Events401

The Best Compliment Ever - tell us about yourself..

2011-04-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

I received the best compliment just the other day - an intern who has been working with us for over a year or so, starting during her last year of University. After graduation she chose to volunteer with us, and has progressed to mentoring the new interns with the Chocolate Festival and the Chefs Conference.

Out of the blue, she asked me to explain our business model, and what exactly we do. What a wonderful compliment.

She had seen parts of the business, much of the volunteer side of who we are, and, quite frankly, was curious as to how we could survive as a business, with everything we did pro bono...

So, in a nutshell, this is the answer:

The bulk of our business is consulting – speaking, teaching, strategic planning, business development and event production.

However, as an entrepreneur, I am all about the big picture; too many charities and events see only one aspect of their business model – especially volunteer event committees.

Therefore, when I get involved with a business or association, I am usually able to identify the areas they are missing, the areas that they haven’t identified as a necessary part of their success, and attempt to create the strategic plan, and operations plan, that allows them to "understand" the big picture.

Normally people reach out to me because I am seen as a business developer, association manageress and event guru - someone who can create events that always makes their targets - financially or otherwise. Events that create the Return on Investment the client is seeking - it may be product awareness, an marketing campaign, a recognition or awards program, membership drive - you get it - the ROI.

Think of me as a hired gun CEO – a trouble shooter who comes in to assist companies/charities/events. We are the actual chair behind the chair in most cases. We offer training so the volunteers/company are able to reach their level of success, usually a 3 to 5 year plan for each company and event.

As for the interns and mentor programs, this has truly developed over the last fifteen years. We believe in offering education to volunteers, and to committees. To give people a chance or experience they may not get otherwise. To invest in their work experience.

Nevertheless, I started finding some committees and boards were committed to having their name in the program, not to the actual mandate, so we needed to build a team of volunteers/interns to support the committees. In essence truly defining and developing the roles of the Steering Committee and the Operations Committee.

With the autonomy and experience we offered the volunteers/interns it was relatively easy to create these teams. This takes a lot of our time to teach, mentor, and run two committees for every project, but it is rewarding for all involved.

The chocolate festival strategic plan is the formalization of the mentorship program we created – whereby we have succession planning and mentorship year after year…event after event.

This model is extremely successful for career building resumes, hands on work experiences, and true opportunities for our youth - someone offering them the opportunity to learn, apprentice, and have ownership and responsibility of a project - with measurable results and return on their investment.

After the above conversation, our fabulous young intern had motivated me and perhaps re-inspired me to continue the pro bono work for a couple of major associations and events. Her feedback was amazing. She reminded me of the many letters of thanks we have received from past interns, charities, not for profits, committees, and Chairs of Committees - that our team, and our many volunteer hours really made a difference.

Funnily enough, her interest in what we do, and how we actually pay the bills, came at a particularly challenging time. (inspiring people seem to know when they are needed the most - thanks, young intern!)

A group of volunteers, responsible for a major event in their industry, have been making excuses for not meeting time-lines, deadlines, and truly important revenue commitments with the same old statement- "We do everything last minute" "What do you expect - we are only volunteers" and the best of it - "we don't have time to read all the information" - can you bring us up to speed - again.. (*two years of this, by the way)

I was at the point of removing all pro bono work, and concentrating strictly on our business - after all, to do what we do means 16 hour days, often 7 days a week. Then, out of the blue, this compliment came in - reminding us of why we chose, many, many years ago, to make a difference.

Thank you, interns - you inspire me - you keep us current, and, you make a difference.

The Conference Planning Committee - hiring the right volunteers

2011-04-10T19:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had several meetings with several committees for an upcoming conference. A relatively large conference, 7 days, with several event locations, and hundreds of moving parts. A fabulous conference; nevertheless, one that takes incredible attention to detail. Managing the human resources, committees, time-lines and tasks takes two excellent managers. Managing the actual events, and conference activities takes a team of ten.The conference is in the last details, having started over two years ago, and having had an well thought out time-line and project management outline.

So, you can imagine my astonishment, and dismay, when one of the Committee Chairs, responsible for several of the most crucial components, did not know what date his events were taking place. And, yes, it was important that the venue had the correct date.

It was at that point that I was once again reminded how extremely important it is for success - insure volunteers and volunteer committee members do not have the attitude "we are volunteers, what do you expect" Because, regardless of paid or unpaid work, once a person has accepted and committed to the position, what we expect is the same for everyone - paid or unpaid. Meet the needs of your team, your committee and your position. Respect the time-lines. Do your job.

Someone else asked me what exactly goes into planning a conference. Answering that question would take a book - actually, it is called training, certification, experience, education, and dedication to excellence. And, there are a few books, courses, and degrees available if you are really interested in this fascinating and rewarding career.

Therefore, for those that are interested, I thought I would outline what you should think about if you choose to plan a conference, and, the importance of hiring the right committee and staff - and, yes, hiring is what the chair and steering committee need to do - whether paid or unpaid staff, without the right team, your conference is challenged.

in one persons humble opinion.

The Conference Planning Committee

Planning, organizing and conducting a training conference can be rewarding and challenging. To develop a successful conference, you must employ the talents, cooperation, coordination, and participation of many individuals. For this reason, it is best to establish a Conference Planning Committee very early in the planning process, even before a decision is made to actually hold a conference.

A Conference Planning Committee is a group of people that holds some responsibility for shaping the conference and planning the program. Committee members should broadly represent your conference target audience. If one organization is sponsoring the conference, members or employees of that agency are usually appointed to the committee. However, it is not unusual to ask representatives from outside agencies who would have an interest in the conference to serve on the committee as well. When more than one agency is sponsoring the conference, each sponsoring agency is usually represented on the committee. There is no one formula for success, so other arrangements are possible. A committee should be used to distribute the workload among many people, but the greatest benefit of using a committee is that it ensures that the conference represents the thinking and planning of more than one individual.

Small conferences have small planning committees; larger conferences may need larger committees because there are more decisions to be made and there is more work to be done. Be careful--forming large committees can lead to problems. Getting everyone together for meetings is the most obvious difficulty. Getting everyone to agree on issues can be more serious. Certainly, situations will occur where complete agreement cannot be attained. The point here is not to create problems by assembling a committee that is so large that reaching agreement is difficult.

Look for persons to serve on your committee who:

* Are qualified to serve due to their experience on substantive issues, respect given to them by professionals in the field, or their organizational, negotiation, or communication skills.

* Are dependable.

* Are able to accept responsibility.

* Work well with others.

* Can make decisions.

* Can abide by the decision of the majority.

Typically, the Conference Planning Committee shares responsibility with the Conference Coordinator and the Sponsor for the following three functions:

* Serve in an advisory capacity.

* Approve scheduling and logistical decisions.

* Respond to recommendations and suggestions on conference content.

Once you begin to deal with various issues, the committee's role will become more defined. The key to avoiding confusion or misunderstandings is to clearly explain to committee members the committee's purpose and function. On different issues the committee may be asked to advise or make recommendations, give its stamp of approval, or make a final decision. Additionally, there may be instances in which the coordinator or sponsor will use the committee as a sounding board; in these cases, the committee is asked to react without the responsibility to do anything more.

You will find that creating a written document that states the purpose and function of the committee minimizes conflicts and sets the standard for your conference organization. Before meeting with the committee, meet with the sponsor to prepare a written statement of the committee's purpose and function. Additionally, illustrate the relationship among the committee, coordinator, and sponsor by preparing a "block form" of conference issues to be addressed and the function of each of the "conference triumvirate."

Continue to add issues as appropriate and necessary for your conference. Once the list is completed and the function of each person or group has been indicated, review the list with the conference sponsor before presenting it to the committee.

There are other committee issues that the sponsor and coordinator need to address, such as:

* Will committee members be compensated for their time or reimbursed for meeting expenses?

* How often will the committee meet?

* How long will the committee exist?

* Will the committee evaluate the conference?

* Will the work of the committee be recorded for future use?

* To whom is the committee responsible?

The answers to these questions are especially important when the committee consists of representatives from various organizations and agencies.

The Conference Coordinator

One of the first responsibilities of the Conference Planning Committee may be selecting one of its members to serve as the Conference Coordinator. Another common practice is for the sponsor to designate a coordinator who is not a member of the committee. The person appointed as coordinator may be an internal person or an external person.

An internal coordinator is a member or employee of the sponsoring agency or organization. It is by far the most common practice to appoint an internal coordinator.

An external coordinator is generally a person who is exceptionally skilled in conference planning and is contracted by the committee/sponsor for conference services.

Having a competent person serve as coordinator is vital to the success of the conference because the coordinator is involved in every aspect of conference planning and execution. You need someone with all the qualities stated earlier for committee members plus a few more.

