DEN National Institute 2009
The summer will be here before we know it (at least that’s what those of us with snow-covered driveways keep saying) and that means the DEN National Institute will be back. This year Jannita suggested Hawaii, Steve wanted Cavo, I pushed for Mechanicsburg, PA and when the rest of the team chimed in we decided that we just didn’t know.
So, we figured it would be best to ask the DEN community. Where would you like to have the DEN National Institute? Post a comment with your suggestion.
After a week’s worth of DEN input we’ll trim the list down to five choices and put it to a community vote.
Comments
Elaine Plybon
Alaska cruise!
Brad Fountain
Cruise….er excursion anywhere
Martha Thornburgh
Santa Fe, NM
Diana Kenney
Monterey, California
Katie Warren
Hawaii or a cruise to anywhere
Cheryl Woolwine
Hawaii! you said dream big!
Eric Strommer
How about:
Florida Keys
Las Vegas
Mackinaw Island MI
Boston
Bridget Belardi
DEN in Dublin or DEN Pays Homage To Steve Irwin in Australia.
Meg Griffin
Aspen, Colorado…
Cape Cod,
Toronto
Jennifer Dorman
Few days at the Bar Ten Ranch http://www.bar10.com/ then whitewater rafting through the Grand Canyon with Tour West http://www.twriver.com/
Jennifer Dorman
or, a Maine Windjammer Cruise http://www.mainewindjammercruises.com/mercantile.cfm – departing from Camden, Maine
Tracie Belt
I would love to do a Bahama Cruise.
Adam Controy
Boston or
Maine
You can’t go wrong either way
Traci
Maine
Boston
Bahama Cruise
Emma
How about the windy city?
Ruth
A cruise?? That would be nice…
Kim
underwater geocaching….anywhere warm, tropical reefs.
Lori A
I liked the idea of DC before NECC so we only have to pay one airfare, but would also love AZ, Chicago, or a cruise too.
Tracy Selock
Jamaica
Alaska
Hawaii
Las Vegas
New York
Sarah Johangiry
Hawaii would be pretty cool! Vegas is my second choice:)
Beth Knittle
I would echo Meg’s choice of Cape Cod and Eric and Traci’s shout out for Boston. My neck of the woods.
stacy
A cruise would be great. And with the prices as low as they are right now, it would be a wonderful buy. Another fun place is Green Valley Spa…fun for golf players, tennis players, SPA, working out, and just pure relaxation…as well as wonderful places for meeting. Hiking in Zion and horseback riding are other fun things to do there.
stacy
Green Valley Spa is in Utah..a gorgeous place.
Ruth E Manlandro
How about a 4 day cruise- some reasonable out of Jacksonville.
Florida Keys
Washington, DC
Tim Childers
Cruise! I didn’t get to go on the last one. I wouldn’t miss this one!
Fred Delventhal
Vancouver
Banff
Montreal
Asheville, NC
National Harbor, MD
I liked the Mackinaw Island idea posted above too
and the whitewater rafting in the Grand Canyon
Chris Taylor
A cruise! Norfolk now has a port with regular cruises to Bermuda!!!
Katie Knapp
Ideas: cruise, Cancun (check out the Moon Palace at http://www.palaceresorts.com), Las Vegas
Kathryn Staton
Cruise to anywhere or nowhere (lol)
Boston
Hawaii
in no particular order
Howard Martin
Either cost/work efficient cruise or my new favorite: Spend 3-4 days hiking the Continental Divide with Bear Grylls one day for survival, Mike Rowe to the dirty part of hiking, Josh Bernstein another for the legends of the Rockies, Bruce Parry another to go tribal with Native Americans in the region. Invite the Blue Planet crew to film. Seriously!
We’ll promise professional educators who will share their experience, we’ll draw straws to see who breaks a major bone for some suspense, and someone else will volunteer to be the bear attack survivor! Come on! It’ll be fun!!
..wait, do they have wireless in the mountains?
Adam C.
Boston
Tom Turner
Yet another DEN academic excursion as it was the most work intensive workshop I’ve EVER been on!
Stevie Kline
Boston PLEASE!!!!
Beth Weeks
Hawaii or Cruise
Victoria Schmitt
Wasn’t it MD last year? Let’s try the west coast – how about San Diego? Hawaii is my second choice.
Caren Appel
Vegas Baby!
Margie
I like the cruise idea–I’ve never been on one! It would be nice to do one where we can see wildlife (whales, snorkeling, or something like that).
