Answering the Call for Papers!

Welcome to Planners Pointers! 

Each month I like to share words commonly used by professionals. The words along with their meaning will be from the APEX Industry Glossary.

The ConventionIndustry Council is the organization of 33 associations coming together to exchange information among the meetings, convention and exhibitions industry. One of the initiatives is APEX, Accepted Practices Exchange to develop practices that reach industry wide. One of the practices is a glossary of terms used in the industry. The goal of the glossary is to standardize the definitions of words used by the meetings industry.

When you attend a conference do you even wonder how panels are determined?  Sometimes management companies who represent speakers send information.  Sometimes program committee members will suggest speakers that they heard at other conferences.  Often times though many organization issue  a  "Call for Papers."  The definition of a "Call for Papers" is   1) An invitation to submit topic ideas for the conference program. 2) Document containing detailed instructions for submission of papers for assessment and selection by a review committee; often referred to as “Abstract Forms.” Also known as "Call for Presentations".

When a potential speakers responds what is usually included in the response is a" Curriculum Vitae" (Also known as a CV meaning a short account of one's career and qualifications) or resume.  They will also include an  "Abstract" of their presentation.  An "Abstract" means written summaries of speeches or papers, generally between 200 - 500 words or a brief statement of content.

At a conference along with scheduled sessions maybe a "Poster Session."  A "Poster Session" is :  1) Display of reports and papers, usually scientific, accompanied by authors or researchers. 2) A session dedicated to the discussion of the posters shown inside the meeting area. When this discussion is not held in a special session, it can take place directly between the person presenting the poster and interested delegate(s).

The posters are often mounted on "Abstract Board."  An Abstract Board is usually rolling corkboards used for attaching copies of research papers for authors to discuss with participants. Sometimes people use foam core for their poster and then use easels like the picture.

Planner's Pointers is written by, Mary Pam Kilgore, CMP of Kilgore Events and Meetings.  You may reach me through my website www.kilgoreeventsandmeetings.com You can find my blog at http://plannerspointers.blogspot.com/  You can reach me by phone at 412-260-4178.  Follow me on Twitter @marypam. 

Ideas for Stress Reduced Holidays

Welcome to Planners' Pointers! 

"The Holidays Are Coming!  The Holidays are Coming!" is the thought among many of us starting in October.   From Halloween to New Years Eve, the time will fly by potentially causing a great deal of stress.  Here are  ideas to help you avoid the holiday stress.

1. Holiday Cards.  Start working on the list Now!  If you are like me and like not only a great holiday message, but good art, boxed cards can get expensive. 
1. One of my first stops is Tuesday Morning. I know that I will have to do some searching through the boxes, but I have been successful in finding exactly what I want . 
2. Do you have a Hallmark Card Gold Rewards Card?  If you do, then head on over to your local Hallmark Store (www.hallmark.com) for their Buy One Get One boxed card sale.  Don't forget the wrapping paper!  It's on sale to!  
3. Want to design a card yourself?  Add a picture?  Send cards  to your list without cramping your hand?   Send Out Cards  is  a wonderful website that allows you to both choose among their  thousands of cards or design your own by adding pictures, designs and your own words.  You can choose or design your own holiday card and send it to your card list in the same time as it takes to make a batch of cookies!  Becoming a card sender is easy and there are several levels of membership.  

2. Decorations -- When the first flameless tea lights came out a few years ago I was not a fan, after all  they didn't even look like candles.  With  the introduction of wax flameless candles, I have changed my mind.  The flickering is more natural and they have timers that allow up to 5 or 6 hours of continuous flame.  I think they work well in center pieces or anywhere you want to set and forget.  Leave it to Energizer, the battery people,  to have a line of wax flameless candles that work really well.  Check it out at their website  http://www.energizer.com/ 

3. Shopping.   For me shopping early helps me avoid the crowds.   According to www.dealnews.com the best time to get the lowest  prices on all your electronics is  from mid November till Black Friday.  Toy prices are better after December 1st, but you have to realize that what your children want may be out of stock by then.  The good news is that on-line prices for all goods will be the same as what is in the store.  A fact that wasn't true a couple of years ago.

