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EVENTS Current
Events Calendar of Events Scheduled events are highlighted in gold.
Move your mouse over a date to view a description of the scheduled event or click here for our detailed events calendar. |
Past Events Meredith Weiner
Heather called the meeting to order at 12:35 pm. She introduced Meredith Weiner, a Rutgers-Camden alum, who is an event coordinator for Association Headquarters. Meredith began to explain what her job duties and her corporation are. She plans professional conferences, ranging from 50-1000+ people. Associaton Headquarters is a non-profit association management company; they join with associations that can not afford to stand alone, and they share their resources. Association Headquarters remains silent. There are many aspects to event planning. The first step in planning is to devise a budget for the project assigned. Meredith considers the exhibit income, sponsorship, registration, meals provided, meeting expenses, etc. Meredith decides what is free, and what needs to have a fee. She works both sides of the budget, determining how much the charge will be if there is one. In a nonprofit organization, the main goal is to breakeven. The second step is to recommend a location and a meeting venue. She then works with the list of potential locations. The things to consider in this decision are the financial position of the association, the members locations, where the previous meeting was held, etc. She gives the association a map and asks that they color in where the majority of their members are located.The most efficient locations are those where an airport is located and the cost of travel is affordable. The third step is to request for proposal and decide on a location. The amount of members attending and if the venue has the capacity to accomodate all those attending comes into play. Once a location is chosen, Meredith negotiates the contract given. The goal is to protect the hotel and the associations interest; to have a win-win situation. The contract must meet the groups needs. An example: If she books 1,000 rooms, and only 80% of the said guests show, they can not be charged with attrition fees. The fourth step is to work with the group on refining their program and choosing their speakers. The group must stay within their parameters. Often, groups will try to overdo their program and lose sight of the primary goal of the meeting. They tend to get excited about speakers and want to have them all at one event. Meredith has to remind them of their budget, and that great ideas/speakers can be spread out over time. She collects people she wants to have there and creates a databade so that she can track her groups resources. Marketing comes into play using the "5" P's. For event planning, the product is the meeting. The price is the fees that will be charged. The place is the location of the venue (A city, B city). The promotion is the brochure (that is changing all the way up until the event has officially began). The placement is the audience. The most important thing in event planning is to narrow down the audience into different categories. After determining the 5 P's, she develops a marketing plan. A year and a half in advance, she sends out "Save the Date" cards. Then she brands the meeting, sends out abstracts, and finally the registration brochures. Meredith explained that she is always trying to encourage her clients to talk about their event, because the best way to advertise is through the "word of mouth campaign". For the actual exhibit, Meredith has to create a seperate marketing plan. She contacts a decorator, generates an exhibtor, sells, and manages the show floor. She assists the exhibitor with registration and promotes the final registration book. Meredith explained the other jobs she has. She coordinates the speakers travel plans; VIP travel and housing. She must obtain speaker disclosures and allow absolutely promotional items in the show room. She sets up the book, and communicates with the hotel. She must be prepared to make all last minute, on-site changes. She meets with the audio-visual tech and is specific to her needs for each meeting. Event planning is a game with numbers, some people show up that didn't RSVP, and there are no-shows. At the end of every meeting, she audits the final invoices and pays the vendors. She then devises a final event summary which helps the group and her plan the next meeting. Meredith gave us tips on how to be an efficient event planner. Tip one is to always come within the budget; there is never a good reason to go over. She also recommended that all the work be done in advance, to know your client, and to be innovative and anticipate complications. The quality of the meeting reflects the quality of the group. Meredith said that there are many benefits to being an event planner. These benefits are the art of brining people together, rewarding, getting to negotiate contracts, travel, and working with people who inspire her. It is beneficial to have some background in business law, marketing, writing and editing, accounting, and customer service. As the planner, you must always come last and make sure that everything happens as it should. Heather thanked Meredith for coming and the meeting was adjourned at 1:25 p.m. Some students stayed to pay their membership fees and receive their t-shirts. | |||||||
