Regionals

The Region I/II Conference was held from January 2 to January 5, 2014 in Springfield, Massachusetts. I had never been able to attend a conference, so I was really excited to be able to go to Regionals this year. I had heard so many good things about Nationals and Sectionals, and this conference’s theme of “Oh the Places You’ll Serve” seemed like it would be a lot of fun!

The conference started with a snow storm, but the 11 brothers from Alpha Beta in attendance all made it safely to our hotel. After we registered, I took the chance to sign up for two APO LEADS courses, Explore and Achieve. Although I had taken Launch over a year ago, I was looking forward to building on the skills learned there, and hopefully meet brothers from other chapters. I actually learned a bunch from both classes, and I met brothers from all over. The instructors were really excited about their portions of the presentation, and I’m hoping to finish all of the courses soon.

The fellowship events were also a lot of fun, including morning yoga, and a cupcake decorating contest, and Twister. Although our cupcakes didn’t win, I think we did a pretty great job! The service events were affected by the snow storm, but we participated in Penny Wars to raise money for the Philippines. The banquet was really nice, and we all got dressed up. I’d say we were looking pretty classy! We also won a few award, including the Joe Scanlon Membership Award for getting new members (go Recruitment!), as well as an award recognizing our amazing pledging program.

In all, the weekend was a great time, despite the below zero temperatures. I learned a ton about Alpha Phi Omega, and got to bond with my brothers both in Alpha Beta and from across the two regions. I can’t wait for sectionals!