FAACT’s Second Annual Teen Retreat in Las Vegas was an absolute priceless weekend held October 9-11, 2015 at The South Point Hotel, Casino, & Spa! We had 16 states represented - amazing!

 “Living the Dream”, Curtis Zimmerman, was a huge hit at the Welcome Ceremony, once again. Not only did he teach everyone to juggle, as we all juggle our lives, but Curtis delivered this year with eating fire! He spent time with the teens and then the parents on Saturday and conducted role playing and team building activities.

Teen sessions were led by food allergy advocate, Zac Chelini, and FAACT spokespersons, actor Kenton Duty and figure skater Kendall Hollinger. They were wonderful mentors and led the Teen Panel for parents along with Natascia Simone, Emery Gewirtz, and Amanda Guardia.

Parent sessions were led by Eleanor Garrow-Holding, FAACT President and CEO. A special thank you to our wonderful speakers who presented for both the teens and the parents: Curtis Zimmerman; Humaira Robinson, MSN, RN; Daniella Knell; Stefanie Curry, MSW, LCSW; and Chef Keith Norman.

The teens had a night of bowling on Friday night while the parents gathered for a Meet and Greet. The Saturday night teen dance party was full of dance, music, karaoke, and caricature drawings.

We had many raffles through the weekend, and the lucky winners were:

Colleen & Martin Guardia won a gift basket along with two airfare tickets for a 2-day, 1-night trip to Chicago to visit Enjoy Life Foods headquarters, receive a tour, and meet with the leadership team while there.

Imelda Patag won a 3-day, 2 night stay at The South Point Hotel, Casino, & Spa with a dinner for two at Don Vito’s and tickets to a headliner show.

Michele Abbott and Diane Bates each won one (1) free registration for FAACT’s Camp TAG 2016 in the location of their choice.

Desi Tucker won free registration for two (2) for FAACT’s Teen Conference 2016.

Anne Majka, Natascia Simone, and Emery Gewirtz each won one (1) gift basket from Divvies full of yummy treats.

Jeff Duty, Desi Tucker, and Rachel Maggio each won a San Jamar’s Allergen Saf-T-Zone System from South Point Hotel, Casino, & Spa.

The weekend was EDUCATIONAL, EMPOWERING, and INSPIRING! Experiences were shared; teens learned that they need to continue to be responseABLE; everyone learned that WE need to write OUR own script in life; and we all left with new friendships and bonds! PRICELESS!

Thank you to our sponsors for making this weekend possible:

National Platinum Sponsor: Sanofi US
National Bronze Sponsors: Enjoy Life Foods and SunButter
Friends of FAACT: Vermont Nut Free Chocolates
In-Kind Sponsors: Divvies, Enjoy Life Foods, and South Point Hotel & Casino

Want to see what a great time we all had? Check out our YouTube slide show from the weekend!

Thank you to all of the families who took the time out of your busy schedules and traveled to join us this weekend. You all made the weekend so special and FAACTabulous! We cannot wait for next year!