CHIC Offering
The CHIC 2012 Covenant World Relief Offering will be used to support Covenant Kids ministries in India, Colombia, Congo and Sudan. Together, Covenant World Relief and Covenant World Mission are partnering with national church ministries to break the cycle of poverty for children and students by providing formal and non-formal education in these four countries. For more information regarding Covenant Kids visit: http://www.covchurch.org/covkids
SOUTHEAST – Transportation Plans
The best option for the SEC churches is to drive. The proposed plan at this time is to identify two to three cities (based on the location of registered churches) that would serve as central ‘meeting points’ for the nearby churches to connect in along their way to Knoxville. One of the cites will be Atlanta. The idea is that at least part of everyone’s trip will be shared with other SEC churches to initiate a sense of familiarity with one another and potentially enhance their CHIC experience once they arrive in Knoxville. The same would be done for the travel back to their respective homes.
General Guidelines:
• Block out seats early. Up to eleven months before your travel date you can “block out” seats without giving names or a deposit. Generally this will give you the best price as well as allow you to fly in and out of the Knoxville airport, which is very small.
• Many have had success soliciting donations of air miles from their congregation. This could be a great way to save money. Be aware, though, that you may have to send small groups on several different airlines, which can get complicated.
• Get help! Ask parents or others in your congregation to call the airlines, get quotes, and put together possible itineraries. Don’t make CHIC travel your full-time job!
• If you are going to CHIC for the first time consider partnering with someone who has been before. Our CHIC Liaison team would be glad to help you out in any way.
PACIFIC SOUTHWEST – Transportation Plans
Best mode of transportation from the West Coast: air travel.
Airline Contact information for carriers flying into and out of McGhee-Tyson (Knoxville) include:
• Allegiant Air 1-702-505-8888
• American Eagle 1-800-433-7300
• Comair 1-800-354-9822
• Continental Express 1-800-525-0280
• Delta Airlines 1-800-221-1212
• Northwest Airlines 1-800-225-2525
• United Express 1-800-241-6522
• US Airways Express 1-800-428-4322
Transportation Costs:
Prices for the past year have hovered around $320 – $650. You may be able to get tickets for under $400 for your group if you book at least 6 months in advance.
Travel Agent:
Most areas have many travel agents. In Santa Barbara, Lisa Holmlund utilizes – David de L’Arbre (davidd@sbtravel.com).
FLYING INTO NASHVILLE: is an option. There is a cost of $_____ that CHIC will add to your cost if you choose to use CHIC busses to get from the airport in Nashville and take the additional 3 hour trip to Knoxville. For many who have already traveled all day an additional 3 hours on the road does not have much appeal.
Coming from the West Coast we HIGHLY recommend that you fly into Knoxville on July 14 (one day early) and use that extra day in TN to go rafting or hang out on campus (getting familiarized with the campus). CHIC housing will be provided for an extra first night for the cost of $_____.
General Guidelines:
• Block out seats early. Up to eleven months before your travel date you can “block out” seats without giving names or a deposit. Generally this will give you the best price as well as allow you to fly in and out of the Knoxville airport, which is very small.
• Many have had success soliciting donations of air miles from their congregation. This could be a great way to save money. Be aware, though, that you may have to send small groups on several different airlines, which can get complicated.
• Get help! Ask parents or others in your congregation to call the airlines, get quotes, and put together possible itineraries. Don’t make CHIC travel your full-time job!
• If you are going to CHIC for the first time consider partnering with someone who has been before. Our CHIC Liaison team would be glad to help you out in any way.
NORTHWEST – Transportation Plans
Greetings from the Northwest Conference! Here is our plan of action for the NW Conference transportation for CHIC 2012:
The NW conference transportation team has decided that we will offer conference bussing to and from CHIC as our mode of transportation for CHIC 2012. If any churches want to use a different mode of transportation other than conference bussing they will have to coordinate this on their own.
We currently have a team of three people working with us on our transportation team:
- Cheryl Theilen- Northwest Conference Staff- 612.721.4893
- Jon Kramka- Northwest Conference Staff-612.721.4893
- Brian Alnes- Director of Lake Beauty Bible Camp- 320.219.3199
Brian is serving as our main lead, and primarily serves as our transportation coordinator. He is in contact with Richfield Bus Company and has worked with this company for many of our past CHIC events, coordinating bussing for the NW Conference.