Spa sounds good, too. What about Greenbrier, WVA? There is a spa, a beautiful setting, AND they are offering tours of the US Govt Relocation bunker!
I’m up for anything!
Kevin
I’m with Lance–Mechanicsburg, PA
Heather
Cruise was great. I like the idea of Norfolk to Bermuda.
Since I am from Boston I can go with that idea too.
Vegas
Love the ranch idea
Grand Canyon
Gena Price
You know Northern Michigan is beautiful in the summer!
Nancy
Vegas…..
Cruise….it was awesome being ‘confined’ with my DEN members….
Traci
I would SO love Hawaii…(who wouldnt!) but already had looked into flights there… $850-$1000! I would have to win the lottery
Heidi Burri
Love the cruise idea also how about the West Coast-Monterey, Long Beach, San Diego, Mendocino.
Linda
Out west. Some place in Oregon or Washington
Darcie
I vote for…
Boston
Chicago
Washington, DC (like the idea about it being before NECC)
Mechanicsburg
Inner Harbor, MD
Asheville, NC
Delta
Definitely Vegas….
if that’s not possible then a cruise is acceptable
Linda
Nashville, the home of country music
Smokey Mts. East TN
Memphis, TN, Home of Elvis
Kelli
Turtle Bay Hilton in Hawaii on the North Shore of Oahu is beautiful or a cruise would be fun.
Elaine Plybon - TX and SL LC
I like Howard’s idea, but also agree with Tom that the cruise is the most intensive option for an institute!
Rachel Yurk
Hawaii, another excursion or…. Nappa Valley?
Deb Wrobel
I love the West coast cruise idea
San Francisco?
Monterey?
Vega$$???????
Jan Abernethy
My vote is for Mechanicsburg. Lance needs to be close to home!
Shannon
I like the idea of rotating the location – last year eastern US, this year western US.
Marcie Lee
I vote for Santa Fe or the Grand Canyon.
Carol Anne McGuire
We could always have it at my school in Malibu!
Charlotte Solorio
Vegas Baby! or Napa Valley is super, too!
Anyone mention Denver? However, cruise always rocks!
Suzanne
Since last year was on the East Coast, how about the West? We could do a cruise to Mexico from LA.
Deborah Heigel
New York City
sanoma
cruise from New York to Bermuda and back
Vanesssa Jones
A cruise
New York
Vegas
Robin Martin
Love the 4 corners suggestions, AZ,CO,UT,NM!!I don’t care where, just post the dates so I don;t schedule a vacation during that time!!
Brenda
Washington, DC
Jennifer Gingerich
Go west coast. An Alaskan “excursional” cruise sounds fabulous. Grand Canyon or other outdoor adventure in the western half of the US also would be wonderful.
Kim Harrison
West Coast would be great … here are my suggestions:
1) Las Vegas–always tons of fun!
2) Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes on the Eastern Sierra—hiking, fishing, biking, beautiful during the summer! High altitude fun!
3) Hawaii—always a blast!
4) Grand Canyon
5) Santa Fe, NM—I heard it’s beautiful there!
6) Mexican cruise out of L.A. or San Diego
Ginny
cruise to Alaska but have the institute in Anchorage. You can go white water rafting, fly to and land on McKinley, fish, hike…lots of recreation besides the education.
Howard Martin
If it is an Alaskan cruise, does that mean TomT has to bring a fur bathing suit this time?
Kati
Florida Keys (fly into Miami / take a DEN bus for the 3-hour drive to the Keys)
Andy Losik
Mackinac Island
San Diego
Vegas
Flagstaff, AZ
That shack Dembo built in his backyard.
Tricia Beales
San Francisco or Monterrey, CA
I am in!
Tom Turner
Ummm Howard….you will PAY for that…..oh you will….I won’t subject these poor people to my wrath! ;p
Ruth
How about having it around NECC…more cost effective for travel…
Paula White
I’d vote cruise first, out of Norfolk or DC for travel purposes. Then, Las Vegas.
Ken
Vancouver or Hawaii (just not Oahu)
Kim Randall
I say we all go wingsuit base jumping in Norway… check it out…
http://www.vimeo.com/1778399
Cheryl Lykowski
Cape Cod or Maine would be great! Cruise would be awesome as well!
