Team Building Experiences: Escape Room

A group of people are posing for a picture with wheelchairs.
By kvanderpol January 15, 2025
Iowa Hawkeye Wide Receiver, Reece Vander Zee, recently spent a day with his family refurbishing wheelchairs at the Hope Haven International Ministries (HHIM) workshop in Rock Valley. The 18-year-old from […] The post Hope Haven International Ministries continues to make worldwide impacts appeared first on Hope Haven.
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A poster for russell dickerson live at the district saturday august 2nd 2025
July 10, 2025
Exciting News! Don’t miss this incredible country concert featuring Russell Dickerson, who quickly stood out from the pack with four consecutive career-starting singles reaching No. One on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. Known for hits like “Yours,” “Blue Tacoma,” “Every Little Thing,” and “God Gave Me A Girl,” his latest single, “Bones,” is already making waves! Grab your tickets now and join us for an unforgettable night of music! Saturday, August 2nd, 2025 Live at The District I All-Ages Show PIT Doors Open 6:00 PM | GA Doors 6:30 PM | Show Starts 7:30 PM Purchase Tickets Today: CLICK HERE THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: PEOPLES BANK | WIRELESS WORLD | FIRST PREMIER BANK About Russell Dickerson Russell Dickerson is known for his electrifying performances and “unstoppable energy fans can’t get enough of” (E! News). After bursting onto the scene, the Tennessee native quickly stood out from the pack as he released four consecutive career-starting singles that reached No. One on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. Since then, Dickerson has earned platinum or better status on singles including “Yours” (3X Platinum), “Blue Tacoma” (2X Platinum), “Every Little Thing” (Platinum), “Love You Like I Used To” (Platinum), and “She Likes It” ft. Jake Scott (2X Platinum). Just last year, he clocked his fifth No. One with “God Gave Me A Girl.” This year, he released “Good Day To Have A Great Day,” followed by his latest single “Bones,” which was the biggest radio debut of his career. For more information, visit www.russelldickerson.com .
A large group of people are sitting at long tables in a large room.
By nicole.andree February 19, 2025
April 4, 2025
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By now most of you have probably heard of the “escape rooms” offered in Sioux Falls and other places as a fun activity for families friends and co-workers. The premise? Get locked in a room with your nearest and dearest with a puzzle to solve before time runs out. I’ve wanted to try out this activity since I first started hearing about them so when Life 96.5 announced they were giving away chances for non-profit organizations to participate in the mobile version of “The Escape Unit ” I registered the Orange City office in a heartbeat.

And we won!

Two short weeks later our Community Living team sat outside The Escape Unit trailer enjoying a delicious lunch courtesy of the Pita Pit (also part of the winning package) before it was our time to enter. We didn’t know what to expect because the puzzles for escape rooms vary; sometimes they involve reaching a distant object with only the tools you are given decoding a cipher determining the lock combination or as it turned out in our case defusing a (make-believe) bomb.

Our mission which we were happy to accept was to get through all the clues to diffuse the explosive and save our town from destruction. Luckily my group and I are no strangers to challenges surprises and problem-solving. We approached each task with enthusiasm intelligence and a sense of humor. Despite our best and brightest efforts however were ultimately unsuccessful in disarming the bomb in time (sorry Orange City). 

The larger lesson was obvious: the escape room reminded us what strengths we each brought to the team how to lean on each other when needed and how to laugh when the best efforts went awry. While it’s unfortunate we had to blow up our lovely hometown in the process it was a great experience that helped us grow as a group—and one I would recommend to any organization or family looking to strengthen connections and have a little fun.

We ended the day with Culver’s ice cream (concrete mixers seemed appropriate). 

Huge thanks to Life 96.5  Pita Pit and Culver’s for a day none of us will soon forget. And thankfully the town of Orange City escaped unscathed.