Q&A: Usher Association's Thelma Goodwin

By Joan Drammeh

Goodwin receives an award for her years of service.

Thelma Goodwin says the role of church usher is similar to the role of meeting planner in many ways. An usher ensures perfect order is maintained at all times during a service. They prepare the church for guests by being the first to arrive and the last to leave and see that pens, literature and envelopes are available. Most importantly, a church usher helps make a service a success by putting a congregation in the right frame of mind to receive a message. Goodwin is a conference planner who was drawn to both planning and ushering.

“You’re sitting in church and you see some folks are singing,” says Goodwin, 60, who joined the Eastern Region Church Ushers Association in 1970. “You see the deacons praying and the deaconesses assisting with communion. You see the ushers in the background and you just sort of take to one thing or another and for me it was ushering.”

Goodwin was led to the ministry of ushering at the age of 18 and recruited into meeting planning at 51. Although her introduction to the respective services was very different, she says the calling was much the same. When her usher’s association requested she plan their annual conference, she rose to the challenge and has planned the event for nine consecutive years. Already familiar with planning events, Goodwin was well prepared to take on the responsibility of securing accommodations for conferences.

But in February 2010, Goodwin met a force she’d never encountered in her years of planning — snowmageddon, the nickname given to a snowstorm that crippled much of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic region. Nearly half of the 400 attendees at the 53rd Eastern Region Church Ushers Conference in Hartford, Conn., Feb. 5-6, were delayed returning home due to 90 centimeters of snow that blanketed the region. With the one-day delay, the original 383 total room nights booked turned into 450 and attendees grew restless.

How did the snowstorm affect your conference?
We knew before leaving Washington, D.C., that we could be stranded in Hartford. We saw the weather forecasts and planned for the possibility of it snowing in Hartford but the blizzard didn’t reach Connecticut. When we left Washington, D.C., there was so much snow on the ground and another foot fell while we were away. The news had predicted it and it came true. I went prepared to stay an extra day or so.

How many other attendees were delayed by the storm?
Half of us were delayed at least a day. Most people had flights that were supposed to depart on Sunday. By that Saturday we were informed that all flights had been canceled, not because of the weather in Hartford, but because the majority of us had traveled from Virginia on up to Delaware.

Did you have to deal with everyone’s questions and concerns?
It wasn’t too bad. When we had to extend room nights, I was only responsible for extending the reservations for the comp rooms for our officers and special guests. All of our attendees made their own room reservations in the contracted room block. When I got the details on rates before the conference, I sent the details to the state presidents who passed the information onto their members. Some states traveled as a group with a transportation chairperson who made all the arrangements for travel. That chairperson was responsible to go up to the desk and make arrangements for whatever their group needed.

Was it difficult to book the extra room nights?
I made the arrangements with the hotel and they were so accommodating. The Marriott Hartford Downtown just worked with us so well and extended our group rates throughout whatever period we needed. We weren’t able to come home on Sunday so we made the best of it. We put together a Super Bowl party and had a wonderful time. We just picked up a few things, ordered some pizzas, had some sodas and just all gathered and watched the game.

Why did your association decide to meet in Hartford?
We were fortunate enough to utilize the Marriott Hartford Downtown the first year it opened in 2006. We were one of the first groups to hold a conference there. We had such a wonderful experience due to the hotel and its wonderful staff and beautiful facilities. We also enjoyed working with Phyllis Anderson, the national sales manager at the Hartford Convention and Visitors Bureau. She made sure we had everything we needed. Between Phyllis and the Marriott, everything went well.

Which Hartford attractions drew you to the destination?
As a group we generally don’t get much opportunity to tour cities. Some of the members venture out but generally with a two-day conference you don’t get a lot of time. So the destination’s attractions generally don’t factor into our decision-making. We look into information like transportation and proximity to airports and make it known to our members, but it does not factor into whether or not we select one facility over another.

The hotel facilities, meeting space and accommodations are the main factors that must meet our standards and desires. Then of course, once we ascertain that a destination has these things available we look at the cost. Sixty percent of our membership consists of senior citizens who are living on retirement incomes so reasonable rates for guest rooms are very important to us. Getting the meeting space complimentary also helps.

How did the Hartford CVB help?
It was wonderful. I contacted the CVB to see what materials they could provide the convention and they were very helpful and offered us bags and brochures. With the economy, the CVB couldn’t provide some of the items that we were able to receive in 2006. Last time the CVB was able to give us bags, pens and brochures. This time they were not able to give us pens but the CVB still helped us save. In other destinations we’ve had to order bags and pay to have our information printed on them. But the Hartford CVB saved us by letting us use their bags. The CVB actually delivered the materials to the hotel and we didn’t have to wait or anything.

What was the conference agenda?
The meeting was basically a business meeting. We had different offices report like the national board of directors. We planned for the upcoming national convention. We also solicited ideas for the organization on the state and regional levels and we looked for ways to improve.

The deadline to register for the conference was Dec. 31, 2009. Did you meet your registration goal?
We did not have a necessary goal. Normally, our registration is close to 400 and we definitely came within our expectations. The majority of registrants took advantage of the pre-registration. We had 30 people register onsite.

The ushers association was organized to break down discrimination. Is that still a part of your mission?
It is part of our mission, but as time goes forward, that’s not our main goal. Our main focus now is an organized way of ushering in churches. We are also about community involvement and education. Our mission has expanded.

Does the conference provide training for ushers?
We actually have a national school of ushering that provides a 7- to 8-month course where people are taught how to usher. One of the afternoon sessions at the conference was a school of ushering workshops but that was optional.

You said that ushering is a ministry. Can you explain that?
In church we keep order and make sure everyone is comfortable. It is such a wonderful thing because the love that we have for one another makes you feel like you aren’t a stranger anywhere you go. You may not know anyone when you walk in, but church ushers never meet a stranger. We also gravitate to one another and we have wonderful relationships. When we get together for the conference, in addition to taking care of the business, it’s just a great fellowship.

Could you describe the training concept of the silent uniform method of ushering?
We believe that church services should be orderly and that there should be limited movement and minimum talking so as not to distract from the service. In that regard, we usher solemnly, everything is by signs. We use hand signs that we learn in school. When you are on the floor there is no talking; we are given an assignment; you carry out your assignment; you are relived. All of this is done through signs.

Any advice for fellow meeting planners?
I would say, anytime traveling, we never know when emergency situations will arise. I recommend that travelers always plan for a trip to last a couple days longer than they anticipate. That means bringing extra money or credit cards that you can put a room on. When you are prepared you aren’t as stressed by the situation.