Hope is Alive’s Alumni Association Funds a Night Out

Fun in Sobriety: Hope is Alive’s Alumni Association Funds a Night Out

This past March, Hope is Alive alumni from nearly every market stepped away from their usual routines to simply have fun together.

Instead of a traditional meeting format, alumni gathered for a coordinated “Fun Night” across the country. The goal was simple: create space for connection and laughter.

Each market brought its own unique flavor to the evening:

• Greenville, NC: A group steak dinner
• Crystal Coast, NC: Axe throwing
• Tulsa, OK: Pickleball
• Oklahoma City and Weatherford, OK: Bowling
• Wichita, KS & Kansas City, MO: Topgolf
• DFW, TX: Go-kart racing

Food and activities were fully covered by the Alumni Association, allowing attendees to simply show up, enjoy themselves, and participate at whatever level they felt comfortable, whether that meant diving into competition or just catching up with friends.

Many alumni shared that they needed a night like this, and that it was a lot more fun than they expected. There was no formal agenda, no structured programming — just fun in sobriety. And of course, there was some friendly competition mixed in.

From pickleball in Tulsa to bowling in Oklahoma City and Weatherford to Topgolf in Wichita and Kansas City, the competitive side definitely came out. And it wasn’t just the guys! The women showed up and showed out, too. Whether they knew how to play or not, everyone jumped in, laughed a lot, and made the most of it.

Brie Enterline, an alumnus since 2024, shared, “I love alumni outings because I get to be around my people and have fun! I get to see everyone's personalities and how they grow from one month to the next!”

And she’s not alone in this sentiment! There are countless alumni who look forward to these outings.

For a lot of people, it’s something different than what they expected recovery to look like. Nights like this challenge the idea that life in sobriety is boring or limited. Instead, it shows that it can actually be FUN. 

It also gives alumni a chance to build deeper, and sometimes brand new, relationships. The same people they once sat next to in meetings or walked through the program with are now their teammates, their competition, or the ones keeping everyone laughing between turns. And beyond that, it brings together alumni from every season of Hope is Alive — those who graduated the program eight years ago and those who graduated six months ago.

“My favorite part of this past alumni outing was all the camaraderie and seeing everybody reconnect with the HIA family,” shared Dylan Wishon, an alumnus since 2025.

The Alumni Association’s investment in nights like these is an investment in the alumni and their joy, their relationships, their sobriety, and their continued success. And if there’s one thing this night made clear, it’s that life after Hope is Alive is nothing like the life they left behind.