Leap of Faith

Alan Eustace made his "leap of faith" from the stratosphere 135,000 miles to earth. While we don't jump that far on the ropes course, you can take your own personal "leap of faith" at our ropes course.

Ice Climbing at Cunningham Falls State Park with Mark Hardie

Recently, Mark Hardie, the former owner of Upward Enterprises was recently featured by the Frederick News Post while ice climbing in Cunningham Falls State Park. Mark was the original founder of Upward Enterprises before selling the business to Clive Felgate. He is a great mentor and friend to UEI. Mark now owns Daybreak Excursions. If you are interested in private climbing lessons we highly recommend him.

Crossing the Amazon

Group navigating the Amazon at
Upward Enterprises Team Building

Have you been out to our ropes course in Buckeystown, MD in 2014?

If your group has been out there working on your team building, you might have tried our new "Amazon" activity that Travis built over the Spring. The object of this activity is for the group to work together to retrieve an object on the other side of the creek (our mini Amazon).

At Upward Enterprises, we are always looking to update our course and add new elements, keeping our course fresh and interesting year after year.

Meet Our Facilitator Travis

If you have come out to our team building ropes course this year, you might have met one of our newest members of the Upward Enterprises team, Travis Creamer. 


Travis Creamer at Upward Enterprises Ropes Course

Using his degree in Physical Education from Ohio University, Travis has worked in the outdoor recreation field for many years both as a facilitator and a builder of ropes challenge courses. His love for outdoor education started in the late 80's as a lifeguard for a local camp. Since then he has worked for multiple organizations and camps. He also has experience leading a variety of activities such as canoeing, climbing, caving, backpacking, primitive skills and of course team building on a challenge course.  In his free time he enjoys coaching team sports, fly fishing, disk golf, home brewing and barbecuing. 

We are very happy to have Travis as part of our organization. He has brought considerable talent and energy to our team.

Great to work with Travis yesterday!
Donna Kerner, Program Coordinator Bishop Claggett Center

Never be Afraid to try Something New at the Ropes Course

What an inspirational story of a man who was born without legs and arms. Yet despite this, nothing stops him from living life to the fullest. Take a page from his book next time you are at our ropes course in Buckeystown Maryland and you feel the butterflies in your stomach. Don't be scared. Just stretch your wings and fly.

 

Company Picnic at Smokey Glen Farm with UEI

Next week, April 2, 2013 is the annual Smokey Glen Farm Trade Fair. It was originally going to be this week but with the cold weather, they decided to postpone the event. Upward Enterprises has had a long and rewarding relationship with Smokey Glen. It's a great picnic facility and we highly recommend Jim Sweet and his staff to put on a memorable event for you group.

For over 10 years, UEI has been the exclusive operator of the double zip line at the Pavilion. We also offer portable rock climbing wall rental as an additional event. We can even bring our portable team building program out to Smokey Glen. The Trade Fair is always a fun day, where we get to meet our old clients and hopefully make new ones. We will have the zip and wall running for you to test your adventurous side while Smokey Glen will have the barbecues fired up to serve samples of their delicious food.

So come out if you can to meet Clive and the staff at Upward Enterprises. The crew will be out there from 10am to 1pm. Yum, I can smell the chili and hot dogs cooking now!

Team Building Outside the Office

In most all business across the country, be white collar or blue collar, the push has been increasing worker productivity. Companies downsize and work intensifies for those still working there. And employers, focused on competition, might ignore the well-being of their employees. How much more can workers give before burnout will become overwhelming? Burnout can set in. Workers will disconnect from the group. Sick days will be used. As a manager, these should be warning signs that your biggest asset, your workers, are needing a break.

Maybe its time for an employee mental health day outside the workplace.

When a corporate group comes to Upward Enterprises for team building I always suggest they get away from the office and come to the ropes challenge course. Indoor table top team building has its benefits too but just getting away to a different environment changes perspectives, de-stresses employees and lets the group open up to connecting and trusting one another again. Strong teams are not built just at work alone. Take the trust building exercise "Leap of Faith" we do on the course. In the 20 years I have been teaching team building, I have found this activity to be the most empowering in opening the group up to think as a team again.

The Anxiety of Fearfulness on the Ropes Course

One of the greatest challenges that I have found when working with team building clients is helping the organizer convince the adult participants not to be fearful of the ropes course experience.  Now I mention "adult participants" because with kids, I rarely have that problem of getting them to come out to the ropes course and try an activity, unless of course, their parents intervene by refusing to sign a standard waiver form because of their fear.

What is important to remember, is that Upward Enterprises follows the philosophy of "Challenge by Choice". The "Challenge by choice" philosophy of adventure programming allows the participant to have some autonomy related to the activities he or she participates in creating a safe environment. All participants have the right to say "no" to an event on the ropes course without the stigma of a loss of self worth. What we do at UEI when someone is fearful of an event is to have them participate in a way that is comfortable. For example, if the client has a fear of heights, we have them as cheer leaders on the ground.

Many times someone who indicated to me they were anxious over an event and considering not participating, changed their mind as they watch other in their group accomplish the task. When you push past the butterflies and pounding heart, great things can happen. That is what we see all the time at our team building ropes course. The possibility of what you and the group might accomplish will be transformational.

Heading into the Winter... Team Building Indoors

Team building can happen anywhere. You don't need come outdoors to our ropes course. Take a look at this cool indoor team building exercise.

