Bid:

Submitting a bid to the section is a way to volunteer your chapter to be the host chapter for the Sectional Conference in either the spring or fall. Remember that there is a Regional Conference in the fall during years there is not a National Convention. Regional Conferences act as the Sectional Conference for that term. Bids for location for a Sectional Conference are voted upon one year before the conference is to take place and the date of the conference will be decided within two months of receiving the bid and in cooperation with the Sectional Chair. The bid is a short narrative explaining the budget, activities, service project(s), leadership seminars and other reasons your site would be the perfect location for the Sectional Conference.

An effective presentation would include a list of proposed activities that your chapter plans on hosting.The list should be as extensive as is reasonably possible. Include a variety of social gatherings, closing activities, themes, and banquet ideas. You do not have to use all of the ideas you submit, but the more ideas you can offer, the more excited the Section will be to visit your campus. Narrowing down the list can be accomplished after the bid has been won.

Next, if you decide to host a service project(s) as a part of the conference, list several different project possibilities, especially something that can be done due to inclement weather.The project(s) should be meaningful and something the other chapters will benefit from either emotionally or physically. Also, this might be an opportunity to get a larger group together to do a large-scale project your chapter may not be capable of pulling off on its own. More on that later.

Leadership seminars are very popular activities to add to the itinerary of your conference. Sometimes, focusing on one particular aspect of APO, such as membership retention or risk management, can be an effective way to plan these seminars. Another can be a varied selection from which attendees can chose.

The deciding factor of whether or not a chapter wins a bid to host a Sectional Conference many times can be decided on the budget and projected cost of attending. Remember to remain as realistic as possible. This is not a moneymaking venture for your chapter, but you do not want to end up in the red or owing money to your college or university. This will be discussed further later. Just keep in mind that the people who will be attending have a personal budget similar to yours and they also have to travel to your chapter and, for many chapters, this is a large expense all its own.

The final part of the bid should be any last words on why you feel your chapter should be selected as the host of the next Sectional Conference. This should include a short wrap-up of the highlights of the rest of the bid already discussed: low cost, location, and projects. Assure the rest of the section that you and your chapter are ready for the invasion of between 120 and 225 brothers on your college campus. When a chapter works together as a team to host a conference, things work out better than if one person were to try to plan a conference on their own.

Once the voting delegates have selected your bid, the real work begins. If you planned your bid well, that will save you some legwork. The Chapter Executive Committee should meet and select a Sectional Conference Chairperson to lead the way. This person should recruit several other brothers as part of their committee (see sample organizational chart).

First off, remember the budget your chapter presented in the bid you made. That is the budget that the chapter must work with and try to stay within it. It would be a good idea for your Chapter Executive Committee to review the budget right away to insure the realism of it. If your committee feels that the budget is no longer realistic, you need to call the Sectional Chair and Conference Committee Chair immediately and get at least the Chair's approval to adjust the budget. Remember that drastic changes to your budget could result in the loss of your hosting responsibilities, so adjust wisely. Since initial start-up costs are necessary before any income is collected from registration fees, the host chapter may obtain an advance of $100 from the sectional treasury. The funds may be used for photocopying and postage for mailing the conference registration packets and other supplies needed. The advance must be repaid.

Now the planning begins to happen. The first item to brainstorm ideas for is the type of weekend you are looking to provide to your brothers. Decide how you are going to carry through the theme used for the presentation of your bid. Also, decide on the activities your chapter is providing, the banquet details, the service project(s), etc. Once the budget is set and the activities are decided on, it is time to send out a promotional piece to the other chapters. This promotional piece can be a flyer, brochure, letter, or anything else your chapter can design. Try to be creative to motivate all the other chapters to attend your Sectional Conference. The promotional piece should go out no later than six weeks prior to the conference. The earlier it can be sent out, the better. Remember that we are all busy. Also remember to send the information out to the members of Sectional Staff, and the Regional Director. The promotional piece should include the following:

• Title of the conference
• Date and location of the conference
• Cost per person
• Written directions and maps to your campus and registration site
• Mileage and travel time estimations from all the schools in the section
• Deadline for registration monies to be to the host chapter
• Housing availability (free and hotels)
• Service projects
• Activities
• Leadership seminar topics
• Registration form

Keep it short and simple but make sure to include as much information as you can. Do not forget to include a registration deadline. This deadline is the last date for registration forms to be sent in with fees for those wishing to attend without a late charge. It is suggested that the deadline be at least 2 weeks prior to the conference. Now, this is the time to sell the chapters on why they should come to the conference. Don't forget about your own chapter during the promotional stage. Keep your members informed at all times of the plans for the Sectional Conference.

