Organizing Section Meeting/Conferences

Draft April 2013

The Secretary and Program Chairman shall share duties for planning and organizing the Section meetings/conferences. (For example, Secretary does first announcement for Fall meeting and the program for Spring meeting, Program Chairman does the reverse.)

1. Seek invited speakers and contributed papers.
   1. Organize the program prior to Section meetings
      1. Show and tell (usually 1 hour)
      2. Keynote speaker (usually 1 hour)
      3. Business meeting (usually 15 minutes)
      4. Lunch (usually 90 minutes)
      5. Contributed papers (usually 15 minutes each with 5 minutes for questions)
2. In conjunction with the Program Chairman, maintain contact with the local host and collect information from the local host that will be included in the First Announcement (call for papers) and Final Announcement (program).
3. Prepare the First Announcement (call for papers) in conjunction with the Program Chairman.
   1. Include the following information in the First Announcement (call for papers):
      1. Date and location of the next Section meeting and for future meetings
      2. Name, address and phone number of the local host
      3. Theme of meeting (if needed)
      4. Names of keynote speakers and their topics (if known)
      5. Announcement of special events
      6. Call for papers (title and abstract), equipment needed, deadline
      7. Call for show and tell demonstrations (and reminder about time limits)
      8. Registration fee for meeting
      9. Call for Section dues (especially prior to the Fall Section meeting)
      10. Offer of certificates for outstanding student achievement (especially prior to the Spring Section meeting)
   2. Mail the First Announcement (call for papers) about eight weeks before the meeting in conjunction with the Treasurer.
      1. All members (high school and college/university) by first class mail
      2. Vendors
4. Prepare the Final Announcement (program) in conjunction with the Program Chairman.
   1. Include the following information in the Final Announcement (program):
   2. Complete program information
   3. Name, address and phone number of the local host
   4. Map of the Section meeting location
   5. List of motels with address, phone numbers, and cost
   6. Details of the Friday evening social (time, place, etc.)
   7. Information about lunch (menu, cost, and location)
   8. Reminder about show and tell contributions
   9. Names, addresses, and phone numbers of the Section officers
   10. Information about future meetings
   11. Other information as needed (notes on guest speakers, recognition of outstanding members, messages from Section officers, etc.)
   12. Mail the Final Announcement (program) about two weeks before the meeting to members and vendors.
5. We should describe all talks as including mandatory five minutes of Q&A at the end (does this mean we should go in 20 minute cycles for 15 minute slots?)
6. Coordinate logistical requirements:
7. IT
   1. Wifi: Check with campus IT department/person to ensure attendees will have acess (is there a username/password required?)
   2. Projecting: What OS does your institution have in the main room (Mac or Windows)?
   3. How do the lights in the main room work?
   4. Assign someone who is familiar with the computer/projector system to be available to help speakers connect their devices and/or copy files onto school computer.
   5. (Should NCN buy Mac/i dongles?)
8. Break-out rooms:
   1. Space for lunch
   2. Space for afternoon break-out sessions (sometimes we have these).
9. Food:
   1. Friday no-host dinner location
   2. Saturday coffee/tea/pstries/donuts/bagels
   3. Saturday lunch (usually a local deli can make sandwiches, we’ll likely need 50-100). Also pick up chips, cookies, drinks.
10. Parking:
    1. Check with your parking department, some will give passes that we can pass out. If not, what does the parking meeter accept/require? (credit cards, singles, does it give change).NCNAAPT can bring extra one dollar bills if we know in advance.
11. Restrooms: Are they open on Friday evening, Saturday?
12. Table and chairs for registration:
    1. We need at least one table and three chairs for reg: more if we are expecting large crowds.
13. Correspond with invited speakers and the local host regarding arrangements for all meetings.
14. Notify speakers of their scheduled time as early as possible. Insure that each speaker receives a Final Announcement (program) prior to the meeting.Communicate any special instructions to the speakers prior to the meeting.
15. Invite vendors to participate in meetings. Organize (by letter or phone call) the donation of prizes by the vendors to be given away during the raffle at the business meeting.
16. During the meeting, record the names and addresses of all speakers, vendors, and show and tell participants.
17. After the meeting, send brief letters of thanks to all participants including invited speakers, authors of contributed papers, show and tell participants, vendors, the local host, and other persons responsible for the success of the meeting.