Pre-conference Duties

As the Vice-President/Program Chair (VP/PC), your most immediate duty is to plan the next regional spring meeting, which is two years away.   While two years may seem like a lot of time, you should begin now to systematically set the program.   It is a big job, particularly on the years that the Southern Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (SAAHP) meets alone.   On years the SAAHP meets with the SGSA/AAMC (Southern Group on Student Affairs of the Association of American Medical Colleges), you will have significant help from the SGSA.  Setting the long program can be a wonderful learning experience if you remain ahead of the curve.   The below dates serve as guidelines for accomplishing the many tasks ahead of you.  E-mail proved to be the most efficient way to communicate.  These dates are guidelines, not hard and fast deadlines, and are based on a late March or early April meeting.  Site selection is made by the SAAHP membership, typically at the most recently passed business meeting. 

- 1 June 

Select committee members to assist with program planning and identifying possible hotels to visit.  You may find it helpful to contact a local SAAHP person and a person at the medical school for help in locating possible hotels for the meeting.  When you visit these hotels, you should also plan to visit the medical school (s), assuming there is one (or more) in the convention city. 

- 1 July  

Site visit to hotel.  The SAAHP provides funds for the VP/PC visit.  Soon after the hotel is selected, the VP/PC will be asked to sign a contract with the hotel, guaranteeing a certain number of hotel rooms and meals.  There may be penalty clauses in the contract for failure to meet these numbers, so be careful in making the final adjustment.  Read the contract carefully. 

- 1 July - 1 January
 
In this time frame, choose a theme for the conference as early as possible and begin to organize a program around that topic.  Ask for help from your Program Committee and other SAAHP members.  Make a list of speakers and moderators and begin to get sponsors for the meals.  A number of the offshore schools and professional testing services have traditionally provided sponsorship.  It is never too early to get people on board to help you.  Something like an Outlook distribution list should be started so that you can readily communicate with people who have agreed to help you with the program.

- 1 January – 30 June 

Set 1 January as a goal to have your first draft of the program.   You may 
still not be sure of topics and certainly you will need to select personnel to fill positions such as moderator or panelist.   

By the time the National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (NAAHP) meets toward the end of this time period, which is typically only 9 or so months before the SAAHP conference, you should be fairly comfortable with the programs.  Topics should be settled upon and only remaining personnel need to be chosen for moderators and panelists.  The NAAHP is a great place to find the remaining people to help you. At this meeting, the most active members of the SAAHP will be present.  Prepare a report to be presented to the SAAHP Board.

Ask the President to place you on the program of the SAAHP breakfast to announce the program to all attendees.  At the NAAHP convention, confer with the secretary of the SAAHP who will be helping you with a variety of advertising and registration issues.  In this conference, you might want to decide such things as who will make the name tags, the list of participants, who will obtain Chamber of Commerce or tourist bureau materials (which describe entertainment in the region), and what mailing lists you will need.  NAAHP and the appropriate state advisor organizations (e.g., Texas Association of Advisors for the Health Professions [TAAHP] and Health Professions Advisors of North Carolina [HPANC]) can help in these matters.  Requests for the mailing labels should be made as close to the mailing date as possible so that it is up-to-date.   Lists may need to be narrowed to those most likely to attend and to eliminate duplications across lists.

- 15 September 

Have the secretary send email or other correspondence to the membership announcing the meeting.  Advertise the meeting on healthprof and the electronic NAAHP Net.  Post the program on the SAAHP web site.

- 15 November 

Have the secretary send a second notice of the meeting.  Remember, everyone is busy and a second reminder never hurts. 

Contact all participants on the program.  Some may have made commitments they no longer can keep.  Slight program adjustments may be necessary.   Attach to your email the program as it exists and have each participant check their entry for accuracy.

- 15 January 

Have the secretary send the first registration notice.  Make sure that you know the Federal I.D. number for the SAAHP.  The treasurer has that information.  The registration should include a reduced-fee early registration option (e.g., three or so weeks before the conference) to give people some incentive to register early.   Payment should accompany registration; at the SAAHP level, we are not equipped to handle either billing or credit cards.  Agree in advance with the secretary how special requests will be handled.   Make the registration form (link) as specific as possible to give you the best estimate for food.  Most hotels require a tweaking of food numbers within a week of the event.  Again, advertise the meeting in appropriate media.   Send a special registration form to each speaker and sponsor so they can be included in the data base  (This form would be considered special since you likely will not be asking for registration fees if the speaker is just presenting and leaving the conference.   Sponsors would certainly not be asked to pay registration fees).   Arrange for directional signs (e.g., SAAHP Registration), provided either by hotel or by meeting planners.   The hotel will want to know specific information about several programmatic issues: (1) times of sessions, meals, and breaks, (2) when specific rooms are needed, (3) room arrangements – numbers of seats and style (e.g., theatre or lecture, (4) audiovisual requirements, (5) location of registration desk including numbers of tables, (6) location of exhibits, and (7) final confirmation of menus.
 
- 25 February – 1 March
 
Verify with the secretary that speakers, conveners, and other program participants are registered.   Send second registration notices to those members who have not responded. Determine how you are going to pay for services at the hotel.  Some hotels will permit you to establish credit with them so that you do not have to pay for services when the meeting is completed.   The treasurer will have the information you need to fill out such credit information.   Have as many sponsors as possible pay directly to the hotel, which will simplify justifying the final bill the hotel presents to you.  Provide person preparing nametags and folders the names of any attendees (e.g., exhibitors, sponsors, speakers) who aren’t on the registered list.   

- 1 March 

Put finishing touches on the program and publish it.   See that packets for conference participants are prepared.  The packets should contain the following:  (1) folder or envelope with SAAHP label on front, (2) Tourist information, (3) Program, (4) Nametag with name label on front, (5) Attendee list – in addition to name and affiliation, include email address, and (6) Receipt for registration fees.   Have some blank packets for those who register at the door.   Make a list of resolutions thanking those who helped you with the program.   These will be presented at the business meeting.  Also, prepare a list of things you want to accomplish as President.  These items will also need to be presented at the business meeting. 

- Late March  - The SAAHP meeting

Arrive at least one day early for the meeting and encourage the person handling registration and one other assistant to do the same.   There will be many last minute issues with which to deal. 
 

Immediate Post-Conference Duties (You are now President of the SAAHP)
 

• Thank all program participants for their help with the SAAHP meeting.
• Send a letter of congratulation to those members elected to SAAHP positions and thank those who ran but did not make it.
• Begin thinking of ways to implement your agenda as President.