Planning a Regional Meeting Series
The success of every event is in the planning and organization for each event. The
Committee Chairs and/or Executive Committee are responsible for program
development while the event coordinator is responsible for delegating their needs
and creating a successful and memorable event. It is critical that the plans for each
event begin early and are thorough.
However, to help you understand the follow of planning, below is a general timeline:
At least Six Months Out:
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Review/decide on a Budget (or indicate what Grant will cover expenses, if
any)
o If there is no grant, what do attendees pay for?
Select Location(s) and Dates (Verify college campuses. See sheet below.)
o Provide specific meeting space requirements
Discuss Program Logistics with Committee
Decide why you are hosting the meeting
Discuss ideal attendee profile (who attends, how many per college, etc.)
Three Months Out:
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Develop advertisement to send out to listservs and post online
Open online registration
Chair to begin discussion with committee on the topics
Two Months Out:
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Chair to discuss formal program, if any, with Executive Committee
o If no program, what are the goals, objectives, etc. for the meeting?
o Will it require a survey or evaluation?
Chair to contact and recruit presenters and facilitators
One Month Out:
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Locate hotels for potential required overnight stays. Reservations made.
Make travel arrangements for presenters/committee members if necessary
Confirm final presenter list and needs (A/V)
Confirm A/V requests with location
Obtain parking information, maps, and any other important logistical
information to provide to your attendees.
o For example, is the campus under construction/require a lot of
walking, etc.
Event coordinator picks menus with on-campus caterer, if applicable.
One Week Out:
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Confirm AV equipment
Registration closes
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Meal counts required
Confirmation email goes out with instructions, parking information, agenda,
etc. to registered attendees.
Three Days Out:
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Rosters and sign in sheets prepped and shipped, if necessary.
Materials prepped and shipped, if necessary
Day of the Event:
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Set up registration at least 1 ½ hours before scheduled time
o Have committee members work the registration table in the morning.
Verify set ups and A/V
Expect walk-ons
Assist presenters with staying on time
Always be available for questions from registrants
Working with College Campuses
Once in a while, a regional meeting or committee meeting will need to be
coordinated at a local college campus. Usually, a community college will be open to
hosting a meeting because it is a great way to showcase the campus, while saving
the Senate money.
Pros for using a college campus:
1) Significantly cheaper than using a hotel. Many campuses have a large room fit for
general sessions and classrooms can be used for breakouts.
2) Catering is reasonably priced. Some college campuses have very good hospitality
programs with a decent variety of food available for breakfasts and lunches.
3) A reasonable amount of audiovisual equipment is available.
Cons for using a college campus:
1) What you see is what you get. Breakout rooms could be clear across campus.
Room set ups are generally pretty inflexible. You are limited to the audiovisual
equipment available on campus. And if the meeting is during the academic year,
there will be students and limited access to classrooms.
2) Parking can be a challenge. Most of the time, campus police will work with the
event to provide free parking. Sometimes, you’ll need a parking permit. But there
are usually restrictions on where people can park, thus leading to confused
attendees and possible parking tickets.
3) If you have to travel to the campus by any other means than a short car ride, it
can get expensive and tricky to coordinate.
How to start:
1) Contact the Office of Instruction or Student Services, or local senate president.
Usually, an office assistant or senate president will set everything up for you based
on the specs you provide.
2) It’s important to be as specific as possible in the specs. Sometimes start and end
times have to be clearly indicated so classrooms can be booked and vacated at
certain times.
3) The campus will need to have an on site audiovisual assistant to trouble shoot
any issues that may arise with microphones and so forth. Sometimes, you could be
contacted ahead of time to discuss A/V requirements.
4) When working with catering, make sure to establish a payment method. Some
campuses will pay for the meals and then invoice the Senate. Others will send an
invoice ahead of time based on preliminary counts. Since paying after the event is
always preferred, see if this option can be accommodated prior to the meeting.
5) Ask the contact at the college for recommended lodging and restaurants.
Presenters who are traveling long distances will probably need to stay overnight
somewhere. Motels and inexpensive chain hotels work just fine for these meetings.
6) Establish a parking lot protocol. Where will people park? What lot? Do they need
a permit? How much are parking fines?
7) Get directions, a map of the campus, and the names of all the classrooms used for
the meeting. This information will typically be emailed to all registered attendees.