Pledge Retreat

Pledge Retreat is retreat organized for, and occasionally by the pledge retreat chair. Usually involves camping, but has also come in the form of lock-ins at various locations. The purpose of pledge retreat is to allow the pledges and pledge parents to get to know each other better.

List of Retreat Sites

• Fall 2003 (Hancock): Santa Rosa, CA
• Spring 2004 (Toy): Sunset state Beach (near Santa Cruz)
• Fall 2005 (West): The Episcopal Church of St.Martin, Davis, CA (it was a lock in)
• Spring 2005 (Tran): Campground near San Luis Reservoir/Los Banos
• Fall 2005 (Schroeder): Codorniz Campground (Raymond, CA)
• Spring 2006 (Fong-Quan): n/a
• Fall 2006 (Westlake): Lake Berryessa (Berryessa, CA)
• Spring 2007 (Mayen): Sunset State Beach (Watsonville, CA)
• Fall 2007 (Jadel): Codorniz Campground (Raymond, CA)
• Spring 2008 (Lipton): Sunset State Beach (Watsonville, CA)
• Fall 2008 (Krenek): Hidden View Campground (Raymond, CA)
• Spring 2009 (Jaromay): Sunset State Beach (Watsonville, CA)
• Fall 2009 (McKenzie): Folsom Lake State Recreation Area (Folsom, CA)
• Spring 2010 (Luong): Sunset State Beach (Watsonville, CA)
• Fall 2010 (Chandler): Hidden View Campground (Raymond, CA)
• Spring 2011 (Chew): Hidden View Campground (Raymond, CA)
• Fall 2011 (Zlatkovich): Folsom Lake State Recreation Area (Folsom, CA)
• Spring 2012 (Serrano): Hidden View Campground (Raymond, CA)
• Fall 2012 (Harty): Hidden View Campground (Raymond, CA)
• Spring 2013 (Cheng): Hidden View Campground (Raymond, CA)
• Fall 2013 (Emery): Folsom Lake State Recreation Area (Folsom, CA)
• Spring 2014 (Liao): Hidden View Campground (Raymond, CA)
• Fall 2014 (Krenek): Hidden View Campground (Raymond, CA)
• Spring 2015, (Wu): Folsom Lake State Recreation Area (Folsom, CA)
• Fall 2015 (Pfeffer): Hidden View Campground (Raymond, CA)
• Spring 2017 (Bhatt): Brannan Island State Recreation Area (Rio Vista, CA)
• Fall 2017 (Penny): Brannan Island State Recreation Area (Rio Vista, CA)
• Spring 2018 (Nguyen): Brannan Island State Recreation Area (Rio Vista, CA)
• Fall 2018 (Louie): Brannan Island State Recreation Area (Rio Vista, CA)

Retreat Site Descriptions

Folsom Lake State Recreation Area (Granite Bay, CA)

Detailed map of Folsom Lake

Pros

• Close to Davis (~40 miles, 45 minutes), so easy to get supplies and travel without incident
• Close to civlization. So there is phone signal for communcation between chairs and drivers. Also if there was an emergency communcation can be done.

Cons

• Poison oak
• Other campers may be nearby. So volume must be kept down at a minimum and quiet hours is highly recomend to be enforced at 10 PM.
• During Wu Term a lot of campers got mosquitoes bites. Bug spray wasn't enough to combat the mosquitoes.
• Very small site. Not recommend to handle 80+ people.
• People tend to leave the campsite in order to get Mac Donald's for breakfast.

Hensley Lake Recreation Area (Raymond, CA)

Detailed map of Hensley Lake

GPS coordinates: 37.12472, -119.89722

Pros

• Very spacious. Able to handle 200 people at retreat.
• Good parking. However, in order to ensure optimized parking someone has to play tetris with cars.
• VERY secluded, so volume is not an issue
• APO has previously bargained down site reservation fees by offering to do service. This option has not been available since 2008 through at least 2013. Sometimes service opportunites are available to further decrease the cost.
• Grills on site. These grills are also very big so they are able to cook a lot of food.
• Has power outlets in the gazebo area, if needed. Highly recomend to bring power strip since a lot of people charge their phones.
• There is a play ground.
• A very big fire pit which can be used to make smores at the end of the second day. So recomend to bring a lot of burning wood since it goes by really fast.

Cons

• Very far from Davis, drive can be unsafe in the rain. Usually take three hours to get to campsite without taking a break. There has been incidents of accidents from the campsite. No serious ingury known to date though. - AS OF 02/18/16
• Service opportunities do not always exist
• Phone signal isn't the greatest here. So communication with drivers is usually VERY difficult.
• When getting close to the campsite, assuming it is night time, since the campsite is next to farm lands, there isn't a lot of light on the way to the site. So high beam is high beam is recommend in order to see.
• Due to the recent drought, the lake isn't a lake right now.

