Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium was used for the conference's general sessions in order to accommodate the conference's more than 20,000 high school-aged students and their chaperones.

Event: The National Catholic Youth Conference drew 21,000 youth to Indianapolis last November. “We talk about it as three days of catechism or teaching, prayer and worship, recreation and service,” says Gross. “We try and engage people in multiple ways in multiple levels, strengthening their Catholic identities and understanding of our Catholic faith.” The organizers found the city and host diocese such a good fit, they signed up to bring the conference back for the 2013 biennial event before the 2011 event took place.

Location: NCYC has very specific needs in a host city: covered stadium with minimum seating of 20,000 people; a convention center with 750,000 square feet of exhibit space within walking distance, if not connected to, the stadium; 5,500 quad-occupancy hotel rooms within 20-30 minutes of the center; and a diocese willing and equipped to host a group of that size. “It’s not about being in an exciting destination—not to say Indy isn’t exciting—but it’s about driveability. When attendees can bus or drive in cars and vans, we see attendance increase,” Gross says.

Return Trip: Returning to Indianapolis in 2013 has its advantages. “A lot of adults and group leaders have been once before, so for them, it will eliminate the first-time jitters; they’ll know the layout, where the restrooms are,” Gross says. It also allows the planning team to improve problems faced during the previous event.

Trade Show: The event’s trade show, called Thematic Park, was designed to be an interactive venue with a central service area to puts the event’s theme, “Called to Glory,” into action. “It showed how to take [lessons] home and replicate them at the local level,” Gross says. In the past, attendees built a Habitat for Humanity house in the exhibit hall. At this event, students could participate in sports, walk through a disability simulation, sculpt clay at the Creative Corner, or sit at a coffeehouse and listen to Catholic musicians. “It connected to what was happening in our general session in Lucas Oil,” Gross says. “It was always meant to be interactive, and never meant to be exhibit booths in a 10×10 line.”

Face-to-Face: “We draw young people from across the country, and we hear, most poignantly, that they’re the only Catholic in their community,” she says. “They come and are able to see they’re not the only Catholic. [They are] one of tens of thousands, who come together and gather once every other year, who are making the tough decision and living counter-culturally.”

Security: In response to the recent child abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops developed a charter to protect young people that all Catholic dioceses in the country have to be in general alignment with. It includes background checks, training to recognize and predict signs of abuse, and steps needed to protect against any such behavior. NCYC did background checks on every speaker and performer who took the stage. “We’re still working on it,” Gross says. “Is it overkill or are we striking the right balance? It’s a major expense—not that finances make the decision—but we didn’t used to budget for this, but now we do.”

| IN GROSS’ WORDS |

When I’m on-site at an event:

I can’t live without my co-workers, including our very dedicated vendor partners. Events don’t happen because of one person. Outside of work, my husband and children. They make everything worthwhile.

I communicate using a radio, texting, and, occasionally, email. We also hold daily face-to-face briefings for our highest level group leaders.

I am most inspired by the young people who attend our youth conference and the adults who bring them.

I most miss my children. (I’m blessed that my husband is a member of our organization and so he is usually present at most of our events.)

I learn the most from doing. I’m a hands-on learner.

Gross tells us why the success of NCYC is about more than a job in A Closer Look.

Planner:

Event: Apologia Live, a faith-based retreat for homeschool moms, drew 200 attendees to the Westin Atlanta Airport Hotel March 23-24. Speakers included Pam Tebow and popular authors and speakers in the homeschool arena. “We chose Atlanta because it is centrally located in the Southeast and has a large population of homeschoolers,” says Corson. The next retreat will be in Big Lake, Alaska, in October. 

How do you recruit, train and reward volunteers? Long-time supporters of the ministry volunteer to help with registration and other details. “We do on-site training on how to check attendees in, and we reward them with a discounted registration fee,” says Corson.

Social Media: We partner with bloggers within our market who do giveaways before the event, tweet and blog during the event, and write a review post after attending the event.

What’s your favorite planning tool or resource? “Google Calendar—I keep everything on there for all our travel and trips,” she says.

How did you get into meeting planning? Corson always wanted to be in event management. “I landed a job as a marketing intern in college that allowed me to assist the show manager of a large convention,” she says. “From there I just continued on in meeting planning.”

What’s your best advice for a fellow event planner? “Preparation and check lists are a planner’s best friend,” says Corson.