Look for a person who:

* Possesses good organizational skills.

* Is a good communicator.

* Has an eye for details.

* Can function well even if things get a little stressful. A good sense of humour is a big plus.

Conference planning requires a great deal of time devoted to administrative and clerical work. Conference execution requires a lot of management, especially for larger conferences with 200 participants or more. This means the coordinator may need to employ an administrative staff or secretariat. The secretariat can be an individual or a group working under the direction of the coordinator. The responsibilities of the coordinator and secretariat together may include the following:

Management Functions

* Prepare a conference budget.

* Set the schedule for completing tasks leading to the conference.

* Conduct site visits.

* Negotiate contracts with hotels/meeting facilities.

* Recommend and correspond with speakers/entertainers/exhibitors.

* Prepare session descriptions.

* Set the flow of the conference and plan the program.

* Recruit and train conference staff/volunteers.

* Manage conference crises.

* Authorize on-site expenditures.

* Develop session and conference evaluations.

* Ensure bills are paid.

Administrative Functions

* Organize, schedule, and staff Conference Planning Committee meetings.

* Develop conference notices, brochures, and registration forms.

* Communicate with conference registrants.

* Order conference supplies, materials, and equipment; work with suppliers.

* Prepare name badges, signs, banners, and the program book.

* Order room setups for all workshops/sessions.

* Handle logistics for VIPs.

* Recruit and train conference staff/volunteers.

* Process conference registrations in the office and on-site.

The work of the Conference Planning Committee is a part-time responsibility; for the coordinator, the conference can become a sole assignment!

Why Hold a Conference?

There are many good reasons to hold a conference; the sponsoring agency's desire to hold a conference is not necessarily one of them. The purpose of the conference should be clearly established before the planning process begins. Generally, a conference is initiated through the following steps:

1) An agency, board, or coalition is called on to serve as a conference sponsor.

2) A conference planning committee is appointed.

3) A conference coordinator is selected or appointed.

Before preceding any further, the need for and purpose of the conference must be determined. The Conference Planning Committee can be a valuable asset in guiding and advising the sponsor on establishing the purpose of the conference. Remember, your planning committee is a broad representation of your target audience; don't underestimate the committee's value.

Following are tips to guide you in developing a statement of the conference's purpose:

* Establish a clear and emphatic purpose. Some conferences fail simply because their purpose was not fully addressed.

* Know what others are doing. For example, if your conference will address a specific discipline such as education of junior chefs, find out what colleges, universities, employers, and other agencies are doing in terms of training and education.

Learn the needs of your target audience.

Don't tell your target audience what information and training they need--let them tell you. Surveys are helpful to determine need. Surveys usually will reveal that training, education, and the exchange of information are high priorities with members of the culinary associations. Your challenge is to research the matter a little deeper to identify what topics are in demand and what systems are already in place to provide training and education. Then do an honest assessment. Is there a need for additional training and educational programs? Can you identify gaps in the current system? If so, you have identified the need for and purpose of your program.

Who is the Target Audience?

You can see that this topic is closely linked to defining your purpose, but the question of audience composition merits a separate answer. In the conference planning process, the purpose is determined first, and then the appropriate participants are identified.

However, for a membership association conference these two factors, purpose and participants, are sometimes reversed. If the participants who are expected to attend a conference are known, the goal should be to determine what conference purpose will encourage them to attend and to ensure that conference topics will address their needs. Whichever comes first, it is important that the conference's purpose and participants are well matched.

Members of different associations or people from different professions will have different training and educational needs. Know the audience you want to attract and understand their conference needs.

A popular trend in large, multidisciplinary conferences is the development of "tracks" that target the needs of different groups. Tracks permit individuals to stay with one course of training throughout the conference or "cross train" by jumping tracks.

For example, a regional conference was presented with one track of training specific to the needs of local, sustainable, and culinary tourism, a second track for staff and volunteers in the local chapters and associations, and a third track for people who work in purchasing, sales, and supplier relationships.

Number of Participants

Some conference planners believe that a large number of participants will ensure a better conference; this is not necessarily true. The number of conferees must relate to other factors.

Consider the following:

* Target audience. Don't plan on a conference of 500 when your pool of expected attendees numbers only 200.

* Conference budget. The financial resources available to spend on the conference will directly affect your program and may also affect the number of invited participants.

* Number of meeting rooms and room capacities. The number of available meeting rooms can limit the number of concurrent workshops you can hold. Total seating capacity limits the number of participants you can invite.

* Hotel accommodations. The number of sleeping rooms and hotel capacity are extremely important when an overnight stay is required for conference participants.

* Number of conference staff and volunteers. Although staffing is usually determined by the number of participants, this may be a factor if you have a limited number of conference staff available.

* Size of ballroom or banquet facility. When plenary sessions, meals, or other general sessions are part of your program, the number of participants is again limited by room capacity.

* Conference dates. Select dates that do not conflict with other events, including holidays or religious observances.

Conference Dates

Conference planners should consider a timetable of at least 12 months to organize a conference. This should provide all the time you will need to handle the planning and administrative tasks. Of course, these tasks can usually be accomplished in much less time, but the earlier you start, the easier your job will be.

When reviewing conference dates, consider that all hotels and meeting facilities have peak periods of high demand, "value" periods of low demand, and "shoulder" periods of variable demand. If you are considering dates during a peak period, you may need additional lead time to get the site you want, when you want it, at the price you want. These are three fundamental elements involved in site selection--location, dates, and price.

Some conference planners regard date and location as the most critical elements; others are most concerned with price. Realize that prioritizing any two of these scheduling elements strongly influences the third factor.

Before you contact convention bureaus or meeting facilities with your request for bids, establish first, second, and third date preferences.

When you are identifying preferred dates, some thought should be given to:

* Dates of other conferences competing for your target audience.

* National and religious holidays and events.

* Expected weather conditions.

* Dates of school openings and closings.

* Peak convention seasons.

These factors have an impact on conference attendance by staff, speakers, and conferees. They also may affect the hotel rates you are quoted and your ability to negotiate certain items in your contract.

Conference Budget

A conference budget should be prepared through a thoughtful process involving the sponsor, the planning committee, and always the coordinator. The sponsor should be included in the process because the sponsoring agency is usually responsible for paying all conference expenses. The planning committee should be included, even if only to make recommendations, so the committee will understand the budget implications of its actions. The coordinator should control the budget--that is, all budget items should be initiated by or developed in conjunction with the coordinator. The coordinator should be the person who approves payment of budget expenses. If payments are approved by someone other than the coordinator, it will be difficult to hold the coordinator accountable for conference expenditures.

Because budgets deal with numbers and dollars, they are thought to be financial documents. Actually, a budget is a planning document and a management control document. It is a listing of all anticipated conference expenses followed by a listing of all conference funding sources and projected conference revenue. Among the budget development considerations are the pros and cons of charging registration fees and your potential advantages for encouraging early registration, such as conference room discounts.

In preparing the budget, conference planners need to prepare an extensive budget checklist, and then determine which costs will be paid by the conference master account and which will be paid by persons attending the conference. This division of expenses is sometimes referred to as a split folio. There are many ways a folio can be split between master account charges and individual guest charges. Be sure to clearly communicate your split folio plan to the hotel, in writing, when your letter of agreement is prepared.

Conference Management:

The Committees and Chairs are usually volunteers. Insure your committee members understand the job description and the time required to properly plan a conference. Each member should sign an employment agreement, outlining the scope of the project and the time required.

Committee Members often believe because they are volunteers, they should not be held accountable to time-lines, scope of project, budget, reporting, and communications. While conferences could not be planned without committees and volunteers, the lack of attention to detail and time-lines is often the reason for less than successful budgets and conferences.

The Conference Chair must insure the committee understands, and accepts the responsibility of fiscal and time management.

For the Conference Planner, the Committees often make their work extremely difficult and stressful, by not respecting all of the above. Insure the conference planner is able to cope with this additional stress, and insure the budget has a contingency fund for areas the committees have not adhered to, or completed in a timely manner.

After the Conference:

Sponsor Reports, Debriefs, Volunteer thank you, Budget updates, profit and loss statements, reporting, committee reports, and updating the conference manual – so ofter this is where volunteer committees fail. Usually due to volunteer fatigue and burn out. Insure your budget has identified the amount of hours to properly complete the conference, and addresses the manpower required to do so.

The Sponsor Benefits and Reports to Sponsors are crucial, and time consuming. However, so may volunteer committees have not assigned the staff or hours to complete what was promised to sponsors. Hence, the reason many sponsors do not believe they received value for their investment. Writing the sponsor package and sourcing the funds was merely 30 percent of the work required – the other 70 percent happens during and after the events.