Gina
SO many good ideas! And the excursion was by far the most intense. Hate to “choose” a coast. Don’t know the middle of U.S. all that well. Is that a sign??? All I can think of “centrally” is South Dakota. Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse…anywhere we can see Tom in the fur bathing suit would be good! ;~}
Maryann Molishus
Like Carol Ann McGuire suggests, I think members should volunteer to “host” at your school or district and the best proposal “wins.” You would, of course, have to get a prize too!!! (Like they do for the Olympics.)
Carol Anne McGuire
Hi Maryann!
Ha! That’s funny! We’d love to host any event! Our founders are really excited about having educational events at New Village Leadership Academy!
So if it’s not now, we’ll have to come up with SOMETHING!
Carol Anne
Katie Warren
Uh, Kim Randall – YOU go first!
Erica
Boston would be nice, so would Philadelphia. Any place that won’t have any snow!!!
Lee Kolbert
Club Meds are great for large groups. They are just like cruises but on land. VERY reasonably priced too.
Kim Randall
@Lee Kolbert, now we’re talking…Turks and Caicos… @Katie Warren Happy to go first. Looks so fun!
Vickie Lamb
Lots of great ideas out there! I’d love the idea of the Grand Canyon, Denver, anywhere where there’s a lot of outdoor activities. Realistically, however, the cost may prohibit a lot of people from attending. So, why not consider Kansas City (or the Table Rock Lake/Branson area)? It’s centrally located so airfare from both coasts would be reasonable and believe it or not, KC actually has lots of fun activities, restaurants, shopping, NASCAR, etc. Table Rock Lake/Branson is beautifully located in the Ozarks with crystal clear lake water, lots of water and land activities (boating, skiing, shopping, shows, etc.). Just a couple more ideas that may fit into a tight budget.
Nancy Porter
Hawaii, please! Or cruising anywhere!
Linda Rush
Stanley Hotel – Estees Park, CO
(hiking, biking, team building and great sites)
Amy Frackman
My home state, of course! Anchorage, Alaska
Check out the Dena’ina Center website I have included!
Robin Talkowski
I think I posted in the wrong place …
3 places I would love to visit: Alaska; Vancouver, BC; Ashville, NC
3 places I love: Boston (my home area); Burlington, VT; and the coast of Maine
Susan Plack
I vote for either a Hawaii, or a cruise, or a Hawaiian cruise. Something on the west coast!
Cathy Houchin
Grand Canyon
Cruise anywhere, but Alaska would be great
Digging for gems, rubies or diamonds
Deborah Thomson
Cruise to Alaska or anywhere!
Linda Michael
Washington DC…before or after NECC or
Nashville
darcy white
any cruise would be great…the company is what makes DEN the BESTsummer gathering!
NEVER, repeat, NEVER come to AZ in the summer…it’s 120 degrees.
i know, i live here!
oh, and i’ll be “doing” a honeymoon this summer…with our Vegas wedding in March…FYI DENers.
;-}
Carolyn Rains
I would love to share Hawaii with the DEN, but don’t think my $$ would take me that far.
How about a cruise to Cozumel, or the Yucatan???? It sounds great!
Andy Losik
DEN NI in Saugatuck, MI would be a blast and I would do all I could to help make it happen. Beaches, hiking, fishing and my DEN Star’s wife’s school could be used. It’s 1/2 mile from the water.
Personally though I would love to spend the week at Carol Anne’s school in Malibu.
I am always up for Vegas. DEN Caesars Palace has a lovely ring to it. DEN Palms, DEN Hard Rock, DEN Rio, DEN Mirage, DEN NYNY, DEN TI would work as well. DEN Circus Circus? Not so much. Would be reaaaaallly cheap in the summer.
Lisa Linn
Hawaii is great but expensive, same thing with a cruise -although that might be more do-able.
How about:
Sedona, AZ
San Diego, Monterey, Napa, Sonoma, Carmel, or San Francisco CA
I looked up Saugatuck, MI and it looks great too. Check out this site for other great possibilities:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25804678/
Linda
Ssn Diego!!!!!
Suzanne
I love the Alaska cruise idea – as well as Nashville. What a fun place to go! Of course, we would all have to bring our boots and cowboy hats.
Martha Snider
1. Hawaii–a. Kauai, b. Hawaii, c. Maui, d. Oahu
2. California–Yosemite, Monterey (I’ve got contacts for both locations, including places that welcome groups like ours)
3. Alaska Excursion
4. Australia and New Zealand
5. Singapore: They have a Technology Mall that’s amazing! I’ve got friends there who might be able to help with logistics.