Cheryl and Jon are serving as our administrative support team and will be taking care of the documentation (registration forms, etc.) that will be sent out to our conference churches no later than Sept 2011.
At this point we are anticipating a price point between $180-$200 for conference transportation. We will have a definitive price by no later than Sept 2011. We are anticipating a price in the coming weeks and we will contact you when we have the fine print. It is hard to determine a price at this point because of the cost of fuel, but we feel that the range we have suggested is a close approximation. We will be sending out final documentation and forms to our conference churches at the beginning of September.
General Guidelines:
• Block out seats early. Up to eleven months before your travel date you can “block out” seats without giving names or a deposit. Generally this will give you the best price as well as allow you to fly in and out of the Knoxville airport, which is very small.
• Many have had success soliciting donations of air miles from their congregation. This could be a great way to save money. Be aware, though, that you may have to send small groups on several different airlines, which can get complicated.
• Get help! Ask parents or others in your congregation to call the airlines, get quotes, and put together possible itineraries. Don’t make CHIC travel your full-time job!
• If you are going to CHIC for the first time consider partnering with someone who has been before. Our CHIC Liaison team would be glad to help you out in any way.
NORTH PACIFIC – Transportation Plans
Traveling from the Pacific Northwest to Knoxville Tennessee is only practical via air travel. Since arranging air travel for the entire conference would be too complicated and costly we are recommending each group attending CHIC make their own reservations. However, our Liaison team is available to partner with you to help accomplish this goal. We have some helpful resources available, and some general tips to make the process easier.
We also recommend all groups attending CHIC from the North Pacific Conference consider arriving a day early on July 14th and rafting together on the first day of CHIC, July 15th. While rafting is an added cost, given the distance we travel to CHIC, it is worth arriving a day early and spending time together! NOTE: The extra night’s stay is also an additional $25 per person. Traveling early should make booking flights easier and allow your group to be more rested the first day since they won’t have to be at the airport at 4:00am.
Helpful Resources:
• Lakeville Travel: This is the travel agency the Covenant office uses for all its travel. They will be looking at getting group rates and discounts for anyone who is interested. They can be contacted at 800 848 8151.
• Kayak.com: If you want to avoid a travel agent and find your own tickets, Kayak.com is a great place to start. After you input your travel dates it will search all the discount ticket sites and show you the best deals.
• Keith Hamilton: Keith works for Alaska Christian College. He has earned a reputation for getting into the Knoxville Airport. Contact him at 907-394-1988 or kjhamilton@aol.com.
General Tips:
• Block out seats early. Up to eleven months before your travel date you can “block out” seats without giving names or a deposit. Generally this will give you the best price as well as allow you to fly in and out of the Knoxville airport, which is very small.
• Many have had success soliciting donations of air miles from their congregation. This could be a great way to save money. Be aware, though, that you may have to send small groups on several different airlines, which can get complicated.
• Get help! Ask parents or others in your congregation to call the airlines, get quotes, and put together possible itineraries. Don’t make CHIC travel your full-time job!
• If you are going to CHIC for the first time consider partnering with someone who has been before. Our CHIC Liaison team would be glad to help you out in any way.
• Cost: The cost for CHIC travel from the North Pacific Conference has been anywhere from $300-600 per person. Plan, fundraise, or budget accordingly.
CHIC 2012 Liaison Team:
Chad McDaniel (Mount Vernon, WA)
360.424.9399
chad@bccmv.org
Erik Cave (Portland, OR)
503.238.5950
erikcave@gmail.com
Jeff Palmberg (Seattle, WA)
206.232.1015 ext. 111
jpalmberg@micc.org
Ruby Varghese (Kent, WA)
253.631.0222 ext. 312
ruby.varghese@kentcov.org
General Guidelines:
• Block out seats early. Up to eleven months before your travel date you can “block out” seats without giving names or a deposit. Generally this will give you the best price as well as allow you to fly in and out of the Knoxville airport, which is very small.
• Many have had success soliciting donations of air miles from their congregation. This could be a great way to save money. Be aware, though, that you may have to send small groups on several different airlines, which can get complicated.
