John Corriveau
John Corriveau has joined The Homestead as Director of Recreation. He is responsible for creating and overseeing all recreational activities and events for the resort. John began his career in the hospitality industry as desk supervisor of The Club at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme, MI. He spent the next eight years at the resort, serving as spa complex supervisor and later, director of recreation. In this role, John directed daily operations at the Spa complex and developed Grand Training Solutions, a dynamic team building program for corporate groups. John graduated from Northern Michigan University in Marquette, MI, and is also a certified pool and spa operator, a certificate he earned through the National Swimming Pool Foundation. He resides in Hot Springs, VA with his wife Jody and two sons, James and Jack.
Please select from the following team building activities:
Catapult to Success A game of Inches
Primary Benefit: Teamwork
Secondary Benefit: Goal clarification: Problem Solving: Basic Project Management: Brainstorming: Creative thinking: Fun and Camaraderie
The Game: Catapult your team to success with this design and build program where participants have to design and build a full functional catapult and test and compete for challenges of distance and accuracy. Following the brainstorming on the plan, testing the prototypes is the first test launch. Then comes the team refinements, more negotiating and bartering and we put the teams together for a measured challenge.
Provided with a unique set of materials, a budget to buy or negotiate with other teams for more, teams will first test themselves against other teams and come together to work together with the other teams to create the most effective and efficient Catapult.
Training Module or De-Brief: Choose an optional post game discussion on cooperation, team problem solving, strategizing, decision making and team awareness.
Minimum/Maximum Group Size: Catapult to success can be played by groups as small as five persons
and as large as 400+.
Program Length: Approximately two hours, depending on the size of your group. This can be lengthened or shortened based on your needs and time limitations.
Space Requirements: Indoors or Out.
Corporate Crime Scene Investigation
Primary Benefits: Group Awareness: Morale Builder: Decision Making: Problem Solving: Goal Mapping: Prioritizing
The Game: Here’s your chance to be just like Grissom, Willows, Stokes, and Captain Brass as you take on your own specialty designed Crime Scene Investigation, just like the forensic experts do on that very popular TV show.
An actual crime scene will be created for you and your guests-yes right on the premises of your meeting, dinner or special corporate event. Your group then breaks up into several smaller crime scene investigation teams. Each sets out in a feverish effort to be the first team to get to the bottom of the crime.
Each team will get to examine the crime scene, dust for prints, sift for clues, and scout out evidence to aid in the crime scene investigation. They’ll receive information via investigation, autopsy, ballistics, and trace reports. They’ll also get opportunities to grill actual murder suspects (played by acclaimed team bonding characters).
Corporate Crime Scene Investigation is part murder mystery, part board game, and part scavenger game all rolled into one. But with this wildly fun event, your guests do all the sleuthing. What an excellent team builder! As with all team bonding events, we do all the planning, creating, and legwork. It’s the best way to guarantee you a fun, engaging, and wrinkle free experience.
Training Module or De-Brief: This program includes both a training module to go over the scenario and de-briefing to go over the crime scene investigation.
Minimum/Maximum Group Size: We can make the CCSI work well for groups ranging from six to 250. But because this event requires lots of careful observation and detail, it’s ideally suited for moderately sized groups of 30 to 100.
Program Length: This program typically runs two to three hours, depending on the size of your group. Please let us know your specific needs though—we are famous for being as flexible as we are creative.
Space Requirements: Solving a murder can be great fun indoors or out. It’s best if the actual crime scene can be located in a different room or outside area, but let us know what you have to work with.
GPS Team Fun A High Tech Adventure
Primary Benefit: Team Building
Secondary Benefit: Communication; Strategy Development: Time Management: Delegation: Creativity: Negotiation: Working as a Team
Your search ends here for the most unique team building event and scavenger hunt you’ll ever find. Our GPS adventure is an innovative team bonding adventure based on the sport of geocaching. It’s an adventure gone high tech!
The Game: Groups crack codes, solve riddles and complete mini missions, using their innate abilities and individual skills to combine with the high tech challenges of the Global Positioning System, cell phones, digital cameras, maps and hidden clues. Customize your groups goals, the GPS adventure will challenge creativity, intelligence, communication and newly acquired skills while having fun.
Minimum/Maximum Group Size: Most suitable for teams of 6-8. Can easily accommodate multiple teams.
Program Length: Two hours to two days, we can make it custom for your group.
Space Requirements: This program can be done outdoors at a resort, in a city, at a conference center…anywhere on earth!