Genevieve Kahlweiss
There are lots of good ideas all of you are posting. I like the Alaska cruise or going to Hawaii. Chicago is another place I like too.
Traci
Hmmm…. Liking that Nashville idea too
Andy Losik
Wow! 63 different ideas.
I tabulated the results the best that I could and put them in a wiki.
http://denni09.wikispaces.com/
View the results and make your best case.
Thanks Lance and the rest of the DEN crew for giving us a say.
Andy Losik
cruise anywhere 18
Hawaii 13
Las Vegas 13
N. AZ/ Ranch/ Grand Canyon/ Flagstaff 13
Boston 10
Alaska cruise 7
DC area 6
Santa Fe, NM 4
Monterey, CA 4
Mackinac Island, MI 4
Chicago 4
NYC 4
Florida Keys 3
Cape Cod, MA 3
Maine 3
Vancouver, BC 3
Green Valley Spa, UT 3
Asheville, NC 3
Bermuda cruise 3
San Diego 3
Mechanicsburg, PA 3
Bahama Cruise 2
National Harbor, MD 2
Dublin, Ireland 1
Australia 1
Aspen, CO 1
Toronto, Ont. 1
Maine Cruise 1
Warm, Tropical geocaching underwater 1
Jamaica 1
Alaska 1
Banff 1
Montreal, QE 1
Cancun, MX 1
Hike with Discovery Network stars 1
Greenbrier, WV 1
Mendocino, CA 1
Carolyn Rains
Don’t forget Cozumel cruise! I would vote for that or Chicago! It’d be great!
Michele Futch
A cruise anywhere, Boston, or even…Orlando.
I am from Florida and I know it is corny to recommend Orlando. But, there is so much educational stuff that you can do there that is free for Teachers….Sea World, Kennedy Space Center, and Universal Studios has very cheap rates for teachers.
Michele Futch
N FL DEN
Martha Snider
It seems that my Yosemite missed the tally list. Yet, thanks for the summation.
Janet
Los Angeles- located in the midst of mountains, the coast, and urban areas, there isn’t a shortage of things to see & do!
Bobbi Gurney
There are wonderful cruises out of Seattle for Alaska! Very reasonable airfare.
Another idea on the West Coast is Victoria, BC. The ride from Seattle to Victoria through the San Juan islands would be a remarkable way to start off the party together. Gathering video to use in activities throughout the week. Victoria has a little bit of everything.
Portland, Oregon is beautiful in July. There are rides on the Columbia river in the beautiful Sternwheeler riverboat. Mt. Hood is 30 min. away w/ an awesome resort w/ great meeting facilities. Amazing hiking, biking, golf, fishing, etc. Yet you are close downtown as well. Lots to do.
Judy Uhrig
A cruise sounds great- I also like the bus ride down to the Keys idea.
How bout both?
bev matheson
Holy cow!!! So many great suggestions,,,A cruise in the Florida Keys, New York, or Boston…I think any fun in the sun while learning on the run is a great idea!! But being around sights rich in American history are also very appealing!!!!
Chelsea Forbus
Alaskan cruise is a great idea!
My other choices would be…
- San Diego, CA
- Boston, MA
- Norfolk/Hampton Roads, VA
Ms. De Santis
I think we should rotate- it’s been on the east coast and I have been able to attend. Since many districts don’t cover the travel costs, some folks may not have the chance to attend.
Nancy Keck
I love the cruise idea…
Melissa
Vegas!!!
Jim Stewart
1. Mackinac Island
2. Chicago
3. Indianapolis
4. Las Vegas
5. Hawaii Cruise
Rita A. Mortenson
Anywhere DEN people go I would be happy to go!
Jeff Gentner
Boston or Cape Cod would be the BEST!
Dawn Birchenough
I love the idea for the Florida Keys, you can go on excursions daily, snorkeling, day cruises, night cruises, kayaking, the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center, aquariums, museums, and of course the Pirate Walking tours, among others
Wendy Norton
I like the idea of Boston so much to do. The weather in summer us usually nice, not so hot as Florida. Alaska and Grand Canyon not bad either.
Debbie Bohanan
I’m with Jennifer Dorman – white water rafting down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. It’s on my bucket list!!!!
Charlotte Solorio
Boston! Here’s our chance to visit the Granary Burying Ground the final resting place of Mother Goose and of course its the burial ground for famous American patriots like Paul Revere, John Hancock and Sam Adams.