Some of How to put on a Conference (NJ Style)
Start with your Group,and others that will help you
it's a lot of work !!!
Start about a year or yr and 1/2 before the show !!! ( It' Takes time )
You need a Committee, for planing and voting ,We had a vendor on
our's to get there side of a conference.They are a Very important
part of the show!!!! ..........
1) Pick a Date !!
2) Pick a large city (Town ) in the center of the State
3) Find 10-15 vendors that will support you and
the DATE
4) Find Presenter for workshops--Get for the "New" and "Old"
( 10 - 15 ) Make sure the
date is good for them ( If you can get
them for free Great ,
otherwise it will cost you for Hotel
and etc for them )
5) Find a Hotel !! under $100.00 per night ,Most hotel's will
work
with you ( The more Rooms the better)
Make sure the Date is Good.
You will need rooms for the ones coming
from out of town,
And the vendors,and Speakers
Fri & sat ??? Sun
??
Does the Hotel have breakout rooms ???
We used 5 rooms in the conference
Center, Had 5 diff
workshops going at on time
(45 min -1 hr )We had 2 in
the am and 1 in the pm
(conference was 8:00 -- 4:00)
STAY On Time!!!!
And Food ??Get all you can ,most places
will give you a free meal
so you can sample the cooking ,
Feed the Vendors !!!
If You can have it in one spot
its better But more $$$$
6) Need a Conference Hall ??? 2 days ?? 1 Day ???
Food part of conference ??? How
much does it cost
Find a Nice place Does not
half to be GREAT but,Nice with
lots of room --
7) Is The Date Good for all the above ?? OK
, So now You
have ----- Vendors , Hotel, Confer
Center , Presenters,Food ---
8) ( Ck with the IAL for their date that yr
:>) )
Now the Fun part !!! How
much does it COST!!! Who going
to pay what ?? For sure you
don't want your club to lose a lot
But you have to have in the bank
just in case you fail and have
to pay ( $2,000.00 ??)
You charge the vendors a set
up fee, $000.00 -- up ???
How much room do the vendors
need ?? 1 -2 tables ??
How large of a room ??? (
All Vendors like space! Prime space)
Not all vendors get along
so you have to be careful who is next
to who. This is where
it's nice to have a vendor on the comm.
How much do you charge
the Lary's ,How much for SLP's
( Lary's)-- just enough
to cover your food cost ,$25.00 --30.00
( SLP'S ) --- Are you going
to give Ed credits ?? If you are it
will cost you,
So, you have to charge more
--- $100. per day is good and
it helps with the total cost
9) Now if You have ALL the above lined up !!
Tell the world That
You are having a Show !!!!!! then go back
to planing !( Pick a
name ,and stick with it,use it all the time)
10) Who is going to be the key-note Speaker??
( He gets a Free ride,
so it cost you ) But,
He makes
the show ( Good or Bad )
Get
a Lary!!! who Been there ,Done That !!!
11) Line up the other speakers time (who going to talk
at same time)
You want everyone
to hear the one he/she wants to hear
We picked what
we thought was the most important
and did them 2 times
, Stay on Time!!!!
Be sure to ask the speakers
if they want 1-2 talks
12) See if you can line up vendors to put on a "Meet &
Greet"
The night before
the Conference --- Check with the Hotel
about the cost
of same and what and how long you get !!!
A Good Meet &Greet
set's the tone for the Conference
MAKE it Good
13) Coffee Breaks --- One in the AM one in the PM ---
Find vendors to sponsor
these--- say $000.00 each?
Have to find out cost
of coffee & cake
Some places don't charge for
this BUT you still charge
the vendors , and put up sign's
(Coffee Break sponsored By )
!4) Breakfast -- Coffee ,and rolls ,cakes
Find a Vendor
to take care of this cost ( same as above )
15) Let the world know what's going on again ( New up-date
)
You might find a vendor
to help with the cost of mailing
flyers ,or the ACS will
help BUT may want your mail list ,
so be careful, mail to
all lary's and clubs within 200 miles
Do a Up date on WW as
you feel right doing (1 a Month )
!6) Registration Forms!!! Put them on the flyers !!
Have cut
off date for pre
reg,raise price after that date .----
17) About a month or 2 before conference go ck everything
out
again Thing
can and will change without you knowing
Hotel are great
for that so ( BE SURE To get it all in writing )
As far as
the cost and what you are getting for it
Check on
A/V Stuff ,What Do you need for each speaker??
Some places
charge for this --so ck -- you might want
to change who
talks when,so as to do with what you have
18) Line up people from the club to work day of conference !!!
Are you having Goody Bags
?? Yes !! Need someone to
print them . Get
a vendor !! conference on one side
vendor on other
--- get other vendors to help fill bags
Have all goody Bag stuff sent
to you ,so that you can have
them ready the am of conference
19) Name Tags --- Do not cost much You can do on your PC
Have ready and all layed
out on res. table the night before
20) Programs-- Need a printer and a layout of what you are
having --- Ads
Sell Ads --Full page,Half page,Buss card
21) Door Prizes --- Get one from each vendor!!!
We gave some out at lunch
,Save the best for last
22) Have a Great Day !!!!!
23) Say THANK YOU , and clean up ,and start planing the next one.
Hope you can use some of the above to help you put on a
Great Conference
Stay Well
Roy--NJ
