Re: Convention Ownership

[don.rude@comcast.net]

I think Clarence is right about this. 
don 

----- Original Message -----
From: cemahan@aol.com 
To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org 
Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2012 5:35:16 PM 
Subject: Re: [AISdiscuss] Convention Ownership 

Having twice served as a convention chairman, once for Chesapeake and Potomac 
Iris Society and once for Region 4, I can state that even if we had had to 
borrow financing we would still have made vast sums of money. The big money 
comes from distributing the rhizomes that are left behind by hybridizers to 
individuals who worked for the convention or to local iris clubs requiring 
that the increase, except one, be donated back to the club or region and sold 
at public auction, In both cases I was a chairman we actually made a small 
gain on the convention itself but made a killing on the subsequent rhizome 
sales 

In both cases we did a detail budget based on past conventions and then we had 
an ace in whole by offer a raffle during the convention. The prize at the 
first convention was an iris quilt made by the women of the local society such 
as my wife. The second raffle had a gorgeous iris screen donated by member of 
the FSK Iris Society. 

In my judgement, the convention should be "owned" by a local society or 
region, The system worked for almost 100 years. Clarence 








-----Original Message----- 
From: R. Dennis Hager <hager@aredee.com> 
To: aisdiscuss <aisdiscuss@aisboard.org> 
Sent: Sun, Jan 29, 2012 8:40 am 
Subject: Re: [AISdiscuss] Convention Ownership 


Will, 
inancial gain is rarely the driving factor for hosting a convention. 
owever, the possibility of financial loss is a huge disincentive. When the 
hapter or Region lists the pros and cons of having a convention, I would 
ike to see "We may lose our ass" removed from the cons. 
I know of a one time when an AIS Convention was hosted with the clear 
ntention of making a big profit. It was a successful attempt to recoup 
oses they suffered from hosting a convention a few years earlier. 
Dennis 

----Original Message----- 
rom: William Plotner 
ent: Sunday, January 29, 2012 12:17 AM 
o: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org 
ubject: Re: [AISdiscuss] Convention Ownership 
I have a question for Dennis that I would like him to answer. 

hat is the incentive for the Chapter or Region if the AIS takes ownership 
nd the profits of a convention? 
All My Best 
ill 

---- Original Message ----- 
rom: "R. Dennis Hager" <hager@aredee.com> 
o: <aisdiscuss@aisboard.org> 
ent: Saturday, January 28, 2012 9:11 PM 
ubject: [AISdiscuss] Convention Ownership 

There is no doubt that without Paul, there would be no AIS Convention. I 
posed these questions not to attack Paul, but to point out to the Board 
that the current structure really needs to be changed. The AIS Convention 
is a crapshoot, with the dice being passed on to the next soul who wanders 
into the game. 

Am I the only person who believes that something should be done to improve 
the quality of the AIS Convention? 

Ultimately, the responsibility of the AIS Board is to keep the 
organization alive. Having vibrant and successful conventions is key to 
the health of the AIS. 

I would suggest to you that the AIS needs to take ownership of the 
convention. The AIS should handle finances, programs, national and 
international marketing, plant registration, handbooks, attendee 
registration and hotel. The host club should handle gardens, local 
marketing, hospitality and transportation, with the assistance of the AIS. 

For many organizations, ownership of a convention (and the profits) is a 
huge asset. With ownership comes responsibility. For some reason, the AIS 
Board has decided not to own the convention. I don't know why and it 
doesn't really matter. What does matter that if the AIS really wants the 
Convention to continually improve, the Board needs to decide to take 
ownership of it and provide Paul or whoever is in his position with the 
resources and backing to make each subsequent convention better than the 
one before. 

When it comes to convention and event management, there is nothing truly 
unique about the AIS. There are professional convention and event managers 
who routinely handle much more complicated events. It is time for one to 
be consulted. For the record, I do not personally know any professional 
event planners and have no financial interest in any organization that 
provides such services. 