4. The Holiday Party.  The Holiday Party was hit by the recession recently, but is coming back.  It may not be as lavish as it once was but businesses have learned that parties have a positive effect on the company morale.
1. Make it less about the booze.  Instead of an open bar use  drink tickets  and limit the number you give to everyone.  Purchasing your open bar by the drink instead of by the person is sometimes cheaper.  Having only beer and wine available is another way to control costs without eliminating alcohol all together.  Add a soft drink service for around $100.00.
2. Add Activities   Give people something to do beside sit around.  Photo booths are hanging on but one of the hot trends is making  flipbooks.  How about having  indoor 9 hole mini golf and having an indoor golf tournament? 
3. For the cost conscience out there have a holiday luncheon instead of a dinner.   Several restaurants are offering rewards if you book before October 31st. 

Happy Stress Free Holidays!

Planners Pointers is a blog and talk cast to help beginning event planners with their event planning share ideas on planning better events, books to read and websites to discover.

Planner's Pointers is written by  Mary Pam Kilgore, CMP,  of Kilgore Business Services.  You may reach me through my website www.kilgorebusiness.com or you may call me at 412-260-4178 You can find podcasts of Planner's Pointers at http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/73353

Invitation Tips for better mailing and response

Welcome to Planners Pointers!  You are planning a wonderful special event.  You have a great speaker or are honoring community volunteers or this could be a special fund raiser.  Now it's

time to send the invitations.  When you are sending invitations for an event you have been doing for several years it's easy to recycle the same invitation.  Just slip in the new dates, new honorees and it's good to go.  But before you hit send to your printer's ftp site here are five idea you consider.

1. Review last year's invitation.  Does it still reflect the goal of the event?  Has your logo changed?  Location?  Board members? Website?  Mission statement?  Have at least 3 pairs of eyes.  Add something new like a QR code.  Design it so it will fit into a standard size envelope.

2. Mailing list  When was the last time it was updated?  Have you made the corrections that resulted the last mailing you sent?  Are the invitations going to those you support your events or you interact with on a regular basis?  Or are you doing a really broad mailing?  Do you even know who has supported you in the past?  The cost of printing and mailing has increased greatly over the last couple of years and it would be prudent if you could see who has not been attending and perhaps remove them from printed mailings.  Not talking about removing them from emails that you send, just printed materials.

3. Response cards  Do you know how your attendees RSVP?  Do they call?  Do they email?  Do they do it through on line registration?  If the response cards are being thrown out in the trash, it might be the time to save a few trees and do away with them.  Make sure though that phone numbers, emails and websites are clear on the invitation.  Or what about adding a QR code to the piece?  Invitees can scan the code with their smart phone and register.

4. Mailing date  Yes eight weeks is the traditional time so don't change that.  What you can do to make sure you hear from people is to make sure you also add emails to the mix.  These days you are competing with several organizations and 200 cable channels.  People are responding later and later.  More not less interaction is necessary to get the responses necessary to reach your attendance goals.

5. Save the date mailings.  They still have a very important place in your overall marketing plan.  Mailing are a good way to keep in touch with everyone on you lists of contacts. 

In this world of 200 email messages a day, mailed invitations still are an important part in getting the word out about events.  The trick is keeping your list manageable to keep the costs manageable.

That's the Planners Pointer for today

Setting the Table

Ah, one of my favorite places to host an elegant event, the Carnegie Music Hall, Pittsburgh, PA.

From time to time I  like to share words commonly used by professionals. The words along with their meaning will be from the APEX Industry Glossary maintained by the Convention Industry Council

The Convention Industry Council is the organization of 33 associations coming together to exchange information among the meetings, convention and exhibitions industry. One of the initiatives is APEX, Accepted Practices Exchange to develop practices that reach industry wide. One of the practices is a glossary of terms used in the industry. The goal of the glossary is to standardize the definitions of words used by the meetings industry

While you are looking at the picture, here are a few terms for describing different items on the table.

Napery is another name for table linen

Place Setting or Cover:  A combination of flatware, glassware and china.

Double Cloth: Use of two tablecloths on a banquet table for decorative purposes, to muffle sound, or to attach to skirting.  Usually two different colors are used. 