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Activities:

The social events are the most popular events at the Sectional Conferences. It is an opportunity for all the chapters to get to know one another. The first night, there is often a "Wait for Tech to Arrive" icebreaker gathering. This can be run in conjunction with registration and also should allow for people joining in at any time. A couple of suggestions are: a town- or campus-scavenger hunt, a theme mixer or "Marry Your Brother Party."

On Saturday, there should be various activities. The most popular event is a banquet on the last night of the conference. There are endless possibilities on how to approach the banquet. Western Michigan University had a retro party with the theme "APO through the Decades" with prizes for the most original outfits. Another successful approach was a murder mystery dinner. Also just a semi-formal dinner can be the most successful banquet. Be creative!

The banquet is a great time to recognize the members of your chapter for the hard work that they put into the conference, especially your Sectional Conference Chair. You can also thank any sectional staff, citizens from the city or university, other chapters and any businesses (including the banquet hall) that may have helped you host the conference. A word to the wise: keep these presentations relatively brief. The last thing you want is 150 bored brothers. Banquet has also become the traditional time to do role calls from the chapters represented at the conference. Do not forget to include chapters that are present that may not be from Section 54. Some chapters have, in the past, had a competition for roll calls. If you are interested in having some sort of competition, you may want to inform the chapters in your mailing previous to the conference.

Alcohol has become a very big subject of contention all over the country, not only in Alpha Phi Omega. The position of Alpha Phi Omega is any event that a pledge is required to attend must be alcohol-free. Although conference attendance, in the case of most chapters, is not required, pledges occasionally attend. The risk for underage drinking is high. This situation brings into question the amount of liability your chapter is willing to assume. The safest solution is to have a dry conference as well as a dry banquet. Not only does it save your chapter from the worries of controlling underage drinking, it also prevents your chapter from feeling responsible for your brothers' drinking too much and driving to their destination for the night. If you decide to have alcohol at the banquet, hire a licensed bartender. That will remove some of the liability from you and your chapter.

After all of that concerning the alcohol policy, what about the Man Mile Award? The Little Brown Jug has been presented empty for several conferences. any restaurants do not allow you to bring in outside alcohol. Presenting an empty jug would save you the expense of filling it with bar liquor, as well as the other liability issues already discussed above.

Sunday morning is the final farewell. A goodbye activity is a great idea, and if it can be done in conjunction with breakfast for those who have to leave early for a very long trip home. Traditionally, many will meet at the nearest Denny's or Big Boy for food and leave from there. Some times the host chapter coffee and donuts for a farewell on campus.

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Sectional Service Project

If you decide to do a service project as part of the sectional conference weekend, it should be meaningful to the brothers that attend. A popular idea among chapters is to work with youth. Some chapters have done projects in cooperation with their university or city. The service project can be a showcase of projects your chapter participates in or a project with an agency with which your chapter is close. There are two things to remember: there will be many brothers who will want to participate, but there will also be many who will not be able to participate due to a late arrival the night before. You can always turn to Sectional Staff for advice on what kind of conference will be plausible.

Leadership Seminars

The leadership seminars are opportunities for us to grow in our leadership skills. This should be an opportunity for members to take part in some sort of leadership training. The seminars can be in the form of one speaker or it could be several breakout sessions. For example, you could coordinate a miniature LDW or have leaders from the community, faculty or staff from your college or university or even some of your own brothers lead discussions on: membership retention, public relations, motivation etc. Talk to your Sectional Staff to discuss what may be good issues to discuss throughout the section. For trainers, ask for individuals who may have expertise in the topic areas that you would like to have presented. For example, the local Scout Executive may be able to lead a group in a worthwhile discussion about fund raising or public relations and publicity. Also remember to ask your Sectional Staff to help lead seminars!

Sectional Business Meeting

The Sectional Business Meeting is the primary reason conferences were started. It is a very important tool to the section. It is an opportunity for the chapters to vote on issues and the future conferences. The best time for the sectional business meeting is usually in the afternoon. Many who attend a conference have to drive long distances after work or school and may not arrive until very late Friday night. To make sure that the biggest percentages of brothers who want to attend the business meeting are able, it is best held after lunch.

With this still in mind, you need to find a room with a capacity to seat 150 - 200 brothers. There should be a head table and seating near the head table for voting delegates (2 per chapter). The sectional business meeting is usually around 2 hours. Plan a buffer for any kind of reservations that might have to be kept for a sectional service project or the banquet that evening. Finally, the office of Sectional Chair must be chosen annually by popular vote of the chapters in the section during the business meeting at the spring sectional conference. The Regional Director (or his/her designee, in the event of his/her absence) will conduct the election.

