Hosting a Colloquium
Colloquium on Conservation of Mammals
in the Southeastern United States and
Southeastern Bat Diversity Network
LOCAL COMMITTEE PROCEDURAL MANUAL
Download updated version PDF or
DOC. Updated: February, 2006
Program Committee: Troy
L. Best, Michael L. Kennedy, Steve Castleberry, John Nelson.
February 2006
This document summarizes procedures for organizing and hosting annual
meetings of the Colloquium on Conservation of Mammals in the
Southeastern United States and the Southeastern Bat Diversity Network
(Mammal Colloquium/SBDN). Procedures listed herein are not intended to
be interpreted as "rules and regulations," but as helpful commentaries
provided by persons who had previous experience in organizing meetings.
It is our intent that this manual will be revised and expanded whenever
appropriate.
The Program Committee will work closely with the Chair of the Local Committee on all basic
aspects of the annual meeting. The Program Committee is charged with oversight of the general
format of the annual meeting, as this reflects decisions of participants at large. The Program
Committee advises the Chair of the Local Committee on format of the annual meeting via this meeting
guide and the Local Committee is expected to stay within the general limits set forth. It is the
role of the Chairperson of the Program Committee to facilitate the job of the Local Committee Chair
and act as a liaison between the Local Committee and the Mammal Colloquium/SBDN. Finally, it is
expected that the Program Committee will maintain an active role in soliciting meeting sites and
interacting with the Local Committee and appropriate officers of the Mammal Colloquium/SBDN.
Although the Mammal Colloquium/SBDN does not have an established geographic rotation for hosting the
annual meeting, every effort will be made to move the annual meeting to various locations within the
southeastern United States to facilitate attendance by all members.
The current Chair of
the Program Committee is:
Troy L. Best
Department of
Biological Sciences
331 Funchess Hall
Auburn University, AL
36849-5414
Phone: 334/844-9260
FAX: 334/844-9234
E-mail: besttro@auburn.edu
Members of the Program
Committee that worked to provide this document include: Troy L. Best,
Michael L. Kennedy, Steve Castleberry, John Nelson and Tim Carter. This
document is a modified version of guidelines originally compiled by
the Southwestern Association of Naturalists.
I. PREPARATION OF AN INVITATION TO HOST AN ANNUAL
MEETING OF THE MAMMAL COLLOQUIUM/SBDN
Members
who wish to host an annual meeting are asked to submit their
invitation in writing to the Chair of the Program Committee no later
than February 1st, 2 years before the meeting they wish to
host. The invitation should include information about facilities
available at the host institution (including handicap accessibility),
proposed dates of the meeting, approximate housing and meal costs,
registration fees, and other pertinent details, such as travel. The
invitation should indicate that tentative agreements have been made
that guarantee availability of necessary facilities. Information
contained in this guide should be considered when preparing your
invitation.
Invitations
from institutions having appropriate facilities will be presented to
the Board of Directors and general membership at the Annual Meeting 2
years before the proposed meeting. If multiple invitations are
received, the membership shall vote to determine which invitation
shall be accepted. If no invitation is received by the February 1st
deadline, it is the responsibility of the Program Committee to locate
an appropriate host institution for approval by the membership.
Individuals offering invitations should be present to invite and
respond to the Board of Directors and Membership or, if necessary,
should be represented by a well-informed spokesperson.
II. ANTICIPATORY ARRANGEMENTS
Before agreeing to
host the annual meeting:
Determine probable
dates of the meeting--meetings usually are held on the second or
third Thursday (SBDN) and Friday (Mammal Colloquium) in February.
Ascertain that
adequate housing, rooms for sessions, facilities for meals, and
other such requirements will be available during the meeting. Be
sure that housing for participants is available for Wednesday,
Thursday, and Friday nights. Although the meeting usually begins on
Thursday and ends on Friday evening, some participants may want to
arrive early or wait until Saturday morning to depart.
Ascertain that
other events are not scheduled at the same time or, if other events
are scheduled, that they will not cause overcrowding of facilities.
Ascertain that
enough members and/or other persons are available to do the work of
the Local Committee, and that they actually and effectively will do
the work if an invitation to host the meeting is accepted. If
possible, use of convention center staff should be avoided to hold
down costs of the meeting. Hosting a meeting is both a service to
the Mammal Colloquium/SBDN and an opportunity to showcase your
institution.
