Make sure event ran well
Skills Needed:
 Organization
 Communication
 Leadership
Jillian Ritz:
Title: Helium Hoop Facilitator
Responsibilities:
 Attire: White OMK shirt
 Supervised the hula hoop stations
Skills Needed:
 Leadership
 Communication
 Rules of the game
Rachael Splain
Title: Arts and Craft Facilitator
Responsibilities:
 Attire: White OMK shirt
 Manage indoor crafts
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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 Set up crafts
 Manage music stations
Skills Needed:
 Organization
 Communication
 Leadership
Mike McNally
Title: Mine Field Facilitator
Responsibilities:
 Attire: White OMK shirt
 Run Mine Field station
 Facilitate Mine Field
Skills Needed:
 Know rules of Mine Field
 Leadership
 Communication
Chris McKee
Title: Magic Carpet Facilitator
Responsibilities:
 Attire: White OMK shirt
 Facilitate Magic Carpet
Skills Needed:
 Communication
 Leadership
 Rules of Magic Carpet Ride
Josh Joll
Title: Obstacle Facilitator
Responsibilities:
 Attire: White OMK shirt
 Facilitate Obstacle Course
Skills Needed:
 Leadership
 Rules of Obstacle Course
 Communication
b. Volunteer Training Plan & Agenda
We decided to recruit volunteers mostly through the RPTM program, many of whom
were past or present RPTM 356 students. They heard of our event through RPTM 356
announcements or through other RPTM students, and were given instructions and
directions through email. We were able to acquire a few others by other means as well.
Rachael Splain’s family graced us with their ability to run karaoke equipment that they
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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provided. Rachael kept contact with them, ensuring they would be at the Seven
Mountain Scout Camp on time. A local boy scout troop was eager to help when they
heard of our event as well, and got in touch with us via Charlie, the camp manager. We
unfortunately did not communicate with them prior to the event to give them any
forewarning of what kinds of activities they would be assisting with. This was something
that they showed some displeasure with.
Volunteers’ training began with an introduction of our event, and what Operation:
Military Kids purpose as an organization was. We then proceeded to telling them what
activity they would be working at, and they received a rule sheet for the given station,
and a map of the whole camp. They were then given a tour of our “Challenge” area, and
a brief description of each of the activities. As they heard the description, and read the
rules, they were encouraged to ask any questions about things not listed on the rule sheet
or areas that were unclear. Some volunteers were in charge of facilitating whole
activities by themselves, while others worked in support of planner. Those facilitating by
themselves were came around to one final time before the start of the Challenge to ensure
they had a complete understanding of their job. Those who worked in support of an
event planner received their directions from that planner. One exception to the above
description was the boy scout troop who helped. Since we did not communicate with
them prior to the day of the event, they did not know to be there at the same time as the
other volunteers.
After the event, the first thing we would change would be how we did not communicate
with the Boy Scout troop. We did not do our job as planners in letting them know what
they would be doing, or when they should be there for training. We should have made
contact with them previously for both their piece of minds, and for our records to have
exact numbers. We also think that if we could, we would host our volunteer training
previous to our event. Many of the volunteers had no responsibilities until 1:00 PM, and
were required to be there at 10:00 AM for their orientation and training. This left them
idle for much of the morning, which is not fair to them
c. Volunteer Job Descriptions
Katie Giampa
Title: Line Up facilitator (The Challenge)
Responsibilities:
 Wear Red, White, or Blue
 Facilitate Line Up
 Be positive
Skills Needed:
 Rules of Line Up activity
 Leadership
 Communication
Time Commitment: 5 ½ hours
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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Chain of Command: Lauren Hosack and Margot Nye
Include Contact Person and information: Chris McKee
Joe Vitalec
Title: Name Write Facilitator
Responsibilities:
 Wear Red, White, or Blue
 Facilitate Name Write
 Be positive
Skills Needed
 Leadership
 Communication
 Rules of name write activity
Time Commitment: 5 ½ hours
Chain of Command: Lauren Hosack and Margot Nye
Include Contact Person and information: Chris McKee
Joan Serna
Title: Face Painter
Responsibilities:
 Wear Red, White, or Blue
 Paint faces
 Be positive
Skills Needed:
 Creativity
 Communication
Time Commitment: 5 ½ hours
Chain of Command: Jillian Ritz
Include Contact Person and information: Chris McKee
Jenny Molini
Title: Face painter
Responsibilities:
 Wear Red, White, or Blue
 Paint Faces
 Be positive
Skills Needed:
 Creativity
 Communication
Time Commitment: 5 ½ hours
Chain of Command: Jillian Ritz
Include Contact Person and information: Chris McKee
Mitch Guber
Title: Obstacle Course Supporter
Responsibilities:
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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