• Get help! Ask parents or others in your congregation to call the airlines, get quotes, and put together possible itineraries. Don’t make CHIC travel your full-time job!
• If you are going to CHIC for the first time consider partnering with someone who has been before. Our CHIC Liaison team would be glad to help you out in any way.
MIDWEST – Transportation Plans
The Midwest Conference CHIC team will be offering busing to CHIC 2012. Below are the various pick up points throughout the conference for each church. Churches should contact Jim Eaton (CHIC Liason) to indicate whether or not they intend to utilize Conference busing NO LATER THAN January 10th, 2012. (I don’t need exact numbers, just need to know what your church is planning to do)
General questions? Contact Jim Eaton, MWC CHIC liaison.
Iowa:
Please contact Doug Utley at First Cov. Fort Dodge for transportation information.
Bus picks up in Fort Dodge; Stops at The Boondocks on I-35; Stops at Cov. church in Des Moines
· In Fort Dodge bus picks up Fort Dodge; Albert City; Pomeroy; Harcourt; Lanyon; and Carroll
· At Boondocks bus picks up Mason City Cov Church
· In Des Moines bus picks up Des Moines church(es) AND Centerville Cov Churches.
Nebraska:
Please contact Will Howell at First Covenant Omaha for transportation information.
· Pick up is in Omaha at First Cov
· Iowa Churches: Sioux City, IA; Sloan, IA; Red Oak, IA; Stanton, IA; Essex, IA
· Nebraska Churches: ALL NE CHURCHES will meet in Omaha
Kansas City Area:
Please contact Tom Greenwald at Community Covenant, Lenexa for transportation information.
· The cost for all the Kansas Churches will be $150 per person. Contact your state rep for costs for your region.
Other Kansas:
Please contact David Gass at First Cov. in Salina or Jim Eaton at Countryside Covenant in McPherson.
· Pick up at Community Covenant Church in KC- Topeka; Osage City; and ALL Other KCK and KCMO AREA Covenant Churches
· Pick up at Hillcrest Covenant Church in KC (Pick up for Hillcrest and 2 connected churches) (KC AREA)
· Pick up is in Salnia at First Cov: Salina; Clay Center; Leonardville; Clyde; and Courtland
· Pick up throughout Smoky Valley: El Dorado; Wichita; Halstead; McPherson; Lindsborg; and Savonburg.
· Still working on a plan for Dresden; Oberlin; and Herndon (They could possibly meet up on I-70 at Colby with a bus from CO that has room?)
· The cost for all the Kansas churches will be $150 per person. Contact your state rep for costs for your region.
Missouri:
Please contact Jim Eaton for transportation information.
Still working on a plan for Springfield and Carthage.
Colorado:
Please contact Randy McNeal for transportation information.
General Guidelines:
• Block out seats early. Up to eleven months before your travel date you can “block out” seats without giving names or a deposit. Generally this will give you the best price as well as allow you to fly in and out of the Knoxville airport, which is very small.
• Many have had success soliciting donations of air miles from their congregation. This could be a great way to save money. Be aware, though, that you may have to send small groups on several different airlines, which can get complicated.
• Get help! Ask parents or others in your congregation to call the airlines, get quotes, and put together possible itineraries. Don’t make CHIC travel your full-time job!
• If you are going to CHIC for the first time consider partnering with someone who has been before. Our CHIC Liaison team would be glad to help you out in any way.
GREAT LAKES – Transportation Plans
The Great Lakes Conference is planning on offering a busing option to our churches from multiple locations in the conference for CHIC 2012. A rough estimate would put us around 10 buses. I have already been in contact with Brian Alnes who will help us in our contracting with the busing companies. The estimated cost per passenger should be in the $160-180 range but that depends on a few variables that we don’t have nailed down now. Thankfully, our conference has a tradition of paying the transportation cost of every adult leader who attends CHIC, and we are again seeking this support from our conference.
One of the reasons this process is slower (than I anticipated) is that we have many new churches in the conference who have no idea what CHIC is. I am spending a lot of time meeting youth leaders from other churches and sharing our vision for CHIC. We would love to see many more than the 33 churches from our conference that attended the last CHIC.
