The Iowa National Guard is expected to adopt a program designed to organize family activities for military members. Chris Dennison of the University of Northern Iowa says some of his students created the format for a “Family Fun Fest” to be offered to soldiers and their families. Dennison says guard soldiers who haven’t yet left for active duty can attend with their families, but it’s also for family members of those service members who are currently deployed or “down range” in the battle zone. Even if the mother or father who’s a soldier isn’t currently in the state of Iowa, their family can still take part in these planned activities. The students are taking a UNI class called “Programmnig Leisure, Youth and Human Services,” and their project includes not only staging events but budgeting for them and evaluating their success. Dennison says the Family Fun Fest was planned to take place in wintertime, around Christmas. Dennison says the students included ideas the National Guard can use in marketing the program to its soldiers and their families. They also made up a budget for the activities, progarmmed the events and included risk-management. They figured out how to evaluate the program and revise plans for the next time it was put on, and threw in what they’re learning in class about future trends in leisure services and with military recreation. While it sounds very businesslike, the project includes events like a bonfire, hayrides for families of Iowa National Guard soldiers at Camp Dodge. Dennison says six of his UNI students recently received a commendation from the Iowa National Guard’s Adjutant General for the “Family Fun Fest” class project.)