When I’m on-site at an event,

I can’t live without Westin Heavenly beds.

I communicate using my iPhone and a smile.

I am most inspired by good customer service. It makes me happy.

I most miss my three kids!

I learn the most from conflict that is handled well.

Dr. Woodring and his wife, Donna, are heading to Texas to settle near family.

Members of the meetings industry, including many of the faith-based  community, celebrated one of its most active leaders, educators and promoters last month after the announcement of his retirement at the end of the year.  Dr. DeWayne Woodring, CMP, CEM, stepped down as executive director and CEO of the Religious Conference Management Association Dec. 31, after a 30-year career with the organization.

Praised as a visionary by associates, Dr. Woodring not only helped raise the profile of religious meetings, he influenced the growth of professionalism within the meetings industry as a whole. “My whole life changed when I became a meeting planner,” he said in a recent video. “Meeting planners are among the finest people on Earth.”

Dr. Woodring served as chairman of the Convention Industry Council, where he was one of the original founders of its Certified Meeting Professional program, now the accreditation standard with this specialized field. In 1994, he received the highest honor in the meetings industry when he was inducted into the Convention Liaison Council Hall of Leaders for his distinguished contributions.

Dr. Woodring’s industry service was wide-ranging. He was a delegate to the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism. He also served on the International Curriculum Advisory Panel of George Washington University. As an industry advocate, he contributed to the passage by the U.S. Congress of the bill exempting qualified nonprofit organizations from taxation on exhibits. Later, he helped bring about an agreement with the music industry to lower the cost of music licensing and the exemption of religious organizations using music in worship settings.

Frequently called upon to lend his professional expertise to industry organizations, he served on numerous boards and committees, including the Marriott Customer Leadership Forum, the Customer Advisory Board of Red Lion Hotels and Inns, the International Association of Conference Centers Japan, and the Nassau/Paradise Island Advisory Board. He was also an advisor for the building of the Charlotte Convention Center, the Savannah Convention Center, the Puerto Rico Convention Center, and the expansion of the Indiana Convention Center and RCA Dome in Indianapolis. He served on the Board of Directors of the Foundation for International Meetings and the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association, and was a long-time participant in the American Society of  Association Executives.

Dr. Woodring’s activities extended beyond this country and outside the meetings industry. He has overseen major international conventions and seminars in venues in Africa, Asia, South America and Europe (his travels have taken him to 136 countries). Through his leadership in philanthropy, he saw RCMA donate $700,000 in the past six years to the United Nations World Food Program. He also served for decades as chaplain of the Defense Orientation Conference Association, as one of 60 business professionals in the U.S. chosen by the Secretary of Defense to visit U.S. military establishments and exchange views with key defense personnel, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

A tribute to Dr. Woodring permanently resides in the Hall of Leaders in the Washington, D.C. Convention Center and Chicago’s McCormick Place, along with those of other honorees including Conrad Hilton and J.W. Marriott.

Dr. Woodring’s career accomplishments, his 80th birthday and his retirement were celebrated in a final night gala Jan. 27 at the RCMA World Conference and Expo in Kansas City, Mo.

Rev. Harry Schmidt is the new executive director of RCMA, moving up from his position as RCMA board vice president. Replacing him is Melvin Tennant, CAE, president and CEO of Meet Minneapolis, Official Convention and Visitors Association; it is the first time a supplier has held that position in the organization.

You can view the video interview with Dr. Woodring here.

Event: Connection 2011 is the annual convention for The Foursquare Church. This year’s event took place May 30- June 2, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio, drawing 3,000 pastors, leaders and church members from 54 nations. The four-day convention includes general session with speakers and worship time, business sessions and a NextGen Connections program for children and youth. An online live stream of the general sessions attracted 5,500 unique views during the four days.

Steven Cauble

Location: Cauble was looking for a central, second-tier city that fit his group’s needs, and Columbus, Ohio, and the Greater Columbus Convention Center surprised him. “Columbus wasn’t even on my radar until I met them at Rejuvenate and agreed to do a site visit less than three weeks later,” he says.“I was stunned with all that the city and package had to offer.”

Challenges: “Columbus as a meeting destination/location was virtually unknown to our group,” he says. Even the organization’s president, whose son lives and works there, didn’t realize it’s potential. “We had to do a good deal of education with our group on why to come to Columbus and what it had to offer.”