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Registration Packets

The registration packets should contain all the necessary information needed for the weekend. Some things that you will want to include are:

• Weekend agenda
• Map of the area and campus
• Leadership seminar topics
• Emergency phone numbers
• Housing
• Meal tickets, party favors, souvenirs, etc.
• Agenda or other information for the sectional business meeting
• Maps to locations where events will be held
• Parking information
• Any other information that is important to your event

Keep the registration packet simple. Most people will grab the agenda and file it in their bag. Make sure you have all the important information in it so your guests can refer to it. When scheduling events, try to allow plenty of time for travel.

Souvenirs

If your chapter decides to offer a souvenir, please keep the following items in mind. It is a Sectional Staff recommendation that the souvenir be inexpensive and an additional cost above and beyond the registration fee. Try to remember that if your chapter purchases more souvenirs than ordered, your chapter will absorb that loss if you are unable to sell them at the conference. Therefore, ask for a count of souvenirs as a part of the mail-in registration.

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Meals

Meals are going to be the largest expense as well as your guests' biggest expense. The more meals your chapter can provide the better. It is almost a given that every conference has a banquet on Saturday night included in their fee. The meals at the banquet should include vegetarian and kosher alternatives for those with special requests. Many chapters also supply Saturday breakfast and lunch and Sunday breakfast. This is an option for you to consider.

Housing

Housing becomes an issue with some chapters due to the rising costs of hotels. What many brothers have become accustomed to is "free housing." "Free housing" is housing provided by brothers of your host chapter. Many hotels will offer a discounted block of rooms. If you are able to get a discount, make sure you notify the chapters of the costs of several hotels, as well as any discounted hotels incase of a sell out. Requests for free housing should be included as part of the mail-in registration form. This will give you some time to estimate how many brothers your chapter will need to house.

The University

You must notify your college or university when you decide to host an event on your campus. It will save you and your committee headaches during the event. You should discuss things such as parking, use of classrooms, etc. This is an excellent opportunity to solicit the help of your faculty advisor. This process needs to be started as soon as possible. You may need to allow for time needed to process any paperwork or other requirements of the university. Also, your chapter may be covered by different types of liability insurance as a blanketed association of the university as long as you follow certain guidelines.

The Sectional Conference

With all of the planning done, now comes the real event. You have completed many months of hard work that will benefit your chapter now that it is time for the conference to happen! Remember that you are the host. Seeing to the happiness of your guests will make the weekend even more enjoyable. Get to know the Sectional Staff as they register if you have not already met them. They will be your support group behind the scenes. If you need anything, Sectional Staff is always ready and eager to help. Also, do not forget your own chapter. Let the members get involved and help.

Registration is the most hectic process of the conference.It is a good idea to contact the other chapters' presidents beforehand to find out their chapters' approximate arrival time. This will help you gauge how long you should keep registration open. One thing to remember is to keep plenty of change at registration since some people will be paying at the door. Keep a detailed record of who is there for financial reasons and number counts for various activities. Registration is also the time people will be signing up for service projects, and limited leadership seminars. Do not forget to hand out the registration packets that your chapter put together with the details of the events of the weekend. After registration is closed, there should be a designated place or person(s) that people can go to if they arrive on Saturday. Provide an emergency number in confirmation of reservations. Remember that registration can go on all weekend. Another thing to consider is the banquet. Some brothers will only come for the banquet and activities afterward. You do not have to advertise this price, but it is a good idea to have a pro-rate ready in the event someone would inquire.

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Closing the Books

The event is over and the last step is to close the books. You should try to have your bills paid no later than 3-4 weeks after the conference. Then you need to balance your books. The section will give you about $500 leeway on the bottom line. If you lose $500, your chapter is responsible for the loss. If you make more than $500 on the conference, your chapter will turn the additional profits over to the section or divide the money between the chapters in the section evenly. As stated before, Sectional Conferences should not be treated as fund-raisers. Sectional Staff will work with you to decide how the money should be divided between the chapters, if that is the choice of the section when more than $500 is made. If your chapter has a loss of more than $500, your chapter must contact the Sectional Chair immediately. You will need to present all of the financial records to the section for a review and assessment for why you have such a big loss. After that determination has been made, the section has three options:

• Charge each chapter a portion of the loss based on attendance.
• Your chapter takes the loss.

The items that will need to be turned into the Sectional Staff is your financial statement and the total number that attended the conference, broken down to the number from each chapter.Sometimes, the Sectional Chair will want these attendance figures at the close of the conference.

Remember that the Sectional Conference is a time for all of the chapters in the section to get together for Leadership, Friendship and Service. Be creative. The examples and suggestions here are just a guide. Many chapters over the years have gone with other suggestions and had very successful conferences. Have fun with the planning. Good luck on your next Sectional Conference!