Overlay:  A second smaller tablecloth used for decorative purposes at banquets

Banquet Round:  Round table used for meal service; depending on the diameter, can comfortably seat up to 12 persons. A round for 8 is usually 60-inches in diameter, and a round for 10 is usually 72-inches in diameter. Rounds that are 66 inches in diameter may also be found in use for tables of 8-10. 

Just add people and you have a beautiful event.

Planner's Pointers is written by, Mary Pam Kilgore, CMP, of Kilgore Business Services, LLC  You may Mary Pam through her website www.kilgorebusiness.com  You can find my blog at http://plannerspointers.blogspot.com/  You can reach me by phone at 412-260-4178.  Follow me on Twitter @marypam.

How to Plan a 7 Course Meal

Did you ever wonder what a seven course dinner was?  Ever wonder how it was served?  Today we are going to take a look at How to Plan a Seven Course Meal

Before we explain each course -- let's look at the courses has a whole

First Course: appetizer

Second Course: soup

Third Course: salad

Fourth Course: sorbet to cleanse the palate

Fifth course: fish or poultry

Sixth Course: red meat, fish or poultry with vegetables

Seventh Course: dessert

I know what you are thinking.  How can people each all that food!! Or have all that time! Or take all that time. 

Biggest tip I learned is to give the dinner a theme.  That helps you choose what types of food you would like to serve. Also remember these are smaller portions.  For example the meat course portion should be 4 oz of meat. 

Break it down by course --

1. Appetizer course -- Small and light  If you were doing something with an Italian theme you might do an antipasto. Or if you could do a shrimp cocktail.

2. Soup course:  You may use a cream based or clear soup such as a chicken stock based soup or a vegetable soup. Avoid heavy soups.

3. Salad course:  For example use different varieties of lettuce with a nice vinaigrette and a few crotons  Also keep the amount of salad dressing to a minimum.

4. Cleanse the palate course with sorbet like a lemon or a lime.

5. Fifth Course fish or poultry.  In one of the things I read some called it the first main course.  You could serve a baked fish such as Orange Ruffy or baked chicken such as chicken picatta.  Make sure that the fish or poultry used in this course don't overpower the Meat Course

6. Meat Course This could include fish, poultry, red meat including beef or pork with vegetables and potatoes.  If you bake the fish or chicken in the fifth course then you choose a different method here like broiled or grilled.  Again keep meat portions small.  4 ounces will do nicely.  Adding the vegetable helps cleanse the palate and aid digestion.

7. Dessert.  Something lavish and memorable.  Anything chocolate would work such as Chocolate cake or chocolate silk pie.  You could also do make your own sundaes

Some hints:  Serve foods that compliment each other.  This is a meal that is served and not done family style so people won't over load on one thing. 

Each course is to have its own wine.  A good way to way to do this without sending everyone home tipsy is to visit a wine store and go over the menu with the sommelier to discuss what wines and how much to serve each person.

Also please allow enough time to enjoy the meal

As Julia Child used to say "Bon Appetite!"

That's the Planners Pointer for today.

Planner's Pointers is written by, Mary Pam Kilgore, CMP  owner of Kilgore Business Services, LLC  You may reach me through my website www.kilgorebusiness.com  You can find my blog at http://plannerspointers.blogspot.com/  You can reach me by phone at 412-260-4178.  Follow me on Twitter @marypam.  

On Line Calendar Setting -- Doodle.com When is Good.net

Welcome to Planner's Pointer's Planners Pointers is a blog and talk cast to help beginning event planners with their event planning. Give them ideas on planning better events, books to read and websites to discover.

You get into your office and look at your to do list.  There are two items: 1. emailing your executive committee to schedule a date for a committee conference call.  2. Herding cats.  You decide on the second choice first because it's easier and less time consuming.

Take heart!  Help is on the way!  There are two, and probably more, ways of scheduling meetings, conference calls and other one to one meetings on the Internet.  One is Doodle.com and the other is WhenIsGood.net.

Here are the easy things to remember.  Both are free, but you can purchase subscriptions from the companies.  Both are easy to use, although WhenIsGood.net seem a little easier than Doodle.

Where they differ is that Doodle has you create an account, WhenIsGood doesn't, although you can.  By creating an account you can keep track of the scheduling that you have done.

