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Through out this bid guide, any unfamiliar or IACURH specific vocabulary will be highlighted in purple which means you can find it on the IACURH dictionary!
Conferences 2024-2025
Conferences 2024-2025
The 2024-2025 Conferences were bidded and voted upon during the Regional Business Conference 2024! The following host sites were decided to be:
Regional Leadership Conference 2024 (RLC) - Arizona State University - Downtown Campus, on the weekend of 11/15/24
Regional Business Conference 2025 (RBC) - University of Idaho, dates TBD
National Conference 2025 (NACURH) - Illinois State University, dates TBD
Your institution is invited to bring several student delegates, the number usually dictated by each conference team and advisors to these conferences, however delegates are not usually brought to RBC as it is usually a business only conference while RLC and NACURH have leadership sessions and other activities usually organized for delegates. NCCs, RHA Presidents, NRHH Representatives or proxies for such usually attend every conference to participate in boardroom business sessions and have voting rights on selected legislation, award bids and elections!
To aid in your yearly responsibilities and duties, here is a suggested timeline of how to structure your year out around conferences. This is just the basics, so please check-in and ask for any other items or things to look out for or complete.
This includes:
attending business chats
attending representative chats
completing forms and surveys sent out
making and submitting bids
...and more!
What Happens at Conference
What Happens at Conference
Conference usually spans a whole weekend - starting on a Friday night with Opening Ceremonies and usually ends on a Sunday night with a closing banquet, recapping the past weekend with announcements and awards.
Conference days are looooong - 7am to 11pm or 12am kind of days as there is a lot to do and fit in within this time frame. Its important to rest and take breaks throughout the day, as well as making sure you eat plenty and drink lots of water!
If you're an NCC, RHA President, NRHH Representative or a proxy for these positions you will mostly attend boardroom sessions. Boardroom usually consists of the Regional Board of Directors facilitating business items, legislation, splitting into positional meetings and more. The sessions you attend are most of the time separate from the delegates you might bring along.
However, boardroom representatives also have the opportunity to do PEAK programming which is programming that can be more centered or directed towards NCCs, RHA Presidents, NRHH Representatives or proxies for these positions.
If you're a delegate, you have the opportunity to submit and present or attend educational sessions. Educational sessions are presentations on a leadership topic, usually on theme with the upcoming conference.
For example if the theme is "Camp into Leadership" aka more of a wilderness/camping theme a possible option for a delegate to submit an educational session would be "Navigating Students through the Wilderness" or something similar. Theres also other events to attend such as...
Socials: time set aide for bonding and getting to know students in a fun space
Swap Shop: where you can trade your school or organizational gear with others
Philanthropy: sessions where an activity is planned that is meant to give back to the community or a project in tandem with NRHH, focused on recognition or service
And more! Here and below, is an example schedule of a previous conference for you to view. Boardroom sessions are different than delegate sessions, so you usually don't see your NCCs, RHA Presidents and NRHH Reps that often - however during sessions mentioned above you have the time to bond as a institution!
!! One thing to note is during an academic year there is the Regional Leadership Conference (RLC, which happens in Fall) Regional Business Conference (RBC, which happens in early Spring) and NACURH (which happens at the end of the academic year/early summer).
Delegations are usually only brought to RLC and NACURH, RBC does not have a delegation as it is all business/boardroom sessions.
Delegations & Delegates
Delegations & Delegates
You might hear the term "delegation" and "delegate" thrown around, but what does that mean?
A delegate is a student you bring from your home institution to conference to immerse them in student leadership and the regional space
You register delegates during the conference process aka filling in their information, position at your school (aka part of RHA/NRHH, first year student, first time delegate, etc)
You can bring as many delegates as the host-school for conference allows or how much your institution is financially capable of allowing!
Ex) Steggie University is excited to bring 8 delegates to RLC 2024!
A delegation is the group of delegates (students) you bring to conference! The delegation usually includes everyone besides the RHA President, NCC, and NRHH Representative who are coined "The Big Three" as they attend boardroom while the delegation attends other sessions during conference!
The delegation usually attends educational sessions and other sessions and activites that isn't boardroom business! However, delegations are usually brought only to RLC and the NACURH conference as RBC is mostly and only business that is more directed to NCCs, RHA Presidents and NRHH Representatives.
