10 Great Dates in the Military - 3/ 26/07

[Smartmarriages]

- 10 GREAT DATES PROGRAM HELPS MILITARY COUPLES RECONNECT

'10 Great Dates' creators teach Holloman couples to have fun
Holman Air Force Base
By  Airman 1st Class Heather Stanton
49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
March, 2007 

HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- The creators of "10 Great Dates," Mr. and
Mrs. David and Claudia Arp, are here at the Friendliest Place on Earth March
16-17 to teach couples how to have fun and identify skills to build upon
their relationship.

"It is a fun, male-friendly, researched-based marriage education program
disguised as 10 great dates," said Mrs. Arp. "It puts the fun element back
into the relationship."

The northern Virginia couple have been marriage educators for 30 years and
came up with the idea for a fun marriage education program when they were
living in Vienna, Austria, and wanted to find a format that would work for
couples in the United States.

"We have a problem in America with divorce rates," said Chaplain (Capt.)
Matthew Glaros, 49th Fighter Wing chaplain. "The civilian divorce rate in
America is 50 percent and 75 percent in the Air Force itself."

The Holloman chapel is the first stateside Air Force base chapel
facilitating the "10 Great Dates" marriage education program.

"The first five dates are to prepare couples for separation, teaching them
to communicate and make the marriage a priority," said Mrs. Arp. "The last
five dates help reconnect a couple after a separation, building a creative
love life and help them get back into a normal routine."

Mr. Arp believes all the skills in a marriage education program can be
taught, but will not be applied in a relationship if there is not a fun
element involved.

"Each date teaches a skill which is the theme of the date," said Mr. Arp.
"Couples don't realize they are being taught and it's a fun way to build the
relationship."

The couple said more than 60,000 people have participated in their program,
either through the seminars or the "teach-out-of-the-box" method through the
book and DVD of the same title. Their books are published in many different
languages and cultures across the world, to include the Spanish version
coming out this summer.

The six-hour seminar Mr. and Mrs. Arp are holding at Holloman will help
reconnect Holloman couples by teaching communication skills, help process
anger and manage conflict, discuss problems productively and learn to
encourage and appreciate each other.

The Holloman chapel-facilitated "10 Great Dates" will be productive in
making Holloman couples a large part of showing the world that Holloman is
the Friendliest Place on Earth.
-----------------
10 GREAT DATES AT SMART MARRIAGES:

> 216 - Friday, June 29
> 10 Great Dates ­ TOOB
> Claudia and David Arp, MSW
> Teach this proven, widely-used program in your church and community. Combines
> fun with marriage skills and opens the door for other programs. Bonus: new
> Latino version!

> 501 - Saturday, June 30
> 10 Great Dates for Black Couples ­ TOOB
> Rozario Slack, DMin, Angela Slack, MD
> This program combines fun dates and marriage skills ­ and appeals to men!
> Based on the proven insights of the Arp¹s 10 Great Dates program. Teach in
> your church or community.

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