The Friday after Roundtable, all brothers and new members are asked to attend an overnight retreat at Roanoke Christian Service Camp. Twenty-eight brothers and thirteen candidates for membership arrived at the camp on the evening of February 8th. This is a traditional way to start the week when candidates are introduced to the principles and fundamental ideas behind Alpha Zeta and have an opportunity to meet current brothers. Brothers cooked hotdogs and hamburgers for dinner and candidates have an opportunity to get to know each other. Activities allow candidates to learn more about Alpha Zeta and agriculture. Brothers share expectations for the week and award each candidate a paddle. They must work together the following week to be admitted into the Fraternity. Because of this, they are introduced to our motto: TEAM - Together Everyone Achieves More. Candidates and brothers then enjoyed a peaceful night of sleep away from the noisy campus.
The officers set up breakfast including cereal and pop tarts on Saturday morning before the group service project. Before heading back to Raleigh, the North Carolina Chapter helped beautify Roanoke Christian Service Camp. A camp manager explained various tasks and we split up into smaller groups. A group was assigned to clean up the camp’s storage area while a couple other groups were assigned spread pine straw in the playground. Brothers helped the camp by cleaning up trash and clipping overgrown tree branches or weeds. This was a great time for brothers to interact with the candidates while giving back to the camp for a reduction in cost. The cost per brother was fifteen dollars and the big brothers paid for their little brothers. Everyone returned to Raleigh around noon.