A well planned, well executed conference is akin to running a small business. Requires entrepreneurial leadership, excellent management, dedicated staff and volunteers, year round execution and long term planning.

Return on investment, association benefits, member benefits, fiscal responsibility, due diligence, and proper time management should be key words in all committees’ job descriptions.

2011-03-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

As Conference Director for The Canadian Culinary Federation, I was asked to offer ideas on how the local chapters could raise funds to send their junior chefs to the annual conference.

Everyone realizes the value of attending a conference, of the face time, the education, the networking, business development and so forth. However, it definitely is challenging for students or newly entering the work force to attend these wonderful career building events - heck, in today's economy it is a challenge for all budgets to send everyone who would gain from attending a conference.

here are some ideas - (also posted on our CCFCC2011 blog)

Some Great Fundraising Tips

Want to attend the CCFCC 2011 National Conference, but don't know how to fund it? Keep reading!

The CCFCC 2011 Conference Committee was asked if we had any thoughts on chapters raising money to attend the annual National Chefs Conference – asked by many groups actually.

We wish to share a few ideas with you.

Saving Money takes a lot of time and effort – nevertheless, if you invest some time into research on the internet, into networking and business development, and into your community, you can always save money.

The Short list of Ideas: (for those who don’t have time to read everything below)

· Fundraise – sell your services – people love good food – cook for them!

· Ask people to donate points for air or hotel

· Ask people you do business with to sponsor your association

· Invest in saving money with your time and research on the internet

· Ask experts for their help – travel agencies, marketing and sales, chamber of commerce, successful fundraisers – ask them for advice – not to do the work for you

· Give back to those that help you – support their business, write thank you letters, mention them by name in print, Facebook, Twitter

o Network – that is the key to success, and a big reason to attend conferences

The longer list – with more details:

o Host a fundraiser as an association

§ Each chef could cook dinner for 8 people, in someone’s home, with 4 courses and wine, that you could auction this off, or raffle this off for a $1000 per dinner

· Invite food and beverages partners to provide the ingredients

· Make sure your written menu includes their names and companies

§ Chef Poyan Danesh donated a dinner for 8, with appetizer and welcome cocktail, three course dinner with wine, dessert (and of course, shopping, menu planning, and cleanup) – sold for $2000!

o Host cooking classes

§ It is truly a time that families want to get back to preparing their own meals

· People want to learn to cook healthy, wholesome, family meals

o Organize with your local hardware stores or plant and landscaping stores or…. Well you get it

§ to cook hot dogs and sell pop every Saturday and Sunday – many businesses will match your funds, give you the storefront space

§ think outside the box – barbecue veggies, stuffed potatoes, “prawns on the Barbie”

· whatever your community will allow you to do

· include your suppliers and new products – great marketing opportunity for suppliers

o Make chocolates, caramels, etc - box them up and sell them – Easter coming up, Mothers day – get your local supplier to sponsor the ingredients

§ You could raise 10K in no time with chocolates

o Host a soup cooking competition – cold days, coming to spring – hit the local fairs, or farmers market – sell soup each Saturday and Sunday for a few weeks

§ Great homemade soup! People love it

· Add in an artisan bread or roll; even do soup and sandwiches!

· Be a member of airlines, hotels, car rentals

o Sign up online – watch for their specials and deals

· Go to your local travel agency – especially if you spend any money with them

o Ask them to see if they can get you a flight and/or hotel package sponsored thru their partners

o Maybe even visit a couple travel agencies and invite their support

· Ask your associates and corporate members if they have airline points they will donate to you and your members to fly out

o Oftentimes sales reps have so many airline points they would love to help out

· Ask the suppliers you do the most business with to sponsor the association to come out

o Or a portion of it – something is better than nothing

· Put together a letter of request to potential sponsors

o These sponsors can be numerous

§ Your suppliers and business associates

§ Local chamber of commerce

§ Local bank

§ Local car dealerships

§ Local associations that your association has helped or donated time and food to

· Outline what you are asking for – flights, hotels and conference package - $1500 to $2000 per person (with hotel, flights and conference package, it can be done for as little as $1500)

§ Outline the benefits to them

§ You will support their business and buy this amount of product over the next year (a shorter timeline if you can commit to it)

§ You will have their logo put on your delegate badge

· We can do that for you

§ You will write a thank you letter to them

§ You will write an article about them and their support for Mis en Place

§ You will mention them on facebook, twitter, and social media

o Outline why you should attend this conference

§ What this education, seminars, and networking does for you, your company, and your association

§ Read my article in mis en place – or the blog, about why people should attend conferences

§ Include this in the letter

o Take the attached sponsorship package to Cogeco and invite them to be a sponsor

§ They have a good opportunity to get involved with the association and gain recognition

§ As your employer, the article in Mis en Place would help for you to apply to them for financial support

For the Vancouver 2011 conference – specific ideas

· Google cheap flights – yesterday there was a $200 round trip flight from Toronto to Vancouver with Sunwing

o Sign up for flight alerts – when seats go on sale – grab them

§ Check out last minute sales, vacations, etc

§ Often you can get a hotel and flight package, with transfers, at a great price

· Fly out of the States – there are always cheap, cheap flights – fly into Bellingham or Seattle

o Right now Bellingham to Vancouver on Amtrak is on sale for $13 each way.

§ There is a shuttle from Bellingham airport to Amtrak.

§ Seattle to Vancouver is on sale with Amtrak for $36

· Reach out to your associate members in Vancouver – ask if they will pick you up at the Bellingham airport – it is only an hour or so out of Vancouver – depending on traffic

· Finally, consider investing in your own education and development

o This is a great 4 days to a week, in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with the delegate fees subsidized by 50%

§ Where in the world could you eat, drink, learn, and network, for 4 days, for $500.00

· All food and beverages, plus a black tie gala, for such a low, low price

· Not to mention the education seminars, and the world class chefs that will be in attendance, hosting round table sessions

· Make it a holiday with your family

o Research Tourism Vancouver, get a good deal on a suite or a condo – there are good deals to be had if you work at it

§ As long as you are staying anywhere downtown, you are only a 15 minute walk from the Renaissance Vancouver Hotel Harbourside–

§ If you get closer to false creek you are a 30 minute walk, or a 10 minute bus ride

§ Or, stay on the north shore (north Vancouver) – the seabus comes right across to the waterfront – a five minute walk to the hotel

§ Or, stay in Richmond, near the Canada Line Sky train – 30 minute ride into the hotel

· Remember, a good idea is only good if it is put in place

o Raising money is hard work, and takes time – but, if you commit to it, then, you will be successful

o Make a list of everything you and your chapter have done for the community

§ Then ask the community to give back to you now

o Make a list of everyone you spend money with – all 7 of you

§ Your bank, insurance agency, cars, furniture, equipment, food and beverages

· Ask them to sponsor you

· In return, you will continue to do business with them

Start Now for the 2012 Conference!

Put Fundraising for the Annual Conference into your Chapters Annual Strategic Plan.

Cheers

Dawn Donahue. Strategic Planner, Event Producer

National CCFCC Conference Director

Supplier Relationships - the added value

2011-03-15T15:02:00.000-07:00

Just today we were asked for references for a company that is about to be sold. Another company asked us for a testimonial for their newly designed website.

It was a pleasure to be able to write a reference and a testimonial for both these companies. Even though we are extremely busy, we knew the value our words could bring to both these groups.

I chose to set aside the time and complete this request.Surprisingly the words came easily, and in half the amount of time that I had allotted. Which made me realize the true value of added value and investing in your relationships and clients. And that I would be challenged to write these testimonials for many companies. We pride ourselves on adding value, on being able to enhance the service without having factored it into the original quote because so many people want something for nothing. Being truly able to support without breaking the budget.

The two companies below received the following testimonials - and we were very proud to write them. Thank you cards, notes and letters are always wonderful - perhaps we should make it a prioirty to send a few more to deserving associates.

Capture Action:

We have worked with Jay Etherington and Capture Action since they started in BC in 2010 – we were his first client. We worked with Jay because we could count on him, he had great customer services, was an honest, hardworking associate. His products were great, and we never had to worry about this supplier.

Capture Action was always an added value to our events, and good sponsor benefits and return on their investment.

Laxa Internet Solution

“Thank you, WiL Laxa and Laxa Internet Solutions. Chocolate Festival 2010 would not have become what it was without your website design, mentorship, support and guidance. Not only did you provide the design and services your contract outlined, your above and beyond added value was truly the definition of customer service.”

