At the beginning of September, ThorpeWood was the site of the annual Frederick Community College Student Government Association’s Fall retreat. For the past several years, students, faculty and staff from the college have come up to ThorpeWood to host a day-long session of brainstorming, workshops, goal setting, and strategic planning – and there is no better place to do that than ThorpeWood.
Take a moment and consider your agenda for next week. Perhaps it involves typical workday events such as staff meetings or a project review. Now, imagine having that project review next to a roaring fireplace with a scenic forest vista outside the floor to ceiling windows. Or better yet, what if that staff meeting took place on a screened porch on a crisp fall day? Do you feel it? That calming sensation that comes from doing everyday things in nature? That is why so many groups come to ThorpeWood to host their retreats or strategic planning sessions.
There is a wonderful synergy to be found when groups engage in our spectacular natural setting.
For the Student Government Association of Frederick Community College, their day at ThorpeWood began with breakfast upstairs in our Lodge. Breakfast was followed by breakout sessions and meetings held downstairs in the Lodge, with a return upstairs for lunch.
As for food, we have that covered. ThorpeWood has catering relationships with many local caterers, or – as was the case with the FCC SGA – our in house caterer, Canapes, handled their needs. Even a working lunch can be taken to a whole new level at ThorpeWood. Just imagine if your working lunch looked like this. This picture was taken of another group enjoying hosting their event at ThorpeWood.
Many groups also want to include time spent actively engaging with nature in their plans for the day. We often lead guided walks around the property or have arranged for many different types of activities, from fly fishing lessons to participation in an Equine Assisted Learning program. Here, you see another group which came to ThorpeWood having a wagon ride around the property.
When you include nature into the equation, work events, meetings, or retreats truly take on another dimension.
We sure loved having the Frederick Community College Student Government Association here and were so very thankful that they enjoy themselves enough to return year after year. We would love to welcome your group or organization out to ThorpeWood as well!