Pomp, Circumstance and the President Kathleen Pantalone Director, Event

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Pomp, Circumstanceand the PresidentKathleen
PantaloneDirector, Event Conference Services

• Saint Vincent College

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Pomp, Circumstanceand the President

• Introduction/History
• Formulating Plan A
• Plan B (a.k.a. The White House Arrives)
• The Big Day
• Things We Did Well/Things We Wish We Knew
• Photos

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Saint Vincent Fast Facts

• 1700 students
• 550 faculty/staff
• 300-acre campus
• Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts college
• Saint Vincent consists of the College, Seminary,
  Archabbey, and Parish

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The Way Its Always Been

• Friday night
• Seminary Commencement
• Senior Family Dinner off campus
• Saturday
• 10am Baccalaureate Mass
• 1130am Brunch
• 1pm Commencement Ceremony

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The Big Change in Plans

• Final Exams began on Saturday
• Thursday Night
• 5pm Baccalaureate Mass
• 630pm Senior Dinner Off Campus
• 700pm VIP Dinner Off Campus
• Friday
• 8am Doors Open
• 10am Doors Close
• 11am Commencement Ceremony
• 1pm Reception
• Seminary Commencement, no lunch

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Commencement Stats

• 2006
• 237 of 263 grads participated (90)
• 54 faculty/admin signed up to process
• 27 VIPs attended

• 2007
• 287 of 304 grads participated (94)
• 125 faculty/admin signed up to process
• 150 VIPs attended

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Commencement Committee

• Chaired by Event and Conference Services
• Academic AffairsDean of Studies/Registrar
• Facilities Management
• Public Safety/Fire Department
• Campus Ministry
• Public Relations
• Dining Services
• Multimedia Services
• Student Affairs
• Senior Class President
• Added Institutional Advancement for this year

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Formulating Plan AWhere Do You Start?

• COMMUNICATION
• Walk through your event
• Assume you can do what you normally dotimes 20!
• Develop sub-committees and assign tasks
• Researchask people with experience
• Vendor management
• Get volunteers early in the game

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COMMUNICATION

• Immediately provide as much information as
  possible to all constituents
• Communicate the communication plan
• Survey students, faculty and administration
  intent to participate
• Provide as much historical data to upper
  management as possible
• Call area businesses that might be affected
• Start a wait list immediately, but dont create
  false hope

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Walk Through Your Event

• Physical walk-throughthink about what it looks
  like and what you want people to see
• List concernsdetails are important!
• Entrances, exits, flow, control
• Anticipate increased security
• Understand people WILL be inconvenienced
• Enhancements to your eventstudent/staff/community
  involvement
• Unknown factorsworking on assumptions
• Create first stab at a working budget

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Do What You Normally DoTimes 10

• Maintaining a quality experience
• Sound and Lighting
• Parking
• Printed Materials
• Converting your facility into an event center
• Overflow Area(s)closed circuit TV
• X-Factor
• White House will send very general letter with
  basic requirements
• Publicityboth positive and negative

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Developing Sub-Committees

• Ticketing
• Baccalaureate
• Senior Dinner
• Printing
• Arrival/Parking
• Media
• VIP

• Registration
• Ceremony
• AV/Sound/Lighting
• Food
• First Aid/Emergency
• Security/Demonstrators
• Volunteers
• X-Factor

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Know Your Guest

• Call your peersfellow ACCED-I members are always
  willing to help!
• When hosting foreign dignitaries
• Office of Protocol www.state.gov/s/cpr
• Universities with large international student
  population
• Research customs online
• When hosting religious dignitaries
• Contact local diocese/church

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Vendor Management

• Rental company
• A/V company
• Promotional items
• Buses/shuttles/golf carts
• Signage
• Graphic Designer
• Stick with who you know and who knows you!

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Creating a Volunteer Pool

• Start ASAPuse excitement over guest to entice
  early sign-ups
• Decide how attendees will identify volunteers
• Play to the strengths of the volunteers when
  developing assignments
• Reward people for volunteering

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Plan B (a.k.a. The Advance Team Arrives)

• Understand the structure
• Secret Service
• White House Staff
• Advance Team
• Press
• Communications
• Production
• Understand you are no longer in chargeyoure in
  the middle!

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Arrival Day5 Days Prior to the Event

• Prepare your core team to meet with their team.
• Provide as much event information as possible
• Tour campus, tour event venue
• Have maps, diagrams, etc. ready and in
  presentation form

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The Week With the Advance Team

• Be prepared to answer an 8-hour long barrage of
  questionsdaily
• Understand that most things are non-negotiable
• Everything will eventually come togetherno
  worries (!)
• Dont forget about your team!