Our website has allowed us to attract new sponsors, Media support and recognition, which in turn has supported our mandate – creating mentored work experiences for youth. Laxa Internet Solutions offered us the tools and resources to get to this level

WiL, you and your team supported this not for profit association in a manner that blew the Board of Directors and the team of volunteers away. Your support took the Festival to the professional level we aspired to; a level that we did not have the resources to get to – until you came along. Thank you.

We look forward to working with you in the years to come. Our co-op students and interns are already excited about having you as a mentor.

With Warm Chocolate Regards

Dawn Donahue

Why do people attend conferences

2011-02-27T10:51:00.000-08:00

Some go to learn, some go to play, some go to teach.

However, the paramount reason to attend a conference: Take all of the above, add in the networking, business development opportunities, and the health advantages, (a change is as good as a rest) and then you have all the reasons to attend.

What all conference delegates offer – their time, expertise and knowledge a transfer of knowledge. All of these reasons are excellent as the underlying theme of any conference, however, we all participate in something more important, more useful. Conferences offer the highest potential to advance our careers and industry.

Why? Face time.

Throw like-minded people in a room and you’re bound to get something good out of it. Conversation is the inspiration for innovation. When you attend a conference the opportunity to contribute to our careers is huge.

Conferences present a unique opportunity for innovation due to the vast melting pot of expertise and interest. When delegates from across the world come together, the sharing of products, ideas, and flavours create that fabulous global pot of expertise.

To those who are attending a conference that interests them, I encourage you to get out and talk to people. You have unique knowledge and unique interests that can pollinate new ideas. Breakout sessions and hospitality suites, more than conference sessions, offer a low barrier to entry to talk to like-minded professionals. Consider those sessions as the jumping point for new and interesting conversation. Sessions are designed to make you think. Conferences are designed to make you think together. That’s where The Next Big Thing lies in waiting.

To those who are not attending conferences, but have the means, I offer a thought. Anyone can sit at home reading books and consume knowledge. Likewise, anyone can approach the world and provide knowledge through computers, blogs, our virtual world. Choose to give back, choose face time, that’s how we grow.

To conclude this thought, go to conferences to teach, learn, and play. We attend conferences to make things happen - your industry can benefit by you being there.

Mentorship and experience - awesome value

2011-02-06T11:54:00.000-08:00

Volunteering with great mentors and team leaders is an amazing experience - hands on practical skills. An undervalued and sometimes underappreciated career determining and resume building opportunity.

I had the privilege of volunteering with the Hands on One Hundred at the Special Events Conference in Phoenix. It was a great reminder of the necessity of mentorship and experience. And the value of well trained team leaders, who have knowledge and experience in the areas they are leading.

This past week reminded me that training the trainer is a necessity. It also reminded me why getting involved in a team project will always teach you something. That the best education only supports the practical application. That many minds are so much better than one. That the expert team leader is always open to learning from the team, and willing to implement something new, or the majority consensus.

I relearned the value of team meetings before shifts, the exchange of hellos, smiles, goals, and the importance of understanding the critical path to the end result. And insuring everyone is working as a team.

I watched a wonderful team leader teach volunteers how to simplify the project of getting wrist bands ready for the 700 guests arriving in an hour. He taught with a smile and a compliment (yes, we were taking the wrist bands apart one at a time)

I watched a team leader totally ignore the catering experts in her group, all the while allowing a team of volunteers set tables for 700 guests - volunteers who had never set a formal table, much less tried to set silverware and stemware for 700 on a deadline.

I had the opportunity to volunteer with two young ladies who were just starting out in the industry. They were truly starting their business correctly - matching their education with hands on practical experiences. All the while listening to people around them tell stories, which gave them practical advice to take away. This conference was part of their education program, their volunteer program, and their learning experience. These ladies will be successful. Plus they had the personable attitude to be great event planners - a love of life, a desire to create, strong work ethics, a genuine friendliness, and a love of people.

The best advice I heard from many experts - get a great education, study the theory, insure you have the practical, share with your network, listen to those around you, and keep learning from our youth, while helping our youth and entry level people on their career path. It is a win/win for everyone.

Face to Face - how to lose value

2011-01-31T18:23:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks I have been asked to speak on the value of events, event budgets, and why corporations, charities, and groups should host conferences, meetings, and special events. The answer is relatively simple - to build face time with clients, donors, potential clients, and to develop business. To put a human face to the ever increasing digital world. To create a relationship with the people and the product.

Our digital world offers us most everything anyone needs - real time communications, information, green, sustainable, up to the minute information. Even face to face communication with Skype, Web conferencing, and smartphones. However, the digital world will never replace that face to face meeting - it merely supports the meeting.

We believe the digital and real world are growing closer and closer together and that is a great thing. Events supported by technology - a hybrid of all that is good.

However, today, at the BC Foodservice Show, I saw the worst waste of face time one could possibly conceive of. The president and CEO of an association, and the Member Development Director of an association, both standing at their tradeshow booth, both with their heads down, reading their smart phones.

Every booth around them was busy with guests, laughter, interaction, and products. These two people, whose members attend this show, were totally oblivious of who was around them. They gave every indication of not wanting to meet anyone, not talk to anyone; they certainly never made eye contact with one person in the ten minutes I stood back and watched them. They spoke to each other, while scrolling through their messages. This was a complete waste of face time, booth space and their members time and money.

In fact, having these two people at this event probably had many people questioning why they were a member of that association?

Almost every other exhibitor at this tradeshow looked people in the eye, said Hello, invited them to meet them. The value of face time, and a memorable event experience.

Insure you have the right people in the right place when it comes to making the person to person connection. Face time is valuable, only when the right people are making the connections.

Face to Face - the value of events

2011-01-30T18:21:00.000-08:00

Last week I attended the Special Events Conference in Phoenix. I was reminded once again of the great value events bring - the reason conferences, meetings, and events are held. To move the digital world and the real world closer. While almost anyone can gain a great education from online research, articles and study, the true value of the education comes from face to face discussions. The implementation of all one's skills. The meeting of great minds, excellent business development and colloborative efforts in real time. What a great week it was.

West Coast Chocolate Festival Founded on Passion and Desire to Make a Difference

2010-11-08T13:13:00.000-08:00

Chocolate… an amazing food. The food of the gods. A food that is mysterious. Sensual. Respected. A food that brings people together in shared delights, offers brief pauses to our hectic lives. A food for the senses and the soul. The platform the West Coast Chocolate Festival was created on.

Passion is the currency the West Coast Chocolate Festival was founded with. The desire to make a difference. To offer youth the opportunity to gain experience. To mentor our next generation in seeking knowledge, develop resume building experience, career path guidance, to offer a well rounded base or platform to build the next steps of their lives.

Chocolate. Passion. Talent. Hard work. All attributes of successful artists, great business leaders; in fact any flourishing business or person. However, without opportunity, and the chance to gain experience, the path to success can be extremely challenging.

Chocolate seems to transcend careers, to take people to the next level. Who would expect someone who studied nuclear physics and engineering at university to become a leading expert in chocolate and fine foods? Growing up in the food industry, the lure of great chocolate, in fact great food, carved a successful career path for Mr. Yves Farges, founder of Quaifirst Foods and epicurial.com. Mr. Farges is one of the business leaders supporting the West Coast Chocolate Festival.

Passion is especially important when it comes to our careers, which is the major part of our daily lives. You should be devoted to something you love and enjoy — something you believe in. This is true for all areas of life. The longer your true passions are suppressed and ignored, the more you forget the way back to them.

In 2005, while speaking at Stanford University, Steve Jobs said this: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs [Stanford Speech 2005]

What is it about your life, careers or hobbies that moves you, excites you, keeps you up at night thinking about them; wakes you up in the morning excited to get to them? What are some things you can’t stop believing is possible, daydreaming about making happen? Deep down inside, what do you truly want for yourself? If you had all the money, time, and resources you needed, how would you live your life? What would you stand for? The West Coast Chocolate Festival creates opportunities for you to perhaps find out.

The one suggestion we have: stand up for what you believe in. Express the things you love - end what you don’t love. Be clear on what you want, and what your values are. Don’t compromise, and never settle. Say what needs to be said, sing when you feel like singing, dance when you feel like dancing. Don’t apologize for it either.

Passion isn’t something that just happens to you one day. It’s something that you have to continuously dig to connect with. It’s like a never ending well that has life-giving water, which will never run out until you stop lowering the bucket to draw from it. Stay connected to your passion. Do whatever it takes to move towards everything you truly love, and cut yourself off from anything that you don’t. Everything else will fall into place. Even the money will follow…

In our society, we tend to identify people through external things such as their age, their job, the clothes they wear, the car they drive, and while our outer appearance is important, an external casing becomes irrelevant if there isn’t much value underneath. It’s your level of passion that leaves your unique thumbprint on the minds and hearts of others. If you’re doing anything in your life that’s not in line with what you truly want, you are not living with passion. Without passion, you’ll never be your most charismatic, joyful, and influential self, you will never live a life you fully love or be the someone that others always enjoy being around.

