Are You Considering The 3 “Who’s” When Planning Your Event?

May 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Whether it’s your first time to plan an event, or you’ve been event planning for many years, there are 5 W’s that need to be well defined in order to put together a quality event. The 5 W’s to be defined are Who, What, Where, When and Why and it’s critical to address all of them during your planning process. Shortchanging even one can leave you with an event that is less than what it could have been. Over the next several weeks we are going to address each one of these W’s individually and hopefully provide you with a very helpful roadmap to use when planning any future event.

The first W we’ll cover is Who. When it comes to the Who, here are the 3 Who’s you need to consider when planning:

  • Who will be attending? Answering this question really sets the stage for everything else when it comes to planning an event. Many times it may seem like a no-brainer. After all, it’s a women’s retreat Byron. Who do you think’s going to attend? True enough, but don’t stop there. Give serious thought to exactly which women will be there. Single women, single mom’s, mom’s with young children, empty nesters…women from all these groups could be attending and they all have different needs. Going deeper on exactly who will be attending makes it easier to plan everything else.
  • Who will be speaking? Once you know who your audience will be, you can then focus on who will be speaking and/or teaching at your event. It could be multiple professional speakers teaching your attendees about a certain topic… maybe a youth retreat with a main speaker, worship band and a bunch of volunteers teaching the Bible studies…or anywhere in between. A key item to also consider when answering this “who” is cost. Selecting a “famous name” speaker could help boost attendance, but it can also drive up your cost and make it more difficult to not lose money on your event.
  • Who will be working/volunteering? The final “who” to consider is who will be working at the event? When it comes to event workers/volunteers, all I want to say is do not understaff! Much better to have too many workers or volunteers than realize you need four more hands the first day of the conference. Think about all the tasks that need to happen. Tasks such as taking up tickets, helping the speakers, coordinating food, passing out programs and maybe even be a liaison with the host facility. Save yourself a lot of stress during the event and make sure you have enough help.

Any other “who’s” you consider when planning your events?

Filed Under: Christian Retreat Ideas, Leadership Helps, Pre-Event Planning Tagged With: , , , ,

Ridgecrest Recipes – Helen’s Salad

May 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Time for us to share another delicious Ridgecrest recipe. (How did you like the chocolate waffles by the way?) Now that summer is upon us, it’s time to be thinking about fun stuff like Sunday afternoon cookouts and utilizing all those great vegetables from your garden. Named after the employee who created this salad back in the 90′s, Helen’s Salad is a great option for those summer BBQ’s by the pool. Try it out and let us know what you think!

 

 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup broccoli florets, raw
  • 1/2 cup red grapes
  • 1/2 cup green apples
  • 1/2 cup red apples (cut in 1/2″ cubes w/peel left on)
  • 1/2 cup Granny Smith apples (cut in 1/2″ cubes w/peel left on)
  • 1/2 cup toasted walnuts

Sweet Mayo Dressing

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup sugar (+/- to taste)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • Whip together and chill for at least 30 minutes

Toss all ingredients and mix with sweet mayo dressing. Chill. Serves 8.

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: , ,

3 Key Elements Of Planning Your Next Meeting

May 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a simple, easy to use, never fail template for planning your next meeting or conference? You know, something where all you had to do was plug in your dates and times and in return you get a meeting agenda guaranteed to be a smashing success!

Well, I’m sorry to be the one to tell you…this type of meeting planning template just doesn’t exist. And if it did, I’m afraid it would be so expensive, very few of us could afford to use it!

Every meeting, or conference, is different and the people attending those events are different as well. This means you need to take this uniqueness into account when planning. To help you do this, here are 3 key elements you should consider when planning your next meeting:

  1. Purpose – Why is the person attending and what do they hope to get out of this meeting? Typically people will fall into one of two categories. The first are those who are looking for practical tips they can immediately apply on the job or in their life. The second category are those people who are seeking new information, ideas or trends. It could be both, so you may want to look to balance the practical application with also giving them an understanding of the bigger picture.
  2. Structure – How will the information be presented? Again, attendees typically fall into 2 different camps. Those who prefer a lot of specifics/details and those who prefer the ideas to be presented in a broad, general way. The first prefer a clear agenda and well defined objectives, while the latter are comfortable with a more free flow exchange of ideas. Again, your attendees will probably fall in both camps so be sure to consider how you can appeal to both when planning your sessions.
  3. Involvement – The third element to consider is how your participants will be involved in the meeting. Do your folks prefer to be actively, hands-on involved, or do they prefer to take in a lecture and then reflect on what they’ve just heard? The trend in adult learning is towards more participatory involvement, but you will need to keep in mind some folks will not be comfortable in that type of learning environment.

