Frequently Asked Questions - Morale
Our Mission
The Mission of the Morale Committee is to provide physical and emotional support for the Dancers THON Weekend. The Morale Committee also extends its energy and extroversion to the THON Community throughout the entire year.
What We Do
The Morale Captains strive to ensure that throughout the year, THON love and energy is being shared amongst all of those involved in the organization. Captains, along with their committees, promote different events and ensure the spirit of the THON community is constantly felt. Together with their committees, Captains also plan a variety of events to please every dancer during THON Weekend, including the WALK, Dancer Storage, Mail Call, the many Theme Hours and The Line Dance. Throughout the 46 hours, the Captains and Committee members are dedicated to the dancers, doing anything within their power to ensure the dancers finish the weekend.
**Morale Captains are not eligible to dance THON Weekend.
Please contact Griffin Weiler at Morale@thon.org if you have any questions. Thank you!
This Captain is responsible for a variety of tasks, including: Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and athletic trainer needs for pre-THON events and THON weekend, keeping contact between the Morale Captain Committee and various other THON Committees including, but not limited to Rules and Regulations, Special Events, Merchandise, Finance and Donor Relations. They will take minutes for the weekly Morale Captain Committee Meetings, and assist the overall in various responsibilities.
The Council of Commonwealth Student Governments Liaison is in charge of being the link between Morale and CCSG. They are responsible for bringing Morale to all of the campuses by helping plan and execute a Theme Hour during THON Weekend. They will also assist in planning the CCSG Dancer Retreat in early February. They are in charge of knowing what CCSG is about and involving them as much as possible with Morale related events. They will work closely with the Communications Captains involved in CCSG.
The Color Wars Coordinator is responsible for the organization, publicity, and creativity of all things Color Wars, both pre-THON and THON Weekend. The coordinator will be in charge of planning the Color Wars Theme, Color Wars Kickoff, Color Wars Grand Finale, and ensuring that Color Wars is effective for the dancers throughout all of THON Weekend.
This person is responsible for making sure Dancers are going to be physically and emotionally ready for THON weekend by hosting the Dancer Focus Group, creating and distributing the Dancer Survival Guide, and matching every dancer with a Moraler for THON Weekend. This Morale Captain is also in charge of working with the Logistics/Timeline Captain to help with the Overlapping Moraler System.
The Dancer Storage Captains have the task of making the storage areas for all 700+ Dancers as comfortable and enjoyable as possible, so that Dancers have the opportunity to get off the floor while still being entertained. They will be responsible for all of the logistics, organization, and activities in the storage areas along with creating decorations and a theme.
The Entertainment Liaison is in charge of working with the Morale Liaison from Entertainment to help coordinate events that will affect both Morale and Entertainment. They will also keep Morale informed on Entertainment’s decisions and help them always keep the Dancers’ best interest in mind and keep Entertainment informed on Morale’s decisions. Communication is very important because both Entertainment and Morale are making decisions that will affect the Dancers. They will also work closely with Larry Moore to help the Morale Captains create events and make them effective in the BJC. This includes collecting and editing all power points, minute by minutes, and scripts that will be used during THON weekend. This Captain also will work closely with the Timeline / Logistics Captain.
This Captain will be in charge of overseeing and creating all of the videos for Morale both Pre-THON and THON Weekend. These videos include the WALK Video and the Color Wars Video, amongst others. Plus, they will work collaboratively with the Production Captains from Entertainment and the Line Dance Coordinator to help with the Line Dance Video. Final Cut Pro experience is helpful, but not necessary for the position.
The role of the Family Relations Liaison is to work closely with the Morale Captain Committee to ensure that all of Morale’s events and actions during both Pre-THON and THON Weekend are entirely kid-friendly. They will work to incorporate family and kid participation in as many Morale events as possible. This individual is also responsible for collecting and sorting Kids Mail, and executing the annual Kids Mail Call during THON Weekend. Furthermore, they are responsible for scheduling of Hershey Tours and Special Visitor's Trips for the Morale Captain Committee.