Do you ever find yourself remembering others by their exuberance, their passion, their joy of life? As you live joyously, you unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. You can’t be truly living or truly yourself, unless you express what you are truly passionate about.

And for anybody that’s coming up with excuses, it’s never too late to start living, And to have some fun doing it…

Happiness, wellness, enjoyment, love of life is your birthright. It may not be easy; in fact it may be a bit scary. Many people don’t live, but merely exist. They follow the trends and live reactively to their environment, instead of taking the time to really connect with what they really want. We are all unique individuals, but most of us let the world tell us what we should like and enjoy, what we should buy and believe. Most of the time we don’t even realize this is happening to us. Some of us never had the opportunity to see what is out there for us.

Why have I chosen to connect the West Coast Chocolate Festival, our artists, performers, speaker, volunteers, sponsors and partners with the message of passion? Because passion breeds excellence; at the very least the pursuit of excellence. And the chocolate festival is about passionate volunteers, mentoring and being mentored, understanding and supportive - volunteers choosing to develop excellence in so many ways. Flavours, tastes, goals, life, leadership, team work and the arts, our volunteers have chosen to create an environment that mentors excellence, new paths and career building opportunities through the message of chocolate…

The Chocolate Festival is completely run by volunteers. Governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, a fabulous volunteer Advisory Council, a truly devoted group of mentors and team leaders, this successful festival thrives on team effort. Individuals sharing their strengths, skills, visions, and positive influences, guiding others to their level of success.

The only paid staff are our wonderful summer interns, thanks to a Service Canada Grant. Each year our summer interns create the platform for the festival; most years our interns come back to volunteer, to complete what they started, to be the team leaders. And to continue on as volunteers for the next year. As with all successes, individuals always contribute to the whole.

Are you tapping into that passionate part of yourself? It may be deep down, under all the junk that inevitably gets piled up on it. Sometimes we have to stop and remember to brush off all the false negative influences that hold us back, and get back to that raw and pure form of expression.

When I am not volunteering full time as the Festival Director of the West Coast Chocolate Festival, I find time to manage my own company, Go Golf Events Management, an event production company that specializes in charities and not for profits. I wish to share a quote with you, from Will Smith in The Legend of Bagger Vance. This has particular meaning for me, and will be loved by the golfers in the audience. For those who don’t golf, substitute the word song for the word swing…

“Inside each and every one of us, is one, true authentic swing, something he was born with. Something that is ours and ours alone, something that can’t be taught to you, or learned, something that got to be remembered. Over time, the world can rob us of that swing, and it can get buried under all our would-haves, and could- haves, and should-haves. Some folk even forget what their swing was like.”

I hope each and every one of us never lose our swing. We created the West Coast Chocolate Festival to offer our youth the opportunity to find that swing. Over the past years I have seen the festival offer opportunities to high school students, university students, new graduates, people re-entering the work force; to adults, mentors and all our fabulous volunteers – the opportunity to find their swing.

We look forward to many more years of offer a “hand up” through the message of Chocolate.
Dawn Donahue, West Coast Chocolate Festival Director
http://www.chocolatefestival.ca/
President and CEO
Go Golf Events Managagement
http://www.gogolfevents.com/

Time Committment and Timing

2010-06-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

Successful golf tournaments – time management, respect of time and timing.

Start planning a year out from the date
Form your committee and task them properly
Ask each committee member what they plan on contributing, and the amount of time they can contribute
Accept that amount as fact, and task accordingly

Give your golfers and guests plenty of notice for the tournament date

"Save the Date" invite as soon as you have the date
Golf tournaments are a full day out of the office
If your event is in guests calendar 9 months to a year out, that will insure they do not schedule meetings, travel, or other business activities on your golf dates
This will also insure your team captains can invite their guests in a timely manner
Day long sporting events are not easily fitted into a schedule

Most people can fit in a last minute breakfast, lunch or dinner – that only takes a couple of hours our of their day. Golf is not something you fit in – it needs to be scheduled well in advance

Insure you have a well connected committee

Have the committee, guarantee, they will have their tasks completed on time and in a timely manner
Invite committee members who do not procrastinate
Invite committee members who understand strategic planning, budgeting, and time management – yours and theirs
Successful committees do not have a lot of meetings – they are doers and will create a successful event without meeting every week or two to report in
Identify people who are your sales people, fundraising or sponsorship sales, create the database, and outline the timeline for the calls and invites to be made. Hold the committee to these goals
Identify those who are better at in kind acquisitions. Allow this group to form their own committees and meet the timeline that is set at the beginning of the event planning
Make use of technology – email updates, point form reports, virtual meetings, skype, online web conferencing.

Go Green and save time

Spend time insuring the committee understands the repercussions of not meeting timelines

If the committee understands what goes into the planning of a successful tournament they may not leave so much to the last minute

Last minute golfer registrations cause the following challenges:

Not enough shirts or gifts ordered
Incorrect sizing
Wasted inventory and money
Score cards not printed with the guests names on it
Cart labels not printed
Seating and Dinner Charts without the guests names on it
Less than VIP Treatment for the guests

However, the worst waste of time?

The event producer is now chasing names and registrations, wasting valuable time on or before event day that is needed for operations and insuring the volunteers are well trained, the site is set up, the drawsheets are complete. In other words, the committee member who left everything to the last minute, has added to the stress and strain on the event producer

Last minute auction donations – the same thing:

The donor does not benefit from the visibility and advertising that goes along with having the auction item months before the event
The program does not have the proper description, value, website or logo – or perhaps the donation is missed from the print program altogether
The auction item isn’t where it should be – the donor says they will bring it the day of the event – and forgets it

The unfortunate part of last minute auction items- the lack of return on investment and loss of revenue

Auctions advertised online, two weeks prior to the event, will realize an average of 80 cents on the dollar; last minute items get 45 to 50 cents on the dollar.
The sponsor/donor is unhappy because their donation is undervalued
The fundraising portion of the event is undervalued because the same hard work went into getting the items, just not in a timely manner
The event producer is wasting valuable time adding items into the event when this is the time scheduled to polish the final details
this is the time that should be spent insuring the event and operations will run smoothly,
this is the time to do site set ups, AV, rehearsals, programming,
this is the time required to train volunteers
this is the time to be prepared with extra time to handle the true last minute challenges that comes with any event

Committee members - you hold the success or failure of your event in your calendars. Schedule the time to be a committee member, and to do what you have committed to do.

Like any successful business, event committee members must manage this time and this project. Identify the needed time, schedule appropriately and create success with your event producer. Everyone will benefit.

Events 201 - what makes a successful event

2010-04-11T16:22:00.000-07:00

SHERRYLL SOBIE, WRITING FOR INGITE MAGAZINE CALLED AND ASKED FOR AN INTERVIEW. THE TOPIC – WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL TOURNAMENT, AND WHY DO PARTICIPANTS RETURN?

It was a fun interview, with way too many details for Sherryll, however, helped me identify all the reasons guests thank us for a great event, and sign up year after year. The comment we hear the most – "it was so much fun, with so much to eat and drink, the best organized golf tournament we have ever been to. We will be back next year!"

Here is a sample of the Logotex Golf tournament last year.

A dream day for a golf tournament planner. Pouring rain, we mean a deluge, at 6 am. Tournament organizer sends out an email to every golfer, supplier and volunteer – reminding that the tournament goes forward, rain or shine, and we expect to see everyone at the course at the proper time. Laughingly we guarantee sunshine.. and, of course, the rain slows to a mist around 9:30 am, with sun peeping out at 10:30 am. and a perfect day on the golf course begins.

Thanks to Karen Hamilton of tinybites.ca for photos, and blogging live from the tournament. Photos by Karen Hamilton.

11AM - REGISTRATION AND WARM-UP

The registration booths are stocked with plenty of food and beverages, including Ethical Bean Coffee, Domo Tea, Avalon Dairy, Red Robin, and Colin and Alex’s always so delicious, Made with Love Delectable Edibles. For those who need a stronger pick-me-up, [yellow tail] bubbles and Caesars by Blazes Beans and Mott's Clamato are also floating around.

Keep it interesting - Early bird registrants have time to enjoy snacks, a mini-tradeshow, network, and warm up or with a few balls at the putting green or driving range.

Call to the power carts with teams spread across the 18 holes for a shotgun start. A well organized drawsheet will have all golfers spread out over the 18 holes, evenly spaced foursomes, and a five hour round well on its way from the very first tee shot.

Hole 1A fun activity – Chip in the Umbrella – a great sponsor opportunity for Logotex and a fun contest.

