Regional Meeting Host Manual

REGIONAL MEETING PURPOSE

1. Provide BAP members and candidates the opportunity to gain knowledge about
   1. Personal and professional issues that attendees will encounter as they transition from student to professional;
   2. Chapter operations and activities; and,
   3. Team dynamics
2. Showcase ideas about and talents involving
   1. Innovative and unique chapter, professional and service ideas/successes that require planning/research, organizing, managing/conducting activities and reporting results; and,
   2. Communication (creating, organizing, writing, speaking and presenting).
3. Build professional and/or social relationships between chapter members and
   1. Other chapters’ members;
   2. Professionals (Alumni, Forum members and other professional speakers);
   3. Members of the academic community; and,
   4. The Beta Alpha Psi organization and its leaders.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsibilities of Host Chapter(s)

• Plan the program;
• Participate in all conference calls;
• Select keynote speaker in consultation with the Advisory Forum Liaison
• Work with the Advisory Forum Liaison to select speakers appropriate for the theme of the meeting;
• Prepare and print the program;
• Provide student members to man the registration table, answer questions from participants, post session titles at meeting rooms, times Best Practices and monitors the rooms, and other jobs as needed; and
• Complete all post meeting reports.

Responsibilities of Conference Planner

• Oversee the entire planning process and on-site meeting management;
• Participate in all conference calls;
• Insure deadlines are met and all parties involved are aware of location and hotel-related issues;
• Prepare periodic reports of registrants and provide them to the Host Chapter(s) and Chapter Advocate; and
• Assume full financial and managerial responsibility for all services provided by hotel facilities;

Responsibilities of the Executive Office

• Update and post the Regional Meeting Host Manual;
• Maintain and update the Calendar page of the BAP Website to include accurate meeting dates, locations and regional meeting website links;
• Provide the host chapters with meeting supplies:
  • BAP Folders
  • Attendee give-a-ways (flash drives, etc)
  • Name badge inserts and badge sleeves
  • Gifts for guest speakers
  • Thank you note cards for guest speakers
  • Student presenter forms (Best Practices and Chapter Operation sessions);
• Send out and collect responses for electronic surveys to regional meeting attendees;
• Collect the post meeting reports from the Host Chapters with signature from Chapter Advocate.

Responsibilities of Alumni Representative

• Plan alumni panel that discusses career experiences;
• Plan the Alumni Representative session; and
• Participate in all conference calls.

Responsibilities of Chapter Advocate

• General oversight of the regional meeting;
• Offer advice and assistance before, during, and after the regional meeting;
• Serve as the conference call chairperson;
• Emphasize importance of program content, facilitate meeting all deadlines, and keep everyone motivated to complete tasks;
• Approve the program and all final reports;
• Assume responsibility for managing the submission, approval, and notification of eligible Best Practices abstracts (see the Best Practices Manual for more details); and
• Manage and serve as master of ceremonies for the opening and closing sessions.

Responsibilities of Advisory Forum Liaison

• Arrange and/or conduct the Team Dynamics Session;
• Participate in all conference calls;
• Assist the Host Chapter in securing the keynote speaker;
• Assist the Host Chapter is obtaining speakers for professional sessions;
• Ensure that professional sessions are organized and conducted appropriately (See Appendix A for Speaker Guidelines); and
• Ensure that adequate Advisory Forum staffing for the Best Practices competitions is in place.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF REGIONAL MEETING

Opening Session

• Chapter Advocate and host chapter will welcome all attendees and formally introduce every attending Board and Advisory Forum member.
• Chapter Advocate and host chapter will also explain how the meeting relates to the current year BAP theme.
• BAP President will introduce the meeting theme in opening remarks.

Plenary Session

• Host Chapter will select the keynote speaker or professional activity after consultation with the Advisory Forum Liaison and Chapter Advocate.
• The most important decision for the regional meeting is the choice of the keynote speaker. The keynote speaker sets the tone for the entire meeting.

Team Dynamics Session

• Advisory Forum Liaison is responsible for planning this session. Host Chapter will assist in obtaining supplies, etc.