Usually, since the NCC is spearheading the delegation and organizing delegation activities pre-conference and during other parts of conference, it can be hard to facilitate leadership and organize the group and answer questions as the NCC, along with the RHA President and NRHH Reps are usually on a different schedule in boardroom.
Therefore NCCs usually assign a delegate lead!
What's a delegate lead?
This can be described as a proxy for the big three - a delegate lead is usually someone who's been to conference before and can be a guide and resource to the delegates when the NCC can't be in the space
Delegate lead's can be someone the NCC picks or makes an application for within their delegation
Ex: Summy has been to three RLC's before, this will be his fourth! There's a delegation fo 12 people and the NCC has asked the delegation to have a delegate lead, as they won't be able to help or see them for most of the day. The NCC opens an application and Summy applies, feeling confident to help the delegation when the NCC can't. Alternatively, the NCC asks Summy to be the delegate lead due to their experience as well as their determination to help then delegates stay on track, ask questions and be a liason between the delegation and the Big Three.
Delegation Lead's aren't always needed, sometimes if an institution has multiple advisors or can bring multiple advisors, one can help the delegation in guiding them or also rely on the IACURH board and conference team to help delegates during conference! This is an option, not a requirement! But always feel free to ask questions about this!
Marketing + setup for Conference
Marketing + setup for Conference
We talked about delegates, conferences and going to conference - but how do you find people do actually take to conference?
Here's an example timeline:
Let's say conference is on November 1st (RLC 2024 is actually November 13th-15th!) but this is an example!
In August:
Focus more on your positional goals! Learn more about conference and get yourself more aquainted with your duties and responsibilties and what conference looks like
This is also more of adapting to your own class schedule and acclimating into the new year!
In September:
Talk to your RHA President, NRHH Rep and Advsior(s) about what goals you have for your delegation. Also form an application, on google forms or microsoft forms, for example including questions such as:
Why do you want to go to conference?
What leadership skills do you want to build?
How would you benefit from going to conference?
Make sure you explain what conference is and really push for delegates whho apply to also apply for educational sessions! Educational sessions are presentations/mini programs that delegates make and present at conference for other delegates relating to themes of leadership, connection, personal growth, responsibility and more!
Start talking about marketing - make a flyer! Include details about the benefits of going to a conference (meeting new people, traveling, getting leadership experience) and start pushing marketing out HARD! Distribute flyers, tell your hall/community councils, post it on social media and include important details and a QR code or link to apply!
In October:
Pick you delegation with your team and start delegation meetings!
During delegation meetings, this is a time to inform your delegates about conference culture (what happens, what to expect, what to apply for etc)
You can also choose to show bids your school wants to present to your delegation. More information on bids can be found here!
Personally, I would encourage 3 - 4 meetings, but also do as many that fits your schedule or as little that can still be helpful to apply knowledge! This is midterm month usually so pace yourself!
Your advisors here would also be doing a little housekeeping, aka making y'all sign waivers, fill out conference and travel forms, finishing registration and more!
In November:
This is conference month! Make sure you recharge, rest up for a long weekend and double check with your delegation when it comes to waivers, forms, and more.
As an NCC, a proxy or a part of the big three you might have duties as well but for this section I'm just highlighting items regarding delegates!
There's another checklist for you to look at: HERE!add link
Make the most out of your conference experience
In late November/December:
Some institutions can choose to have a post debrief, goal setting, what have you learned, your experience and looking to the future!
This is beneficial for reflection with your delegation but also with your experience, especially when this could be your first conference!
For RBC and NACURH, theres a similar process - at least with NACURH, your delegation marketing and making process would be similar but you have the advantage of representing a conference on a much of a bigger scale!
Make the most of a Conference Experience
Make the most of a Conference Experience
Being at a conference can mean a lot of things, constant move around, application processes, bids, business...a lot!!! Our tips to you are this!
Use your energy sparingly! It'll be tough weekend of travel and exercise and focus and socials - eat and hydrate
Mingle! Meet! Theres very few times for you all to meet and talk to other institutions (in-person, not online!) and use the chance to learn from others and what makes institutions unique
Don't bottle up frustration! Being awake for a long while and completing tasks can build up on you, take breaks, ask for time and space and bring up things that you feel are unfair or wrong
Make the most out of your experience! Award bids are stressful, exciting and exhausting but always remember that you ALL write bids about things that are worthy of recognition. We celebrate everyone, be mindful of respecting everyone and we all recognize everyone's hard work <3
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