Contests are designed to entertain people at the hole, tee box ambassadors are trained to keep the tournament moving. While one golfer tees off, the others in the foursome try their hand at the contest.

Hole 2

Ice cream samples care of Marble Slab Creamery were being devoured as the sun warmed the golfers up? plus, who doesn’t like ice cream… Bonus part – the sponsor booked several birthday parties, thereby seeing a great return on their investment

Hole 3

A great par 3, with a Closest to the Pin contest plus house-made grilled sausages, available in hot dog format with a boatload of caramelized onions, care of Sebastian & Co Fine Organic Meats.

Hole 4

Sun screen and samples sponsored by Dermal Laser Centre – a nice relaxing tee box

Hole 5

Party on a tee box. Earls Restaurants showcased their new menu - delicious chicken and prawn tacos, complete with beverage samples - Guinness, strawberry margaritas, and more.

Hole 6

Photos - always great memories and excellent sponsor opportunities

Winning competitions- all about the fun… this contest – the Longest Marshmallow Drive- yes, that is a marshmallow at the bottom of the stake.

Hole 7

Golfers love to bet. Hate to be nickled and dimed at every hole, but love the occasional activity where they can bet to win contests. this is a favourite activity at our charity events. Have an amateur golfer hit a tee shot. Each guest has the opportunity to bet any amount of money. They bet they can hit a better shot than the amateur on the hole. If they do, they win double their money back. If they don’t, the money is donated to the charity.

Tournament planners, you can be guaranteed that this game will not cost the charity money. As an example, a fourteen handicapper invited guests to bet any amount - $10 to $100. The charity made over $2000 at this tournament.

We recommend that a small gift is given to every bettor. In this case, high end golf towels from golf resorts around the world were given out. The towels were sponsored. Or, use this hole to give the golfers the golf balls you would have given in the tee gift or loot bag.

We had a hole in one prize at the hole as well : $10,000! Hole in One contest sponsored by Shaw Sabey. (we try to have a hole in one prize at every Par 3 - keeps it interesting)

Hole 8

Sautéed mushroom tartlets topped with chive cream were on the menu at this hole sponsored by BC Junior Chefs. People love the treats at each hole – snacking their way around the golf course takes nothing away from the food and beverage purchased from the golf course. Only adds to the day, and to the memories had at the golf course. Often a marketing bonus the golf course receives without any costs to them.

Hole 9
Fabulous wine tasting hole – all meeting Liquor Board regulations, and a pleasant treat at the tee box. Bonus for the golfers – a taste of a new product. Bonus for the winery – quality time with the people sampling the products, an opportunity to hand out a business card, network, and create a sales opportunity. We always include the contact information for the sponsors in the print program, as well as on the website.

Hole 10

Another Contest hole - Most Accurate Drive contest; a team photo, and your personalized swing photo Capture Action; plus freshly shucked oysters care of Rodney's Oyster House.

Hole 11

Another $10,000 Hole in One contest sponsored by Pro-Claim Restorations as well as a Closest to the Pin contest sponsored by the BC Wine Institute. Samples of BC VQA wines plus great photo ops

Hole 12
A taste of something sweet. The BC Junior Chefs at this hole delivered ginger snaps topped with pineapple and whipped cream..

Hole 13

Men's Longest Drive contest sponsored by Wolf Blass Wines.

Hole 14

Chef Ryan Stone of Bocuse d'Or was present at Hole 14 to deliver oyster shots with potato vodka and yummy looking salmon tataki.

Hole 15
Yes, real live llamas from Mount Lehman Llamas - what better way to showcase the Wines of Chile. And, how much fun is it to meet llamas on a golf course? People loved seeing these beautiful llamas. The owners, from Mount Lehman Llamas were there all day, teaching people how to pet them, and a bit about them.

On the tee box – fabulous snacks from Sebastian & Co. Fine Organic Meats, with a sample of the signature wines of Chile

Hole 16

Another Closest to the Pin contest and more snacks and beverages. Hills Foods served up kangaroo with cloudberry compote. [yellow tail] had merlot and pinot grigio on hand to complement this lean meat.

Hole 17

Vancouver Trolley Co. sponsored a competition on their putting green

The Vancouver Trolley Co. also sponsored complimentary rides to and from the golf course. While having two ounce beverage samples on every hole will not comprise responsible beverage service, we always insure transportation is available to anyone who chooses.

The Cannery Seafood Restaurant treated players to seared ahi tuna on a bed of potato salad nicoise. people went back to Hole 17 a few times!

Hole 18

This was your chance to give your clubs a rinse, pick up some Worldhost stress balls, and grab a line of Scotiabank 50/50 tickets (who will match up to $2000 to benefit the Shriners of BC). We recommend you identify those who have purchased tickets. We hand out flashing buttons – saves volunteers asking the same guests over and over if they have purchased tickets

Hole "19": puttering about

Tip – always start a team on the putting competition. this actually creates a 19th hole. We make it a regular part of the golf tournament. Helps close the gap between teams starting on Hole 18 and Hole 1. We also consider it the position of honour - and our presenting sponsor and putting competition sponsor is always invited to start at this hole.

5PM - RECEPTION AND SILENT AUCTION

The silent auction is on display for dinner guests, and golfers. While an auction always adds fun at an event, it often results in great values for the buyers. We recommend starting the auction online, or, in some cases, holding an online auction. Gives people more time to shop, and to raise more money for the charity. Example, check out this online auction. http://www.bccarecruisers.com/ – click on auction.

Of course, more fresh oysters, (it is the West Coast after all) served with a fabulous sparkling wine – amazing how golfers and guests can snack their way around the golf course, and still be hungry.

7:45PM - DINNER TIME

Dinner - enjoyed by one and all. We always try to do something different. In this case, several stations, with wine pairings. People can enjoy the flavours of the food. Dining station by station, relaxing with friends.

Station #1

• Pork Tenderloin (from Sebastian & Co. Fine Organic Meats) with Wild Mushrooms in Puff Pastry in Red Wine Sauce – Carved by Chef.

• Roasted Breast of Chicken with a Black Olive Ratatouille and Sweet Red Pepper Sauce

• Oven Fired Striploin of Bison with a Stone Fruit Compote and Saskatoon Berry Wine Sauce

• Braised Beef Short Ribs in a Pink Peppercorn & Truffle Demi Glaze

Station #2

• Fresh Oysters – Donated & Shucked by Joe Fortes

• Baked Wild Salmon Filet – Mini Garlic Prawn Skewer – Lobster Cream Canadian Caviar

• Seafood Platter – Spot Prawns, Scallops, Halibut Fillet, Gravlox, Marinated Mussels & Baby Shrimp

Station #3

• Local Baby Lettuce – Dill, Lemon and Goat Cheese Dressing with Red Wine Poached Pear

• Platter of Rocket Salad, Asparagus, Black Olives and Walnuts Tossed in a Cracked Black Pepper Truffle Oil

• Salad of Couscous, Diced Red Peppers, Onion, Green Peas and Ground Minted Lamb

• Yukon Golf Potato Salad, Grainy Mushroom Mayo, Chives and Diced Prosciutto

• Veggies & Dip

Station #4

• Sliced Fresh Fruit Platter – French Pastries – Assorted Cheese Platter (donated by Avalon Dairy)

• Fresh Fruit Flan & Passion Fruit Cheesecake

8PM - PRIZES, GAMES, AND MORE

Throughout meal time, host a variety of raffles, live auctions, interactive games, and keynote speakers. Always keep it interesting, quick, and end on time. no matter what! We hear over and over, "thank you so much for getting us home at a decent time". We recommend attempting to finish all golf tournaments by 9 pm.

On the way out the door, we often hand out a thank you gift – one that the golfer takes home to spouse or family. What do you think would please your spouse more – coming home after a golf tournament with another shirt or box of golf balls, or a bouquet of flowers, bottle of wine, box of chocolates? Or, one of our favourites – a gift basket with fresh bread, local cheese, coffee, fresh fruit – showcasing the region…

Again, thanks to Karen Hamilton of Tiny Bites for the photos- click here to see more of Karen's photos

Events 201 - what keeps them coming back

2010-04-11T12:45:00.001-07:00

Why do events sell out year after year?

So many reasons. Client Appreciation, fundraiser, friendraiser, an event that targets a sector of the audience that may not attend other events.

But the most

Events 101F - Can we get it for free?

2010-04-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

Can we get it for free?

The second most asked question for events.

Anything that is necessary to create an event, especially a fundraiser, event committees seem to think it should be free. And for some reason, they believe the event producer should be able to get it for them, for free. "Isn’t that why you hire an event producer – to get things for free". As well as providing free services – after all, it is for charity.