Chapter Operations Sessions

• Host Chapter will choose sessions and Chapters to make presentation. There should be special sessions for key officer positions such as president and reporter.

Professional Sessions

• Host Chapter will work with the Advisory Forum Liaison to choose topics of interest for the sessions. (See Appendix D for suggested topics).

Best Practices Competition sponsored by Deloitte

Board, Advisory Forum, and Chapter Advocate meeting with Chapter Presidents

Faculty Advisors meeting with Chapter Advocate (informal discussion and idea exchange)

Board and Advisory Forum meeting with Faculty Advisors

Closing Session:

• Best Practices winners will be announced.
• Chapter Advocate will summarize the meeting and include a final expression of thanks to the Host Chapter, members of the Board and Advisory Forum in attendance as well as any other presenters and program participants. Acknowledgments for other help received will also be made.

INITIAL PLANNING

Locations, Host Chapters, Dates, and Facilities

1. Chapter Advocate and Faculty Advisors from each region: Identify the host chapter(s) no later than 12 months prior to the meeting.
2. As soon as possible after being designated a Host Chapter, the Host Chapter should:
   1. Become familiar with all meeting deadlines in the Regional Meeting Calendar shown in Appendix B;
   2. Become familiar with the preliminary meeting template shown in Appendix C;
   3. Read the BAP Policy and Procedures Manual located at: http://bap.org/policyManual.aspx
   4. Create a student leadership structure to facilitate planning and execution of a successful meeting; and
   5. Contact the local Convention and Visitors Bureau or Chamber of Commerce for to become familiar with the type of information that they will be able to supply (e.g., maps, dining guides, etc.)
   6. The Chapter Advocate will tell you which Advisory Forum member is assigned as a liaison for the regional meeting. The Advisory Forum members are great resources and expect to be actively involved in the meeting. PLEASE contact only this liaison with ANY request for assistance from Forum Members. It is NOT appropriate to contact local offices of Advisory Forum Members to solicit support.
   7. The Host Chapter(s) may not contact the hotel at any time, unless the Conference Planner specifically authorizes that contact.
   8. General program guidelines:
      1. BAP policies must not be violated;
      2. The theme set forth by the President Elect and the Board of Directors must be incorporated throughout the entire meeting;
      3. Forum members should be fully engaged throughout the meeting doing presentations, judging, participating in panel discussions, etc.; and
      4. Where possible, students should actively (rather than passively) participate in all events.
      5. Planned off-site activities are NOT permitted unless approved by the Executive Office.
3. The Conference Planner negotiates and finalizes contracts for audio-visual and food requirements. a. All communications regarding these matters must be made by the Conference Planner. b. BAP will not assume any responsibility nor be held accountable for any legal issues that may occur if this procedure is not followed.

DETAILED RESPONSIBLITIES FOLLOWING THE REGIONAL MEETING CALENDAR (Appendix B)

There are many individuals involved in the planning process of the regional meeting. Consider using a collaborative solution of sharing documents such as Google Docs or Dropbox. Instead of referencing these throughout the manual, reference will be made to “collaborative solution”.