Volunteers: A local host committee was chosen and responsible for recruiting volunteers. “We have the equivalent of an RFP for volunteer needs that we discuss with them about a year out from the event, and then we meet with [committee members] two to three more times prior to the event,” he says. “They are able to generate between 150 and 200 volunteers for us to fill a variety of needs.”

International delegates

Inspiration: “I grew up watching my own parents attend this event and know how much it meant to them,” Cauble says. “It provided not only inspiration but an opportunity for fellowship with friends they didn’t see any other time. It makes me very happy and satisfied to know that I’m helping to facilitate this same kind of sense of community with a whole new generation.”

Advice: “Don’t be afraid to observe and ask questions of others,” he says. “Many of the best practices we’ve implemented were birthed in watching what another group has done and then customizing it to our needs. It’s not really necessary to completely re-invent the wheel all of the time.”

Event: Annual three-day events—Catalyst East, Catalyst West and Catalyst Dallas—and regional Catalyst One Day conferences attract tens of thousands of young leaders to hear speakers, attend workshops, and be inspired to think and act unconventionally. An in-house team, consultants and a third-party design team brainstorm what issues are resonating with the church presently to come up with event themes. “We start coming around a word or a phrase, and then drill home into what’s going to invite people to come and be a part,” says Sally Heffner. In October, Catalyst East, held in Atlanta, debuted the theme, “Be Present.” It will be incorporated into the West Coast and Dallas events this spring.

Execution: “We begin with design—the website, emails, marketing—and then work with speakers down to the event level, directing the conversation around touch points on stage,” she says. At Catalyst East, pastors, authors and business leaders incorporated the “Be Present” theme into their presentations. “It really all has intention and purpose,” Heffner says. “It connects the dots, connects the entire experience.”

Injecting Humor: Conference organizers think of creative ways to bring the theme to life in fun ways. A contest during the event challenged two attendees to stay in large “Present Tents” on the arena floor for the entirety of the conference. Costumed bees ran around committing random acts like wrapping cars in the parking lot like presents. “The fun is meant to awaken creative thought,” Heffner says. “We might have just had a heavy, intense session, and [a light moment] can really clear the mind and shift gears before we dive back into a heavy subject. We operate better when we can step back and take a deep breath. A lot of times more ends up sticking.”

Challenges: “The curve is always moving, but we personally push ourselves to do our job well and with excellence,” says Heffner. “We push each other to raise the bar each time. What can we do to provide the best environment and the best experience for people who come and spend a day with us? It’s an everyday thing for us not just an event.”

Solution: “We are all involved in other things in and out of the church, and try to be aware of what other people are doing, and be aware of what’s going on now and tapping into what’s ahead,” she says. “We hope to come up with some creative, fun, maybe innovative thing—maybe working with an iPad or something someone has never been exposed to—and it might give nonprofits or churches ideas to do on their end. We like to get as many ideas out there as possible.”

Excellence: “We’re not striving to be on the front end,” she says. “We’re just striving to do our best, and use the resources we have. We see it as an opportunity to pour back into these leaders. We just see the work and ministry they’re doing, even nonprofit and lay leaders, and if we can model striving for excellence, we hope that carries over to them and their ministries. We don’t want to be the name behind it; we want to propel them to carry out the roles they’ve been called to.”

Advice: “Keep all elements (serious and/or fun) directly related to a theme. From start to finish, all the pieces should connect and have purpose,” she says. “And filter all decisions with the attendee in mind. Go through the program as if you were sitting in the seat.”

Inspiration: “The opportunity to serve alongside a team united in vision, and partner together in something that is awakening hearts, leaving lives inspired and changed,” she says.

| In Heffner’s Words |

When I’m on-site at an event… 

I can’t live without my Chapstick.
I communicate using an iPad.
I am most inspired by volunteers. A majority are past attendees who now partner in the vision so others can have the same experience they did—amazing people, incredible stories.
I most miss sleep.
I learn the most from our director, Brad Lomenick. He is a brilliant and incredible leader.

Event: The Mennonite Church’s biennial convention drew 6,500 attendees to Pittsburgh, Pa., July 4-9. The convention, which combines daily worship for youth and adults, workshops, adult business sessions and youth service projects, next meets in Phoenix in 2013 under a new planner. Glen Guyton, who has been with the organization for two years, has become the primary planner, transitioning into the position formerly served by Rachel Swartzendruber Miller, who was director of convention planning for the past five years.