There are no free services. If there was, we would live in a barter world, where money was not a component. This is not the case. Businesses allocate a certain percentage of their budget to marketing, charitable support, advertising, community relations, and sales. A percentage of the budget where “free” falls.

In return for "free", there must be some benefit. This is where most volunteer committees lack the experience to identify the benefits.

Let’s use printing - one of the most requested “free services” for any event. We could use banquet rooms at hotels, golf courses, wine, catering, décor, flowers, gifts, and labour as the example, hwowever, for this post, printing will do.

Free printing is a misnomer. Events are inviting the printer to sponsor the printed materials.

This often is not a wise decision. We advise that events pay fair value for all services. Negotiate a fair rate with the supplier or vendor. If the provider of services chooses to become the sponsor, recognize them as so, offering them the same value as any other sponsor.

Why? Because donated services never work out over time. Donated services are never properly allocated in the budgets, never properly recognized as being sponsored, and committees do not document donated services for the next committee. Events tend to burn out donors - in the long run doing more damage to relationships than all the goodwill, friend raising and fundraising accumulates.

As an example, a volunteer board, who hosted one large fundraiser annually, inevitably had an annual(new) Gala Chair and Gala Committee. Each year, they used an example of the print program from the past year; each year a committee member identified a new printer who would donate their services.

Yes, every year they changed printers. The challenges – they never had the original files, so either an overworked, underfunded staff member (usually new) tried to recreate the program from scratch, or tried to find a graphic designer to donate the services, or the printer tried to recreate the program. The labour costs were horrendous.

“The staff can do this was the common refrain”. Labour costs never factored in. Nor did the committee have to deal with the fallouts – missed work deadlines, programs not completed, other revenue streams missed.

After 10 years of this, the not for profit had a terrible reputation in the city. Not only from printers, but in all industries.

Be aware the power of the negative word of mouth – the world is a small place, the six degrees of separation is down to about four degrees of separation, and negative comments will reflect poorly on the good works of the charity or the not for profit. In this case, attendance to programs decreased yearly, board members did minimal terms, and the major fundraiser of the year decreased in revenues by 11 percent per year.

The worst blow was to their reputation. Finally, a new gala committee, headed by a new chair, identified the problems, and chose to solve the challenge. Chose to hire a printer, to create a sponsorship brochure – a beautiful glossy brochure, mailed out to all and sundry. A brochure that cost more that the last ten years of printed programs. Hired a new company, which have never worked with the charity.

Can you see where this is going? Ten years, ten printers, the new chair had no background, so did not even think about awarding the contract to a printer that had supported them in the past with “free printing”

The next major faux pas… mailed the brochure to the complete database, which included all the past printers who had done programs and “Free Printing”

What did the brochure ask for – among many things? Yes, you guessed, free printing for the upcoming gala. All over town printers were furious, and vowed never to help another charity again. (Yes, poor decisions reflect badly across a larger scale than one would think.)

That year the attendance at the gala was the lowest in history, donations were down, and revenues were minimal. The not for profit was steps away from bankruptcy.

The upside of the story – the founders of the not for profit heard what was happening with their vision, stepped back in, redid the strategic plan, recreated the governance board, refinanced operations, hired a respected event producer and over the next several years recreated their vision.

Leading the not for profit to success, where services are paid for, and sponsors benefit from their support of the event, and the charity. And the charity or corporation does what it was intended to do - stay true to the mission statement or corporate mandate, not produce events.

events 101D - wait until the last minute, guaranteed to reduce ROI

2010-04-10T10:25:00.001-07:00

Wait until the last minute!

Want to guarantee all your hard work will produce very little results? Wait until the last minute. Wondering why you read about other golf tournaments raising over $100,000? A gala evening raising over $250,000.00? Why your tournament only raised $5000, your gala dinner only netted $3500?

Wait until the last minute to do what you have had a six months or a year to do. Guaranteed to stress you out, minimize results and waste time and money.

Great events, especially fundraisers, benefit from a dedicated committee, who are self motivated, self directed and passionate about success.

Example: at this moment we have several events ongoing. Two charities are hosting similar galas in similar time frames, with similar resources and similar economic challenges. Both have volunteers on their event committees, both have availed themselves of our full consulting and training resources, and full administration, event production and planning resources. Both events have had several months lead time.

One event will have gross revenues of over $350,000, with a net profit of around $280,000.00. The other event will raise about $10,000 net.

The difference between the two committees – one group followed the timeline and the critical path exactly. The other has been so ingrained in doing everything at the last minute, that no amount of consulting, guidance, meetings, begging or pleading could entice them to change their habits.

How can we as event consultants motivate? Is it our responsibility? Who is responsible to create a culture of success? What makes the difference from one committee to another?

Your feedback would be invaluable.

Events101C - How to create a budget

2010-04-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

The starting point as a rule is the development of a budget. This is always the most challenging aspect of any event. What amount of money do you have to spend to get what you want?

As in anything one does, from buying a home to dining out, finances are the determining factor. This isn't a nebulous task. Shaping finances is based on accurate information. To acquire a pre-approved mortgage, all financial factors are taken into account, allowing the potential buyer to stay within their means.

It is the same with event budgets. How much do you have to spend? Whether it is corporate, for profit, charity or not for profit, every business will have an annual budget, long term budgets and strategic plans. Events are a part of the financial plan. The challenge is to use the money wisely, to allot the available resources to cover all areas.

A common mistake that an event committee can make - not knowing when to ask for help. The committee meets, talks about the event, discusses whether they can afford a planner or producer, then decide they can save money if they do some of the work themselves. Budget development is where experience and a consultation can save events the most money.

Why most events go over budget is the lack of knowledge in identifying all the items that need to be included. Labour is the most unidentified expense, often wrapped into staff costs. The other area that causes overruns on budgets - all the last minute items that pop up because no one knew they needed them. Added charges at venues because no one read the contract. What do you mean we have to pay for power?

Most event producers, especially successful ones, love to share, teach and train. Call them. Ask for help. They may even share an event budget from past events. I know I will. We will give you a template should you not know what you need to know, or even what questions to ask.

Determine what is the most important part of your event - is it the activity, the food, beverages, venue, marketing, media, memories? Allocate a percentage of the budget to each line item. Remember, when added up the percentages must not go over 100 percent.

First time events, charities and not for profits with no event experience - ask for help. This is where an event producer can really help. Most event producers may assist with this portion of the development process on an hourly rate. We used to offer this service for free, however, we found that our expertise was taken advantage of and have changed this service to a consulting fee. We charge $1000.00 for budget development. Should we be awarded the complete event contract we apply the consulting fee to the overall event management fee.

The one thing we ask – don’t call us and ask for a quote without giving us information to quote on. Don’t ask for a creative brief just to take it and do it yourself, or give to the just out of school or next door neighbour newly minted event planner. New Event Planners, please, do not send out a false Request for Proposal or Request for Quote, just to get an idea of what you should charge.

Call us, ask us, tell us the truth - we will help. Shared expertise is good for one and all.

Events101A - how much does it cost

2010-04-08T14:31:00.000-07:00

The first questions asked of an event planner – how much do you charge? how much will it cost? The response: “we can not answer that question as there are a multiple of variables”. Well, can you give us a ball park figure? Again, the answer “not until we know what you require.”

Any service that includes creative design, production and intellectual property is difficult to quote without information. Rates for event producers are the quintessence of pricing. Why? Most people have no true comprehension of the hours of work involved in creating a great event. In today’s do it yourself world, with the wonderful resources available on the web, people can do it themselves, given enough time.

So, why hire a professional. And, again, how much does it cost?

First, how do you put a value on the inspiration and creativity a great event producer or planner brings to you. Event planners take on most of the headaches and legwork for events, the bonus is the creativity and expertise they bring with the logistics.
An experienced event producer will usually charge a flat fee. This fee is determined by the scope of the event. Usually the fee is based upon an hourly rate of $125 to $250. For budgeting purposes the committee should use 18 to 30 percent of budget. However, smaller events may need a higher percentage in the budget, simply because an event for 40 people often needs equally as much work as an event for 400.

An experienced event producer will have suppliers, venues, and administrative support at their fingertips. An experienced event producer will often get a better rate from all suppliers, for many reasons – loyalty, relationship, and repeat business. Often the better rate comes from the supplier knowing they are dealing with an expert, which makes their life easier. Most event producers will save the client their management fees because of pre-existing supplier relationships.

As an example, I received a phone call from a distraught committee organizing a golf tournament. The committee had not read the golf course contract. Four weeks before their event they realized they were well on their way to losing over $30,000.00. The golf course add ons had not been factored in. I made two phone calls, secured a new golf course, suggested the committee walk away from the $1000 deposit, move their tournament to an even better course, and saved the event $9000.00 in golf course fees with the phone calls.

