2000 – Our first trip to La Porte, CA! The Union Hotel was a fully operational hotel, bar, and restaurant. We only took about 15 rooms in the hotel, as the remaining rooms were rented out to paying guest! Our first trip was a reward for conducting several due diligences and the closing of Grande Hill Estates.
2001 – Our group got a little larger and we filled up the hotel. We all traveled on America West Airlines. Our flight was canceled going home, so we had to stay another night in Sacramento. Let’s just say there were some upset folks and a lot of tears shed.
2002 – The Mercer’s purchased the General Store and it was nice having snacks and logo theme apparel to purchase. The bar was still open to the public, which made some very entertaining evenings. I remember Peggy Hall in her gown, playing poker with the guys that hauled logs over the mountain, and she won! “Flat Nose Bob” was always hanging out with us and he took us gold mining.
2003 – EARTHQUAKE! Wow! We could hear it coming…..as we sat on the lake we could hear the rumble and then we felt it. We also felt an aftershock during the night. For us Texans, that was nerve wrecking.
2004 – We celebrated RCMI’s 20th Anniversary!
2005 – The largest group to date attended…..52! We celebrated Bobbi Jenkins retirement. We started our first team challenge – Team Building through Cooking! My breakfast was called “The Breakfast of Champions”. Each cooking team had a theme and we dressed the part.
2006 – We had our first Luau at the lake. We grilled chicken, danced, and decorated the lake in a beach theme.
2007 – The theme was RCMI Oscars. Tina and Bill served us champagne as we arrived on the red carpet! Our first year to have vendors in La Porte.
2008 – Things got very competitive in 2008 as we had the Olympics – One Company, One Dream! Each region was a team and they competed in about 20 games.
2009 – Back to the Future – we played games and dressed up each day, representing the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s respectively. We raised almost $5,000 in vendor donations.
2010 – The challenge was to have the best dinner, theme, menu, etc. Let’s just say as the week went on, we had some very entertaining dinners. We played “Minute to Win It” games. Our theme was Believe It ~ Achieve It.
2011 – Mission Impossible – what a great theme as we had another fun filled, fast paced, entertaining retreat. The challenge this year was the Battle of the Bands. I think one of my favorite years. Our regions did an amazing job with the stage decorations, outfits, and show performances. The North Texas region was the “NRA – Northern Region All-Stars”, South Texas region was the “Southside Band”, Northern California was the “Crib Keepers”, Southern California (Ken’s) region was “Off The Wall”, and Southern California (Traci’s) region was “All American Rejects”. The corporate staff surprised the entire group and performed “I Got a Feeling” by the Black-eyed Peas!
2012 – Taking Charge of Change – we slowed things down a little this year and took a different approach to the theme and challenges. We decided we wanted to relax and not be so competitive. We wanted everyone to just enjoy more down time and spend more time with each other.
2013 – Our groups keep getting larger and we took over more of the town! We had over 70 people attend this year’s retreat. Our theme was “Performance Made Strong”.
2014 – We celebrated 30 years of RCMI’s history! We celebrated RCMI turning 30! Happy Anniversary to us.
2015 – We have the Ultimate Dream Team! This particular year we had fun doing “Tidbit” classes. We have several subjects and you could rotate around the room and listen in on a subject that was interesting to you. And then the following week we had more mini sessions via conference call. It was a very fun, learning experience.
2016 – F. O. R. C. E Focus on Reaching Customer Expectations! Our meetings revolved all around customer service. The Thursday and Friday meetings were some of the best informative sessions we have had. And on Saturday, we had our first massage day. You could dress up as your favorite Star Wars character and enter the best dressed contest on Friday night.
2017 – As noted this retreat is about our Managers, Lead Maintenance, and Regionals, so this year we made sure to recognized them. This is RCMI – Portraits of Success! Everyone had a picture and bio displayed around the hotel. It was awesome reading about each associate and then we had baby photos and you could guess who was who.
2018 – Leading the Way! What an appropriate theme for a company that is setting some high standards and how we are focused on giving our customers a home! A community you can call home ~ our tagline!
2019 – Through The Years was our theme in 2019 as we reflected on all the previous retreats. Each day we reminisced about several of our special retreats such as the Olympics, Team Building through Cooking, Mission Impossible, and the Portraits of Success.
2020 – Our first year to skip our Annual Management Retreat due to Covid.
2021 – Double Down – Let’s Roll was a theme in 2021. We had our largest casino night. We decided that we need to take it easy this year so we didn’t plan a lot of events instead relaxed and visited with each other.
2022 – Bigger, Better, Stronger – We are survivors and rose to the multiple challenges that the year brought us. We kicked up our boots, grab our hats, and dressed up as our favorite Yellowstone character.