Obtain approval
and commitment from administrators of the institution.
Notify the Chair
of the Program Committee and that you wish to host the meeting prior
to extending the invitation.
III. PRELIMINARY ARRANGEMENTS
As
soon as an invitation to host the meeting has been approved:
Elect a Chair of the Local Committee, and select other members of the
committee.
Have the event added to the institutional calendar.
Make all necessary reservations. In particular, the following should
be considered:
Board of Directors Meeting.
The meeting is held Thursday morning.
Registration.
The foyer or other available space of the main facility in which
business will be conducted should be used for registration. If
allowed by the host institution or facility, signs clearly depicting
the registration area should be posted on the major avenues leading
to the meeting locality. The registration area should be open
Thursday (e.g., 10AM – 6PM) and at least until noon Friday.
Participants seeking to register at other times should be advised as
to whom on the Local Committee to contact.
Meeting Room.
The meeting room should be large enough to hold all. This room
should have microphones, PowerPoint capability, video projectors (if
needed), screens, platform, and podium, and should be capable of
being darkened. In addition, rooms will be needed for preview of
PowerPoint presentations and poster sessions (display boards should
be provided by the host institution).
Lunch. The
student union cafeteria usually is convenient for this purpose.
Many members like to go off campus for lunch, and directions to
nearby establishments should be provided unless specific
arrangements have been made with food services personnel of the
student union cafeteria.
Refreshment Area. A room or rooms located near the technical sessions or
vendor area can be reserved as a refreshment lounge (coffee, tea,
juice, soft drinks, water, etc.). If possible, consider providing
food such as donuts, cookies, muffins, etc., with the refreshments
for breaks. Care should be taken to avoid interference with paper
presentations.
Field Trips.
If field trips are to be offered, provisions for leaders,
transportation, and lunches must be made.
Special Events.
Organized but informal social gatherings help participants to meet,
renew old acquaintances, and socialize. Some kind of “mixer”
is desirable for Thursday evening. Refreshments to be offered at
such functions can include both nonalcoholic and alcoholic beverages
(in compliance, of course, with local policies and laws). For at
least the first “mixer”, the majority of beverages
should be provided at no cost to participants. A “cash bar”
for more expensive drinks, however, often is unavoidable. Excessive
consumption of alcoholic beverages should not be encouraged.
T-Shirts.
T-shirt design must be completed before the meeting announcement is
mailed.
IV. CALL FOR PAPERS AND
PRE-REGISTRATION
The term "Call for Papers" is a general term used to request the submission of abstracts for both Oral and Poster presentations that will be give by the attendees during the meeting.
Preliminary
information regarding the meeting should be prepared and e-mailed to
individuals on the mailing list of the Mammal Colloquium and to the
membership of SBDN, by the Local Committee, by the first week in
November. The Treasurer will maintain a current e-mailing list for
the Mammal Colloquium/SBDN. Additionally, the Chair of the Local
Committee should be sure that the “Call for Papers” is
placed on the web page and, if possible, to allow electronic abstract
submission and pre-registration for the annual meeting.
An example announcement (available asPDF or
DOC ) can be provided to you for modification
and reuse. Please contact one of the program committee members for an example of past announcements.
The “Call for Papers” should include:
Dates and location of the meeting.
Address, phone and fax number, and
e-mail address of the Chair of the Local Committee and Chair of the
Program Committee.
Deadline for receiving abstracts
(this date is to be set by the Local Committee).
An area to type the abstract.
This must be clearly marked to insure that all abstracts are of the
same size. Print size should be 10 or 12 point.
Authors should indicate whether they are a student presenter or not.
If they are presenting an oral or poster presentation.
An area for the title, addresses
of authors, appropriate section, paper/poster, and audio-visual
equipment. With most presenters preferring to using PowerPoint
presentation, it is critical for the Call for Papers to indicate
whether PowerPoint presentations will be required, the format for
presenters to bring their presentation (e.g., Mac or PC, floppy,
zip, or CD-ROM), and the version of PowerPoint that is supported in
ALL technical session rooms.
Instructions and suggestions to
contributors.
A pre-registration form with all
options regarding housing, meals, field trips, etc., and their
associated costs.