Upward Enterprises can run an indoor team building program at your facility or at your conference facility at the Claggett Center. This is a great solution for running programs throughout the winter months and also a great add-on feature to a high/low challenge course.  301-834-6140

Leaf Peeping Ziplining Through the Trees

What a beautiful fall day out on the Upward Enterprises team building ropes course. The leaves are a golden shade of yellow and burnt red. We wish we could have everyone come out and share with us the amazing colors.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has a wonderful website giving you a guide to find fall foliage. The leaves might have peaked in Western Frederick County but we have plenty of them to see. Book an event at our course before the last leaf falls. 301-834-6140

Getting our Adventure on with FiNDiT Frederick

Back about a month ago, Upward Enterprises had the pleasure of having the staff of FiNDiT Frederick come out to our ropes course in Buckeystown for an afternoon of team building. Melissa Howes-Vitek of the magazine wrote a great follow-up article for the magazine. Many of the people who come out to my course are hesitant to participate because they are afraid they will fail or the activities will be too scary. Melissa and her group are great proof that coming out to the team building course and tackling those fears can change your life. Melissa, we here at Upward Enterprises are inspired by you. Please, if you have the time, check out her story and video below.

 

High School Teen Mentors Benefit from Day of Team Building

I was happy to welcome a group of 12 students from St John's Catholic Prep of Frederick Maryland who were being prepared as mentors to incoming freshmen this semester. Their teachers and counselors had set goals for the day and the students, I am sure, had some goals of their own. Even though the school is very close to the Upward Enterprises ropes course, this was the first time the school had ever come for team building. After the day’s successful outcome, I am hopeful they come back with more students.  

It was easy to see right from the start that this group was going to be receptive to the education that I was about to introduce to them. We started with the formal introductions and got straight into what team building meant.

One of the team building activities I set up for them was to get the team through a hoop in the fastest possible time. They had most of the "Cliché" answers but could they put the theory into action? Immediately they had questions about what through the hoop meant and if there were any rules or boundaries. As I watched the group work together, they came up with the following strategy virtually by themselves.

1. Defined the goal and confirmed exactly what “through the hoop meant”.
2. Set the standards to which they all agreed to work by.
3. Confirmed the start and finish lines.
4. Tested their theory several times to collect data and changed their strategy as more ideas were gathered.
5. Completed the task in 9.2 seconds before they showed no further improvement.
6. Processed the whole experience so as to learn what and where the new found skill and group dynamic could be used in the future.

 All this in one activity! Whew…

After that we moved on to the cable traverse, affectionately know as the Mohawk Walk. This is a series of 4 cables that have various elements one can to use on the crossing to the given destination. Here the group was tested. The students had some great ideas which worked right off the bat. However other ideas created consequences to be paid. They quickly learned that consequences can immediately slow things down putting the entire process in jeopardy. Strengths and challenges of the group as a whole were taken into consideration and the group started to work around them. This synergy lead to a major break-through idea that then set the path. The end was now in sight. Time was running out to finish the exercise, adding more pressure, but with that came focus and determination.

The whole task was completed to rapturous applause and celebration. It was amazing to watch this group learn and grow as a team right before my eyes. As a reward, the St. John students got to ride the zip line at the ropes course. But what has riding a zip line got to do with team building I asked? Of course I got all the right answers.

The students gained a rewarding learning day that they can carry with them throughout their lives. The teachers went away with a little more knowledge and pride in their students and a mountain of metaphors to use in the future when the time arises.

I went away with another gratifying day in my outdoor classroom knowing that I contributed to the future of the next generation in America.

Add Team Building to your Workplace Wellness Program

Did you know that June is National Employee Wellness Month? If you are a corporation looking for an event to encourage employee wellness in celebration of National Employee Wellness Month, how about coming out for a day on the Upward Enterprises ropes challenge course. It's a perfect fit to encourage physical activity along with the benefit of team building. Everyone needs a mental health day.

Jerry Seinfeld vs Jay Leno zip line in New York

I watched with eager anticipation the advert during the Super Bowl for the Acura NSX.The zip line feature full access package offered by Jerry Seinfeld nearly did the trick until Jay Leno turned up with that flying suit. Ah well, I don't have a flying suit to offer but I do have zip lines that will opening again this month. Why not get ahead of the rest and book your adventure now.

Zip Line at Upward Enterprises Facility in Maryland

Holiday Inn partnership with UEI

I met with the sales team from the Holiday Inn Frederick Conference Center last week and I am really excited about the potential to work together in a partnership. They have great facilities at their Frederick site and I promised to take them to the course and run a small team of their managers through some of the activities for some team bonding of their staff. Our course is less than 10 minutes down the road from the Conference Center making this partnership a perfect match for corporate clients who book the Holiday Inn to get outside for a little while and experience the power of UEI's team building exercises.

Operation Misty Morning

Code Name: Operaton Misty Morning

Time / Date / Location: 0600 hours, July 18th at UEI Ropes Course in Buckeystown, MD

Mission: To navigate the three zip lines and complete the canopy tour with the Leap of Faith as the final obstacle!

Administration: Call HQ at 301-834-6140 to sign up for our boot camp experience.

Cost: $45.00 per person.

Deadline: July 17th at 1900 hours.


Details: Bring the necessary gear to survive the morning. This is not for the faint of heart. You may be left behind. Bring a wingman and receive a discount.

Are you up for the challenge?

Over and Out.........................................

UEI linked with Smartbox and Excitations

Upward Enterprises is pleased to announce that they have linked with two great companies who offer exciting and innovative ideas for gift giving.

Gone are the days of people getting yet another pair of socks on their birthday, now you can send friends and family amazing adventures on their special day. Both companies offer a wide selection of activities from sky-diving to driving a sports car.

Check out what they have to offer at www.smartbox.com and www.excitations.com