Schedule and Workshops
This year's full program, to include the schedule of events, list of workshops and presenter information is listed below. To see a schedule of last year's events, select the Seminar Program link below. The Good Grief Camp schedule will be provided to parents upon check-in.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30
3 p.m. - 7 p.m. --- Adult Early Check-In - Grand Palm lobby
3 p.m. - 7 p.m. --- TAPS Store - Glades, Jasmine, Palm rooms
3 p.m. - 8 p.m. --- Survivor Care Space - Banyan room
3 p.m. - 8 p.m. --- Survivor Book Swap Table - Banyan room
5 p.m. - 7 p.m. --- Family Dinner Buffet - Pavilion
7 p.m. - 9 p.m. --- Good Grief Camp Zone - Horizons
7 p.m. - 9 p.m. --- Good Grief Camp Check-In - Pavilion, rear
7 p.m. - 8 p.m. --- Desserts Peer Sessions (adults)
9 p.m. - 10 p.m. --- Combined 12-step Style Meeting - Banyan
Friday Dessert Sessions
Please plan on attending one of our Dessert Sessions. These sessions will help prepare you for the weekend, and help you get what you need the most. Whether it's information and education, a connection with someone whose story is like yours or a renewed and refreshed spirit that is ready to focus on healing, it’s all here for you this weekend. Come learn what we’ve got in store for you … and enjoy coffee and dessert treats, too.
New Loss/First Time Attendees - Tarpon
If your loss was within the last year or this is your very first TAPS Military Suicide Survivor Seminar, this is the dessert session for you. We’ll share what to expect over the weekend, how to get support and extra hugs if you need them, and can even make recommendations of which groups and workshops might be helpful for you to attend. This is a safe place to ask questions and learn more about what opportunities are here for you, securely surrounded by your loving TAPS family.
Peer Mentor Laugh Yoga - Indian/Bird
A VERY special session for ALL our trained Peer Mentors, including our newest graduates! Enjoy coffee, desserts and Laughter Yoga! Laughter Yoga is non-political, non-religious, non-racial, non-threatening, non-competitive. It comes with no strings attached, and therefore no jokes or comedy required. Laughter is a universal language that transcends all barriers, as does grief and sadness. Laughter Yoga is a body/mind/spirit exercise, that emphasizes health and wellness through, laughter exercises, yogic breathing, and childlike playfulness. Come laugh with us and feel great!
Family Reunion - Long Key
Come unite with TAPS Family members from previous events or other’s you’ve connected with along your journey. If you’re not a first-timer or Peer Mentor, please join us! We’ll help you navigate the weekend, talk about the sessions and workshops offered and help you set an intention so you can get what you need AND learn how your very presence gives to others all weekend long.
Parents with Kids in the Good Grief Camp- Pavilion
If you’re a parent with kids in the Good Grief Camp this weekend, you’ll want to stay in the Pavilion after dinner. Your GGC Staff and Group Leaders will be sharing some important details about the wonderful weekend of activities they’ve got planned for your kiddos. Ask questions, get your child checked in for Camp and enjoy delicious coffee and desserts while your kids are having a ball in the GGC Kids Zone!