Corporate Survivors
Primary Benefit: Team Building
Secondary Benefit: Out-of-the-box thinking: Problem Solving: Prioritization: Time Management: Communication
The Game: Fashioned after the hit reality show your employees will be put to the test not only to survive the game, but too survive each other. Through a series of fun and challenging tasks that range from the silly to the intense, each team will work together to match their skills against the other groups. There are physical and mental challenges that each perform and they will compete to get the highest scores in all categories. The game is played in four rounds and at the end of each round each team’s score is tallied and sub totaled. The team with the lowest score for that quarter must hand over a few members of their team to the highest scoring team at that point in time. Teams will square off against each other for certain tasks and will also perform individual tasks for points.
The games vary from event to event, but each program usually includes:
Assorted Relay Races, with crazy twists: The “U” Create Obstacle Course: Lateral Thinking Puzzles: Brain Teasers: Map Reading: Mystery Food Tasting
The teams will be put to the test with other fun games such as “Who Are You?” This is a game that shows how much team members really know about their co-workers. There is a guessing game called “What The Heck Is It Already?” where team members are given various descriptions of plant, animal and mineral and they have to guess what is being described. There are also riddles and word associations that will stump the best of them. As each team play’s they will be allotted points depending on their performance. As they continue to play those teams that may have lost team members can gain new members by having the highest score at the end of the other round and teams that have gained members can also lose them. At the end of the game, points are deducted or added depending on the number of teammates each team has left. The team with the highest scores at the end of the final round are the true “Survivors” and also the winners.
Note: The game can be adapted to all ages and can also be played with just mental challenges
Program Length: Runs approximately three hours, depending on the size of your group, can also be played indoors or out. This team builder works well with or without a meal.
Return of The Titanic
(or the S.S. Minnow Commemorative Raft Regatta)
Primary Benefit: Team Building
Secondary Benefit: Listening to everyone’s ideas: Role definition: Leadership: Big-picture Thinking: Resource Utilization: Communication Skills
The Game: It’s sink or swim time—your team will come out high and dry ,or end up all wet. Participants divide into small project teams. Each is charged with the challenge of building a raft from a limited supply of resources (barrels, boards, and rope.) Your vessel must be capable of transporting several team members and your team flag. Navigate through an obstacle course to a dock or buoy on the lake, then (hopefully) all the way back to shore. All members of your crew must coordinate efforts to brainstorm, create and build the raft. Here’s your chance to be Huckleberry Finn, except that in our version everyone wears a life jacket!
Raft Building/Treasure Hunt Variation: Teams engage in a orienteering exercise to find the materials to build their raft. Once at the dock or buoy, each group retrieves a treasure which is actually a puzzle piece to a problem that can only be solved when competing teams combine each of their puzzle pieces.
Program Length: Hopefully, somewhat less than a three hour tour.
Space Requirements: A Body of Water.
Indiana Jones Scavenger Hunt
Primary Benefit: Group Problem Solving: Fun
Secondary Benefit: The Golden Idol Scavenger Hunt is a fun team based activity which will send the group scurrying for specific items and clues that will eventually lead them to determine the location of a stolen idol.
Based loosely (with tongue planted firmly in cheek) on the Indiana Jones character, the group will be instructed to undertake an exciting quest of interpreting a series of cryptic clues, locating specific locations and gathering key information. The comedic format is driven by the threatening arrival of arch villan Baron Otto Matic who has stolen and hidden a precious antiquity…the golden idol. The location of this idol can only be determined by a group solving the provided clues and then taking the first letter of the answer, item or requested location and then spelling out the idol’s hidden location.
The group will be provided with the geographic parameters in which they will be working and a set time frame under which they must conclude their quest. The first team back with the correct location will be announced as the winners. A fitting reward will await them after Indiana Jones neatly dispatches Baron Von Otto Matic.
A true team activity (in every sense of the word) they will be called upon to use their deductive skills as well, as interpret the clues provided to understand what it is they will be looking for.
The program is hosted by two professional corporate comedians (playing Indiana and the Baron) who also act as facilitators. Their comedic animation and interactive comedy bring the Scavenger Hunt to life.
Training Module or De-Brief: This activity has been developed to fit into a specific urban area although it can be constructed to meet the specific requirements of the clients need. We can customize this event to position key product information or underline marketing or sales initiatives.
Minimum/Maximum Group Size: This activity is suitable for up to 150 and is an excellent team builder.
Program Length: 2-3 hours.
Space Requirements: Flexible to the environment.
Spy Hunt- Mission Accomplished
Primary Benefit: Strategy: Problem Solving: Camaraderie: Time Management: Negotiation
Secondary Benefit: Divided into teams, your group moves between a series of destinations by finding and following clues, deciphering puzzles and receiving information via tape, fax and voice mail. Along the way, they’re assigned a variety of mini-missions to accomplish before moving on.