A list of local motels and camping
areas, their phone numbers, addresses, and tentative costs.
A legible map of the
campus/meeting area.
Addresses where collecting permits
and fishing licenses for the area may be obtained.
Explanations of any unusual
regulations or opportunities pertaining to activities of
participants or families of participants.
V. PROGRAM OF SCHEDULED PAPER
SESSIONS
Allow 15 minutes
for oral presentations (about 12 minutes for the presentation and 3
minutes for questions and answers). Concurrent sessions are
preferable to rejecting presentations or shortening break times.
Strive to schedule all presentations submitted and to keep break
times long enough for adequate interaction of participants.
Provide a time for
viewing poster presentations that will allow presenters to be
available for discussion and to answer questions. For example, allow
30 minutes for interactions with presenters before the morning or
afternoon session when no oral presentations are ongoing, or during a
long break between oral-presentation sessions.
The program of the
technical session must be prepared and e-mailed (within 2 – 3
weeks of the meeting) to participants by the Local Committee. The
printed program should include schedules, titles of papers, authors,
time and place of each presentation, and a map of the campus/meeting
area. The Chair of the Local Committee should have the schedule
placed on the web page of the SBDN.
VI. FINAL PROGRAMS AND PACKETS
Packets of material
should be prepared well in advance so that one can be given to each
registrant. These might include:
An official program of the
meeting.
Abstracts of presentations.
Map of campus/meeting area, with
meeting and parking facilities marked.
Map of city, with motels or other
places of interest marked – these often can be obtained from
the local Chambers of Commerce, etc.
Maps of field trips, if
appropriate.
Announcements regarding special or
social events.
Departmental or institutional
information.
Name tags for pre-registrants
should already be completed and in plastic holders within the
packet. These should be large enough to be read from several feet
away and should include name of institution (if applicable) or city
and state if not affiliated with an institution.
A receipt of fees paid should be
included for pre-registrants.
VII. STUDENT AWARDS
Students wishing to compete for
the oral or poster presentation awards should be
given the
opportunity to indicate their desire to be considered on the
pre-registration
form. Selection of
the evaluation committee and student award recipients are done by
the Mammal
Colloquium/SBDN Program Committee.
VIII. REGISTRATION
Registration (and
also the mechanical labor of arranging activities, mailing notices,
reproducing programs, and clerical assistance) is handled by
specialized institutional personnel at certain large universities,
but, at most institutions, these tasks must be performed by the Local
Committee. The suggested registration procedure is as follows:
Station 1.
Initial sorting of the stages of registration and payment by
participants. This could be handled with signs directing people to
various stations, but we all know that few people, particularly ones
who have driven all day, read signs.
If a person is registered and
paid, direct them to station 4 for their previously prepared
registration packet (this would include their receipt).
If a person is pre-registered but
not fully paid, send them to station 3 to pay and receive a receipt.
If a person has not registered,
send them to station 2.
Station 2
Serves as a place for a person to receive registration materials,
fill these materials out, and pay. After completing these tasks the
person is instructed to go to station 3.
Station 3
Serves as the place to pay registration and other fees and is a place
where people paying at the meeting will receive receipts. After
completion of these items, the person is sent to station 4. Name
tags can be produced here or at the next station.
Station 4
Serves as the place at which all participants receive registration
packets. This allows for the list of registrants to be compiled at a
single station. Because this station receives people from other
stations, it should be operated by more people than the other
stations. A general sign-in list of participants should be available
during the meeting for those interested in seeing who is present.
IX. FIELD TRIPS
Organized field
trips should be at the option of the Local Committee.
X. DUTIES OF CHAIR OF LOCAL
COMMITTEE
1. Make all preliminary arrangements
(II).
2. Prepare information outlined in
III.
Either appoint a member of the
Local Committee or organize the program personally. This will
entail arranging papers according to topic, determining what kinds
of projection equipment to have available, and training assistants
to operate the projection equipment. The official program must be
prepared for e-mailing (IV).
Decide on format and registration
contents of packet (V), and arranged to have materials reproduced.
Student labor can be employed to stuff packets during the week
preceding the meeting.
Arrange for an institutional
official to formally welcome the Mammal Colloquium and SBDN during
the opening ceremonies. Because the meeting consists of two groups
(Mammal Colloquium and SBDN), and some people may attend only one
part of the meeting, there should be a formal welcome at some level
on both days of the meetings.