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Sectional Conference Sample Budget
Income

Registration Fee: $4000.00
200 brothers @ $20/brother
175 brothers @ $23/brother

Total Income: 4000.00

Expenses

Banquet: $1400.00
200 brothers @ $7/brother

Printing and promotion: $500.00
Social Events: $700.00
Sunday breakfast: $150.00
Postage: $200.00
Give-away (t-shirts): $1000.00
$4/shirt

Total Expense: $3950.00

Total Surplus or Deficit: + 50.00

Remember that if you make the cost of the give-away an additional option rather than a part of the actual registration fee, you can put that surplus money into the banquet or have a lower registration fee.

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Back Dating Schedule:
To help in an impossible task, use this schedule to keep stress to a minimum. If you can keep within the suggested timetable, things should run like a well-oiled machine.

Event
One year, 6 months
Your chapter has decided to put in a bid for the Regional/Sectional conference. Now is the time to get a crew together and do the foot work. Contact local hotels, banquet halls and most importantly, your college or university to make sure that hosting a conference will be possible and also to get a fair idea of when might be a good time. Most businesses and large institutions run on an 18-month calendar and should be able to tell you at the least, what dates are bad.

One year, 1 month
One month until you make your bid! You should have the following, listed most important to nice if you have it:

• Location (duh!)
• Possible dates (narrow it down to 2 or 3 weekends).
• Approximate cost of the conference for attendees - don't under-sell too much!

This means you must ave a rough budget like the one above.

• Hotels - cost, distance from conference activities
• Other housing options - "free housing"
• Funding options - will you be fundraising to offset costs?
• Travel options - is car the best way? Plane, train or canoe?
• Distances
• Service project and/or seminar options?
• Theme!

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You won the bid!
One year
But don't sit on your laurels now! You will never believe how fast the time will fly before conference time is upon you! These tips will help you: make sure you have younger members involved deeply in the planning of a conference. Nothing can screw things up faster than having a senior responsible for everything and then have that person graduate. Share and delegate responsibility. There should be at least two people that know everything going on and one person everyone knows to contact. Meet often. This is the best way to assure accountability on individual assignments. Set deadlines.

Nine months
It's time to go to a conference! Or two, or three!! Promotion is the key at this point in the process of putting on your conference. Invite folks from nearby Sections, visit chapters and don't forget to invite the brothers from your own conference! Turn in info to the national office for publication in the Torch and Trefoil.

Six months
The light is at the end of the tunnel. Conference time is not far away! You should be in the middle of the term or right before summer BEFORE the conference. You should have the following completed:

• A tight budget.
• Contracts signed with banquet hall and any other facilities that require such arrangements including DJ/band, caterer etc.
• Agreement with hotel or housing provider.
• Invitation list.

Three months
It is either the end of the semester or mid-summer before your conference. Congratulations! You're doing a great job! There are only a couple loose ends to tie up before your guests arrive.

• Have your actives pay registration for the conference now, if possible. This will help your solvency to pay for any caterers or deposits that may need payment upon arrival back to campus.
• Any materials the speakers need copied or distributed should be turned in at this time.
• Materials list for service projects, if applicable, should be turned in at this time.
• A reminder notice, if money is available, might be mailed out at this time. Use the Section listserve!
• Invite national and regional, even international staff members. They get many invites in a year, but if you are first, you may be the conference of choice that year. Invite your alumni. You may even think of sending these as early as the nine month mark!
• Make your assignments for active's responsibilities during the conference.

Two months
Send your mailing! Wait for the money and registrations to POUR in. Wait for the problems to arise. They will, but if you have been able to stick to the plan, you should be in fine shape, no matter what.

One month
It's almost here! Confirm that all chapters from the section have responded to your mailing. If not, CALL THEM! Don't count on email. If you have difficulty contacting anyone, contact your sectional staff conference advisor. In Section 54, that is a duty of the Service Chair. It is suggested that you set an on-time registration deadline one month before the conference, with obvious case-by-case exceptions, such as a chapter not receiving their mailing or chapter financial difficulties. Also, if you have a t-shirt or special item on order, most companies need a count by this time to order, so don't guarantee delivery to any late registrants past the one-month deadline.

Zero!
The event is here, have a great weekend!

+ One week
Don't forget to thank everyone who helped you with the conference. Send thank you cards to speakers, the caterer, the hotel, the university, the chapters that attended and staff that helped with preparations or during the conference. Send reports of service projects to the organizations for whom you did service. Write up something with pictures for the Torch and Trefoil and your history file at the National Office. Get together with your brothers at home and celebrate a successful event.

+ One month
Make sure to forward a financial and attendance report to the sectional conference advisor and the section chair for their records.

Ruth E. Brown
Edited - 1999

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