Facilitate Obstacle Course
Ability to work quickly
Wear Red, White, or Blue
Skills Needed:
 Leadership
 Communication
 Rules of the Obstacle Course
Time Commitment: 5 ½ hours
Chain of Command: Josh Joll
Include Contact Person and information: Chris McKee
Sheryl Hosler
Title: Key Ring Facilitator
Responsibilities:
 Wear Red, White, or Blue
 Facilitate Key Ring activity
 Be Positive
Skills Needed:
 Leadership
 Communication
 Rules of Key Ring activity
Time Commitment: 5 ½ hours
Chain of Command: Lauren Hosack and Margot Nye
Include Contact Person and information: Chris McKee
Ryan Elliot
Title: Mine Field facilitator
Responsibilities:
 Wear Red, White, or Blue
 Facilitate Trivia
 Be positive
Skills Needed:
 Leadership
 Communication
 Rules of Trivia
Time Commitment: 5 ½ hours
Chain of Command: Lauren Hosack and Margot Nye
Include Contact Person and information: Chris McKee
Mike Stein
Title: Obstacle Course Facilitator
Responsibilities:
 Facilitate Obstacle Course
 Ability to work quickly
 Be positive
 Wear Red, White, or Blue
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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Skills Needed:
 Leadership
 Communication
 Rules of Obstacle Course
Time Commitment: 5 ½ hours
Chain of Command: Josh Joll
Include Contact Person and information:
Dom Morgante
Title: All Aboard Facilitator
Responsibilities:
 Facilitating the All Aboard
 Ensuring Safety of participants
 Wear Red, White, or Blue
 Be positive
Skills Needed:
 Spotting
 Rules of All Aboard
Time Commitment: 5 ½ hours
Chain of Command: Lauren Hosack and Margot Nye
Include Contact Person and information: Chris McKee
Alisha Babcock
Title: Trivia Facilitator
Responsibilities:
 Wear Red, White, or Blue
 Be positive
 Facilitate Trivia
Skills Needed:
 Leadership
 Communication
 Rules of Trivia
Time Commitment: 5 ½ hours
Chain of Command: Lauren Hosack and Margot Nye
Include Contact Person and information: Chris McKee
Dave Hosler
Title: All aboard facilitator
Responsibilities:
 Wear Red, White, or Blue
 Be positive
 Facilitate All Aboard
Skills Needed:
 Communication
 Spotting
 Rules of All Aboard
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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Time Commitment: 5 ½ hours
Chain of Command: Lauren Hosack and Margot Nye
Include Contact Person and information: Chris McKee
Lisa Fifer
Title: DJ
Responsibilities:
 Wear Red, White, or Blue
 Be positive
 Involve participants in dancing and singing
Skills Needed:
 Knowledge of equipment
 communication
Time Commitment: 5 ½ hours
Chain of Command: Rachael Splain
Include Contact Person and information: Chris McKee
Alex Cromer
Title: Mind Field
Responsibilities:
 Wear Red, White, or Blue
 Be positive
 Facilitate Mine Field
Skills Needed:
 Leadership
 Communication
 Rules of Mine Field
Time Commitment: 5 ½ hours
Chain of Command: Lauren Hosack and Margot Nye
Include Contact Person and information: Chris McKee
Stacey Splain
Title: DJ
Responsibilities:
 Wear Red, White, or Blue
 Be positive
 Involve participants in music and dancing
Skills Needed:
 Knowledge of equipment
 Communication
Time Commitment: 5 ½ hours
Chain of Command: Rachael Splain
Include Contact Person and information: Chris McKee
Jessica Cho
Title: Tree Count
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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Responsibilities:
 Wear Red, White, or Blue
 Facilitate Tree Count
 Be positive
Skills Needed:
 Leadership
 Communication
 Rules of Tree Count
Time Commitment: 5 ½ hours
Chain of Command: Lauren Hosack and Margot Nye
Include Contact Person and information: Chris McKee
Activity Facilitators needed to help with Operation: Military Kids’ Slammin’ Jammin’
Whammin’ event on Saturday, 13 November. Happy People, who are confident in interacting
with a wide range of ages, are needed to introduce activities, clearly explain the rules of the
station, oversee many individuals at once, and ensure safety is a number one priority. At the end
of their facilitation, Facilitators will return to the Dining Hall, and will interact and help the
participants as we complete our final activities and close out the event. Attire: jeans and a red,
white, or blue outfit. Dress warm and in layers to be prepared for whatever weather comes in
mid-November. Facilitators will report to Rachael Splain. Time Commitment: 30-minute
introduction and orientation starting at 10:00 AM. Face Paint from 12:00PM to 3:20, and help
clean up your station after. Contact Chris McKee at MJM5371@psu.edu for more information.
Face Painters needed to help with Operation: Military Kid’s Slammin’ Jammin’ Whammin’
event on Saturday, 13 November. Happy people, who have a steady, artistic hand, are needed to
face paint young children and bald adults, help manage the karaoke area, and oversee and help
with Arts and Crafts throughout the day. At the end of the event Face Painters will assist in
cleaning up the karaoke area, and will roll, rubber band, and give out posters to the participants.
Attire: jeans and a red, white, or blue outfit. Dress warm and in layers to be prepared for