Arrange for someone to preside
over each technical session.
Appoint persons to receive CDs, to
operate projectors, and to be responsible for turning lights on and
off during technical sessions.
Backup equipment for PowerPoint or
other audiovisual equipment should be available.
A PowerPoint trouble-shooter
should be at each technical session. Technical problems will happen
and should be handled quickly and effectively.
Appoint persons to operate
registration tables, and develop and practice procedures that are to
be used in registration (VI). Remember, no one likes to stand in
line, and their first impression of your institution (other than
that based on the difficulty they had finding the building and
locating a parking place) will be based on the registration line!
Insure that persons who arrive by
plane or bus are provided transportation.
Appoint 1-2 persons with a vehicle
to be on stand-by for emergencies (for example, to pickup someone at
the airport, to go to the store to get supplies, to get backup
equipment).
Appoint one or more persons to
organize and lead the field trip(s).
Assign members of the Local
Committee the responsibility of being available at all times (for
example, at the registration tables) during the technical sessions,
meeting, and meals to welcome late arrivals, help with any problems
that might arise, and keep current the information (telephone
messages, etc.) posted on bulletin boards.
Determine the following:
Number of pre-registrants
Number registering at the meeting
Total attendance
Field trip attendance
Pay bills after meeting and
prepare a balance sheet to be sent to the Treasurer and Program
Director. If any money remains from the registration fees, transfer
to the Treasurer of the SBDN to be held to support future Mammal
Colloquium/SBDN meetings.
XI. ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS
If you are going to have a Logo for the meeting and T-shirts, start early
with an artist. Logos often take much longer to create than anticipated.
Keep everything simple and as
flexible as possible. Arrange everything well in advance, but be
able to “play it by ear” and make changes in plans as
problems arise.
Encourage everyone to
pre-register. Pre-registration can be facilitated by allowing
registration over the World Wide Web and by making late registration
costly (e.g., increased registration cost for late registration).
Food Service establishments usually require at least 2 days notice
regarding the number servings to prepare. It is difficult to
make arrangements for meeting rooms, food for breaks and socials,
etc., if you do not know how many participants to expect.
Let everyone arrange his/her own
lodging unless the institution is willing to take on this
responsibility.
Plan for nearly every possible
problem. This can be attempted by considering what went wrong at
other meetings you have attended and thinking of ways to avoid such
problems or how to quickly deal with them should they occur. If
your contingency plans are well developed, no problem should be too
traumatic. Keep in close contact with the Chair of the Program
Committee.
Try to have some “slack”
time in each technical session, and stay on schedule.
Be sure to have extra food,
beverages, etc. Mistakes happen in registration, and numerous
non-registrants invariably show up.
Be sure to get enough name tags in
advance.
Be sure moderators of technical
sessions understand their responsibilities (i.e., show up on time,
pronounce names correctly, keep people on schedule).
In each room where papers are
presented, have:
Pointer
A RELIABLE remote control for projector and computers so they can be controlled by the presenter from the podium
- Ideally a monitor on the podium or close by so presenters do not have to turn around to view slides. Running presentations from a laptop on the podium works very well and allows presenters to control presentation easily (10.B.) This may require an extra long video cable to go from the laptop to the projector.
Reading light on podium for
referring to notes
Extra projector bulbs and slide
trays, if slide projectors are used.
XII. T-SHIRTS
The sale of
T-shirts with a local logo and advertisement of the Mammal
Colloquium/SBDN meeting have become popular and profitable. Solicit
orders and payment with pre-registration information. Consider
ordering a few extra T-shirts for sale at the meeting.
Various local
committees have sought out their own artists and printers. However,
others (because of good quality) have used:
Susan E. Smith
1430 Shalanwood Lane
Placentia, CA 92670
714-528-9136
Contact with the
T-shirt designer and supplier should commence in autumn prior to the
meeting.
XIII. GUIDELINES FOR PREPARATION OF
POSTERS
Should be readable from a
distance of 2 meters.
Title should be capitalized with
lettering at least 2 cm high (72 pt).
Authors and institutional
affiliations should be in upper- and lower-case lettering at least
11 mm high (42 pt).