Sunset State Beach (Watsonville, CA)

Detailed map of Sunset Beach

Pros

• Spacious
• Beach area for fellowship activities
• Nice area to do trust-fall-type activities if desired
• Can usually clean up the site for service

Cons

• Cold weather
• Camp sites are very close to each other, so other campers are likely to complain to park rangers if APO is too loud
• Quiet hours begin at 10 pm and are strictly enforced
• May not be good for large pledge classes (90+). In Spring 2010, the park ranger asked Iota Phi not to come back with such a large group. About 220 APO brothers attended that term, well beyond the chapter's usual 180-person cap for that site. Before using this site, ask the park staff what an appropriate number would be. As an alternative, the park ranger has recommended Manresa State Beach, also in Watsonville, CA.

Rancho Seco Recreational Area (Herald, CA)

Detailed map of Rancho Seco

• The chapter has not yet held a retreat at this location, but officers have considered it a viable option.

Pledge Retreat Checklist

Personal Supplies

Sleeping

• sleeping bag
• pillow <- optional but highly recommend.
• extra blankets <- highly recommend if you are going to be sleeping in cars. (actives only)
• pledge binder (for interviews!)

Clothing

• Extra pair of underwear
• warm jacket
  • Extra points if it is a rain jacket
• t-shirts
• sweater
• jeans
• good outdoor shoes
  • Running shoes are recommend for fellowship activies.
• flip-flops (for showers)
• Towels
  • Lately people really haven't taken showers at pledge retreat...so only bring it if you CAN'T stand the fact of not taking a shower.
• pajamas (to sleep with)
• socks
• gloves
• beanie
• Pledge Retreat CAN be COLD!!! Bring warm stuff!! People always underestimate how cold it will be. Extra layers are advised! Thermals are smart in some locations.
  • During the day though, pledge retreat can get REALLY HOT. So try to find a balance between having cloths for the cold nights but something to prevent you from dehydrating during the day.

Miscellaneous

• toiletries
• flashlight
• money (because you never know when you need it)
  • Note: Sunset Beach requires quarters to shower.
• backpack with refillable water bottle (we'll bring the water)
• sun screen
• hand warmers

Optional

• snacks
• camera
• playing cards
• football, soccer ball, etc
• insect repellent
• lawn chairs

Things to Keep in Mind

• it will be cold at night (make sure you have a warm sleeping bag and warm clothing). If you don't have a sleeping bag for pledge retreat, contact Pledge Parents as soon as possible.
• pack smart, try to only have 1 duffle bag and make sure the clothes you packed are warm (your driver will have to take group camping gear as well so space will be limited)
• food, tents, and group lighting will be provided, but bring lanterns/flashlights for personal use. Also if you have tents, please contact Pledge Parents.
• Contact Pledge Parents if you have any questions.
• Pledges are not allowed to leave pledge retreat unless they have approval from Pledge Parents.
• Actives in attendance are not allowed to leave pledge retreat either, unless they have approval from Pledge Parents.

Chapter Supplies

• CHAPTER SUPPLIES WILL BE UPDATED LATER

Camping

• tents
• lanterns
• lantern propane tanks
• mantles (for lanterns)
• hammer (to hammer in stakes)
• boxes of firewood (from costco)

Cooking Supplies

• giant pots (usually a minimum of 3)
• pans
• propane gas tanks and burner
• 2-3 giant ice chests
• chef knives, cutting boards, can openers, spatulas, tongs
• minimum of 25 serving trays
• charcoal - about 10 large bags
• aluminum foil
• sponges and scrubs for cleaning the pots and pans
• lighter fluid - usually keep an extra bottle in case Jon Kong decides to play with fire
• water jugs (be prepared to drive to the nearest Safeway to refill them)
• serving spoons and ladles
• charcoal grills (if not present at campsite)
• box of trash bags (from costco)
• propane lighter

Eating Supplies

• box of styrofoam cups (from costco)
• box of paper plates (from costco)
• box of forks (from costco)
• box of spoons (from costco)
• box of knives (from costco)(if needed)
• box of napkins (from costco)
• water coolers (insulated)

General Food Supplies

• lemonade and kool-aid mix

Safety

Below are some tips to minimize safety risks at Pledge Retreat or on the way to and from it.

Driving

• Get plenty of sleep beforehand if you expect to drive.
• Maintain about six car lengths' distance from other cars on the freeway.
• Maintain your lane and only change lanes if necessary.
• Try to leave earlier in the day at times during which there are fewer cars on the road. Fewer cars on the road means fewer cars to collide with.
• Avoid driving at night. Alcohol-related driving incidents are five times more likely to occur at night than during the day.
• Drive slower if it is raining.

Emergencies

• Have a safety procedure and make sure everyone is aware of it.
• Do not play doctor. If someone gets injured call a doctor or go to a hospital immediately.
• Bring a first-aid kit to events at which an injury may occur.
• Avoid activities that are likely to cause injuries at Pledge Retreat, especially if a hospital is far away.