The Club Blazer Concept
New for summer 2007, Thousand Trails launched a children’s program
called “Club Blazer.” The program is designed to be fun, educational and
rewarding for our members and guests.

Back for the summer of 2008, Thousand Trails Club Blazer
children’s program returns even better than before. 

 

The Trail Team

Club Blazer features a unique group of animal characters called the Trail Team. Led by Walker Wolf, the Trail Team is dedicated to protecting Thousand Trails resorts. Kids will enjoy the puzzles and activities in an interactive 12-page illustrated booklet that is provided to them upon entry to any of the Thousand Trails Resorts.  Children will discover ideas about the environment and what they can do to protect it. Throughout each season, Club Blazer will feature custom activities and interpretive programs, and will highlight resort policies with an entertaining approach.
    
The unique Trail Team characters share with kids the importance of being a smart, conscientious camper.

“The Trail Team creatures symbolize Thousand Trails commitment to improving recreational activities, playing safely, encouraging energy conservation and acting as good stewards of our natural resources,” Club Blazer Trail Master, Scott Woolley explained.

“Although Club Blazer is designed for kids, we think moms, dads and grandparents will enjoy taking part with their children and grandchildren. For example, the Trail Team will also promote health and wellness programs such as our national Walk the Trails Challenge, and that’s certainly something the whole family can take part in together and feel good about.”        

You’ll also find something the whole family can take part in by going to Thousand Trails newest addition to the club, www.clubblazer.com
    

Let’s get to know the Trail Team characters:

Walker   Dray   Philbert

Walker “The Wise” Wolf understands the importance of making sound decisions and leads the Trail Team.  Walker has an important job to help you understand the rules of the resort.  Rules are made for a reason, and it’s important that you know the rules.  They help guide you on the right path and keep you safe. Haley “The Helpful” Hawk is always looking out for our safety.  Her sharp eyes also help to look out for your safety as well.  Always use your eyesight and mind to look out for your own safety and the safety of others.  It is important that you think first, act second. Dray “Save the Rays” Dragonfly helps kids learn how to be more energy conscious. Even though he’s small and might look insignificant to some people, Dray helps the environment and keeps bugs away from you.  Leaving lights on when you don’t need them can also seem insignificant, but add all the lights up and that means lots of wasted energy.  How about using rechargeable batteries or turning the TV off when you’re not watching it?  It takes a lot of energy to make energy so Dray’s motto has always been “Save the Rays.”  We hope you’ll do that too. Hoot the Owl shows children the importance of not feeding wildlife on the preserves and  wishes to remind you to respect the food chain of the animals and birds in the resorts. For example, if you put out poison to kill the mice, it isn’t good for owls like Hoot.  It’s better to put out a trap or have a cat.  There’s plenty of mice for all of us. Harley the Bear reminds us to place our garbage and recycling in the proper receptacles and store food in airtight containers when camping. It is much better for bears like Harley to eat foods from their own environment.  If a bear eats your trash, they’ll litter your plastic and paper products all over the forest.  Camp smart, be safe, and care about your environment. Philbert the Squirrel inspires us to act responsibly and be prepared by learning, listening and gathering information to help us make wise choices. Philbert believes that it’s always a bad idea to feed wildlife.  Animals may become dependent on being given food and that makes it hard for them to hunt for themselves.  Animals shouldn’t forget how to hunt?  What if they learn to count on you, and then you don’t come around for a long time?  Besides, animals like Philbert who like to keep busy gathering, organizing, and planning ahead by storing food for the future.  It is important that you listen, learn and gather information so you can get ready for the future too.

Haley   Hoot   Harley

Walker Wolf and the Trail Team look forward to introducing kids to Club Blazer on their quest to protect Thousand Trails and our environment. Look for this exciting program at Thousand Trails resort near you this summer!  Don’t forget to check out the new website as well by going to www.clubblazer.com

 

Importance of the Program

The main goal of this new program is to proactively educate members and their children through interactive activities about preserve policies, recreational activities, safety, environmental concerns, and Thousand Trails citizenship. 
In Arizona for example, vandalism statistics reveal that the most common perpetrator is a 10-13 yr old boy.  It is to our advantage that we become even more proactive with this age set by planning more activities that entertain this age group. Therefore our security rangers can spend more time servicing our customer than enforcing complaints and the effects of vandalism.

This program is also designed to assist our security rangers and park support staff so they aren’t considered a “Grinch” or “Grouch” but are perceived as enforcers of “FUN.”  Psychologically, the Club Blazer program is designed to convey adherence to preserve policies by engaging them in the process through this proactive educational approach.  It helps to define Club Blazer members as a teammate within our organization.

The Club Blazer theme also provides Thousand Trails with an original group of characters that positively highlights: Recreation activities and wellness programs, promotion of  interpretive materials, and the conveyance of specific preserve policies. The characters and Club Blazer theme also assists in prefacing family news sections of the Trailblazer magazine and the Club Blazer website.

VP of Member Experience, Peggy Boone, says of the new Club Blazer children’s program:
“Club Blazer fulfills our dream of creating a Junior Ranger program that is unique to our company and to our goal of providing family oriented recreational programming that is both fun and educational.  We consider ourselves a summer camp for the entire family, and we focus on creating lifetime memory making experiences that transcend generations.  Club Blazer is designed with our children in mind, but I am confident that every age group will enjoy Club Blazer's programs and activities.” 

 

Benefits

There are many indirect benefits to this program: 

• Increased participation by involving the membership within the
  process of recreational programming and activity development
  
• Environmental education and appreciation
• Leadership skill development at multiple levels
• The development of interpretive programs that promote
  safety and answer those “Why” questions 

 

Examples:

Why do we have to wear helmets?  Stats/facts will be utilized to explain this for understanding 

Why do we have to beware of snakes?  Facts on local snake populations can be displayed with visuals of dangerous snakes & certain markings to look for.  

Why shouldn’t we litter and why should we be concerned about recycling?  Facts of biodegradation times can be employed to explain our reasons for concern. 

Why don’t we play with matches or throw cigarettes out the window or leave a campfire unattended?  Explain previous fires devastation in the local area and how these fires were started. 

To overcome the perception that Thousand Trails is only for the older and retired generation, Club Blazer is designed with young families and the young-at-heart in mind and is exclusive to the Thousand Trails Family of Campground Resorts. Therefore, this program will create an extensive positive domino effect in regards to their perception of our organization and their membership with Thousand Trails.

 

Club Blazer’s Future

The Club Blazer program is designed with the end in mind.  It re-invents and sets the stage for Thousand Trails on-going commitment to improve and foster new and unique ideas for recreational programming.  The format helps to brand Thousand Trails as a company committed to customer service through Club Blazer’s focus on leisure time activities for the entire family.  Training programs are constructed for all regions and new activities are designed around the Club Blazer theme. 

 

Evaluation

The ultimate goal of a company is to please its customers and in Thousand Trails case, retain and grow member families for years to come.  We need to know how we can improve our recreational programming to attain this goal.  The website is designed to attract all age groups whether adult or child about Thousand Trails recreational programming highlights and create excitement about the ever-changing face of our product.