Our transportation team:
• Justin Saxton – West Side
• Jay Baehr – East Side
• Peg Wolter – administrative support
General Guidelines:
• Block out seats early. Up to eleven months before your travel date you can “block out” seats without giving names or a deposit. Generally this will give you the best price as well as allow you to fly in and out of the Knoxville airport, which is very small.
• Many have had success soliciting donations of air miles from their congregation. This could be a great way to save money. Be aware, though, that you may have to send small groups on several different airlines, which can get complicated.
• Get help! Ask parents or others in your congregation to call the airlines, get quotes, and put together possible itineraries. Don’t make CHIC travel your full-time job!
• If you are going to CHIC for the first time consider partnering with someone who has been before. Our CHIC Liaison team would be glad to help you out in any way.
CENTRAL – Transportation Plans
Greetings from the Central conference, our plan of action for transportation to CHIC 2012 is:
The Central conference transportation team has decided that we will offer conference bussing to and from CHIC as our mode of transportation for CHIC 2012. If churches want to use a different avenue for their transportation needs they will have the freedom to do so.
Chad Harrison is serving as the main lead for the Central conference and has been working with Brian Alnes in the negotiating of bus terms and conditions. At this point we are anticipating a price point between $170.00 and $180.00 for conference transportation. We are also planning our information packets to be sent out to the conference churches sometime around August 20th.
Chad Harrison
General Guidelines:
• Block out seats early. Up to eleven months before your travel date you can “block out” seats without giving names or a deposit. Generally this will give you the best price as well as allow you to fly in and out of the Knoxville airport, which is very small.
• Many have had success soliciting donations of air miles from their congregation. This could be a great way to save money. Be aware, though, that you may have to send small groups on several different airlines, which can get complicated.
• Get help! Ask parents or others in your congregation to call the airlines, get quotes, and put together possible itineraries. Don’t make CHIC travel your full-time job!
• If you are going to CHIC for the first time consider partnering with someone who has been before. Our CHIC Liaison team would be glad to help you out in any way.
CANADA – Transportation Plans
British Colombia:
• Surrey churches – Fly YVR to TYS-$775 on Delta
• Nelson area - Fly Spokane to TYS-$708 on American
Alberta:
• All churches – Busing with golden arrow Edmonton and Strathmore pickups – $475
Saskatchewan and Manitoba:
• Bussing with stops in most church locales $450
Ontario:
• Sarnia- tag along with GLC-$
• Border churches – tag along with NWC
I have spoken to the 4 Ontario churches and this was their preference. I encouraged them to register as their own group to attempt to connect with the other Canadian churches, but transportation with U.S. Churches makes good sense given their geography.
Marc Lantz
General Guidelines:
• Block out seats early. Up to eleven months before your travel date you can “block out” seats without giving names or a deposit. Generally this will give you the best price as well as allow you to fly in and out of the Knoxville airport, which is very small.
• Many have had success soliciting donations of air miles from their congregation. This could be a great way to save money. Be aware, though, that you may have to send small groups on several different airlines, which can get complicated.
• Get help! Ask parents or others in your congregation to call the airlines, get quotes, and put together possible itineraries. Don’t make CHIC travel your full-time job!
• If you are going to CHIC for the first time consider partnering with someone who has been before. Our CHIC Liaison team would be glad to help you out in any way.
ALASKA – Transportation Plans
• From Anchorage everyone will fly to Chicago. From there we will travel by bus with churches from the Central Conference.
• For more details, refer to the transportation plan outlined below for the Central Conference.
General Guidelines:
• Block out seats early. Up to eleven months before your travel date you can “block out” seats without giving names or a deposit. Generally this will give you the best price as well as allow you to fly in and out of the Knoxville airport, which is very small.
• Many have had success soliciting donations of air miles from their congregation. This could be a great way to save money. Be aware, though, that you may have to send small groups on several different airlines, which can get complicated.
• Get help! Ask parents or others in your congregation to call the airlines, get quotes, and put together possible itineraries. Don’t make CHIC travel your full-time job!
• If you are going to CHIC for the first time consider partnering with someone who has been before. Our CHIC Liaison team would be glad to help you out in any way.
