RIVER RIDERS' 2 day RIVER CLEAN UP in celebration of EARTH DAY

Press Release:

Harpers Ferry, WV Saturday April 18th and Sunday April 19th. River Riders launched their second annual 2 day river clean up combined with a white water rafting adventure in order to unite volunteer service and fun in celebration of Earth Day.

Each day River Riders launched two trips, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The groups were loaded up with gloves, trash bags, and plenty of room to gather any unsightly garbage along the way. In all four trips, the clean up effort brought in a total of over 16 bags of garbage from 8 1/2 miles of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, from the Millville Dam to Potomac Wayside. Ed Shelley, a Trip Leader for River Riders said “It was so refreshing to see the enthusiasm and effort everyone put into our clean-up this year! From those of us that spend our days on the river we would like to thank everyone who has helped to keep it beautiful.” from the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, stretching from Millville Dam to Wayside on the Potomac.

For additional information on other service projects or philanthropic events, please contact Kym Grove e: kym@riverriders.com p: 304-535-2663 or check out our website at http://www.riverriders.com/.

About River Riders: River Riders is a family owned and operated, licensed professional outfitter in Harpers Ferry, WV. We are committed to provide safe, affordable, quality recreation through exceptional guest service, offering white water rafting, tubing, kayaking, canoeing, biking, fishing, teambuilding, Outdoor Adventure Camp, orienteering, rock climbing, ropes course, shuttle services, and more!

River Riders at I 81 Welcome Center

Because we had a beautiful day full of sunshine, there were numerous travelers visiting the I-81 South Visitor Center. Many folks were headed to the Shenandoah Valley to visit the caverns and Skyline Drive but I made sure they knew all about River Riders and what we had to offer. Several people had our raft trips confused with those in southern WV, they said they heard the waters in WV were very dangerous and were definitely out of their comfort zone. I reassured them that our trips were on the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers with Class I to III rapids...great for playful family "daycations". There were several tweens that were excited about our camp adventures and eagerly took the brochures and ran them to their parents. I was greeted with open arms by Wanda and Canza, the guest services specialists at the center. They were very friendly and willing to help promote the fact that I was there to all their guests. Overall, I had a great day and was grateful to have met many different personalities traveling through our great state of WV. ~ Sarah L. Knott

King Abdullah of Jordan visits Harpers Ferry

King Abdullah II from Jordan and more than ten other diplomats visited Harpers Ferry on Saturday the 18th. The group was out for a motorcycle trip through Jefferson County and parts of Virginia. It was certainly a beautiful weekend to enjoy the country side. As residents of this great town, we are proud to have received his visit, and hope he and his fellow travelers enjoyed their stay.

Lisa Edel, owner of "The Country Cafe" in Harpers Ferry poses with her husband, several relatives, and King Abdullah of Jordan who stopped by Saturday for a visit during a bike ride

Teambuilding - Staff - Spring Event

Friday April 3, 2009 ten of us traveled to our friends at For Love of Children's Outdoor Education Center. FLOC is situated on over 350 acres of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where we had the opportunity to take part in one of their many outdoor vertical challenge courses! We were lead by their outstanding facilitators, and one of our current part time outstanding staff members, Shane Hovatter (commonly known 'round here as Buckwheat) and Todd McKinney.

We began our morning with 3 activities- Sword Fight, Trust Circle, and Magic Carpet. Sword Fight was a competitive match similar to thumb wrestling, only you lock hands, stick out your index finger, and try to "sword" your opponent on the leg, without being "sworded" first! Next we circled up, and "passed" each team member around a circle of hands, while the person in the middle completely let go of his/her own balance. Lastly, we embarked on the "Magic Carpet"

challenge, where we vertically lifted each team member from lying on the floor to lying on our hands over our heads!

Next we traveled to the Climbing Wall where we were faced with the challenge to get all team members over a 16ft wall. If that doesn't sound "easy" enough, we were also given several limitations to make the task at hand even more difficult. With a little brainstorming, strategic thinking, and a lot of muscle, not only did we succeed, but were applauded by our facilitators for successfully completely a challenge which would traditionally defeat many teams.

LAST, but certainly not least, we found ourselves high about the forest floor in the canopy of the ropes course! Team members surpassed personal goals and fears, as well as supported one another in individual challenges. At the end of the day, we were all a little sore, and mildly exhausted, but walked away with a sense of accomplishment as well as new camaraderie found among the rain, mud, tree tops, and Sword Fights of our Spring Event.

A HUGE THANKS GOES OUT TO: Our friends at FLOC for hosting and facilitating our event. Angela "Mama Hen" Cogle for the "special" lunch (I owe ya big tyme). Our Office and Administrative staff for making it possible for us to leave home and take the day "out". And to everyone who came out to make the event possible: Matt, Ben, Kym, Bill, Ed, Catfish, Anthony (I need a reminder) Dumps, Gennell, Nick Fridge C., and Frinfrock.

I'm sure I can speak on behalf of each one of us when I say it was nice to sit back and be the guest for the day:) In exchange for our team building program with FLOC, we will be hosting their staff for a development program on our Shenandoah white water rafting trip. Check back after Friday May 8th for the story to come. More pictures coming soon!

Staff Welcome Back Day

Each year we have an opening meeting to welcome back returning River Riders' staff. This year the opening date was set for Saturday March 28th, and each year our family gets bigger
and bigger! Our itinerary

included: catching up with friends (it's been a long 6 months away from our fellow Riders!), filling out 2009 paperwork, and reviewing new and re-fresher trainings. Our staff favorite is our customer and leadership training program called - "Give em the pickle" by Bob Farrell! Certainly a quirky name for an excellent philosophy!

In addition to the business side of things, we exercised a couple fun team building scenarios, and then kicked off our Staff Physical Fitness Program by running 2 miles, as well as other strength based challenges.
Coming in first place for the 2 mile challenge was our Bicycle Manager, Ed Shelly, finishing in a few seconds over 15 minutes! That's 7.5 minutes/mile! He certainly doesn't need a bike to make excellent enviro-friendly travel time! With over 35 staffers taking the challenge, everyone did an excellent job showing we're ready to shape up for the summer fun!

We're gearing up for the season! Are you? Be sure to ask us for "your pickle" when you visit River Riders in summer 2009! Until then, Your Friends, The Staff at River Riders

Delayed but with lots to Say

Has it really been over a month since our last post?!? Shame on us! Well, don't let our delayed blogging fool you. We've been up to lots of exciting stuff, preparing for the coming season! Read on for more info!