Marine Corps Recruit Station Annual Field Meet, or "Poolee Family Night"
A poolee is an individual who has already signed up to become a Marine but has not yet left for the 13 weeks of recruit training at boot camp in San Diego or Parris Island. Each spring, Marine Corps recruiting stations around the United States hold a "Poolee Family Night" to bring poolees and their parents together to learn what to expect in, and how to prepare for, boot camp.
The poolee and parent event is important for soon-to-be recruits, as they will receive useful information. Its just as important for the parents, many of whom may be nervous and unsure of what to expect during their Marine's career in the Corps. Poolee Family Nights also provide an opportunity to bring in parents of recent boot camp graduates and parents whose sons and daughters are currently in boot camp so they can lend support and share information with poolee parents.
Share Your Knowledge and Experience
We would like to encourage you to contact your son or daughter's recruiter to see if they would like you to share some words about the help and fellowship you've experienced through MarineParents.com outreach services such as RecruitParents.com, Official MarineParents.com Facebook Groups, and Marine Family Network. If you're not too fond of speaking in front of others, perhaps you can offer to sit at an exhibit table with brochures and information to help lead the way to MarineParents.com, a source of support in this journey.
To help facilitate this sharing of information, we've put together the "Corps Kit," an informational presentation kit that outlines the services provided by MarineParents.com and RecruitParents.com. We offer two different kits. The first kit is our Corps Kit™: Poolee Presentation Kit, which is intended for use on a display table during Parents and Poolees functions put on by your local Marine Corps recruiting office. This kit is for distribution to Marine Corps Recruiters only.
The Corps Kit™: Parents & Poolees contains the following:
- 30 Presentation Folders with a workbook and matrix
- 30 Marine Parents wristbands
- 5 Marine Parents Calendars plus a door prize if available
The second kit is our Corps Kit™ Recruiter Heads UP! kit. This includes a presentation kit for you to give to your recruiter to share with them how Recruit Parents and Marine Parents has helped you on your journey. The recruiter will then be able to order their own Poolee Kit via return mail with the included postage paid envelope. To thank you for your time, we'll include a Marine Parents key chain and Parent Packet for you to keep.
So far, the initial reception to these kits has been very positive from both parents and recruiters alike. One recruiter even felt compelled to contact us to let us know how helpful they've been.
Click above to listen to feedback from one of our USMC recruiters.
Attend a Poolee Family Night on Our Behalf
The missions of Marine and Recruit Parents are two-prong—to provide support, information, and services to poolees, recruits, and Marines and their family members, as well as providing opportunities for the public to support our troops through the organization's outreach programs.
On Wednesday, February 17, 2016, MarineParents.com's Corporate Secretary, Marilyn Dilts, accomplished both parts of those missions by attending a poolee family night event in Lebanon, Missouri.
Marilyn accomplished the first part of the missions by providing poolee parents with information on MarineParents.com and RecruitParents.com. The poolees who didn't have a parent present were given a folder of information to take home.
The second part of the mission was accomplished by Marilyn merely being present, letting others know that they too can attend poolee events to provide further support to our troops and to Marine Parents as an organization.
According to Marilyn, the Commander and Drill Instructors were "very excited" to see the information provided in the folders, especially the recruit matrices. In fact, they even took some of the extra folders back to their office in Kansas City with them to provide further information to the parents they interact with.
We strongly encourage our supporters to attend poolee events and pass out information on our behalf. Whether you're a poolee, recruit, or Marine parent, you can help educate and provide support for other poolee and recruit parents.
If you would like to attend a poolee event on our behalf, please contact us at mp@marineparents.com or by calling 573-449-2003.