1. Early September:
   1. Kick-off conference call with Host Chapter(s) representatives, Faculty Advisor(s) from the Host Chapter(s), Alumni Representative, Chapter Advocate, Conference Planner, and Advisory Forum Liaison. The Conference Planner will send out the instructions for calling in for all conference calls.
   2. The Faculty Advisor(s) and one or more students from the Host Chapter(s) should participate in the first conference call. One student from the Host Chapter(s) and the Faculty Advisor(s) from the Host Chapter(s) should participate in the remaining conference calls.
   3. Chapter Advocate serves as the chair of the conference call.
   4. Assign a student from the Host Chapter to take notes, including the To-Do-List for all participants. Consider using a collaborative solution such as Google Docs or Dropbox to facilitate the process.
   5. Agenda for conference call:
      1. Discuss preliminary meeting template (an updated version of the preliminary meeting template will be provided by the Conference Planner prior to meeting) – the updated template will indicate the number of concurrent sessions that can be held at any time
      2. Discuss possible keynote speakers and topic of speech – It is important that an excellent speaker be chosen. The keynote speaker sets the tone for the regional meeting.
      3. Discuss possible professional topics (See Appendix D.)
      4. Discuss possible chapter operations topics (See Appendix E.)
      5. Conference Planner: Remind everyone that due to budget constraints no internet access, audio and video technology will be permitted in any of the presentations for Best Practices and Chapter Operations.
      6. If there is more than one Host Chapter, have Host Chapters discuss the splitting of the responsibilities.
      7. General questions about procedures and responsibilities
2. By September 15:
   1. Host Chapter: Complete the Regional Meeting Contact Form (Appendix F) and post it using the collaborative solution.
      1. A total of 1,500 minutes are available for hosting a regional meeting. The minutes may be divided among co-host Chapters as they see fit.
3. After conference call through October 15:
   1. Host Chapter, Alumni Representative, Chapter Advocate, Advisory Forum Liaison, and Conference Planner: Follow-up on items discussed at conference call.
   2. Host Chapter, Alumni Representative, Chapter Advocate, Advisory Forum Liaison, and Conference Planner: Post resolution of To-Do-List items with collaborative solution.
   3. Host Chapter: Prepare guidelines for Chapter Operations Sessions as well as expectations for presentations or discussions.
   4. Host Chapter: Choose professional topics and share with Forum Liaison by posting information with collaborative solution.
   5. Host Chapter: Narrow down choices for keynote speaker and post with collaborative solution.
4. By October 15
   1. Host Chapter: Fill in as much of the meeting template as possible. The meeting template does not have to include names of speakers or other participants in the program.
   2. Host Chapter: List preliminary names of sessions based on discussion from September conference call and responses posted with collaborative solution.
   3. Alumni Representative: Fill in information about alumni sessions in the meeting template.
   4. Advisory Forum Liaison: Fill in preliminary professional sessions topics into the meeting template.
5. By October 30
   1. Host Chapter: Prepare meeting website using the template that will be furnished by the Executive Office.
   2. This template should be edited to the specifics of each regional meeting. The website will reside on the host chapter server.
   3. Provide the webpage URL to the Executive Office of BAP so that it can be linked to the BAP website.
      1. Include the following information on the website:
         • Link to online registration;
         • Registration information and cancellation policy;
         • Meeting dates and location;
         • Hotel information;
         • All relevant deadlines;
         • Opportunities for participation:
           • Professional session topics
           • Chapter Operations session topics
           • Best Practices Competition sponsored by Deloitte topics
         • Link to Best Practices Competition sponsored by Deloitte topics;
         • Dress code; and
         • Directions and ground transportation cost from airport(s) to hotel.
6. 120 days before Regional Meeting
   1. Host Chapter: Prepare and email first communication inviting chapter members and Faculty Advisors to attend and participate in the regional meeting. (See Appendix G1 and Appendix G2.)
   2. Host Chapter: Prepare and email first communication inviting board members and Advisory Forum members assigned to the regional meeting to attend and participate in the regional meeting. (See Appendix G3.)
      1. Email addresses for faculty advisors, chapter presidents, board members and advisory forum members will be provided by the Executive Office.
7. Early November
