Answering the Call for Papers!

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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

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

APEX Definition: Release

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's term from the Convention Industry Council's APEX Glossary is:  Release.  There are two definitions I would like to discuss.

The first definition I would like to focus on is: A signed form giving permission to use a person’s name, picture, or statement (often in an advertisement).

In this day of instant posting on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube of pictures and videos we forget sometimes to ask for permission.  While we think the permission can be implied -- if they didn't want to be in the picture, then don't stand there -- I really think it doesn't hurt anything to simply ask if this is OK. 

When I attended Pennsylvania Governor's Conference for Women I noticed that on back of the badge was a photo release.  While it wasn't signed, it was implied that since I was an attendee, if my picture were taken that it could be used for promotional purposes.  What a great idea! 

Another definition for release is: Form signed by presenter allowing recording of presentation.  One of the ways that organizations have made additional money at conferences for years is recording the proceedings and then selling them.  In recent years companies that recorded the conference and then offered them as downloads.  Free for attendees or a small fee. 

When I worked in radio I used to record the live music performances I had performers sign releases even though the broadcast may have never been used again.  If the broadcast is recorded for later use, the release is especially important since it means the performer is satisfied with their performance.

Release.  One word with two similar meanings but based in one word: permission.

Planner's Pointers is written 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/

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/