Experience: As director of intercultural relations and director for constituent resources, Guyton already supervised the planning team. “We worked together a lot because I oversaw the intercultural relations part, making sure…we have racial diversity in the way we choose our speakers, seminar topics, the people that participate in worship.”

Preparation: Already entrenched in mitigating the intercultural challenges the Mennonites face meeting in Phoenix as well as the finances and contracts of the conventions, Guyton used the time before Pittsburgh 2011 to shadow Miller. “[I watched] her and her team, going through every detail that needs to happen to make the convention effective for us,” he says. “I met with every team member and covered all the minute details—transportation to volunteers to who’s going to make the name tags.”

Advice: “Make the old convention planner, if they did a good job, your best friend. Rachel still allows me to contact her and ask a few questions. I try to be respectful of her new role. Depend on the team already in place, listen to them, don’t come into a new position like a bull in a China shop. Tip-toe in, acclimate to the team and listen to the advice that’s there.”

What inspires you about your job?

“My job is about ministry and connecting with people, and that’s one of the things I really like about the convention. I was a youth pastor for 17 years; I love the youth convention part of the overall convention. Seeing the energy and excitement young people have at each worship service, and having a part in the spiritual development of young people keeps you moving forward and excited.”

What’s your best meetings resource?

I like my iPad. It allows me to stay connected on the road. I subscribe to some online convention planning magazines, and I browse through those in my free time.”

How do you relax? 

“I don’t relax! That’s the thing. I had so much energy and was so pumped up after the last convention, I came home, rearranged my office and cleaned out my garage. I think I had so much excitement built up inside of me, I had to burn it off by organizing my house.”

What’s a must-have when you travel?

“Vanilla room spray. Sometimes I stay with friends and you want your room to smell fresh.”

Planner: Bob Kaiser, Meeting Planner/Convention Site Negotiator, IFCA International

Event: The 82nd annual IFCA convention was held at the Drawbridge Inn in Ft. Mitchell, Ky., June 27-July 1, to be near the Creation Museum. Two evening general sessions featured keynote speaker Ken Ham, co-founder of the museum, and attendees spent a day touring the facility. More than 650 people attended the convention, and as many as 700 were in attendance for Ham’s presentations.

Success: “Registrations were up 57 percent,” Kaiser says. “Normal room nights usually have been around 800, and this year there were 1,088 room nights used. Normally, we serve 280-300 meals at seven different sittings, however this year we served over 2,400 at 6 sittings.” Kaiser attributes the success to the popularity of Creation Museum and Ken Ham. The museum did some outside marketing of Ken Ham’s speaking engagements at the convention.

Preparation: “We put a heavy emphasis on location for the conference, and the convention program, with Ken Ham, was emphasized in mailings.”

Going Forward: “We found that location does make a difference, as well as having the right speakers,” Kaiser says. “The board has asked for a study to be done, asking our members what excited them to want to attend. Prior to this past year, we have accepted our convention results without question. If the attendance was down or up, it was just taken as a normal part of the process. Now we are digging deeper to find out how we can maintain the momentum.”

Advice: “Get involved with the whole conference or convention, not only the rooms, meeting space, etc. Learn and challenge the entire program for results. Don’t stop at feeling good because you negotiated a good contract.”

More about Kaiser:

Biggest influence or mentor: “There have been many over the years. My faith means a lot to me though, so I can say with a confident and somewhat proud heart that Jesus Christ influences everything I do. I am representing Him in the field along with the ministry I represent, IFCA International. What people see in me is what they relate to Him and IFCA.”

Best resources for meetings: “I like to build solid relationships with CVBs. I think they are the best source of information and I have found that they try to know your organization and its needs. What makes it especially beneficial is a CVB that has someone who concentrates solely on the religious market. We are unique in our needs.”

How I got into the business: “Following 52 years in various executive positions in the retail food business, I was asked by my good friend, Dr. Les Lofquist, who is the executive director of IFCA International, if I would be interested in supporting the ministry by serving as their meeting planner/convention site negotiator. It was a nonpaid position, but came with many perks. When I retired from the business world, I felt led to take Dr. Lofquist’s offer and join the ministry team at IFCA.”