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1
7 a.m. --- Sunrise Yoga - South Beach Lawn, next to Gazebo
7 a.m. - 9 a.m. --- Breakfast - Pavilion
8 a.m. - 9 a.m. --- Good Grief Camp Check In - Banyan Breezeway
8 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. --- Adult Check In - Grand Palm lobby
8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. --- Child Care
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. --- Artful Grief Open Art Studio - Royal Tern
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. --- TAPS Store - Glades, Jasmine, Palm
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. --- Resource Village - Glades, Jasmine, Palm
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. --- Survivor Care Space - Banyan room
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. --- Survivor Book Swap Table - Banyan room
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. --- Help Table - Grand Palm lobby
9:15 a.m. --- Good Grief Camp Drop-Off - Group rooms as assigned by child
9:30 a.m. --- Good Grief Camp Begins
9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. --- Opening Session/Welcome Remarks - Island Ballroom
- Bonnie Carroll
- Kim Ruocco
- Dr. Frank Campbell
- Pathway Facilitators: Dr. Carla Stumpf-Patton, Dr. Doug Reidmiller, Rev. Laura Biddle, Dr. Frank Campbell and Eric Marcus
12 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. --- Lunch (adults) - Pavilion
1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m. --- Adult Workshop Block 1 and Sharing Groups Block 1
Adult Workshop Block 1
- Pathways to Remembrance and Rebuilding
- Pathway of Reconstruction: Parenting After Loss/Rebuilding Family Foundations with Dr. Carla Stumf-Patton and Jeff Gersh - Tarpon Key
- Pathway of Balance: Roles and Systems Within a Family with Dr. Frank Campbell - Sawyer Key
- Pathway of Understanding: Messages and the Story We Tell After This Loss with Author Eric Marcus and Linda Langford, Sc.D., SPRC - Long Key
- Pathway of the Lighthouse: Tools to Find that Guiding Light with Dr. Doug Riedmiller and Mary Bradshaw - Indian/Bird Key (combined)
- Pathway to Purpose, Meaning and Forgiveness with Rev. Laura Biddle - Sabal/Sawgrass (combined)
Sharing Groups Block 1
Sharing Groups are smaller, more intimate sessions in which you can share your own story, experiences and feelings while listening to others who have a similar relationship with their service member. Sharing groups set the stage for making deep, personal connections to your peers here at the Seminar.
- Parents - Snowy Egret
- Siblings - Spotted Curlew
- Spouses - Chart
- Men Only - Message Center #1 (off Grand Palm lobby)
- Adult Children - Compass
3 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. --- Coffee Break - Grand Palm lobby
3 p.m. - 9 p.m. --- Tell Your Story Photo Session - Grand Palm lobby
Stop by the Tell Your Story Photo Station to pick up a 5x7 photo of your loved one and have an opportunity to write your own story in 6 words! Then, with on-the-spot photos printed of you and your loved one’s photo, post your story on the Our Stories display.
3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. --- Adult Workshop Block 2: Interactive and Adult Sharing Groups Block 2
Adult Workshop Block 2
- Pathways to Remembrance and Rebuilding
- Pathway of Reconstruction: Parenting After Loss/Rebuilding Family Foundations with Dr. Carla Stumf-Patton and Jeff Gersh - Tarpon Key
- Pathway of Balance: Roles and Systems Within a Family with Dr. Frank Campbell - Sawyer Key
- Pathway of Understanding: Messages and the Story We Tell After This Loss with Author Eric Marcus and Linda Langford, Sc.D., SPRC - Long Key
- Pathway of the Lighthouse: Tools to Find that Guiding Light with Dr. Doug Riedmiller and Mary Bradshaw - Indian/Bird Key (combined)
- Pathway to Purpose, Meaning and Forgiveness with Rev. Laura Biddle - Sabal/Sawgrass (combined)
Adult Sharing Groups Block 2
- Parents Whose Only Child Died - Snowy Egret
- Fiances/Significant Others - Spotted Curlew
- Spouses Who Did Not Have Children - Chart
- Homicide/Suicide - Message Center #1 (off Grand Palm lobby)
- LGBTQ-related Issues - Compass
6 p.m. - 9 p.m. --- TAPS Dinner (adults only) - Island Ballroom
9 p.m. --- Combined 12-Step Style Group Meeting - Banyan
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2
7 a.m. --- Sunrise Yoga - South Beach Lawn, next to Gazebo
7 a.m. - 9 a.m. --- Breakfast - Pavilion
8:30 a.m. --- Good Grief Camp Begins
9 a.m. - 2 p.m. --- Resource Village - Glades, Jasmine, Palm
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. --- Artful Grief Open Art Studio - Royal Tern
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. --- TAPS Store - Glades, Jasmine, Palm
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. --- Survivor Book Swap Table - Banyan room
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. --- Help Table - Grand Palm lobby
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. --- Survivor Care Space - Banyan room
9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. --- Creating a Pathway of Gratitude Morning Ceremony - Garden Courtyard
10:30 - 11:45 a.m. --- Plenary Session: Survivor Voices: A conversation about the many pathways to hope, help and healing - Island Ballroom
- Kyra Phillips, CNN Correspondent
- Dr. Adam Walsh, Defense Suicide Prevention Office
- Congressman David Jolly
- Kim Ruocco, TAPS Chief External Relations Officer, Suicde Prevention/Postvention
- Join us for a town hall style session featuring national leaders who have used survivor voices to implement change. Kim Ruocco and Eric Marcus will facilitate a conversation about the many ways survivors can use their voices to increase awareness, enhance prevention and promote hope and healing. Audience questions encouraged!