   1. Second conference call with Host Chapter(s) representatives, Faculty Advisor(s) from the Host Chapter(s), Chapter Advocate, Conference Planner, and Advisory Forum Liaison. (At least one student from the Host Chapter(s) and the Faculty Advisor(s) from the Host Chapter(s) should participate in this conference call.)
   2. Chapter Advocate serves as the chair of the conference call.
   3. Assign a student from the Host Chapter to take notes, including the To-Do-List for all participants. The note taker will Post to collaborative solution within one week of the conference call and will share it with all members of the regional meeting planning team.
   4. Agenda for conference call:
      1. Follow-up on all open items and To-Dos from first conference call
      2. Discuss preliminary program
      3. Discuss keynote speaker choice – decide on keynote speaker
      4. Discuss professional topics progress and speakers
      5. Discuss chapter operations topics progress and participants
      6. General questions about procedures and responsibilities
8. By November 15
   1. Host Chapter: Email chapters and Faculty Advisors informing them that registration is open and that the link is available on your website. (See Appendix H1.)
   2. Host Chapter: Email Advisory Forum members, Board members, and speakers who will be participating in the program informing them that registration is open and that the link is available on your website. (See Appendix H2.)
9. 90 days before Regional Meeting
   1. Host Chapter: Finalize the keynote speaker and topic.
   2. Host Chapter: Post this information to the meeting template on collaborative solution.
   3. Host Chapter: Send email reminder to chapters to register for the meeting and to volunteer to make a presentation. (See Appendix I1.)
   4. Host Chapter: If a presenting chapter has not registered for the meeting, send an email to confirm that they will be attending and presenting. (See Appendix I2.)
10. 75 days before Regional Meeting
    1. Host Chapter: Send invitation (letter – not email) to guest speakers, professional session's presenters, professional panel participants, etc. confirming that they will speak. (See Appendix J.)
    2. Presenting Chapters: Chapter Operations presentation abstracts due date.
11. 60 days before Regional Meeting
    1. Host Chapter: Decide which Chapter Operations presentations will be made and update the meeting template.
    2. Host Chapter: Contact the local Convention and Visitors Bureau or Chamber of Commerce for paraphernalia to represent the city. Order the items to include in the registration packet. Arrange delivery of those items so they are at the hotel the evening before the regional meeting begins. Suggested items to ask for:
       1. Map of the area
       2. List of local area attractions
       3. List of inexpensive places to eat
    3. Conference Planner: Update meeting template with room assignments for all sessions and post to the collaborative solution.
    4. Executive Office: Send $500 to the Host Chapter to cover miscellaneous expenses.
       1. Host Chapter: Must keep receipts for all expenditures from petty cash and adhere to $500 limit.
12. 40 days before Regional Meeting
    1. Presenting Chapters: Best Practices abstracts due. Abstracts must be received by Chapter Advocate on this date.
    2. Chapter Advocate: Send Best Practices abstracts to Forum Liaison
    3. Chapter Advocate send email to chapters who submitted abstracts to confirm receipt of abstract.
    4. Chapter Advocate send email to ALL chapters stating that if they submitted an abstract and didn’t receive confirmation to please contact Chapter Advocate.
13. 35 days before Regional Meeting
    1. Host Chapter: Send final (third) email to remind chapters to register for the meeting. (See Appendix K.)
    2. Advisory Forum Liaison: Post updates to regional meeting template.
    3. Host Chapter: Post updated meeting template to collaborative solution.
    4. Host Chapter: Post updated meeting template to regional meeting website.
    5. Host Chapter: Start preparing the Regional Meeting Program. (See Appendix L.)
14. 30 days before Regional Meeting
    1. Early bird meeting registration deadline.
    2. Hotel registration deadline to receive BAP conference rate.
    3. Host Chapter: Finalize professional session speakers.
    4. Host Chapter: Assign students to introduce speakers, serve as host for keynote speaker, man meeting room doors so that maximum room occupancy is not exceeded, man registration table, etc.
    5. Host Chapter make an effort to assign seating at as many venues as possible to mix students for better networking with students from other chapters.
    6. Advisory Forum Liaison: Notify Chapter Advocate regarding which Best Practices abstracts are accepted for competition.
    7. Chapter Advocate: Notify abstract-submitting Best Practices chapters whether they qualify for competition.
15. 15. 25 days before Regional Meeting
    1. Best Practice Participants: Inform Chapter Advocate whether they will be competing.