Each team is armed with a top secret attache’ filled with maps, clues, and schedules and crucial information. Assortment of secret agent, spies, hit men, and informants are scattered throughout the route to help or hinder the teams forward progress. To succeed, teams will need to take photos, purchase merchandise, beg or borrow needed items and more. Spy Hunt works very well as an ice-breaker, and is useful for team building, sightseeing or training.
Training Module or De-Brief: We wrap things up at a banquet, picnic or cocktail function held afterwards. There, the fun continues as a team bonding agent goes over each team’s hilarious accomplishments. Spy Hunt is a competitive game, so ultimately one team does emerge as the winners. Prizes are also awarded in several other categories.
If you choose, one of our trained facilitators can also add a post-hunt discussion on team strategy and dynamics. We’re happy to tailor this de-brief to your specific event and/or human development agenda.
Space Requirements: We’ll begin and end your event in a private area large enough to accommodate your full group. Teams can set off on foot in a wooded area, with bikes, skates, rafts or canoes helping them fulfill their missions. Spy Hunt is also great fun in a city environment, where public transportation can be incorporated into the challenges. Or choose to do it with cars, vans or limousines—the variations are nearly limitless.
This program will self destruct in five minutes…
Treasure Hunt Adventure
Nauti Cat trip to Power Island
Primary Benefit: Team Building
Secondary Benefit: Communication: Strategy Development: Time Management: Delegation: Creativity: Negotiation: Working as a team
The Game: This exciting new team building activity fosters group effectiveness in a unique way. Based on the Scandinavian sport of Orienteering (now an Olympic sport) where individuals use a detailed map to find flags in the forest, Treasure Hunt Adventure is driven by a custom made map of your conference center.
The object is to find the key to the treasure filled chest. Your large group is divided into heterogeneous sub-groups, each with its own set of clues to find. Individual teams soon realize that the only means to the treasure is to work together. The key, hidden somewhere on the property, can only be found by locating clues circled on their maps (a tree, column, statue, etc,) Some clues can only be acquired when the group completes a “challenge”- a fun test of the team’s mettle. Clues can be presented as Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy style questions. We can also add questions about your company. Each sub-groups immediate goal is assembling their part of the riddle. When assembled, these add up to reveal a final riddle. The excitement builds as all sub-groups must now work together to find the key.
Since everyone contributes to the search, all get a chance to share in the treasure. This can be a token or memento of the seminar, a T-shirt emblazoned with the current slogan of the team, or whatever you choose.
Training Module or De-Brief: Treasure Hunt Adventure is a true team builder, where everyone comes together at the end. The trained facilitator can bring out any issues, or conference themes and customize the hunt and de-brief to your needs.
Minimum/Maximum Group Size: 20-400
Program Length: The activity can be made more physical or more cerebral depending on your needs. Typically, Treasure Hunt lasts for several hours. However some firms prefer a full day that centers around traditional orienteering in a local forest.
Space Requirements: While the activity is best suited for outdoors, we can identify alternate rain sites within your hotel or conference center.
Trump….Are you Hired?
Primary Benefit: Fun! Very effective for ice-breaking and fostering creative teamwork. This one is highly involving and motivating. All participants interact with one another in this high energy, fun filled game.
Secondary Benefits: Group Awareness: Improved Morale: Decision Making: Problem Solving: Goal Mapping: Prioritizing
The Game: Donald Trump has an exciting team building competition for your company. The Donald apparently has interest in your company and wants to see how smart, fast and competitive your employees are. This is a competitive team builder. During the game participants will complete both table-top exercise along with some moderately physical tasks. However nothing is overly taxing. Your company will be put into teams after naming themselves, they’ll be given outrageous tasks that push the limits of an apprentices’ resourcefulness and creativity. Wait’ll you see what you have to build the next Trumped tower out of. And designers never make outfits out of THIS before! The Donald will judge everything the teams does. At evenings end, teams will be cut, until one hears those beautiful words: “YOU”RE HIRED”. Bigger than Trumped Towers and brighter than Melania’s jewelry. After an evening of being Trumped, you’ll hate the Donald even more than Ivana used to.
Training Module or De-Brief: There is no de-briefing after this game. However a post play group discussion on a variety of subjects can be facilitated if requested.
Minimum/Maximum Group Size: A group must have at least 12 persons (three teams of four). Depending on the size of your group, Trumped: You’re hired can be performed with 1, 3, 5 or more facilitators.
Program Length: Trumped runs approximately 2-3 hours in length, depending on the size of your group. It can be lengthened or shortened according to your time limitations and needs.
Space Requirements: A room large enough for the participants to move easily between tables.
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