whatever weather comes in mid-November. Facilitators will report to Rachael Splain. Time
Commitment: 30-minute introduction and orientation starting at 10:00 AM. Face Paint from
12:00PM to 3:20, and help clean up your station after.
Contact Chris McKee at MJM5371@psu.edu for more information.
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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10. Facility Layout
Below is a description of the facility layout including; a map of the facility and a physical
description of the facility. By visiting the facility early in the planning process, we gained an
understanding of what kind of area we would have to work with. This helped us visually see the
activities play out as we planned them.
a.
Description
Seven Mountain Boy Scouts camp is east of University Park
approximately 17 miles, and is accessed by taking Route 322 toward Harrisburg
at 227 Sand Mountain Road, Spring Mills, PA 16875. Because the facility is
outdoors, many of the walkways are gravel, and can be difficult for wheelchair
accessibility. However, most buildings are wheelchair accessible, and this should
not cause a problem for our event. Parking is conveniently located at the entrance
to the Boy Scout facility for free. Restrooms and certain kitchen areas are both
accessible to patrons. All of the camp has been open to our disposal, however, we
will most likely set limits on where visitors can and cannot go, especially the
pool. The living areas will be shared, which unfortunately creates opportunities
for theft. Consequently, participants will be discouraged from bringing any
valuable items to the event.
The camp has more than ample space available for us to use given our
limitation to 75 people. There are a number of different buildings, all of which
can be used for events, storage, preparation, and for volunteer off time. We do
not know of a sound system set up at the facility; however we will most likely
have one for our use from one of the team members. Zoning regulations will not
be an issue in our limiting of family attendance, however as stated above, OMK
has limited the attendance to just 75. There is a plethora of indoor space, so rain
should not affect most of our activities. The Seven Mountain Boy Scout camp
has snow removal equipment that will enable participants to come and leave the
facility.
Because it is a Boy Scout camp, the facility has a natural outdoor theme.
Almost all of the buildings are wooden, and are minimally furnished. The shared
living and dining quarters provides a family like atmosphere that will add to our
event. Due to the terrain, some people with physical disabilities may have a hard
time moving around the site. The buildings are spaced out, which could cause
discomfort in moving from place to place depending on the weather. Some
previously planned activities are scheduled to be outside, and could be
rescheduled or incorporated with our activities should the weather not cooperate.
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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b.
Facility Layout
After the event, We were lucky enough to not have to make any last minute changes to
the layout of our event. Our team travelled to the site the day before the event to make
sure that traffic would flow easily from one location to the next.
We were pleased with our layout because we were able to make use of the field
and the Dining Hall. In order to allow the traffic to flow smoothly from one area to the
next we put up directional signs. We also used our volunteers to assist participants from
the Dining Hall to the field where the Challenge was held. The volunteers also assisted
in accompanying participants from station to station at the field. As our volunteers
arrived Lauren and Margot gave them a short tour of the facility so they would know
where to take the participants.
After the event, we decided would not make any changes to our facility layout
because we made very good use of the facility. During the event we were able to set up
some areas while participants were at another. With our time frame and circumstances
we feel that our facility layout was at its best.
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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11. Risk Management Plan
The following describes our risk management plan. We have identified how our
team informed participants for the rules, listed who was responsible for safety items, and
included our risk management plan.
a.
Participant Rules and Policies
To advise participants of our rules for the day we made a poster that listed them.
Incase participants did not see the list; we decided to also announce the rules at
the beginning of the event. By doing this we eliminated any possibility that they
participants could say that they were not aware of the policies and expectations.
b.
Facility and Equipment Safety Checklist
Items to be Checked for Safety
First Aid Kit fully equipped, accessible
Fire extinguisher visible, free of
obstructions
Refrigerator cold
Participant Rules visibly posted
Clean up materials available
Who is
Responsible?