Text lettering should be at least
5 mm high (18 pt) with a line thickness of at least 1 mm.
Information should be well
organized and concisely presented. Most posters include the
following sections: Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods,
Results and Discussion, Conclusions, Literature Cited.
Keep written text to a minimum.
“Bullets” and short phrases are effective. Use no more
than six illustrations (large graphs, flow charts, diagrams, and
photographs). Keep captions and legends short and informative.
XIV. NOTIFICATION OF PAPER SESSION
PARTICIPANTS AND CHAIRS
As soon as the
program is completed, an e-mail notification should be sent back to
each participant indicating:
The paper number
The time of the paper
The day and date of the paper
An example
notification follows:
Dear ________________________,
Your paper is
number ___________ and is scheduled to be given<
at __________ on
______________.
We will be
looking forward to seeing you there.
Mammal
Colloquium/SBDN
Potential chairs of
each session should be contacted before the program is initiated to
be sure of their attendance and compliance.
XV. ESTIMATING COSTS AND SETTING PRICES FOR EVENTS
Costs to the Local
Committee can vary greatly with the resources of the institution and
generosity of the community. The Chair of the Program Committee will
keep on file the balance sheets of several previous meetings, and
these can be made available to the Local Committee. Try to keep
costs to participants at a minimum to encourage attendance by
students. Members of the Mammal Colloquium/SBDN comprise a rather
informal group. However, try to set registration, room, and meal
costs to provide some meager profit for the society. If possible, it
would be best to set the costs for registration, etc. to be divisible
by 5 to reduce the problem of having sufficient number of one-dollar
bills for change in the registration area.
XVI. HANDLING FINANCES
The SBDN Treasurer
will advance the Chair of the Local Committee seed money if
necessary. A checking account should be established at a local bank
as:
Mammal
Colloquium/SBDN Local Committee
c/o Dr. Name of Chair
Department Name
Institution
City, State, Zip
All bills regarding
publication announcements can be paid after the meetings. The Chair
of the Local Committee should make arrangements for payments. A
general balance sheet should be prepared and copies sent to the
Treasurer (with extra monies) and the Chair of the Program Committee.
XVII. EMERGENCY SITUATIONS
Be prepared for a
variety of emergencies. Provide a 24-hour telephone number where the
Chair of the Local Committee or some other responsible person can be
reached quickly during the meeting. The telephone number should be
provided on the sheet for the “Call for Papers” and in
the program booklet. Participants should be informed about the
location of a notice board on which notes and letters are posted. On
this same board, local emergency numbers (e.g., hospital, fire,
police) should be provided along with directions to the nearest
telephone. These numbers also should be provided in the program
booklet.
Mammal
Colloquium/SBDN does not carry liability insurance to cover accidents
associated with the annual meeting. Discuss insurance requirements
with your university or institution. Often a special rider is
prepared for the university’s / institution’s liability
insurance. Consult with your institution’s risk-management
officer for insurance and other concerns.
XIX. POST-MEETING OBLIGATIONS OF
LOCAL COMMITTEE
As soon as
possible, send electronic files of the Call for Papers, as well as
any information that you feel may be helpful to individuals wishing
to host future annual meetings (e.g., examples of major success or
major flops), and to the Chair of the Program Committee.
XX. MATERIAL CHECKLIST (FOR
CONVENIENCE)
Software and the version of that
software for PowerPoint presentations, computers and/or slide
projectors. One for each technical session and preview room.
Lighted podium in each technical
session.
Projector screens for each
technical session and preview room.
Timers for moderators of technical
session.
Cash box with lock.
Vehicles for transportation of
participants and errands.
Extension cords for projectors.
Typewriters or computers with
printers for registration area (preferably 2)
Microphones for technical sessions
and business meetings.
Two receipt books for registration
area.
Plastic name tags.
Alphabetical list of
pre-registrants for registration area.
Minor first-aid equipment.
Message and announcement board.
Programs.
Money receptacles for mixer.
Plenty of ice chests and ice.
Pointers for technical sessions.
Packets for registration.
Plenty of cash for change in
registration area.
MAMMAL COLLOQUIUM/SBDN LOCAL
COMMITTEE stamp for registration area.
Supplies for poster sessions
(including materials for those presenters who forgot their own
supplies).
Signs and posters for rooms,
directions, etc.
