Establishment of the
IPMS/USA
Convention Management Committee
March 2007
As
you probably know, this year we did not receive a timely bid from the
appropriate region of the country to host the national convention. This
sparked the usual debate on the IPMS/USA Forum as to what the best way to
run a national convention is. Everyone seems to have an opinion, but
unfortunately, for some of the options mention, there are not many facts.
As prices will only continue to rise and we hope to keep the convention
thriving as it has been, it’s time to take a look at how we at IPMS/USA do
things.
I have submitted an idea for an investigative committee to
the eboard which has been approved, whereby a committee will be formed
reporting to me that will investigate options for how to best run the
convention. This committee will be able to look at all options and
possibilities and their attendant positives and negatives. They will also
examine what would be required before any given system could be
implemented, be that a standardized, computer system, a fixed location,
changed tax status, etc. They will not be formulating the system, so
extreme detail is not required, however, some analysis of requirements
would be helpful in deciding and new direction.
The membership of this group will consist of members of
IPMS. I started the ball rolling by recruiting a core group of
experienced convention personnel. Now I would like to open it up to the
general membership for volunteers. As thiis will take at least a few
months, the committee will not really start functioning for some time. I
foresee a total of only 5-8 members to keep the committee manageable. I
will only be an ex-officio member of the committee and a Chair could be
selected from amongst the members. Their report will be advisory only. No
decisions will be made. Those will be left to the eboard or the general
membership as required.
The committee will have its own budget to enable conference
telephone calls and other necessities. It will be encouraged to contact
experts in whatever fields it deems necessary, such as event planners,
computer experts, etc.
I am soliciting participation in the group by individual
IPMS/USA members. You can contact me via the IPMS/USA web site, or at my
snail mail below. After I have all the volunteers it appears I will get, I
will submit their names to the core committee members for them to select
their fellow committee members.
Please take a look at the formal charge to the committee
below.. This is a chance to provide for the future of the IPMS/USA
convention. I hope you will give it serious consideration and decide to
help out.. In any case, thank you for taking the time to look all this
over.
Ron Bell
2nd Vice President
IPMS/USA
Charge to the
National Convention Advisory Committee
According to the IPMS/USA Constitution (section 5),
IPMS/USA is required to have a national convention every year sometime
during the months of July and August. This convention recently has
operated with a budget on the average in excess of $80,000, so it is no
small undertaking for a society of our size. The current system of
operation is to have one chapter or group of chapters volunteer to host
the convention. That chapter or group is responsible for all aspects of
the convention except the National Model Contest, and even with that they
have to coordinate with the National Contest Committee for categories and
space allocation. In any given year if no chapter or group of chapters
steps forward offering to host a convention, a constitutional problem
would result as the convention is mandated by the Constitution but yet the
current operating system would not be able to host the convention. This is
the problem that this committee is to address.
Examples of ways to run the convention that have been
suggested in the past are to continue to use the current system of host
chapter/s, to utilize some form of a National Convention Committee that
puts on the convention every year, or to hire a professional company to
run the show. All of these listed have advantages and drawbacks, but they
have only been studied in an informal or anecdotal manner and there may be
others that have not yet surfaced.
The charge of this committee is to investigate how the
National Convention can best be administered to insure it occurs every
year and runs in an orderly, organized fashion and to deliver to the
Second Vice President within one year’s time of the forming of the
committee a report that will contain a recommendation of the most
effective/best way to administer the National Convention including any
recommended administrative structure, any changes to the Constitution and
By Laws that would be required, any pre-conditions that must be met such
as the existence of any particular computer software, etc, and the
potential location/s for the convention. This may involve creating an
entirely new system and may also include taking a look at our current
practice of rotating the convention around the country. It is important to
note that this report is exclusively advisory. Any final decision/s on any
changes will be made by the Executive Board or, if required, by the
general membership.
The
committee will report to the Second Vice President, will have a chair
selected by the core members of the committee, and will have it’s own
operating budget. It will have free access to any/all past convention
information held by the society as well as past convention personnel who
are willing to participate. It may also consult with any experts it so
desires from outside the society.
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