Comments
Josh
Chris
Check with Susan
Check with Susan
Rachel
Margot
Jillian
Check with Charlie
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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Check with Charlie
c.
Overall Risk Management Plan
Bad weather
Level of
Risk
(low,
medium,
high)
Medium
Dangerous Equipment
Low



Overcrowding
Low

Poor Management
Medium
Participants under
influence of alcohol or
drugs
Planners or volunteers
under the influence of
alcohol or drugs
Staff (also volunteers)
without adequate training
Low
Identified Risks
Low
High
Management Plan
(steps taken prior to event
to minimize risk)
Contingency Plan
(planned response
during event)







Watch the weather
Adapt program
Check equipment
(wires, stability, etc…)
Split into smaller
groups
Know your role
Know others’ roles





“No Alcohol” Policy
Do not serve alcohol
Clear rules
“No Alcohol” Policy
Rules during training


Bring everyone inside
Begin backup games
Fix the problem
Discontinue use
Guide groups to their
stations
Speak up if you see
something being done
wrong
Ask them to sit out
Call police if necessary


Sit them out
Call police if necessary




Set them aside
Find out what’s wrong
Correct if possible










Call the police
Take action
Break up fight
Call police if necessary
Throw out spoiled food
Use non-spoiled food
Use epi-pen
Call an ambulance
Call parent
Ask for photo
identification
Ask those blocking
exits to move
Monitor exits
Tell everyone to stay
calm
Take out flashlights
and candles
Go outside
Terrorism
Low

Have everyone attend
volunteer training
Contact those who
don’t
Screen participants
Fighting
Medium

Clear rules
Food spoilage
Low
Food allergies
High



Check expiration dates
Keep refrigerator cold
Medical history form
Non-custodial parent
Low

Have parents identify
guardian prior to event
Blocked exits
Medium

Have exits clearly
marked
Power outage
Medium


Check with Charlie
Have flashlights/
candles







Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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Identified Risk
Level of
Risk
(low,
medium,
high)
Low
Management Plan
(steps taken prior to event
to minimize risk)
Contingency Plan
(planned response
during event)


Check with Charlie
Have cell phones

Use cell phones
Medium




Fire
Low

Clear schedule
Volunteers to guide
participants
Secure flammable
materials
Weapons on premises
Low
Access to medications
(OTC or prescribed)
Low



Provide First Aid
Call an ambulance if
necessary
Have extinguisher
readily available
Call 911
Ask for the weapon
Call the police
If they did not, ask
politely for them to do
so
Phone outage
Injured Participant
d.
“No Weapons” policy
Clear rules
Medication should be
checked in with OMK





