Beep Beep!

Growing up in the middle of two boys, I found my play time to be equally distributed between dolls and cars. When we would play with toy cars, there was often a bus route involved that the little metal cars had to follow. What I didn’t know then was that I would be doing the same thing when I was a “grown up”.
During RCMA, we had shuttles taking attendees to and from the airport, to three different locations for a 3 hour event, to companies spread throughout GR, and to some of our biggest attractions.



Here’s what helped make this process work:

• Clear communication with the drivers. We told them about the group, why it was important to us, and what they were doing at the places they were going.
  
• A greeter. We had volunteers on each bus who acted as a host, answering any questions that the attendees might have and assisting when neededed
  
• The right amount of busses. Just because you can afford more busses, it doesn’t mean the process will necessarily go faster. Set the transportation schedule to rotate so that the shuttles are not overlapping each other and holding everything up


• Going the wrong way. Work with the city if you feel that a shuttle bus would be better off making a turn in a no left turn lane or parking in a metered zone. They can be flexible and make things easier!


• Communicate the shuttle schedule to riders effectively. They will thank you!

Just Push Play!

I dont know how many books are in the "I will read this someday" pile, but I have a lot on mine. Yet I still find myself spending that time watching videos and T.V. So this week, lets skip the reading and just push play!

The video is more than a testimonial of the experince in GR for RCMA, it shows how great teamwork and awareness generated about a convention makes a conference here even more memorable! We truly strive for that here in Grand Rapids with every group!

Who has the popcorn?

Welcome to my block!

It’s funny how terminology in one industry translates to something totally different in another. For example, the term “Block Plan” could mean something to do with a prison to a police officer, a layout of a neighborhood to a homebuilder, or even a castle design to someone at Lego Land. To me, this means managing sanity during event. In other words, in this industry, a Block Plan is a schedule of the event minute by minute, showing what is happening, who is the leader of the activity, and listing details pertinent to the event.

With a five day event and several different people involved, I learned from a local meeting planning company, Grand Connection, about how to create a Block Plan and make it work for RCMA. Here’s how I did it:

1. Write down major events and activities at your conference and their day/time.

2. Also, include the contact person/leader for each event. Make sure this isn’t you all the time!
Think about the events you wrote down. What information would you want to share about each of them? These will be your columns. Your rows are the day and time of the event.

3. Fill in the blanks as you go – you probably won’t have all of the information at once! Remember, include every detail. If you have to pick up a box in the loading dock at 11:30, put it in the schedule. This not only reminds you, but lets others know where you are if they need you.

4. When you are confident with your BP, tape it to a wall. Mentally walk through the event using the BP, and highlight areas that you may have missed.

5. The BP changes daily so don’t be afraid to edit it. Just make sure you notify others involved of the new copy!

The BP was a way of managing confusion and creating ownership and initiative to those that are assigned to lead an activity. I just wonder if those designers over at Lego Land manage their designs… I’m still working on figuring out how to build a tower.

Feeling Blue

Our staff increased by about 150 people during the week of RCMA –in the form of volunteers. With our staff and volunteers wearing blue vests, attendees knew to look for the blue if they needed help! We spent the months before RCMA recruiting volunteers, designing shifts, signing up, and training as we geared up for our “Super Bowl”. Here is what we found made the program successful:

• Recruit from organizations that have an interest in what you are asking them to do; We asked hospitality students, religious organizations, and those that want to promote Grand Rapids
• Online Registration: our website enabled volunteers to choose their shifts, read the requirements, and sign up right there. They received automatic confirmation, reminder, and thank you emails too!
• Training! We held training sessions (60 minutes or less) that coached our volunteers on the event, toured them around the areas they would cover, and gave a chance to ask questions before they volunteered. We also had a Training Manual that they could take home with them.
• Dress your volunteers in something that is recognizable to attendees. Our volunteers were all asked to wear black pants, a white shirt, and we gave them blue fleece vests.
• Reward volunteers as much as possible. We had a raffle (every shift you volunteer you get a ticket), Letters of Recommendation for students, and we carried around gift cards and gave them out on the spot to volunteers that really stood out. We gave mittens as a thank you to each volunteer too.
• Survey to find out where you can improve and what areas may be able to be addressed for the following day. Make sure surveys are between 3-5 questions tops.

Volunteers can turn a good event into a great experience. The impact that our team had with the first blue vested welcome into the last one left our attendees anything but blue.

Collecting Cans

In Michigan, we deposit ten cents for each recyclable can purchased, which you get back when it is returned to the recycling center. This was quite the experience when I moved here six years ago (I broke the machine on my first try). Now I have learned that aside from keeping litter out of the state, the culture of Michigan’s fundraising, savings, and earning extra cash is found in collecting cans.

The culture of collecting cans is also found in meeting planning, but in a much different sense. Our whole team was working before RCMA to get things together - moving hundreds of boxes into trucks, cleaning the skywalk, and preparing gift bags. With the long days before and during RCMA, Tim, our Convention Services Manager, taught me the cans for meeting planners:

“Eat when you Can, sit when you Can, and sleep when you Can”.

These “Cans” seem harder to collect than the aluminum kind, but as a host or committee member of an event, you need to be on a lookout for them any chance you get. It is sometimes a challenge to enjoy an event while hosting it, but a very important goal to have. Make sure you don’t just work the event but find some time to enjoy it too. Just try to enjoy it while sitting – and eating too. Your feet will thank you!

And if you are achieving the first “Can” on the list, make sure you recycle your beverage when you are done.