This liaison is in charge of bringing Morale to Morale. They are responsible for planning retreats for the Morale Captain Committee and challenge the spirit level of Morale so that it is always at its best. This individual is also responsible for going to other Captain Committee meetings and other THON supporters to let them know how much we appreciate their efforts as Captains and Overalls, whether it be OPP, R&R, Hospitality, Barry Bram, and other THON supporters. Another responsibility of theirs is to help design and organize all of the Overall Morale Committee’s gear for Pre-THON and THON Weekend.
The role of the Line Dance Coordinator is to do just that: coordinate the Line Dance. This Captain is in charge of facilitating and brainstorming with the Morale Captain Committee, coordinating the music selection process, and working with Josh and Larry Moore to understand beats and movement. These steps lead up to the Line Dance Retreat, which the LDC will coordinate and run in conjunction with the Intra-Committee Liaison. After the retreat, this individual works with Larry to run Line Dance Practices in the Spring to teach the Line Dance to the Morale Captain Committee, the Overall THON Committee, and all Captains, and Committee Members. This individual is also responsible for teaching the Line Dance THON weekend.
The Logistics / Timeline Liaison is responsible for meeting with the Timeline Captain and the Morale Liaison from the Entertainment Committee to schedule all of the Morale theme hours, random events, and large events (Line Dance, WALK, Mail Call). They will also help to coordinate committee shifts as well as dancer storage shifts for Moralers. They will attend weekly Timeline meetings alongside the Morale Overall to coordinate the schedule of THON weekend with other committees. The Logistics / Timeline Captain will also work with the Dancer Relations Captain on the Overlapping Moraler System. Microsoft Excel skills are helpful, but not necessary.
The role of the two Mail Call Captains is to collect, sort, organize and distribute all Dancer mail. These Captains also publicize Mail Call and the process of sending mail for THON Weekend. These Captains also work on building relationships with University Staff who assist Morale with Mail Call.
The responsibility of the OPP/R&R is to work with all of the respective liaisons to fulfill the needs of both Morale and the respective committee. They will work with the OPP liaison in order to fulfill construction requests and floor plans for each Morale event, and enforce BJC rules placed by OPP. They will work with Rules and Regulations in order to protect the BJC during Morale Events, and also be able to communicate during THON Weekend to handle capacity issues, amongst others. During the year they will facilitate effective relationships between the committees.
The role of the Supply & Logistics / Hospitality Liaison is to work with their liaison counterparts to request ALL the needs that Morale requires. This individual will educate the Morale Captain Committee on how to request needs for the numerous events Morale runs. They will help categorize the importance of every Morale request and see to it that the most important items are obtained. This individual works very closely with everyone on the Morale Captain Committee, especially the WALK as they require the most needs. This position has responsibilities that are Pre-THON, THON Weekend, and Post-THON.
The role of the three WALK Captains is to create the magical, mystical world known as the WALK, while still protecting the integrity of the upper levels of the Bryce Jordan Center. These individuals are responsible for choosing a theme, requesting supply needs, constructing the smaller projects, organizing larger projects with OPP, and promoting and coordinating three WALK’s during THON weekend: One for the Kids, and two for the Dancers. These Captains will also oversee their Moralers with the planning, preparation, and presentation of the WALK both Pre-THON and THON weekend. They will work very closely with each other, along with others on the Morale Captain Committee.
The role of the Yellow Shirt Liaison is to help all of Morale reach their fullest potential as Moralers through different projects during the year. These projects include Yellow Shirt Orientation, All Morale Pow Wow, and the Yellow Shirt Survival Guide. These events and projects are Pre-THON and are aimed to make sure that during THON Weekend Moralers are prepared and excited to take care of their dancers.
If you don't see your question here, you might want to check the list of all questions.