The committee asked for my help in managing the event. They asked for “day of” management help. As a note, anyone who thinks ‘day of’ management means just showing up the day of is in for a lot of trouble. In our world, day of management means 30 to 40 hours learning about the event, so we can show up the day of, run the event for you, allowing you to be the host of the event.

I digress – we saved the committee $9000.00 with a phone call. Our charge for "day of management" including three staff and 6 trained volunteers, for this particular event? $7500.00. Yes, do the math – the tournament received our expertise and 150 person hours for free, based on what we saved them with a phone call. And, Yes, it was a charity. And, yes, we are still producing their event five years later.

Most event producers go above and beyond to save their clients money; to get the best value for the budget, and to create a rewarding experience for all. Most event producers put in hundreds of unbilled hours – for the love of the event.

Yes, it is always worth it to hire a professional – an experienced, well known, highly recommended professional. As with any other purchase, do your due diligence. Get references, speak to suppliers, volunteers, attendees. Invest in your event success. Meet the producer – is it a good personality fit – that will be extremely important.

So – back to How Much Does it Cost?

Before any event producer can give you a quote, come armed with the following questions and information:

1. What is the event, and what is the result you are seeking
2. Do you want the event producer to play a leading role in creating the event, or do you need an administrative assistant with event experience
3. Is this to be a one time event or an annual event
4. Do you have a date
5. Do you have a venue
6. Is there a committee involved
7. Do you have resources that you can use – in house designer, web manager, content manager, printing, audio visual, graphic designer
8. How many people will attend
9. Food and beverage involved
10. Sports or activities involved
11. Gifts for guests
12. Will volunteers be used in the event

Know yourself and your company – are you a fast food, back yard get together group or are you five star hotels and fine linens group? Do you use professional services in other aspects of your business and are you pleased with those services?

And the big question – what is your budget? (yes, this will have its very own blog) however, google event budget planner. At least you will have a list of possible expenses. This alone will be enlightening.

Do some research prior to asking the question of how much it costs to hire an event producer. if you don’t have the time to do this, then you need an experienced event producer.

Events 101B - the cost of hiring an expert

2010-04-08T13:07:00.001-07:00

Events101 - How it all started

2010-04-08T11:17:00.000-07:00

Over the years of speaking, teaching and training, leading and supporting I have been asked many times when my book was coming out. Laughingly responding "who has time to write a book", it was always in the back of my mind that perhaps a book would be fun to write. Still – who has time to write a book?

Hence the blog… thank you for taking the time to read “in one persons humble opinion”

They say some people are naturals – natural athlete, natural leader, natural artist, natural chef - born to be. I have the great privilege of loving the world of “making a difference by sharing knowledge and experiences.” A born to be trainer, teacher, producer, multi-tasker, so I have been told.

A combination of environment, education, experience, travel, and 40 years of working in the hospitality and event world have taught me an enormous amount. This life has enabled me to meet so very many wonderful people. Acquire many different skills. And still, each day I continue to learn – new methods, unique opportunities - as our everyday world changes by the minute, so do successful people.

What have I learned over the years? That I love to learn, that the more I think I know, the more I find I want to know, that sharing, teaching, mentoring always rewards me with new ideas, wonderful relationships, and greater success. Rewards me with new challenges, opportunities and experiences. I truly hope that the people I have the great privilege of teaching, mentoring, and sharing with, gain as much as I do from the experience. Thank you to all who have shared with me.

Being raised on a couple thousand acres in central Ontario, with a father who defined entrepreneurial, we thought we had it all – fabulous gardens, free range cattle, poultry, lamb, the occasional black bear, horses to ride, and vegetables to grow. Hard work was the foundation we grew up with, being taught we could do anything we worked hard for was the mantra. The country home was open to all and sundry, as most farm homes are. Having a gifted mother with a beautiful voice and piano playing talents, occasional Saturday evenings were often filled with drop in musicians, dance, and stories. Growing up with this open door policy each day was an event.

Growing up with three aunts who were teachers also was an event – the nature vs. nurture event.

By the time I was born, “the aunts” had been teaching for years. They were taking their Bachelors of Education (in the 50’s all teachers were required to upgrade to a university bachelor of education). Naturally, I was the nearest test case for them, so after four summers of the aunts, I could read, write, do math and tested at a Grade four level. I was 5 years old. Did I say our country school was a one room school, with grades 1 to 8 in the same room? Miss (no Ms. in 1960) Viola Bulger, an exceptional teacher, really had no idea what to do with me. So, I taught Grades 1, 2 and 3. Yes, a 5 year old, preparing lessons, going to school early to write the lesson plan on the blackboard, sitting with each student (there were 10 total in the 3 grades) – one-on-one training, staying after school to correct and mark assignments. I thought it normal, so did everyone else. Fast forward to university, 1972, first year –becoming a residence don.. fast forward to - well today… Every task I have been assigned or chosen to do, has always had an opportunity for me to teach others.

Most of the above statements might grow up to be their own blog. Feel free to chime in anytime, question or comment.

For today, this is what I have been asked to share. In my humble opinion.

I have seen a need for hands on support and training in the field of events and event committees. Most charity and not for profit events are organized by volunteers - passionate, making a difference, volunteers. Or, staff from an organization tasked with organizing the events - the corporate golf tournament, corporate banquet, retreat or conference.

While anyone is capable of doing anything, an expert in the field is always a choice that makes the difference. For some reason, most people think "how hard can it be" when it comes to event planning. As with any other endeavour, time and effort, attention to detail will always give the best Return on Investment.

The challenge for most people, corporations, and committees is "How much will it cost?" The answer to this question is not really defined by dollars and cents, but rather by sense - how much will it cost if we don't use an expert? That most inexperienced people in a field have no idea what they do not know, hence have no idea what questions even to ask.

Think back to where experts were used and why you did not do it yourself? Tax time and an accountant, a certified mechanic, dentist, doctor, florist, butcher, grocer, personal trainer - all of these skills can be learned - and, all of them can be a do it yourself action. With time, and experience, one person can do it all. The question to ask - do you have the time, and resources, to do it all? At what other cost? Let’s deal with this issue in the next blog.

There is always a need for volunteers at all level. The best use of volunteers is industry volunteers – people who are experts in their fields, who can advise, lead, direct, and offer intellectual resources. The committee member who is up to the minute with recommending best speakers, best practices, relevant activities and needs in and for the audience attending the event, meeting the corporate mandate. Do not expect these highly skilled volunteers to attend to the details – the actual behind the scenes administrative and organizational details that create a successful event, and burn out so many volunteers.

For now, I leave you with the following thought.

Think back to a casual back yard barbecue. We have all organized one, held one, and attended many. Are there a few that stand out in memory?

The ones that you were invited to that follows this pattern:

* casual invitation to a Saturday afternoon barbecue without a start and end time
* bring your own beverages
* bring your own food
* arrive at 3 pm, to find you are the first there, and the host didn't expect anyone until 5 pm
* a few chairs spread around a back yard
* barbecue not clean and no propane
* as the event proceeds people search for cutlery, plates, glasses, ice, cooking utensils
* and the evening carries on
* the guests had a good time, good conversation - I mean, "how hard is it to have a bad time at a back yard barbecue"

or:
* a personal invitation - via phone, in person, text, or whatever method works for the host
* a save the date invitation arrived via email, evite, or some other green method
* date and time clearly stated, including a map and directions
* Bring your own food and beverages
* With a list of choices of what to bring, and a theme to the event
* a reminder a few days prior to the event, again via a green method
* arriving right on time, to find a few others there and a wonderful set up in the back yard
* name tags for everyone (yes, not everyone you know will know everyone else)
* tables set up for beverages, with ice, tongs, napkins, glasses, and recycle bins discretely tucked under and behind
* mix and garnishes
* coolers and ice trays for food - keeping perishables chilled
* nets and food covers for non perishables
* barbecue cleaned and ready to go, with a back up tank of propane
* umbrellas tilted towards the sun, offering shade
* sun screen for all
* ice cold water pitchers - flavoured with lemon or cucumber or mint
* plates, cutlery, napkins, all set out, easy to reach and covered from the wind, sun and dirt
* lots of garbage cans easily accessible
* compost can for food scraps
* bins for used cutlery and plates - separated to make cleanup easier
* music playing in the background
* a chess board set up to one side and a few conversational magazines lying around to assist the shy
* and the evening carries on
* the guests had a good time, good conversation - I mean "how hard is it to have a bad time at a back yard barbecue?"

Both events are absolutely fine - both met the goal - to have a few friends over to a back yard barbecue.

Which event would you rather host? Which event would you attend again?