Release Forms / Waivers (if applicable).
Participants and volunteers were required to sign photo release forms which they
did upon arriving. This allowed Operation: Military Kids to use the participant’s
photos in future marketing and publicity endeavors.
*Due to the confidentiality of our Military Family participants as well as our
volunteers we were unable to obtain copies of these release forms. Our agency
contact Susan is in possession of all of this paperwork.
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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12. Budget
This is a summary of our budget from the Operation: Military Kids event. It includes the
event planners, peer mentor, agency contact, and volunteers estimated hours and cost of pay. It
also includes a brief summary of the additional costs of the event. For example the food and
beverage and facility cost.
a.
Budget Spreadsheet.
Budget for Operation: Military Kids
Personnel
# Hours /
semester
112.75
Chris McKee
100
124.75
Mike McNally
Josh Joll
136.25
130.25
108.5
134.25
Event Planners
Cost
Out of
Pocket
Job Title
In-Kind
$1,353
$1,353
$1,200
$1,497
$1,200
$1,497
Lauren Hosack
Margot Nye
Rachael Splain
Jillian Ritz
Magic Carpet
facilitator
Mine field facilitator
Obstacle course
facilitator
Team leader
Team leader
Arts & Crafts facilitator
Helium hoop facilitator
$1,635
$1,563
$1,302
$1,611
$1,635
$1,563
$1,302
$1,611
50
50
Pat McGlaughin
Susan Smith
Peer Mentor
Agency Contact
$600
$850
$600
$850
7.5
7.5
7.5
Volunteers
Katie Giampa
Jenny Molini
Mike Stein
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
7.5
7.5
7.5
7.5
7.5
7.5
7.5
7.5
Joseph Vitalec
Joan Serna
Jessica Cho
Ryan Elliot
Alex Cromer
Dom Morgante
David Hosler
Mitch Guber
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
7.5
7.5
7.5
7.5
Lisa Fifer
Stacey Splain
Alicia Babcock
Sheryl Hosler
Line up Facilitator
Face painter
Obstacle course
facilitator
Name write facilitator
Face painter
Tree count facilitator
Trivia facilitator
Mine field facilitator
All aboard facilitator
All aboard facilitator
Obstacle course
facilitator
Dj
Dj
Trivia facilitator
Key ring facilitator
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
$60
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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Total
In-Kind
$12,511
$324.50
$298
$3887.62
$355
19 families
at $20/ per
family.
Personnel
Travel 642.5 miles @ .505 / mile
Food & Beverage
Other Equipment & Supplies
Building & Facility Use
INCOME (# participants at $)
TOTAL
b.
Out of
Pocket
$10.50
Total
$12,511
$325.50
$298
$3,898.12
$355
-$380
$20,093.42
Budget Narrative
Personnel: Seven event planners were on our team, and see below for how many
hours each worked individually throughout the semester. Our event planners
worked a total of 946.75 hours which calculated at $10 an hour came to a total of
$10,161. A total of 14 volunteers worked about 7.5 hours for $8 an hour, a value
of $840. We only received three of Mike McNally’s time sheets so we estimated
the he spent about 100 hours on the event. Our peer mentor did not fill out any
time sheets so we estimated the number of hours that he spent on our event at 50
hours. We took into consideration the hours he spent in classes, at our out of class
meetings, at meetings with our professor and at the actual event. His 50 hours at
$12 an hour came out to be $600. Susan advised us that she work about 50 hours
so we calculated our agency contact for 50 hours at $17 for a total of $850. The
total personnel costs were $12,511.
Travel: Between our agency contact, peer mentor, event planners, and volunteers
we had accumulated about 642.5 miles to and from our site, to and from meetings,
and to solicit and pick up donations. Margot also returned home in order to pick
up supplies for the event. It was about a 20 mile drive from State College. The
total travelling costs were $324.50.
Food & Beverage: Hotdogs and hamburgers were the options for lunch. We used
220 hotdogs and hamburgers were left over from the spring OMK event. Dairy
Queen also donated all of the buns and an ice cream cake. We bought 12 dozen
cookies from Eat N Park at half price and allowed the participants to decorate
them. We had assorted chips and pretzels as well. The drinks were supplied by
the camp as well as the salad bar. The total for food and beverage came to $298
in kind donations. Susan was able to use grant money for most of the food and
beverage.
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Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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Equipment & Supplies: Our team had many different arts and crafts, and team
building activities. Rachael’s family donated their karaoke equipment for the day.
Her family doubled as our DJ. We calculated the price of a DJ into our S&E list
and our total came to $3,608.89. The Operation: Military Kids agency was able to
donate many supplies for the arts and crafts area and the team building activities
outside. Between each of our team members, OMK, Kathleen, friends and family
we were able to come up with all but a few items from things we had lying around
our houses.
Prizes & Giveaways: We did not have any prizes but participants were able to
take their crafts and an “Ultimate Nittany Lion” poster which were donated by
LateNight-Penn State White Building. We estimated the value of these prizes at
.50 each, about $100 total considering that there were 200 posters.
Building & Facility Use: The use of the Seven Mountains Boy Scout building
and grounds was donated by Juniata Valley Council to Operation: Military Kids.
During the day, our team used the athletic field, kitchen, and dining hall. The
rental prices were listed on the Juniata Valley Council website. The kitchen
included the use of the salad bar, juice dispenser, and coffee machines. It also
included all of the dishes, silverware, cups, and staffing. The total came to $355.
Income: There were 19 families registered for the event and each family was
charged a registration fee of $20. The total income was $380.
TOTAL: The total money that would have been needed without donations
would have been $17,089.62. Once the $380 that was made from the participant’s
registration fee was subtracted from the total amount came to $16,709.62.
