Purdue Conference Division to fill campus for summer
April 25, 2013
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Jim
Weisman, director of the Boiler Vet Camp, uses a conference coordinator to
streamline the application and registration processes and to organize housing
logistics. The camp is for middle and high school students interested in
veterinary medicine. (Photo provided)
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As campus winds down from the academic semester, Purdue's Conference Division prepares to bring more than 100 groups to campus over the summer.
Conference coordinators are available to help both Purdue groups and outside associations host a variety of events -- educational conferences, youth sports camps, meetings, information sessions, and mega-conferences, such as the 800-person Great Lakes Research Summit and the 5,000-member Presbyterian Youth Triennium.
The division hosts about 650 groups each year, including many large and lengthy summer conferences. Approximately 75 percent of all conferences are returning customers, including the Indiana Extension Homemakers Association's Home and Family Conference, which is in its 100th year as a Purdue conference.
LaTayna Greene, youth conferences coordinator, says the division is a "one-stop shop" for the needs of any type of conference or event.
"From throwing colored powder on runners for a charity race to coordinating the Presidential Trustee Scholars Reception, we do it all," Greene says.
Jim Weisman, director of student services and clinical assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, directs the Boiler Vet Camp for middle and high school students interested in veterinary medicine. Although the summer camp's curriculum is run through the college, Weisman uses a conference coordinator to streamline the application and registration processes and to organize housing logistics.
"I've gotten to work with a couple different coordinators," Weisman says. "They're always very attentive, and willing to help us out so that we're successful."
This year, the division is also placing a greater emphasis on participant safety. Safety RULES, a free training session, is offered May 15 and 22 for conference customers hosting youth camps or events. More information on Safety RULES is available at www.conf.purdue.edu/safetyrules.
A former teacher and principal, Greene understands the importance of youth safety in determining the success of an event.
"Safety really does rule whether or not your event is successful," Greene says. "You can have an event that is inspiring and well-run, but if even one child is harmed or hurt then all the 'good' of your event is lost."
Planners are also able to solve problems that occur the day of the conference, such as unlocking doors, fixing technical issues and knowing emergency procedures. In the event of an unforeseen crisis, conference planners must be the "calm in the eye of the storm," according to Erica Wilson, conference coordinator.
Wilson once helped a civil engineering student group to coordinate a concrete canoe competition that took place after several days of heavy rain. Recognizing a potential complication, she ordered gravel and straw bales the day of the contest and prevented the vehicles towing the heavy canoes from becoming stuck in the saturated ground.
"I think it’s so important for our coordinators to be at an event," Wilson says. "We know what to do and whom to call if things don’t go exactly as planned."
A professional conference coordinator is prepared for challenges, Wilson says. Because of that, she says the division allows clients to spend their time focusing on providing quality event content and building relationships with attendees and not the details of logistics.
For Weisman, event assistance was needed when a large portion of his campers forgot to bring toiletries. Instead of having to leave campus or move around his own team, Weisman was able to rely on his conference coordinator to run the errand and buy products for his campers within the first day.
Having someone who knows to get straw on a rainy day or simply thinks through every detail and potential problems of an event is one of the main benefits of hiring a trained coordinator, Greene says. For her, getting to see events unfold and recognizing all of the minute details that complete a conference are the perks of her job.
"After I've done all the work, all the communicating, and all the planning, I love seeing how it turns out," Greene says. "To see everything finally come together is rewarding to me."
For Wilson, the reward comes from the re-energizing power of conferences.
"People go to an event where they're surrounded by their professional peers and inspired by new ideas. All of a sudden the job they've been in for 10 years is exciting again," Wilson says. "Attending a conference always makes me appreciate my job and how I help to get people excited about a group, a sport, or their job."
Writer: Rachel Florman, rflorman@purdue.edu