Page 40 - BigConversationsDismantlingRacism

Note: There is a cost for a website domain, as well as printing flyers, programs, facilitator
guides, name tags, etc. We were fortunate to have committee members donate many of
these things. We were also able to get a small grant from Middleham and St. Peters to cover
some of the expenses.

Event Logistics

As the day of the event arrives, it will take “all hands on deck” (and then some) to get
everything accomplished. From liaison with the staff of the program site, to making sure
everything is in place, to setting up for registration, greeting presenters and attendees, setting
up snacks and drinks for attendees, passing out materials and finally putting everything back
the way it was before you started!

There is really far too much for the planning committee to do. It’s important to enlist as
much help as possible and make sure they understand what is required. Example lists of
specific logistics responsibilities for the day of the event are presented in attachment (11):
Game Plan for Setting Up and Taking Down.

Registration and Small-Group Assignment

Registering attendees as they arrive for events is extremely important to your program. The
build-up events inspired trust and formed relationships among residents while collecting
registration data with contact information that would make outreach for the upcoming Big
Conversation more effective. Doing registration right is a difficult task. If not set up
correctly, it will slow the program down, frustrate the attendees, and miss valuable
information for future sessions and communications. We were fortunate in that one of our
planning committee members was adept at database management, networking laptop
computers together on the day of big events, and consolidating and verifying the registration
database after the event.

Steps Action(s)
Establish Database As a basis, our registration lead copied the Excel registration
and Provide database that was populated with participants from build-up
Instructions events. Excel column filters made it easier to search and find a
given name. A special “Status” column helped. A concise write-up
of the process and sample spreadsheets was provided to each
registrar at least a week in advance of the scheduled event.
Computer All registrars had Windows computers, but some couldn’t bring
Requirements theirs to the event so we provided laptops for them. Registrars
were asked to install the sample spreadsheets and work through
the process. The final spreadsheet version (with updated records)
was sent to all closer to the event.

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