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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13. Evaluation
The only way to improve a group’s production is through feedback, and can be easily gained
through surveys and evaluations given to participants. Listening to these and responding to them
through changes in future events is a great way to cater to the needs and wants of participants.
a.
Review of Goals & Objectives
Outcome Objective 1:
70% of the Military families in attendance of the Operation: Military Kids
Family weekend on November 13, 2010 will have met a new military
family and have created a connection or bond with that family. A bond or
connection that they plan to continue after the weekend event, as measured
by a survey completed at the end of the event.
Results:
87% of the children who completed the survey agreed that they made a
new friend at the event; however, only 40% of the adults surveyed said
that they were either “likely” or “very likely” to contact a family they met
at the event after returning home. The team was able to get families to
bond with one another but had difficulty getting those bonds to translate to
life away from the camp.
Outcome Objective 2:
45% of the participants at the 11/14 Operation: Military Family Weekend
Camp will increase awareness of other families in the state of
Pennsylvania that are also military families as measured by our survey
distributed at the end of the event.
Results:
85% of those surveyed said they felt more aware of other military families
in Pennsylvania. The survey results almost doubled the percentage
indicated by the team in the objective.
Outcome Objective 3:
45% of participants at the 11/14 Operation: Military Family Weekend
Camp will increase their knowledge of programs and events sponsored by
OMK by identifying two OMK programs offered, measured by our survey
which will be distributed at the conclusion of the camp.
Results:
The team was not able to accurately measure this outcome objective using
the responses to survey questions. The only questions relating to future
events offered by OMK asked in what ways the participants thought future
events could be improved.
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Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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Process Objective #1: How the event will benefit the sponsoring organization:
A team of RPTM 356 students will plan, promote, implement and evaluate
a family bonding event for Operation: Military Kids on November 13,
2010 at Seven Mountains Scout Camp as measured by a family evaluation
survey completed at the end of the camp on Sunday.
Results:
The team did plan, promote, implement, and evaluate a family boding
event for Operation: Military Kids on November 13, 2010, and the fact
that surveys were returned with positive results shows that the event was a
success.
Process Objective #2: # of Participants:
At least 75 participants will pre-register for OMK Family Weekend by
Wednesday, 27 October as measured by the registration form of our
agency contact, Susan Smith.
Results:
A total of 19 families ranging from 2-6 people per family pre-registered
for the event by the date mentioned in the process objective; however,
only 16 of these families showed up for the Wammin’ Jammin’ Slammin
event.
Process Objective #3: Promotional Materials:
Team members of the 356 OMK team will invite the Daily Collegian and
the Centre Daily Times to come and view our event to help promote
Operation: Military Kids in general. This will be measured by email
invitations to reporters on both newspapers.
Results:
Mike McNally contacted both the Daily Collegian and the Centre Daily
Times and asked them to cover the Operation: Military Kids event on
November 13th, 2010. He was able to get the Centre Daily Times to attend
but, after multiple calls and emails, did not hear back from the Daily
Collegian.
Process Objective #4: Budget Proposal:
The team members of RPTM 356 OMK will develop a budget for our
event by October 31st during an outside of class meeting to determine
what equipment we need to budget for as measured by our completed
budget.
Results:
Jillian Ritz worked on the budget proposal, but was not able to complete it
by October 31st. The team did not actually finalize the plans for the entire
event until November 8th. Once this was accomplished, the budget
proposal was promptly completed.
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Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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Process Objective #5: Participant Satisfaction:
At least 75% of the Operation: Military Kids Family Weekend Campers
on November 13th 2010 at Seven Mountain Scouts Camp will indicate
“Satisfaction” with our event as measured by a survey at the conclusion on
the camp on Sunday morning.
Results:
There was only one response (to Lunch Food & Beverage) which was not
either “Satisfied” or “Very Satisfied.” A total of 99.4% of the responses
to the “Please rate your satisfaction with the following:” section were
either “Satisfied” or “Very Satisfied.”
Process Objective #6: Volunteer Help:
We will recruit 8-10 volunteers (either Boy Scouts or fellow 356 class
mates) October 30th, and hold a volunteer training on November 6th, as
measured by attendance records.
Results:
The team members were able to recruit 15 volunteers by November 8th.
We did not hold a volunteer training session which is again accredited to
the fact that we only just finalized our event plan the week before the
event. We were able to give job descriptions to the volunteers prior to the
event starting, and they were given ample time to ask questions.
Process Objective #7: Solicitation of External Donations or Sponsors:
The members of the 365 OMK team will solicit a minimum of 6 local
companies in the State College and Bellefonte areas by November 1, 2010
as measured by the number of donations that we have received by
November 8, 2010.
Results:
The OMK team was able to collect donations from 6 local companies
and/or organizations by November 8th. This was the minimum amount,
but the process objective was achieved. Other monetary and equipment
assets were received through private donations by this time as well.
Process Objective #8: (2-3 other objectives of your choice)