Dennis Hager 




-----Original Message----- 
From: Jill Bonino 
Sent: Friday, January 27, 2012 9:02 PM 
To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org 
Subject: RE: [AISdiscuss] 2014 AIS Convention 

I agree with Cheryl. Paul has been indispensable (?) to us for the 2012 
Convention. 

The Canada Convention created a great Bus Book for Bus Captains which we 
are using as a guide for the 2012. This can be passed along. There are 
also spreadsheets, memos, and letters we created for promotion that can be 
copies and passed along too. Jill 


-----Original Message----- 
>From: cheryl deaton <region15kids@hotmail.com> 
>Sent: Jan 24, 2012 9:09 AM 
>To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org 
>Subject: RE: [AISdiscuss] 2014 AIS Convention 
> 
>Speaking on behalf of Region 15 and the 2012 AIS Convention Committee, I 
>can 
>attest to the invaluable help Paul as Convention Liason has given us from 
>the 
>very beginning. I agree that we need to share more information because in 
>certain areas the information is minimal at best, especially since many 
>areas 
>have never hosted a convention. Region 15 will happily share information. 
>Cheryl Deaton 
> 
> 
>> From: pwgossett@juno.com 
>> Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:53:43 +0000 
>> To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org 
>> Subject: Re: [AISdiscuss] 2014 AIS Convention 
>> 
>> Good Evening All, 
>> 
>> I would like to answer these questions Dennis has brought forward as I 
>> see 
>it. 
>> 
>> 1) Who OWNS the Convention? 
>> The owner would either be a local society or region. But, it would a 
>> shared 
>ownership if AIS, local society and/or region are all sharing in the 
>expenses 
>on putting on the convention. 
>> 
>> 2) How should the Convention be promoted? 
>> Through the AIS IRISES publication, regional newsletters, local 
>> newsletters, 
>AIS Web Site, local society web site, regional web site, AIS Facebook, and 
>any 
>local avenues such as tv stations, radio stations, garden club 
>organizations, 
>master gardeners, newspapers. 
>> 
>> 3) Who owns the intellectual data that is generated at each convention? 
>> I am assuming you are talking about names and contact information of 
>> those 
>attending the convention. The owner would be shared between local society 
>and/or region and AIS. AIS needs to do a better job at sharing this 
>information with the next convention so that they can communicate with 
>those 
>that have attended the last several conventions. 
>> 
>> 4) Is that data used to promote and improve subsequent conventions? 
>> As of right now, no the attendees information is not being shared but, 
>> other 
>information is being shared such as bus information. 
>> 
>> 5) What functions of the convention should be administered by the Host? 
>> Convention Chairman, Guest Iris Coordinator, Transportation Coordinator, 
>Hospitality/Garden Refreshment Coordinator, Porta a Potty Coordinator, 
>Boutique Coordinator. 
>> 
>> 6) What functions of the convention should be administered by AIS? 
>> Registration, Convention Booklet, Silent Auction, Web Site. 
>> 
>> These positions could be handled by either a local or AIS 
>> person....Hotel 
>Meeting Schedule, Secretary, Publicity Coordinator, Awards Chair, and 
>Treasurer. 
>> 
>> It would be the responsibility of the AIS Convention Liaison to assist 
>> with 
>the convention in any way he or she see needs to be done. At the present 
>time 
>I am actually putting together the Hotel Meeting Schedule and then letting 
>a 
>local person contact each of the sections or people whom have meetings at 
>the 
>convention to get their approval of the times that have been scheduled for 
>each of those meetings. I also have meet with the hotel sales or banquet 
>contact person and work them also. I am also making a list of the meeting 
>speaker, the topic of their program, and their a/v equipment needs and 
>then I 
>will notify the AIS Editor, AIS Electronic Services Chair, and the hotel 
>with 
>the a/v needs. I then at the convention make sure all is going well at the 
>convention whether it be at the hotel, buses, etc...... I am the 
>Convention 
>Chairs right hand man. 
>> 
