Professional Event Coordination_ Julia Silvers WILEY

Professional Event Coordination 1123.chfm 9/9/03 9:05 AM Page i The Wiley Event Management Series SERIES EDITOR: DR. JOE GOLDBLATT, CSEP Special Events: Twenty-First Century Global Event Management, Third Edition by Dr. Joe Goldblatt, CSEP The International Dictionary of Event Management, Second Edition by Dr. Joe Goldblatt, CSEP, and Kathleen S. Nelson, CSEP Corporate Event Project Management by William O’Toole and Phyllis Mikolaitis, CSEP Event Marketing: How to Successfully Promote Events, Festivals, Conventions, and Expositions by Leonard H. Hoyle, CAE, CMP Event Risk Management and Safety by Peter E. Tarlow, Ph.D. Event Sponsorship by Bruce E. Skinner, CFE, and Vladimir Rukavina, CFE Professional Event Coordination by Julia Rutherford Silvers, CSEP 1123.chfm 9/9/03 9:05 AM Page ii Professional Event Coordination Julia Rutherford Silvers, CSEP JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. 1123.chfm 9/9/03 9:05 AM Page iii This book is printed on acid-free paper. ϱ Copyright © 2004 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada. 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Requests to the Publisher for permission should be ad- To Larry, my husband, my sailor, my best friend—the one who has made any and all moon hanging possible. 1123.chfm 9/9/03 9:05 AM Page v 1123.chfm 9/9/03 9:05 AM Page iii Contents Foreword—Edward G. Polivka ix Foreword—Dr. Joe Goldblatt, CSEP xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvii Chapter 1 Anatomy of an Event 1 Chapter 2 The Event Element Assessment 27 Chapter 3 Developing the Event Site 63 Chapter 4 Accommodating the Audience 93 Chapter 5 Providing the Event Infrastructure 133 Chapter 6 Safe Operations 169 Chapter 7 Coordinating the Environment 203 Chapter 8 Fundamentals of the Production 231 Chapter 9 Staging the Entertainment Experience 269 Chapter 10 Food and Beverage Operations 293 Chapter 11 Making Event Memories 317 Chapter 12 Ancillary Programs 341 Chapter 13 Vendors and Volunteers 367 Chapter 14 Knowledge Management 397 Chapter 15 Strategies for Success 423 Appendix 1 Sample Client Interview Form 431 Appendix 2 Sample On-Site Change Order Form 439 Appendix 3 Event “Survival” Kit 441 Appendix 4 Sample Site Inspection Checklist 443 Appendix 5 References and Reading List 449 Index 457 vii 1123.chfm 9/9/03 9:05 AM Page vii 1123.chfm 9/9/03 9:05 AM Page iii ix Foreword In 1976 the president of the university where I was teaching asked me to take over the direction of a tourism program that was losing enrollment. His charge was to make the program grow or sign its death certificate. I began researching all aspects of tourism for a program that would use our teaching resources, appeal to our students, and give them some leverage in the job market after graduation. Our research discovered a subset of tourism called meetings, events, conventions, and expositions. At that time this industry was contributing $32.5 billion to the gross national product, but there appeared to be no formal educational path for young people wishing to enter the industry. On closer examination we discovered that most of the people work- ing in the industry had gravitated to it by chance. Some of the most in- fluential people in the industry at that time had been assigned the task of producing great events and outstanding meetings by a boss who did not want to do it himself. We were amazed at the size of the budgets for many of these events. In some cases they exceeded the annual budgets of small companies and divisions of large firms. With little or no formal training available, these people produced creative and memorable events. Over time, and with much trial and error, a recognizable profession grad- ually took shape. We pondered, “Was everything they did intuitive?” Many of the profession’s leading practitioners were surveyed to de- termine what they considered to be their educational weaknesses and what subjects they wish they had studied in school. The information we collected helped us to define our curriculum. As we grew closer to the launch of our program, we discovered two things: ■ Most professionals thought that we were embarking on a fool’s journey. This was one profession that could not be taught in a classroom. ■ There were no books that could be used in the classroom to teach these courses. Times have changed. Meetings, exhibitions, events, and conventions (MEEC) courses now appear in the curriculum of more than 200 univer- sities worldwide. In fact, postgraduate course work in these fields is taught at many of the world’s leading universities. It is quite common for 1123.chfm 9/9/03 9:05 AM Page ix [...]