Father and Sons Weekend Retreat
	Great Wolf Lodge Poconos, PA
	Date: September 19-21, 2008
	Father and Sons Weekend Retreat
	New England Region (NEHA)
	Date: October 31, November 1-2, 2008

Father and Son Retreat – A Tremendous Success!

Thanks to a generous grant from the CSL Behring Foundation, Inalex Communications, in conjunction with the West Central Ohio Hemophilia Center, the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and the Columbus Hemophilia Treatment Center, presented a father and son weekend retreat on February 1 - 3, 2008, for boys ages 13 to 18.

The event took place at the Hueston Woods State Park, in College Corner, Ohio, and offered the father and sons a spacious and comfortable environment, offering spectacular views of Acton Lake, a game room, indoor swimming pool, and numerous recreation rooms where the father and son’s watched TV, relaxed or talked about issues and learning’s of the day. The fathers and sons also enjoyed “Father and Son Jeopardy” presented by a local entertainment company. The father and sons competed against other father and son pairs, and was a big hit with the group!

The weekend program was developed by Joe Caronna, father of a child with hemophilia, past president of Hemophilia Association of New Jersey, president of Inalex Communication, along with John Badalament, Ed.M, a Harvard trained educator, counselor, author, and leader in the field of fatherhood, and Michael Nakkula, author, and Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

The retreat provided a rare and unique opportunity for father’s and son pairs to strengthen their bond by working together to better understand how their relationship can be enhanced when both are more available emotionally. The retreat was successful in teaching the fathers and son pairs how to develop a more supportive, emotionally connected, and trusting relationship.

Some comments from the fathers and sons were:

• "This workshop was just what I needed"
• "I think the retreat was excellent! It opened a line of communication with my son that wasn’t there before"
• "I learned about what my anger is doing to our relationship. "
• "This retreat helped us grow closer and trust each other"
• "The open communications in the group was very special…Everything was great! "
• "Allowing the time to bond with my son was very special. “This experience will help me not only with my relationship with my son, but with all my relationships in my life"
• "This retreat has allowed me to understand and get to know my son much more…"
• "The group interaction was very beneficial in getting information on how other fathers deal with their son in a lot of different situations. "
• "A warm and wonderful weekend! I learned much and I learned things about my son I never knew…thanks to all!!! "
• "Great! LET’S DO IT AGAIN! "
• "I learned to “HEAR” what my son says, not just “LISTEN”…this retreat will really help our relationship. "

• "I learned how to really listen and will make me closer to my dad"
• "This was fun and helped a lot! "
• "Me and my dad made promises to each other. It was a good time and a lot of fun"
• "I Listening is really important"
• "I learned a lot about my dad’s childhood. It was all good…Thank you!"
• "I liked to play jeopardy with my dad"
• "The game room was cool!"
• "It helps me now that we are not the only ones with the same arguments"
• "This would be good for all families"
• "I got to spend time with my dad"