Summary of the 98th Annual AASG Meeting, Santa Fe, New Mexico
June 3-8, 2006
Conference Summary
The New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources was pleased to host the 98th Annual Meeting of the Association of American State Geologists in Santa Fe, New Mexico in June of 2006. As any state that has hosted such a meeting in the past knows, there is a tremendous amount of work involved in organizing these meetings.
Two things helped us out in our organizational effort. First, communication was assisted by the fact that the State Geologist of the host state, New Mexico, and the AASG President were the same person. Usually these two roles are filled by different people, and additional coordination is required.
Second, we have a relatively large agency, and were able to enlist about 25 of our staff to assist in the organizational effort. We did not form committees to handle various aspects of the conference. One person served as the main conference coordinator. While Peter Scholle (2006 AASG President) organized the technical content of the meetings, Doug Bland was responsible for managing fundraising, budget, logistical arrangements, field trips, guest trips, registration, member notification, and development of conference materials. This was basically a full-time job for a number of months leading up to the conference. Most of the rest of those involved did not dedicate large amounts of their time; some were only given the task of organizing one field trip, which took several days to two weeks of their time. Others were enlisted to come to Santa Fe during the conference to play logistical roles. However, one logistical person, one database person, and one computer programmer each dedicated a total of several weeks to the effort.
Website. We developed a website for dissemination of information and registration. Virtually all AASG members, associates, honoraries, and other professionals now have access to e-mail and the internet, so this was by far the most efficient way to communicate with those planning to attend the meeting. Only a couple of people didn’t have access and required hard copy mailings. Our website provided information and web links on Santa Fe, the La Fonda hotel where the meeting was held, the field trips (there were 12 of them), social activities, business meetings, transportation, and links to other area activities.
Attendance. The number of conference attendees has fluctuated greatly in the past, so estimating the number that would attend was an educated guess. Our estimation was 160, and we were close with the final tally at 166. This included 5 professionals from New Mexico, but did not include 17 other organizers from our group who attended various portions of the meeting or field trips.
Lodging. We weighed several factors when deciding where to hold the conference. Our organization is located in Socorro (which was in fact the site of the meeting the last time New Mexico served as host – in 1955), but we thought that Santa Fe would be a more popular destination. Located 2 hours north of Socorro by car, Santa Fe required additional travel costs and slightly more complicated logistical arrangements due to the distance. Fortunately, our conference coordinator is based out of Santa Fe, which helped considerably. The other disadvantage of Santa Fe is the fact that it is an expensive place. In spite of the fact that it is a premium hotel, we chose the La Fonda hotel as the location for the meeting because of it’s history, amenities, and central location in the heart of Santa Fe. The contract was signed 3 years in advance, and we were able to negotiate a good rate for one of the most expensive hotels in Santa Fe of $119 per night. Our worries that folks would stay at a less costly hotel off-site proved unfounded. In the end, it was clear that virtually everyone agreed that the additional costs of holding the conference in a popular destination and great hotel were worth it.
Travel. The closest major airport to Santa Fe is in Albuquerque, one hour to the south. Airport shuttles were available, and we arranged with Hertz for special rental car rates from either the Albuquerque or Santa Fe airports. We also developed road logs for 2 different routes for those driving from Albuquerque that included scenery, geology and history.
Meals. We did not include breakfast in the conference registration fee due to the significant additional cost. However, with 2 restaurants in the hotel and a host of other options nearby, it did not seem to be an issue. Also, each day we provided breakfast foods at early morning breaks during the business meetings, and many chose to make that breakfast. One business lunch, the opening reception with heavy hors d’oeuvres and one off-site dinner were included with the registration fee. The cluster lunches and banquet dinner were charged at cost.
Registration. We established 3 levels of registration fees: Early Registration (before 3/15), Registration (3/16 – 5/1), and Late Registration (after 5/2), with reduced fees for registering early. Our motives were to encourage people to register early enough so we could better estimate head counts for meals, transportation needs, expenses, etc. Big surprises right before the conference would have been difficult to accommodate, and made estimating expenses difficult. Most people did use early (60%) or regular (30%) registration with less than 10% registering late (including on-site), so this was successful. Keep in mind the percentages so as not to overestimate revenues. We estimated fewer would register early, so our revenue projections were a bit high.
Our agency was in the process of developing an on-line mechanism for ordering and paying for bureau publications, so we decided to develop our own AASG web-based registration form that could be filled out and payment made, knowing this format could be translated to our publications effort. It did succeed, and we saved several thousand dollars because we didn’t use an outside company to manage registration. However, it was a lot of work, and required several staff to develop the form, manage the database, and handle receipts and funds. I would not recommend this unless you already have something similar set up, have lots of time and bored staff on your hands, or have an ulterior motive as we did. Unfortunately, our form is unlikely to be easily transferred to other states due to varying computer and web set-ups, but if anyone wants to consider this, let us know and we would be happy to discuss it with you to see if it can be adapted to fit your system. Illinois and Washington recently hired outside companies to manage registration, and I’m sure they would gladly provide guidance if you choose to go this route.
E-mails. A few informational e-mails were sent out, and several reminder e-mails were sent to notify folks of upcoming registration deadlines. This was easy, and as mentioned earlier, almost everyone now has e-mail, so very few hard copy mailings were necessary. The AASG website has lists of members, associates, and honorary members with contact information that can be used. Check to see that it is up to date.
Managing Money. We set up a separate account in our university accounting system solely to receive and disperse funds related to the AASG conference, and did not use a checking account as some other hosts have done in the past. AASG is a non-profit organization, so if you set up a checking account to manage your funds, be sure it is a non-interest bearing account so that AASG doesn’t need to worry about federal income tax. The AASG corporate federal tax identification number is 43-6058913. Be sure the account is in the name of AASG-200? (the year of your conference), not the host.