10:30 - 11:45 a.m. --- Soul Gathering: A Continuing Bond Meditation wth Sharon Strouse - Snowy Egret
10:30 a.m. --- Mindfulness Beach Walk with Rev. Laura Biddle - meet by the waterslide
12 p.m. - 1 p.m. --- Lunch (adults) - Pavilion
12 p.m. - 6 p.m. --- Tell Your Story Photo Station - Grand Palm lobby
1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m. --- Adult Afternoon Activities Block 1 and Adult Sharing Group Block 1
Adult Workshop Block 1
- Adult Sandcastle Building Activity - North Beach (may run to 4 p.m.)
- Rebuilding Your View of Grief: A Workshop for Men (Only) with Franklin Cook - Tarpon
- Becoming a TAPS Contributing Writer with Bevin Landrum, TAPS Magazine Editor and Marica Tomlinson, TAPS Contributing Author - Long Key
- Winks and Signs from the Other Side with Bonnie Carroll - Indian/Bird
- Indoor Sand Mandalas with Sharon Strouse: Art Studio - Royal Tern
- Using You Story to Companion Others with Zaneta Gileno - Sawyer Key
Adult Sharing Group Block 1
- VILO's: Very Important Loved Ones - Compass
- Dating/Intimacy After Suicide Loss of an Adult Child - Snowy Egret
- Couples Issues After the Loss of an Adult Child - Chart
- Battle Buddies/Friends - Message Center #1, off Grand Palm lobby
- I Love Someone Who Lost Someone to Suicide (for those in a relationship with a survivor) - Message Center #2, off Grand Palm lobby
3:30 p.m. --- A Moment for YOU: Your Pathway
We’ve intentionally left this time slot open — for you. It’s almost the end of our weekend together, and we want to give you time to intentionally connect, process some of what you’ve experienced here at the Seminar, or even just have some quiet time. Please use this time for YOU. Here are some suggestions:
- Go for a walk along the beach. Try to notice sounds, feelings and your own emotions.
- Visit Survivor Care Team staff in the TLC room. Share your experiences of the weekend.
- Call a loved one back home.
- Visit the Tell Your Story Photo Station in the Grand Palm Lobby.
- Meditate on the beach. Deep breathe with the rhythm of the ocean waves.
- Set an alarm for 45 minutes and take a refreshing nap.
- Talk to a survivor with whom you haven’t yet chatted. Feel free to take advantage of our “open meeting space” rooms for privacy. Look for the “meet here for quiet conversation” signs outside rooms that are available.
- Talk to a professional such as a counselor, clinician or one of our special guests/speakers. Maybe get some ideas on what could be your next steps at home.
- Visit the Resource Village and gather new information.
- Visit the TAPS store where we have lots of choices so you can sport your TAPS gear back home, too!
- Sit on the beach and gaze at the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. Take a swim.
6 p.m. --- TAPS Family Beach BBQ - North Beach, in front of the Horizons building
Sunset --- Our Stories Floating Memorial Activity - Beachside During/After Sunset
MONDAY, OCTOBER 3
6 a.m. - 4 p.m. --- Buses depart from lobby for Tampa International Airport