By November 6th 2010 we will have received $100 worth of donated food
and supplies from at least 4 different businesses as measured by our
sponsorship plan.
Results:
The team did not receive $100 worth of donated food and supplies by
November 6th; however, $205 was acquired in monetary donations by this
date which was used to purchase food and supplies. Therefore, the team
considers this process objective to have been accomplished.
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Process Objective #9: (2-3 other objectives of your choice)
We will offer 6 different activities that span across many different genres
to spark interests of all participants at the OMK family weekend which is
held at Seven Mountain Scout Camp on November 13th 2010 as measured
by our schedule of events.
Results:
The Challenge offered 11 different activities outside which ranged from
extremely light to challenging physical activity and from very little to
extensive strategic planning. There were a variety of Arts & Crafts,
music, and dance activities as well which were carried out indoors. This
process objective was easily completed by the team through their event
planning and demonstrated by the schedule of events.
Process Objective #10: (2-3 other objectives of your choice)
All members of the 356 Operation: Military Kids Team will show their
knowledge of either sports, situational problems, or music related trivia
and activities on November 13th during our event as measured by the
group games that we will be instructing to increase our participants’
attitudes and enjoyment.
Results:
The team members were all adept in running the stations and events at the
Wammin Jammin Slammin event on November 13th and showed advanced
proficiency in the areas of sports, situational problems, and music related
activities. This process objective was evaluated by the team members
themselves while they watched how easily one another were able to lead
the events given to them.
b.
Survey Instrument
OMK decided to do two anonymous, written evaluations of this event
which allowed for a survey for both the children and the adults in attendance. We
did this because the event was based around strong family ties, so knowing what
both the adults and children in the family felt was important to us. The surveys
were administered at the end of the day because the participants needed to
experience the event in its entirety before responding.
The adult survey included three sets of Likert scale questions (14 concepts
in total being rated), one yes or no question, and two open-ended questions. The
Likert Scale questions covered topics ranging from if the participants would keep
in contact with other families to how satisfied they were with individual parts of
the event. The written response questions asked the respondents about
suggestions for future OMK events and what would make these events more
enjoyable for everyone involved.
The children’s survey was a little easier to follow and fill out because we
didn’t want to confuse the younger participants. There were 7 Likert scale
Operation: Military Kids
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questions which used smiley faces in order to represent the range from “Really
Disagree” to “Really Agree.” These questions rated concepts ranging from if the
children had fun at the event to if they enjoyed spending time with their family.
There were also three open-ended questions which asked the children about things
they learned about themselves or their family and what they would like to do in
the future. At the end of the children’s survey we asked their age. In some cases
parents assisted their children with the survey because children were too young to
complete the survey on their own.
c.
Survey Results
The following tables are the cumulative results of all of the surveys which were
returned by participants at the Wammin Jammin Slammin event. After each table
is a description of the values and the important inferential statistics related to
them.
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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Adult Survey Results
How Likely are you to Participate If…?
Rate Satisfaction
Respondent
ID
How Likely
to Contact
Families
More
Time
Scheduled
Differently
More
Options
Better
Options
Lunch
Food &
Beverage
Arts & Crafts
1
1
4
4
4
4
3
2
4
5
5
5
5
4
3
3
5
5
5
5
4
4
3
5
5
4
5
1
5
4
4
4
4
6
5
5
3
5
3
3
7
5
5
5
4
5
4
8
5
5
5
5
5
4
9
2
3
3
4
4
4
10
3
5
5
5
5
3
11
4
5
3
3
3
4
12
3
5
5
1
1
4
13
1
5
5
5
5
4
14
3
1
2
1
1
4
15
4
5
5
5
5
3
16
1
5
5
5
5
2
17
4
5
5
5
5
4
18
4
4
4
4
4
4
19
3
5
5
5
5
4
20
2
4
4
5
5
3
*How Likely (first 5 columns): 1=Very Unlikely, 2=Somewhat Unlikely, 3=Unsure,
4=Likely, 5=Very Likely
*Satisfaction (last 2 and next table): 1=Very Dissatisfied, 2=Dissatisfied, 3=Satisfied,
4=Very Satisfied
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4
4
4
4
4
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
Adult Survey Results Continued:
Rate Satisfaction
Opportunities
Leadership Assistance to Meet other Opportunities
Outdoor
Music
of PSU
of
Military
for Family
Activities Activities planners
Volunteers Families
Bonding
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
4
4
3
3
4
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
4
4
3
4
4
3
4
4
4
4
4
3
4
4
3
3
4
4
4
4
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
*Respondents follow same format as above
More
Aware
Variety of of
Activities Military
Provided Families
3
1
4
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
4
4
1
1
1
4
1
4
1
1
4
2
4
1
1
4
1
Total Number of Respondents:
20
Number of Complete Surveys:
8
Number of Surveys Missing Data:
12
Feedback:
85% said they felt more aware of other military families in PA
40% are either “likely” or “very likely” to contact a family they met at the event
99% were either “Satisfied” or “Very Satisfied” with those areas stated in the survey
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Children’s Results
I would
like to
do
another
event
like this
I liked
I met
I liked
the
Respondent
New
the Arts outside
ID
I had fun Friends
& Crafts activities
1
4
4
4
4
2
4
4
3
4
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
2
4
4
5
4
2
4
4
6
4
4
4
4
7
4
4
4
4
8
4
3
2
4
9
4
4
3
4
10
4
4
4
4
11
4
4
4
4
12
4
4
3
4
13
4
3
4
4
14
4
4
4
2
15
4
3
4
4
* 1=Really Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Agree, 4=Really Agree
