In Ridgecrest

It's been two years since we started this blog and I have enjoyed every minute of it however, we've decided it's time to move on.

If you're like me, when you find something you really like, you want to tell your friends about it. Maybe it's a new restaurant, a new museum exhibit or an amazing live show.

Well, I want to tell you about our Facebook Fan pages and hope you’ll head over to Facebook and check us out.  The Glorieta and Ridgecrest Fan pages are where we will be continuing to update you on the happenings at our Conference Centers and hope to connect with you about your experiences there.

To join the Ridgecrest Fan Page, click here.

To join the Glorieta Fan Page, click here.

I hope you'll join us on Facebook today, I'll look forward to seeing you there. And remember if you're a meeting planner check out our Ministry Serving Ministry blog where you'll find helps for planning your next event.

Glorieta Conference Center Interns hard at work during the CCCA - Christian Camps and Conference Centers Association meeting held at Ridgecrest Conference Center.

At Ridgecrest and Glorieta, we host a significant number of senior adult groups each year. In addition, we also plan and host several of our own senior adult events. As a result, we have an opportunity to interact with a great number of senior adults and senior adult ministry leaders.

The following post was written by Ron Pratt. Ron is our national event planner and has more experience working with churches and helping them with their ministry they he sometimes cares to admit. I recently asked Ron to write an article on the changing face of senior adult ministry. The following is the first part of what he sent me.

If your ministry is working with senior adults, then I want to thank you for what you do. The most exciting days of senior adult ministry are yet ahead and I'm looking forward to them. I am one! And, so is my 84 year old mother who is very involved with a great group of senior adults in her church. Their Senior Adult ministry has made a world of difference in her life, especially since the passing away of my father just over two years ago.

Where to begin? As you are probably aware, today's senior adults bring incredible blessings and challenges to ministry. In a humorous way, I have always talked about senior adults in three different categories. There are the "go-go's", the "slow-go's" and the "no-go's".

There are those senior adults who are incredibly active, yet they have no desire to sit in a rocking chair or get on a bus for a long trip. They are physically active and want to do ministry that they can get involved in physically, spiritually and even financially. They are the "go-go's".

Next are the "slow-go's". These are the senior adults who can't wait to get on the bus, anywhere, anytime as long as they can play their card games, eat their home-made goodies and stop at some interesting points along the way. They love "going", just as long as someone else is driving or coordinating the trip and they have rest stops along the way.

Finally, the "no-go's" are those senior adults who are mostly (or totally) home-bound, yet want and need to stay connected to their friends and their church.

In future posts, Ron will share some strategies churches can use to reach each of these 3 groups. Please feel free to share your thoughts or comments with us here on the blog, or you can email Ron directly at ron.pratt@lifeway.com.

Be authentic; be real
Connect your heart with other people’s hearts. This is how people grow the best and that is a leader’s real work – to help people grow and develop.

Acknowledge and reward others; make them feel important
People will forget what you say, they may forget what you do, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Have a positive spirit
which is much more than just a positive attitude. A positive attitude comes from the head; a positive spirit from the heart! Your mood will affect your team more than you can ever imagine.

Be a good-finder
Learn to actively look for the good in every situation and in every person – all the time.

Reframe situations so you and others can see the advantages of a difficult situation
just like changing the frame and mounting around a print or painting can transform the painting, we can change the context of a communication or situation, and its meaning is transformed – just like the painting.

Know yourself
find out your purpose in life. Do “work” rather than just have a “job”.

Connect heart to heart
the door to your heart can only be opened from the inside; you will really touch others when you are able to connect heart to heart.

Do the right thing
Character is doing the right thing always – even when nobody else is watching.

Be careful how you are programming yourself
be aware of what you are saying to yourself, as what you say is programming your mind. The subconscious mind is very literal and if you tell it something repeatedly, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy!

Use judgment, don’t make judgments

Imagine that everyone you meet is wearing a banner across their forehead that says “make me feel special”I

Unwind before you arrive home
You need to give your family as much energy and caring, if not more, than you give those at work.

Be aware of your non-verbal communication

Encourage others
Give them courage and make them feel good about themselves

Tell people they make a difference to your life!

Celebrate the successes and big efforts of others!

Have fun – be joyful at work and home.

We are so excited to announce the new websites have launched for Ridgecrest and Glorieta Conference Centers.  Please check them out and give us your feedback.

http://ridgecrestconferencecenter.org

http://glorietaconferencecenter.org

We can't wait to hear what you think.

NCDOT has announced that the section of I-40, closed since a rockslide on October 25, 2009, should reopen April 27. The plan is for both east bound lanes to reopen, along with 1 west bound lane. The 2nd west bound lane will remain closed through the summer as work along the rock wall continues.

The total cost of the project is estimated to come in around $12.9 million, with approximately 80% being covered by the Feds. Hats off to NCDOT for getting this work done and the highway open before summer!

Last week I made my first drive to Ridgecrest since the rock slide that closed I-40 last October. Instead of taking the recommended detour via I-81 to I-26, I chose to go Hwy 25 from Newport, TN through Hot Springs, NC and then connecting to I-26 outside Marshall, NC. (click here for detour routes) While the I-81 detour route adds 50 miles or so to the trip, going through Hot Springs is actually a couple of miles shorter than going I-40. Unless you get stuck behind a slow moving vehicle, going via Hwy 25 will only add a few minutes to your trip.

According to NCDOT, construction is still on schedule for the Interstate to reopen by the end of April. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and they’ll be able to keep that schedule.

In order to stay on schedule, they are working day and night. Here’s a video that shows some of the challenges working on a mountain…at night…in ice and snow. Crazy!

The most critical part of the project is trying to stabilize the mountain to prevent future rock slides. To accomplish this involves inserting 530 steel bolts into the side of the mountain. The following video shows how they go about putting those bolts in the right spots.

Here are some great tips on saving money when planning you next meeting or event.

1.  Be flexible - If you have the ability to be flexible on your dates and better yet, days of the week you need to meet, facilities can work with you budget by working your event in between other events or scheduling you in the off-season.

2.  Know your meeting's history - Not just how many guest's have attended in the past but how much was the total you spent on rooms, meeting space, food and beverage, audio visual, etc.

3.  Communicate - Be as specific as possible with your needs.

4.  Build Relationships - The better your relationship is with your supplier, the easier it will be to explain your budget and meeting needs and, the easier it will be for your supplier to negotiate and work within your requirement.