What I love about what I do: “The travel; building relationships within the field of hospitality; being able to use the business acumen I have gathered over the years in the business world and being able to relate them to the ministry; advancing the Kingdom in a different way.”

How I relax: “I do not answer phone calls or emails for a week.”

Must have when I travel: “My wife. She is my best friend and critic, and a great asset to the ministry. She gives me great input relative to needs of the female delegates and the Women’s Conference, which is a part of our annual convention.”

Recent Event: Q Portland, the fifth Q gathering, April 27-29 in Oregon

Attendees: 700 church leaders and congregation members

Speakers: 35 pastors, astrophysicists, educators, artists and other creatives who sparked discussion on the world at large and ideas that can be applied to the Christian community. They led 9-, 18- or 36-minute talks.

Biggest Challenge: “The act of curating,” Calgaro says. “Deciding who to have and who not to have—there are just so many people doing fascinating things in the world or who have something significant to share.”

Solution: Calgaro and his team used Compression Planning, developed by McNellis, to narrow down speakers. Using different colors and shapes to represent topics, the team looked at all the sessions together to see what was missing. “Using that system helps [us] look for something from a multi-dimensional and multiperspective view,” Calgaro says.

Innovation: Attendees sat at roundtables during sessions, but instead of choosing their own, seats were assigned to them. Assignments changed every session, and facilitators at each table asked questions to encourage discussion. “Our hope is to engage people at a different level so that the conversation can extend beyond the three days they’re together.”

Best advice for planners: During his early planning years at a college ministry, Calgaro sought out Tic Long, the president of Youth Specialties at the time. From Long he learned the value of talking with other faith-based planners, and observing and volunteering at events. Calgaro volunteered at Youth Specialties and other events while planning his own. “That was incredibly valuable…to be there and to see and ask questions, and to actually serve others,” he says. “It helps you to flex those muscles a bit, and it led to a lot of relationships.”

In Calgaro’s Words:

What are the best planning resources?
The McNellis Compression Planning tool, city visitor bureaus, Rejuvenate, the Internet, Google docs, and a new tool called the Creative Board made by the people who made ProPresenter that mimics the McNellis process.

What do you love about what you do?
I really enjoy people and I really enjoy learning, but I have this propensity to enjoy more when others are experiencing that, too. I get a deep satisfaction in connecting people with one another and connecting people with ideas.

How do you relax after an event?
When I was in Pittsburgh, after my event I would spend a week in New York City, walking around the city having good food. Also a friend of mine is an artist, who hosted an event every year [Encounter], and I’d go hang out [at the event]. It was kind of like a retreat for me.

What’s a must-have when you travel?
I definitely have to have a good micro-fine ink pen, Moleskin and my MacBook.

Event: This summer was our 225th recorded Annual Conference of the church. Each year the conference is held in a different city around the U.S. for four nights and five days that include business meetings, worship, workshops, meals and an exhibit hall.

Site Selection: First, we look at areas of the country where we have congregations located. We also seek places with the highest value for more modest costs. Because most attendees pay their own expenses out of pocket, they are looking for the lowest hotel and food costs possible.

Challenge: Our biggest challenge is offering a high-quality event for a limited budget. Keeping attendance up depends on finding price points that our constituency will find acceptable.

Solution: We haven’t completely solved it! However, I’ve been fortunate to find some venues for some of our conferences down the road that are a really good value. Sometimes it means going to a place during their slowest times in order to negotiate better hotel rates, etc.

Biggest Lesson: The most important lesson for me has been the importance of watching every detail in conference planning. There are so many various requests and I need to follow through on each and every detail. I keep endless lists and charts to try to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.

Advice: Always try to find a “win-win” solution as you negotiate. Understanding the needs of the other party in a contract is as important as understanding your own needs.

IN DOUGLAS’ WORDS:

What are your best meeting resources?
Meeting with on-site people, especially CVB folks, talking with other meeting planners and events like Rejuvenate.

How did you get into the business?
I had directed our Youth Ministry office for 25 years and did a lot of event planning as a part of that, including our National Youth Conference every four years for as many as 4,800 youth.

What do you love about what you do?
I love seeing the whole event come together—when the attendees have arrived and are participating in all of the plans that have been worked on for months!

How do you relax (especially after an event)?
Long walks, reading books…staying away from people.

What’s a must-have when you travel?
Wi-Fi