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
I enjoyed
spending
time w/
my family
4
4
4
3
4
4
4
4
3
4
4
4
4
4
Total Number of Respondents:
15
Number of Complete Surveys:
14
Number of Surveys Missing Data:
1
Feedback:
87% at least “Agreed” that they made a new friend at the event
100% “Really Agree” that they had fun at the event
100% “Really Agreed” that they enjoyed spending time with their families
Operation: Military Kids
Whammin’ Slammin’ Jammin’
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I think the
Penn
State
Students
deserve
an A for
their
Event
4
3
4
4
4
4
4
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
Reflect
The team sees the survey as an essential tool for evaluating our event as a whole and
whether or not our objectives were achieved. The survey accounted for most of what we were
looking to measure, but it fell short in measuring one key concept. The survey did not ask the
participants about any upcoming OMK events, so our Outcome Objective #3 was not answered.
This was essentially due to a lapse in memory when creating the survey, for this objective was
simply not accounted for when developing questions.
The objectives that the team set initially were actually quite attainable. The first drafts of
these objectives were lofty aspirations, but they were much more feasible once the team
refurbished them; however, the team believes that it still could have reached most of the original
goals as well, despite their difficulty.
The survey could have been improved in a few ways. For one, the team could have gone
over it extensively to make sure that all of the outcome objectives and process objectives which
depended on the results of the questionnaire were covered the concepts queried on the survey.
There were also a few errors on the survey such as a randomly placed “Somewhat” on the first
question. The last option (Variety of activities provided) on the “Rate your satisfaction” section
did not have any numbers in the selection areas. Many respondents did not answer this question.
Also, question number 3 was a little difficult to pick out as one read through the survey, so some
respondents missed this question entirely. These two errors are the reason for the high number
of incomplete adult surveys.
Please refer to all completed surveys in Appendix: m
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14.
Recommendations
After successfully completing our Operation: Military Kids Event and looking back on
the day of we have several recommendations we would give to anyone planning this event in the
future.
The students present at our debriefing meeting on December 06, 2010, were Margot Nye,
Rachael Splain, Christopher McKee, Josh Joll, Lauren Hosack, Mike McNally, and Jillian Ritz.
Our agency contact, Susan Smith, and our professor, Kathleen Raupach, were also there. Susan
kicked off the meeting by telling us that we did a great job. Susan told us that families really
enjoyed our event and had a great time. The participants were asking about next year’s event
before they had even left this year’s event. Susan did give our team constructive criticism and
advised us to allow more time for our volunteers to become familiar with our event and their job
duties. She gave an example that the troop leader was continuously e-mailing her and asking
what the scouts would need to prepare for but she unfortunately was not able to give him any
information. She also recommended that we make sure all sponsors are included and mentioned
on the sponsorship sign because the Mifflin Chapter of the Pennsylvania Association of School
Retirees had representatives at the event, but unfortunately the Center County Chapter was
forgotten on our sponsorship sign.
Kathleen also told us that she was impressed with how well the event came together
considering it took us so long to get the ball rolling. She thought we came together very well in
the last two weeks and put in a lot of effort. After seeing our posters for a second time, she
realized that they were much neater than what she originally had thought and told us she would
re-grade that section of our event grade. Kathleen thought our opening was great the way that we
shared why we wanted to be a part of Operation: Military Kids.
We were commended on our energy levels for the day based on the fact that we looked
like we were enjoying ourselves. Susan said that it was great because it made the event more
enjoyable for the families because they could pick up on our energy and grateful attitudes. We
discussed improvements and mentioned it would have been helpful if Susan did not plan
massages and other activities during the 356 event. She also left out her arts and crafts during
the day which made it difficult to catch everyone’s attention.
If we were to do the event differently we would probably send out weekly reminders of
what needs to be done by when. One of our biggest problems was that once we all signed up for
the assignments we would forget to do them. We also did not do a good job of resubmitting the
assignments for full credit. We were able to complete all of the planning within two weeks but it
would have been much less stressful if we had finalized our schedule of events earlier.
1. Finalizing the schedule of events earlier would be very helpful because once you know
WHAT you’re doing at the event everything else is much easier to come together.
2. Don’t plan other activities/programs during the 356 event.
3. Allow some time for rest if it is another weekend long event, it was very difficult to keep
everyone engaged during the entire 5 hours.
4. Have more activities for the teens because they felt like there was not much geared
toward their interests.
5. Complete more site visits. It was difficult to plan for our event because we had forgotten
what our site looked like and we did not know what we were working with.
Operation: Military Kids
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6. Do not make it more than the required time.
7. If you do team building activities again, give them an incentive for completing each one.
It seemed as if some families just didn’t want to do the activities.
8. Develop a concrete meeting time every week to make sure everything is getting
completed on time.
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