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The Secret Service

• Ultimate responsibility is safety and security of
  the President
• Assists with set up demonstration area away from
  venue and sets up motorcade/arrival route
• Takes care of magnetometers and arrival tent
• Restrictions similar to airport security
• Responsible for obtaining cooperation from local
  law enforcement agencies
• Background checks on staff/everyone in contact
• Will also provide protection for major candidates
  in an election campaign, VP, foreign heads of
  state, but not as intense as with the President

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White House Advance Team

• Decides where/when President will be and how he
  gets there
• Sets up hold/changing area for the President
• Provides assistance with crowd flow
• Sets up minute-by-minute schedule
• Sets up holding areas for event participants
  (choir, honor guard, etc.)
• Provides assistance with VIP meet and greet

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White House Press/Media

• Responsible for credentialing all media
• Set up 2 separate press rooms in the
  buildinglocal and national
• Set up area close to stage for Press Corps that
  travels with the President
• Set up bullnose in center aisle and riser for cut
  shotnetwork feed
• Set up media risers in back of venue for all
  other press
• Very technology-intensivephone lines, internet,
  etc.

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White House Communications Agency

• Brings in all necessary equipment
• Sets up command post
• Responsible for Presidential podium
• Works with Facilities department to set up
  communication lines

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White House Production

• Responsible for the look of the stage areaset
  design
• Works with institution to develop a backdrop for
  the event
• Assists with placement of stage decoration
• Works with A/V company to make sure sound and
  lighting requirements are met

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The Big Day Arrives

• Make sure you have a solid communication
  networkradios for everyone!
• Train volunteers the day before
• Assign staff to be volunteer supervisors to take
  care of minor issues for you
• Dont try to be everywheretrust your team, and
  be available to put out fires
• Enjoy the eventyou did it!!

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Things We Did Well/Things We Wish We Knew

• Even if you never experience this again, its
  important to evaluate your performance
• You may walk away with some new ideas for your
  regular events
• Ask the Advance Team for feedback
• Make sure to thank EVERYONE!

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Ticketing

• Communication
• Response to Change
• Filled all seats
• Ticket license and anti-duplication
• Validation system
• 100 cooperation!

• Didnt need to get name of every guest
• Set a mailing date we couldnt stick to
• Could have been simplified

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Schedule

• Communication
• System in place for hardship cases
• Responded to concerns of seniors
• Worked with PennDOT on local road construction

• Did not anticipate 300 increase in senior dinner
  attendance
• Late decision to move Mass to Thursday
  nightdriven by senior response

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PR/Media

• Printed materials coordinated, consistent
• Chose students to assist WH Press
• Handled negative publicity well

• Separate press roomsnot same hospitality
• Didnt know restrictions in advancemost
  photographers were in the back of the gym

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Arrival/Parking

• Communication greatno late arrivals
• Responded to change in plans very well
• Signage
• Limited number of cars on campus
• Shuttles to/from local hotels
• Planned for special needs

• Did not realize protection area would be so large
• Need for alternate parking areas greater than
  expected
• Did not realize we would lose an entire parking
  lot (500 spaces) to Marine One Landing Zone

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Event Logistics

• Traffic flow was well organized
• 2500 through registration and mags in 2 hours
• Vendor response very good
• VIPS handled well
• Gym looked like an event center
• Coordinated video of landing to be shown in the
  venue while graduates processed
• Volunteer team made everyone feel welcome

• Covered A/C inlet and exhaustmade temp in room
  uncomfortable
• Forgot to clear sign language interpreter for
  stage access
• Scramble to get water to graduates and stage
  after President left
• Purchased backdrop we couldnt use
• Media3 remote setups started at 5am
• Needed separate VIP line

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Security/Demonstrators

• Provided an open forum for students to express
  views in advance
• Hired additional security through vendor to take
  care of parking lots, traffic control,
  checkpoints
• No demonstrations during ceremonylargely due to
  how earlier demonstrations were handled
• Demonstration area off campus

• Public Safety limited in ability to secure
  buildingnot armed
• Difficult to respect peoples right to
  demonstrate yet maintain positive experience for
  guests
• VIP meet and greet guest needed handicap
  accesselevators were already planned to be
  sealed off
• Radios were not inventoried

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Budget

• Vendors provided accurate estimates
• Everything that we knew about was accounted for
• Some items able to be used againinvested in
  grounds upgrade

• Extra rentals required by WH Press/Media our
  responsibility
• Grounds upgrade not accounted for in initial
  budget
• Many extras