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Post date: Jan 06, 2017 4:5:27 PM
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE NOTES – Jan. 4, 2017 – Notes by Nancy Hutchins
In attendance from MA Local: Betsy Simmons, Nancy Shippen, Valentine Doyle, Chris Campbell. From National Committee: Margaret Browne, Alice Waco, Nancy Hutchins, Rick Krouskop, webmaster. Stephanie George, Scholarship Committee.
Scholarship Committee. Stephanie reported that information for the website is under construction with Rick’s help. The process was briefly reviewed. Last year’s template may need some tweaking. This year’s committee does not have to handle awards in the same manner as last year if they feel it important to prioritize. Some funds may need to be used for youth scholarships, but there is not a special pool. Joining Stephanie and Mike Kutter on the committee is Thomas Brudenelle from Maryland.
Youth. A task force consisting of Chris Campbell, Nancy Hutchins, Kirsten Bunner and Martin Kraft was held Dec. 27. Documents laying out expectations for youth and chaperones, permission slips were drafted by Martin and he is updating them. Kirsten has volunteered to monitor paperwork. Registration can take place on the web but documents should be mailed in. Martin is working on getting some legal counsel regarding our documents, insurance, and program. Notes are included below**.
Publicity. The article for the “Transformer” is in the editor’s hands. It looks great, but there are a few errors. Email: An email needs to be sent and include dates, registration dates, call for break out sessions, any corrections to previous article. Rick is leaving the 17th of Jan and needs any information by January 11.
Transportation. A long conversation on the need to be welcoming vs. the need for people to take personal responsibility for their travel was held. The final resolution is up to the local committee. ( Nancy H. comment: However, the budget is tight and so one solution is to find a way for people who use the shuttle from Framingham to pay for the service and to offer the service at specific times and for fewer hours. Payment could be through registration. Investigate whether they can pay by credit card at the conference without it causing a long backup in the line. Cabs are available for people arriving at odd times.)
Budget. There was a conference on the budget with Margaret Browne and local committee last Monday. They were advised to based their budget on less than 125 and settled on 100 attendees and 15 commuters. Rick K. thought it could be more, basing his suggestion on the large NY Conference some years ago.
Raising more revenue: Under “pricing structure” -which is the income part of the budget—include the price charged for a single room at each category. Betsy reported that Lasell is charging us “per bed”. People are charged a premium for a single room, which will generate some additional income. There are 24 single rooms available. Have a fee for shuttle pick-up from Framingham.
Expenses: Try to lower transportation expenses. The computer lab would cost an additional amount. We need a least a small contingency fund. If we have youth, there will be costs for background checks.
Entertainment. Valentine is working on obtaining grants to fund entertainment expenses. The auditorium is already in our budget.
Approval of site for 2018 Conference. Kirsten Bunner of Indiana is excited to bring the 2018 conference to Indiana. She is looking for approval so that she can reserve Earlham College. Nancy S. noted that she had attended a conference there and that it was quite nice. Rick said that the location would be good as we have not been to Mid-west in a while. The consensus was that a conference in Indiana would be wonderful.
NEXT MEETING. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 8 PM EST.
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**Notes: Conference Task Force Youth. Dec. 27, 2016
Attending: Chris Campbell, Martin Kraft, Kirsten Bunner. Notes by Nancy Hutchins
Some points covered and tentative decisions made:
· Chaperones. The expectation is that chaperones will come with their group. Two chaperones per group is needed. Kirsten is available if needed. Chaperones need to know where youth are. Provide a map of the campus with a red line indicating the boundary.
· Kirsten and Martin will serve as a “youth oversight committee”. There should be a meeting at the beginning of the Conference laying out expectations.
· Everyone at the conference needs to know that underage youth are attending. Best practice is that two adults should be present with youth in any closed-door situation. Information can be included in the welcoming documents.
· If there is a lone underage participant, they could be connected to the existing group.
· There may not be enough youth attending to have a separate dorm. We hope for a separate wing, floor, area. Chris will explore whether youth might bring sleeping bags to cut costs in one of the suites.
· Registration Process. Kirsten volunteered to make sure that paperwork is in. The forms can be available on the website and then mailed in to designated address. There should be a box on the form indicating who their chaperones are.
· Cost. A differential in cost for youth would be helpful. Early bird fee should apply for these registrations.
· The Scholarship Committee could designate a certain amount to be held for youth registrations.
· Martin provided and the committee reviewed documents for participants and chaperones. Martin is handling the edits.
· Martin is seeking advice on where we can get appropriate legal review of our documents and our insurance.
· We need background checks on hand for anyone with direct responsibility for youth. Whether these checks need to be done in a particular State (where the conference is held? Where the chaperone lives?) is one of the things Martin will explore. It is possible that background checks could be done by the chaperones themselves and then the results provided to us. A disqualifier would be a history of child abuse or sexual predation.
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