Final 2017 meeting, May 28, 2017

Post date: Jun 03, 2017 12:47:14 AM

2017 Conference Committee meeting, Sunday, May 28 during lunch at the Conference at Lasell.

Attending: Margaret Browne, Alice Waco, Rick Krouskop, Nancy Shippen, Betsy Simmons, Patrick Campbell (last 20 minutes), David Hutchins, Terry Kayser, Archer Bunner (for 2018 Conference), notes by Nancy Hutchins

Some things that worked well:

· Site is appealing. Good rooms for meeting

· We’ve heard lots of good comments about the space and the program

· Good signage. Will be saved to reuse next year

· The program book was informative and attractive

· The food was good and special diets were accommodated

· Continue highlighting the Peace Fellows and younger diverse population.

Some things to watch out for or improve:

· Better campus map and good GPS address

· Coffee - Some people like to have some available first thing in the morning. Very popular at breaks.

· This group did not go through the college to provide snacks. May have saved some money and was more trouble.

· Internet access was poor. Good internet access becomes more important each year.

· Dorms. Colleges may not be used to handling conferences instead of students. Be aware of high beds in dorms and ask if they can be lowered. Blankets and trash cans and toilet paper are not items that conference participants bring.

· Having a wheel chair available to help some people get to other parts of the campus, or some kind of accommodation may be needed. There were a number of people with walkers.

· A participant was doing some live streaming of some activities for others who could not be there. Keep exploring whether AVP is ready to livestream some activities.

· Paper handouts. Could some handouts be done by putting them on the Conference or AVP-USA website. People could run their own copies ahead of time if they want hard copies. The use of the screen at the annual meeting was helpful; could it take the place of running some of these.

Program

· Nancy Shippen suggested more help with vetting presenters from the National Committee. Someone suggesting asking local groups who should know their people.

· Margaret Browne said that the planning committee in Denver (2016) went out looking for certain kinds of breakout sessions that fit into the themes.

Insurance

Find out early what the venue requires. AVP-USA may go the route of getting liability insurance for the organization which would also cover the Conference.

Evaluation and Follow-up

Local committee is committed to getting out an evaluation by email. Focus should be on things that might help future planning. The contact list will also be sent out as soon as they can.

Registration

The current process is complicated and requires a lot of follow-up. Rich has some ideas about possibly changing the product being used for registration, and it would add up to 10% to use such a service.

New chairs for 2018 National Conference Committee:

Many thanks to Margaret Browne and Nancy Shippen who will co-chair.

Thanks from outgoing Conference Chair, Nancy Hutchins

It has been a great experience working with local committees over the past 5 years. It certainly has provided a personal connection to AVP in many parts of the country and I’ve enjoyed working with so many dedicated AVP facilitators and Board members. “Neighborly Nancy”

notes written June 2, 2017