    2. Chapter Advocate: Inform Host Chapter of the schools participating in the Best Practices Competition.
    3. Host Chapter: Update the meeting template and regional meeting program for Best Practices Competition information.
    4. Host Chapter: Post final Regional Meeting Program on website.
16. 21 days before Regional Meeting
    1. Conference Planner: Update meeting template with room assignments for all sessions and post to collaborative solution.
    2. Host Chapter: Post updated meeting template to collaborative solution.
    3. Host Chapter: Post updated meeting template to regional meeting website.
    4. Host Chapter: Finalize regional meeting program.
    5. Host Chapter: Prepare Professional Activity Hours Form.
       1. Form lists all sessions and the length of each session. (See Appendix M.)
17. 14 days before Regional Meeting
    1. Final conference call with Host Chapter(s) representatives, Faculty Advisor(s) from the Host Chapter(s), Chapter Advocate, Conference Planner, and Advisory Forum Liaison. (At least one student from the Host Chapter(s) and the Faculty Advisor(s) from the Host Chapter(s) should participate in this conference call.)
    2. Chapter Advocate serves as the chair of the conference call.
    3. Assign a student from the Host Chapter to take notes.
    4. Agenda for conference call:
       1. Discuss program
       2. General questions about procedures and responsibilities
18. 10 days before Regional Meeting
    1. Host Chapter: Print regional meeting program.
    2. Host Chapter: Print Professional Activity Hours Form.
19. 7 days before Regional Meeting
    1. Host Chapter: Ensure that all speakers have transportation and directions to the meeting site.
    2. Host Chapter: Confirm that items ordered from the local Convention and Visitors Bureau or Chamber of Commerce will be delivered the evening before the regional meeting begins.
20. Evening before Regional Meeting
    1. Pre-conference meeting with Conference Planner, Host Chapter(s) representatives, Faculty Advisor(s) from the Host Chapter(s), Chapter Advocate.
    2. Prepare registration packets:
       1. Regional Meeting Program
       2. Professional Activity Hours Form
       3. Items received from the local Convention and Visitors Bureau or Chamber of Commerce
          • Map of the area
          • List of local area attractions
          • List of inexpensive places to eat
21. Morning of Regional Meeting
    1. Conference Planner: Conduct a walk-through of the meeting with the Chapter Advocate and the Host Chapter(s) representatives.
    2. Host Chapter: Make sure that the Region's banner is prominently displayed throughout the meeting.
    3. Conference Planner: Make sure that the names of the international and regional associates are displayed when all of the participants are together, i.e. during plenary sessions, meals, wrap-up session, etc.
22. During the Regional Meeting
    1. Host Chapter: Man registration table.
       1. Be sure to note the participants in the Best Practices Competitions and Chapter Operations Sessions. A list of all meeting participants is required to be submitted to the Executive Office.
    2. Host Chapter: Man doors to all meeting rooms to be sure that the maximum occupancy is not exceeded. Exceeding the maximum could result in a fire code violation and cancellation of the rest of the meeting.
    3. Host Chapter: Provide timers and door monitors for Best Practices. Assume all Best Practices participants are registered for the conference.
    4. Host Chapter: Assign one "runner" to each meeting room. This person is responsible for reporting any problems to the Conference Planner so that the hotel staff can be notified to fix the problem.
23. 7 days after the Regional Meeting
    1. Send appropriate thank you notes to those who assisted in making the meeting a success.
    2. Executive Office: Send online survey to all meeting participants.
    3. Executive Office: Summarize and forward results to the Host Chapter, Chapter Advocate, and Forum Liaison.
24. 14 days after the Regional Meeting
    1. Advisory Forum Liaison: Send meeting evaluation to Forum Advisory Chair
    2. Chapter Advocate: Remind Host Chapter to complete reports.
    3. Host Chapter: Complete and email reports the following reports to the Chapter Advocate:
       1. Participation Summary with Sign-off (Appendix N1). The Conference Planner will provide the host chapter with a registration report to assist in completing this form.
       2. Host Chapter Summary and Meeting Evaluation (Appendix N2).
       3. Best Practices Competition Winners and Participants (Appendix N3).
       4. Chapter Operations Presenters (Appendix N4).
       5. Petty Cash Reconciliation Form (Appendix N5)
          • Original receipts must be attached.
          • Final reimbursement from the Executive Office depends upon accurate and timely completion of this form.
    4. Chapter Advocate: Sign-off on all reports and send to Executive Office