Congress 2011 – Putting it together

To put together an event of the size of the SCCM Annual Congress (6,000 participants), takes a methodical and detailed approach.  As the famous song by Streisand goes, it takes a lot of effort and must be done bit by bit.  This is my second entry on the 2011 Annual Congress as we prepare for the 40th anniversary celebration event.

Here in San Diego we’ve started with a walk through of the convention center.  With the SCCM staff are the key vendors that support the activity.  These include the decorator (who handles signage, furniture, carpet, drape and exhibit floor set up), the audio/visual company (who handles all of our meeting room A/V and computer needs), and staff from the convention center (catering, security, facility engineers, telecommunications, etc.)

We examine every meeting room and corridor contracted for the event and determine placement of everything from scientific sessions to offices and registration areas. Today’s meeting lasts all day and continue into the evening when we meet for dinner and debrief on all of the day’s activities.  We leave the dinner with both space and responsibilities assigned and lists of details we still must confirm.

On day two we tackle the hotels.  Here we view standard guest rooms and suites, discuss the progress of any planned renovations, plans to accomodate attendees with special needs, determine where the ACCM Convocation will be held, where ancillary meeting functions can occur, renegotiate room rates (as prices have fallen since our contract was made) and discuss sign placement within each hotel.  In the afternoon we return to the Convention Center to detail the location of each and every sign and banner in that facility and what text it should contain, as well as determine what our floral needs will be.

Day three we head out to inspect possible off site locations for the myriad of dinners and social events associated with the Annual Congress.  It’s a whirlwind tour organized by the local convention and visitors bureau (CVB) based on a list of events that occured at prior SCCM meetings.  Typically the local bureau will select several possible sites for each event on our list.  We visit each one and look at the facility and discuss with the proprietor menus, pricing, etc.  This year’s meeting is made more complex by the 40th anniversary celebrations that adds additional events to our list.

On Day four we meet with local destination management companies who provide everything from busing  to the many tours and social activities offered by the Society as part of Congress.  We ust select one company from the several we have interviewed.

On the fifth and final day, meetings are held with the CVB staff who have arranged for items such as temporary personnel to assist in registration, housing reservations systems and other local promotions/welcome signage.

In all, it has been a very successful site visit and all of the items on our ‘to do’ list have been achieved.  We go home with a list of detailed notes, check lists, responsibility assignments, and photos/videos to help us remember what we have seen and decided upon.  The 40th anniversary meeting plans are in place.  We’ll spend several months finalizing small details, making last minute changes to those plans based on the circumstances at hand, and getting members registered and ready for the 2011 Annual Congress.  We hope to see you there!