As we’ve pointed out, chances are good your next meeting will include a mix of learning styles and preferences so be sure to offer sessions that will appeal to both. The key is to know your audience and plan accordingly!

What about you? What planning tips have worked for your organization?

 

 

 

Filed Under: Activities/Recreation, Leadership Helps, Pre-Event Planning Tagged With: , , , , , ,

What’s New In Hotel Trends?

May 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

As with most industries today, the hotel industry is undergoing constant change. These changes are driven primarily by two factors, an ever increasing need to lower costs/increase effeciency and evolving guest preferences. As a result of these factors, here are 5 new hotel trends I see emerging over the next couple of years:

  • Bathroom - More and more hotels are doing away with tubs and instead creating walk-in showers. An aging population, combined with the fact fewer and fewer people actually use the tub to take a bath, are driving this trend.
  • Workspace - The key here is creating more flexibility. As tablets and smartphones are becoming more the norm, hotels are utilizing smaller desks. Some, such as Hampton Inn, are even placing trays in the room. This allows the guest to choose where and how they want to work in their room.
  • Bedding - Let’s face it, the primary reason people rent a hotel room is to have a place to sleep. It only makes sense for hotels to try and make a great impression with the bedding in their rooms. Now that all the major chains have raised the bar with the quality of their beds and pillows, their next focus is on the bedding itself. The new trend is to go with all white as a symbol of clean. They’re also looking for new fabrics that are more hygenic and stain-repellant.
  • Lighting - Again, with an aging population, there is a trend emerging of more and better lighting access. This makes it easier for older guests to read. I recently stayed in a Marriott where there was a small reading light installed on the headboard, opposite the traditional lights between the beds. Very convenient!
  • Electrical outlets - Gone are the days when you had to move the bed or nightstand in order to charge your cell phone. Hotels are recognizing the typical guest may have 2 or more devices that need to be charged overnight. This has created a need for easier access to more electrical outlets.

Have you noticed any of these trends in your recent travels? What other new hotel trends you’re seeing?

Filed Under: Site Selection Tagged With: , , ,

Bright Ideas, Socia Media Usage and 7 Ways To Promote Your Next Meeting

May 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Here at MinistryServingMinistry, we are constantly on the lookout for content we believe may be helpful to our readers. Each month we update the Resources page on our website with current material. Below is a list of what we’ve added in May:

Marketing/Promotion

Social Media Usage by Meeting Planners- Are you the only one who feels crazed every minute of the day as you try to fit social media into your life…

Bright Ideas – Faith-based meetings are changing. In many ways, they reflect the way Sunday morning worship services are…

Site Selection

Choose the Right Site- Choose a site that has adequate space and facilities for your meeting…

Contracts

Defensive Contract Negotiations – Risk management tips and strategies help your organization avoid disputes and losses…

Retreats/Meetings

The Big News About Meetings – Here’s a inside look at the big numbers from the new Convention Industry Council economic significance study—plus seven ways for associations to promote their meetings…

Meeting Planners

The Rule of Reciprocity – As event planners, there is much you can teach your clients, but there are things you can learn from them too…

GSA Story Highlights Importance of ROI – I am perplexed about why a “Meeting Planning 101” tool was not applied to the General Services Administration program…

We hope you find these helpful and remember we have many more than might interest you  in the Meeting Planner Resources section of the blog.

 

Filed Under: Cost Saving Ideas, Post-Event Follow-up, Pre-Event Planning Tagged With: , , , ,

Branding & Coloring Your Meeting

May 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Below is information on a webinar being hosted this week by Collinson Publishing and Rejuvenate Meetings. We thought you might be interested in checking it out. After all…it’s free!

The events you plan send powerful emotional signals to attendees, second by second. An increased demand for attention to every detail, from strategy to design and execution, means deliberate choices must be made to gain attendee engagement, to tell a story, to capture the branding and to be colorful in personality.

Dianne Budion Devitt, adjunct professor at New York University’s Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management, presents this webinar that will show you how your strategic branding decisions can have a powerful and positive impact on your participants’ experience, their retention of and willingness to act on key messages, and their long-term attitudes toward the organization. Devitt is the author of “What Color is Your Event? The Art of Bringing People Together” and president/owner of D3Dimensions, which provides strategic event consulting, keynotes and wellness programs.

Wednesday, May 16
2:00-3:00 p.m. EST
REGISTER NOW

Filed Under: Budget and Pricing, Meeting Set-Up Tagged With: , , , ,
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