Salad Spinners

Welcome to Planner's Pointers!   Here's a little tip about how to add a little zest to your next function.  Budgets are tight these days so doing extravagant  meals can be off the menu .  But what if you take one thing and do it differently?

Let's take a look at the humble salad.  How many times have we seen it as mixed greens with tasteless tomato slices.  On a good day sometimes you get feta cheese or blue cheese crumbles.  Usually you get  with two choices of dressing. While mixed greens are a little better than iceberg lettuce, it's still not particularly  memorable. 

Let's talk about salad that is pictured.  This salad came from a fall luncheon I attended.  The pears were in season which made them less expensive than other times.  See how interesting it makes the plate by wrapping the  leaf lettuce in a thin slice of cucumber?  Add some cheese and candied walnuts.  One amazing presentation!  People are still talk about  it. 

Talk with your catering manager and the chef for your next function.  Ask them what they can do for you to make your next banquet one to remember.

Thought for the week:  "It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

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.

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. 

2013 Food Trends -- Survey says!

Survey Says -- 2013 Food Trends

Each year the National Restaurant Association, the world's largest foodservice trade surveys the more than 1,800 professional chefs, members of the American Culinary Federation and members of the United States Bartenders Guild asks "What's Hot?" The results forecast the menu trends for the coming year.

What were the results? In a word -- Local. Locally grown. Locally sourced. Locally produced. And even a term called Hyper-local sourcing.   Locally grown refers to fruits and vegetables. Locally sourced refers to meat. Locally produced refers to beer, wine and spirits. Hyper-local sourcing refers to the roof top gardens on top of restaurants.

How does Pittsburgh stack up with the trends? A quick web search shows many choices for all including local farms, markets, bistros and brew pubs. Even roof top gardens can be found in places like the David Lawrence Convention Center and Six Penn Kitchen.

Seat Belts -- A trend that saves lives!

Seat belt use climbed to an all time high in 2012.  Nine out of 10 people are choosing to buckle up according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration climbing from 15% in 1984 to 86% in 2012. AAA states that even in today's era of active safety systems and crumple zones seat belts remain the single most effective safety device for preventing death and injury.  

Websites to discover --

Brownielocks and the Three Bears (www.brownielocks.com) is a website that has been around for more than 10 years but I only bookmarked it a little more than year ago or so when my friend, Becky, talked about it at a meeting. If you are an event planner, school teacher or anyone looking for a theme for an event or school project then Brownielocks is the place to go. Pick a month -- any month -- and there are listings for holidays, weeks of or month of celebrations and awareness. For example: Did you know there was a National Hot Dog Day? (July 17th) or that May is Go Fetch! Food Drive for Homeless Animals Month.

The creator of  Brownielocks said she did it as a fun way for older children to learn.   Which means to me that listings on the site are actual days, that the illustrations are cute without being silly and the content is "G" rated.

For people like me who like to plan ahead, the listings are for all months and not just one at a time. While the current month is the centerpiece, you can still access previous months or go click to choose future months. If a day or month has a link, they are also posted.

A great website to discover.

How to beat the winter blues --

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.

This Sunday morning at 2:00 am, we will "fall back" as Daylight Savings Time comes to a close. 

I have often wondered how Daylight Savings Time came to be and this is what I learned.  Daylight Savings Time was started during World War I in order to save energy for the war production.  It was mandatory during that time and again during World War II.  Between the wars and after World War II it was up to the states to determined if they wanted to go by Daylight Savings Time.  In 1966 Daylight Savings Time became the law of the land with the passage of Uniform Time Act.  In 2007. in order to save more energy four weeks were added to the time period that ranges from the second Sunday of March to the first week of November.

What I notice the most about when we go back to "regular time" in November is not only does the day seem so much shorter is that people's moods seem to change.  While, seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression as a result of lack of light, effects only 4-6 % of the population, many of us still seem to feel "a little blue" during the winter months.  Here a couple of things that I do during the winter to keep me going.

1. Go outside for a short walk.  Even in colder weather a walk around the block can  lift the spirits.

2. Watch your diet.  I know that a bag of chips and onion dip are great additions to an evening of TV watching, but they will cause you problems in the long run.

3. Keep in contact with your family and friends.  No, not with Facebook, but face to face.  Yes, snow happens, but not every snow flake is a blizzard in the making.  Play cards, share a meal, go to a movie, take in a museum all these things make for a great time together. 

Before you know it, or just in time, depending on how you look at it.  Spring arrives.  Keep the faith.

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/

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

Daylight Saving Time

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.


This Sunday morning at 2:00 am, we will "fall back" as Daylight Savings Time comes to a close.

I have often wondered how Daylight Savings Time came to be and this is what I learned. Daylight Savings Time was started during World War I in order to save energy for the war production. It was mandatory during that time and again during World War II. Between the wars and after World War II it was up to the states to determined if they wanted to go by Daylight Savings Time. In 1966 Daylight Savings Time became the law of the land with the passage of Uniform Time Act. In 2007. in order to save more energy four weeks were added to the time period that ranges from the second Sunday of March to the first week of November.

What I notice the most about when we go back to "regular time" in November is not only does the day seem so much shorter is that people's moods seem to change. While, seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression as a result of lack of light, effects only 4-6 % of the population, many of us still seem to feel "a little blue" during the winter months. Here a couple of things that I do during the winter to keep me going.

1. Go outside for a short walk. Even in colder weather a walk around the block can lift the spirits.

2. Watch your diet. I know that a bag of chips and onion dip are great additions to an evening of TV watching, but they will cause you problems in the long run.

3. Keep in contact with your family and friends. No, not with Facebook, but face to face. Yes, snow happens, but not every snow flake is a blizzard in the making. Play cards, share a meal, go to a movie, take in a museum all these things make for a great time together.

Before you know it, or just in time, depending on how you look at it. Spring arrives. Keep the faith.

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.co/m You can find my blog at http://plannerspointers.blogspot.com/

Travel Safety

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.

The idea for this post came to me when I was at a hotel recently. At the registration desk there was a flyer being given to guests about leaving valuables in their cars. With the holiday season travel about to kick in, I thought I would go over "Ten Tips for Traveling Safely."

1. Travel Light. Remember the scene out of "Up in the Air" where the character Natalie, played by Anna Kendrick, brings this huge suitcase and Ryan Bingham, played by George Clooney, throws half of the stuff away and gets her a newer smaller suitcase? Remember separates, mix and match is the way to go. Here is a video about an efficient way to pack a bag. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BL9qmFRbd4

2. Don't leave valuables in your hotel room. If you aren't wearing them, then the best place is the hotel safe.

3. Along with valuables, do you really need to bring your computer? With hotel business centers and smart phones with email, leaving the laptop at home might be an option.

4. Along with leaving valuables at home, also leave behind your social security and library cards.

5. Cashier checks and one or two credit cards may be all you need when you travel. Leave unnecessary credit cards at home. Don't carry large amounts of cash.

6. If you are traveling by car, please make sure you bring everything into the car including your GPS and other things you might leave behind by under normal circumstances.

7. When you go out, be aware of your surroundings and travel in pairs or in a group. Also remember to remove your name badge when you are leaving the conference site.

8. I hate to sound like your mother, but don't accept drinks from strangers.

9. If you are going to be gone for an extended period, place valuables in a safety deposit box along with important papers.

10. Leave your itinerary along with your cell phone number with a friend or family member.

Planner's Pointers is produced 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/  Copywrite 2010 Mary Pam Kilgore, Kilgore Business Services, LLC, This article may be reproduce in full as long as the byline is included.