... program, a sports event or a convention event It may be a company picnic, a hospitality reception, a grand opening, or a family reunion It is the job of the professional event coordinator to package and manage that event experience The Role and Scope of Professional Event Coordination 3 Event Solutions Event Types Goldblatt Event Management Subfields Association Meetings/Events Attraction Events (Amusement... Incentive Events College/University Events Concerts Corporate Meetings/Events Exposition Events Fairs or Festivals Fund-raising Events Government/Political Events Military Events Social Events Sporting Events Weddings Civic Events Conventions Expositions Fairs & Festivals Government Hallmark Hospitality Incentive Travel Meetings & Conferences Retail Events Reunions Social Life-Cycle Sport Events Tourism... Statistical Analysis of the Event Industry, Event Solutions Magazine, p 20 Source: Joe Goldblatt (2002), Special Events: Twentyfirst Century Global Event Management, 3d ed (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), p 15 Figure 1-1 Special Event Genres Figure 1-1 provides an overview of the scope of the event genre applicable to the event coordination profession As a professional event coordinator, you may... sponsors—creating an event that delivers the expected experience The professional event coordinator uses a sequential process to consistently produce events of any genre or scope that deliver the intended event experiences: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Conduct the necessary research to determine expectations and create a customer profile of the event attendees or participants Conceptualize the event, assessing the scope of the event. .. parts of the world we are called event coordinators, event planners, event managers, event producers, event directors, event designers, account executives, and countless other monikers My former business partner and I had our own unique titles; I was the Grand Poohbah and she was the Vice Empress The titles may be different, but we are all engaged in the business of creating event experiences that serve... Standards of Western Canada for Special Events Coordinator and Special Events Manager, and the Tourism, Hospitality & Sport Education & Training Authority (THETA) National Qualifications Framework for Event Support in South Africa, as well as the event management competencies outlined in the Exam Blueprint for the International Special Events Society Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP) certification... certification exam The book starts by examining the anatomy of an event to establish the different layers of an event experience and the general process of professional event coordination Based on this foundation, it considers the assessment of the various elements of an event, which can allow the event coordinator to visualize, organize, and synchronize the event s resources and operations through project management... of all the operational and logistical requirements of an event, based on the scope of event elements included in the event design An event, any type of event, is held for a purpose Public or private, commercial or charitable, celebratory or commemorative—events bring people together to share an experience and produce a measurable outcome The event experience may be a civic celebration or a charity... levels, or having an event more lavish than that of a colleague, neighbor, or rival Some clients will be very ex- The Role and Scope of Professional Event Coordination plicit about what they want to achieve with the event; others may not be able to articulate their expectations DEVELOP THE CONCEPT The professional event coordinator must put together an overall picture of the final event, the concept,... layers of multisensory effects are integrated into an event design that is staged and choreographed with precision and polish The best event experience is one in which the mechanics are imperceptible to the attendee and the intended impact is delivered effectively and invisibly The Role and Scope of Professional Event Coordination Professional event coordination is the integrated implementation of . Coordination by Julia Rutherford Silvers, CSEP 1123.chfm 9/9/03 9:05 AM Page ii Professional Event Coordination Julia Rutherford Silvers, CSEP JOHN WILEY &. Professional Event Coordination 1123.chfm 9/9/03 9:05 AM Page i The Wiley Event Management Series SERIES EDITOR: DR. JOE GOLDBLATT, CSEP Special Events: