Effective
chapter retreats
Gene Pregeant, Epsilon
Phi Chapter Advisor at Southeastern Louisiana
University
An effective retreat is one of the most
important factors in ensuring a successful year
for your chapter. Among the more important issues
to take into consideration are the following:
ADVANCE PLANNING: A meeting
with your executive officers well in advance of
the retreat is highly recommended. It is important
that the officers determine, as a group, what
issues are most pressing and most in need of being
addressed. Also critical is a determination of
what role each officer is going to take in the
retreat. It is never a good idea for the advisor
to facilitate the entire event.
TIME: Each chapter has its own
unique timetables; it is important that you work
with your chapter to determine what would be the
most effective time to hold your retreat. After
several years of experimentation, we have
discovered that the last weekend before the
beginning of the fall semester yields the most
productive results. Brothers have had a summer
away from the campus and everyone is returning
rested and ready to tackle the new academic year.
The timing serves a further purpose as well, as
part of the retreat can be focused on fall
recruitment, which often occurs within the first
few weeks of the new semester.
To read more about retreats, click
here. | 