Another way they differ slightly is WhenIsGood gives you a range of dates and times in which you simply select the times, while Doodle.com gives you a range of dates to select, but you have to do an additional step of adding the times.  Both gives you the option of creating the email response yourself with the information, or selecting to have them send the email.  If you choose to have the program send the email, both methods call up your email account with the information and you add the email addresses.  I like this choice myself since the url information will be correct and I don't have to cut and paste or worry about typos.  Doodle goes one step further and allows you to both Tweet and add the info to Facebook.

Doodle sends email updates when someone responds to the poll automatically, WhenIsGood has that as an option.  I like the updates since it keeps me informed about who has responded without logging in the website.

Give these tools a try! I like both of these website tools.  They save me time and frustration. 

Planner's Pointers is produced by me, Mary Pam Kilgore, of Kilgore Business Services, LLC  You may reach me through my website www.kilgorebusiness.com  You can find my blog at http://plannerspointers.blogspot.com/  You can reach me by phone at 412-260-4178.  Follow me on Twitter @marypam

QR Codes and Event Planning

The is the QR Code for Planners Pointers

Welcome to Planner's Pointer's Planners Pointers is a blog and talk cast to help beginning event planners with their event planning. Give them ideas on planning better events, books to read and websites to discover.

Today we are talking about QR Code. QR or Quick Response Code was develop in the 90s for a Japanese car manufacturer as a way of tracking inventory. They discovered uses outside of manufacturing, QR Codes caught hold in first Japan, then Europe and finally the US. 

Since you can imbed a website or other information into the code, QR Codes have found their way into the event marketing.  There are many ways QR Codes can help the planner.  I came up with 7 to start the list. 

1. Add the QR Code to the event flyer, billboard or invitation.  Have the link go to a short video about the event, conference, trade show.  Add a testimonial from an attendee, info about early bird registration and you have a compelling message.

2. Add the QR Code to a postcard or billboard.  Have it link back to the event website.

3. Another idea for the postcard or a print invitation is to link to the registration page for almost instant registrations.

4. Along those same lines, add a QR Code with a promo code for a price reduction for people to use when they register.  You could even put this one on the website or Facebook page.

5. Add the QR Code to your business card.  With a link to the wed site or VCard information. 

6. Add a unique code for each attendee name badge and imbed contact information.  Vendors can scan badges to collect information and you can scan badges as people enter sessions as a way of keeping track of attendance for CEU's.  Also, it could as a deterrent to prevent badge scalping.

7.  Add a QR Code to the Exhibitor page to a convention or conference website and link it to an image of the exhibit floor so that vendors can see the layout.  Or a short video showing possible booth layouts. 

I am sure there are more.  A great website that I found for all things QR Code is www.qrstuff.com  Notice please I didn't cover how QR Codes work or how to find the correct scanner for your smart phone or Iphone since Qrstuff.com covers all of that information.

Scan this QR Code to get the prize!

Planner's Pointers is produced by me, Mary Pam Kilgore, of Kilgore Business Services, LLC  You may reach me through my website www.kilgorebusiness.com  You can find my blog at http://plannerspointers.blogspot.com/  You can reach me by phone at 412-260-4178.  Follow me on Twitter.  Copyright 2010

Job Websites to discover

Welcome to Planner's Pointer's Planners Pointers is a blog and talk cast to help beginning event planners with their event planning. Give them ideas on planning better events, books to read and websites to discover.


Looking for work? Here are some websites that have job postings --

http://www.meetingjobs.com/ A free site to post your resume. Additionally meeting jobs have both full and part time job postings. Also the site offers webinars on how to get jobs.

www.mpiwebs.org Meeting Professionals International has job postings on their site. Postings less than 15 days old are for members only after that they are available for non members.

http://www.pcma.org/  Professional Convention Management Association posts jobs for those seeking jobs in the convention and trade show areas.

www.asaecenter.org American Society of Association Executives helps those in the association and non profit world with education and job postings. You don't have to be a member to access the job board.

If you are looking to be a meeting and event planner reading the job boards on these websites shows you what the characteristics and skills are needed to be a good planner. Also it tells you the scope of the meeting planning profession.

Planner's Pointers is written by me, Mary Pam Kilgore, of Kilgore Business Services, LLC You may reach me through my website http://www.kilgorebusiness.com/ You can find my blog at http://plannerspointers.blogspot.com/