Many organizing agencies (like us) can not purchase or sell liquor. If you manage funds through your agency, this will be a problem. However, AASG can pay for liquor, so we instructed our caterers to separate out liquor and provide a separate bill for this, and then used individual checks from AASG to pay liquor bills. These charges are therefore not included in the detailed AASG account that follows, because it only includes items processed through our university account. It has been included in the final accounting of expenses for the conference.
Sponsorship. This is likely to be one of the largest unknown factors. Deciding on registration fee amounts requires estimating income and expenses several months in advance of the meeting – a daunting task. Outside sponsorships can significantly offset expenses and help to hold down registration fees. I recommend starting fundraising efforts at least 9 months prior to the meeting. Even though many won’t commit until much closer to the meeting, some will, and you may have a better handle on how much you are likely to bring in from the others. Your best friends are most likely to come forward. For some states, this will be the extractive industries, for others it may be other agencies or project partners. Our experience is that industry is cutting back on what they provide, and most are now reluctant to cover liquor. We found that perseverance is imperative; virtually no one committed to sponsorship from just an initial letter. Phone calls with follow-up e-mails to contacts you know personally are the most successful, and it often requires many such contacts. Ultimately, we collected about $20,900 in cash, sponsored events, and services. Most of this was from government agencies and other organizations. Donations ranged from $500 to $5000. Because at least half of this was committed before we established registration fees, we were able to hold those fees down in spite of the high cost of conducting the conference in Santa Fe. Without this high level of sponsorships, services (particularly liquor) would have been reduced, and registration fees would have been higher.
Speakers and hospitality suite. We found that attendees like high-quality food, accommodation, entertainment, and lots of things to do, and seem willing to pay a little extra for it. Evening speakers were well-received, and most folks took advantage of organized activities. We chose to have a hospitality suite, which was located in one of the complimentary sleeping rooms (this one was a suite) provided by the hotel based on sleeping room bookings. Because it was a sleeping room, we were able to provide our own food and beverages. Had we used one of the hotel public meeting rooms, we would have been required to use hotel catering to provide drinks and snacks. Free liquor was provided only in the evenings, and was supplemented by soft drinks and limited snacks. It was popular, even though we had a modest selection of drinks and did not offer high-end brands in an effort to hold down costs. Total out-of-pocket costs for the hospitality suite were under $500. We also had a separate hospitality suite (at no additional cost to us) for spouses/guests to use during the day, without food or beverages. I don’t think it was used so would not bother with that.
Field trips and guest trips. The Santa Fe area has so much to offer in the way of diverse geology, scenery and culture that we decided to set up a lot of field trips, including 2 pre-conference, 2 post-conference, 1 mid-conference, and 7 guest/spouse trips. The costs to conduct the trips were designed to be covered by the registration fees for each trip. No trips were cancelled, and they were popular. Trying to guess ahead of time how many folks would sign up for the trips was virtually impossible, and transportation was the biggest cost variable. Some trips were limited due to logistics, and two filled up and were closed. In the end, some trips operated at a loss and some at a profit, but it basically evened out overall. Bottom line – if you have interesting places to go, people will sign up.
Financial Information.
Summary. Total expenses for the conference amounted to $72,998.47. Revenues comprised of registration fees and sponsorships totaled $71,173. These totals do not include about $5,000 in expenses that were covered directly by outside entities as sponsorships. The exact amount in this category is not known as in some cases the sponsors organized and paid for the services themselves, and we do not know the exact costs. The revenues do take into account, however, $1,425.00 in registration fees that were refunded due to participants being unable to attend the conference or participate in events for which they had previously registered and paid. Also included in the above expenses is $5,797.74 in expenses covered by AASG, most of which was alcohol.
The above revenues and expenses figures yield a final conference deficit of $1,825.47. The NM Bureau of Geology covered this cost so that the AASG did not incur a debt for the conference. In addition, we contributed an additional $1,000 to the AASG.
Some expenses incurred by the organizers were included as conference expenses under the AASG account, such as pre-conference travel associated with organizing the conference, expenses and per diem for New Mexico staff who attended the conference, and registration fees for New Mexico personnel. These expenses totaled significantly less than the amount raised through sponsorships, so no registration fees paid by out-of-state conference attendees were used to cover expenses incurred by New Mexico staff. A significant portion of the sponsorships was used to offset social event and hotel catering costs for the group at large.
Please refer to the detailed financial sheets that follow for more information.
Things we learned. It takes more time to plan a conference like this than you think. Don’t put things off until the last minute. Hiring an event manager or a company to manage registration (may be the same company or person) can make your life much easier, but may be costly. Carefully evaluate your anticipated expenses, and recognize that you will likely spend more that you initially anticipate. Have a cordless microphone that can be passed around the room during meetings for audience comments, otherwise it will be difficult to hear them. Make sure you have someone who can run your electronics (projectors, microphones, computers, etc.), and can handle outside folks who bring you a powerpoint for their use. Always tell the bus drivers to be there to pick up your group at least 20 minutes before you need them – they will say they plan to arrive early, but often don’t. Not everyone agrees on this, but in general it seemed that starting trips, particularly guest trips, no earlier than 8:30 is a good idea. If you have an opening reception with appetizers, many folks will make this their evening meal. So, order plenty of food. We ran out of the 2 most popular (and most expensive) items, and were fortunate to be able to order more of them in the middle of the reception. Not all kitchens can handle this. People like to be entertained, so get creative with fun activities. We elected not to have dancing at any of our events, and that seemed to be OK, although many past conferences have included dancing in at least one event. Most of these folks go to lots of meetings and conventions, so unusual and fun activities are what will set your meeting apart, and these activities are what they are most likely to remember. Good luck!