>> Paul 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ---------- Original Message ---------- 
>> From: "R. Dennis Hager" <hager@aredee.com> 
>> To: <aisdiscuss@aisboard.org> 
>> Subject: Re: [AISdiscuss] 2014 AIS Convention 
>> Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 08:53:00 -0500 
>> 
>> There are underlying questions that need to be considered as a part of 
>> this 
>> question. 
>> 
>> Who OWNS the Convention? 
>> How should the Convention be promoted? 
>> Who owns the intellectual data that is generated at each convention? 
>> Is that data used to promote and improve subsequent conventions? 
>> What functions of the convention should be administered by the Host? 
>> What functions of the convention should be administered by AIS? 
>> 
>> These questions are NOT about how things ARE done, but how they SHOULD 
>> be 
>> done. 
>> 
>> Dennis Hager 
>> Irisarian, Pharmacist, Restaurateur, Councilman, Former Mayor and 
>> General 
>> Pain in the A.... 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message----- 
>> From: Maureen 
>> Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 10:40 AM 
>> To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org 
>> Subject: Re: [AISdiscuss] 2014 AIS Convention 
>> 
>> Hi Paul, 
>> 
>> I think we all suspected that a discussion on AIS policy on conventions 
>> was 
>> going to happen sooner rather than later. 
>> 
>> I expect that the current ad hoc help at the back end should a club 
>> suffer 
>> catastrophic losses from a convention is not going to be sufficient 
>> going 
>> forward. 
>> 
>> I would suggest that board discussion consider the following. 
>> 
>> If AIS takes on the riskiest and costliest expense of the convention, 
>> should 
>> AIS then also receive some part of the revenues generated by the 
>> convention? 
>> (for example, collect a fixed portion of registration fees and receive 
>> all 
>> revenues from silent auction) 
>> 
>> Should AIS get involved in fund raising for conventions? 
>> 
>> What is the impact on the long term financial health of AIS? While AIS 
>> manages its finances fairly well by managing its expenses with variable 
>> revenues. How will AIS manage with a significant variable expense? 
>> 
>> The last question is probably the most important. 
>> 
>> Unfortunately, I won't be at the national convention this year. I will 
>> see 
>> some of you at the Siberian convention. 
>> 
>> Maureen Mark 
>> Ottawa, Ontario 
>> (Not a current board director) 
>> 
>> On 2012-01-11, at 3:00 AM, "pwgossett@juno.com" <pwgossett@juno.com> 
>> wrote: 
>> 
>> > Good Evening Folks, 
>> > 
>> > The weekend of December 3 & 4, 2011, I had the pleasure of meeting 
>> > with 
>> > the Delaware Valley Iris Society at their winter board meeting in 
>> > Pennsylvania. After they concluded their board meeting they allowed me 
>> > to 
>> > tell them my thoughts about them hosting an AIS Convention in their 
>> > area 
>> > and what AIS can do to assist them. We discussed all aspects of 
>> > hosting a 
>> > convention and had volunteers to be the Chairperson, Guest Iris Chair, 
>> > Transportation Chair, and Treasurer all from the area. We also 
>> > discussed 
>> > 4 or 5 gardens that might be on tour along with local non iris gardens 
>> > and 
>> > historical attractions that could be used as an optional tour. They 
>> > would 
>> > like to receive guest plants but, will have to have a limitation on 
>> > the 
>> > number and also 2014 would be too soon for them if they would be 
>> > receiving 
>> > guest plants. 
>> > 
>> > We also discussed financial concerns and obligations. I believe their 
>> > greatest concern is how much of a role would AIS be willing to take in 
>> > both manpower and financial. On the financial side the hotel is the 
>> > biggest expense of a convention. I believe if AIS would be willing to 
>> > sign the hotel contract and take on the financial responsibility of 
>> > the 
>> > hotel we might have a convention site on the east coast probably not 
>> > in 
>> > 2014 but, maybe 2016 or 2017. They are thinking about it now and will 
>> > make a decision by the end of January. I am hoping for a positive 
>> > response from them on hosting an AIS Convention. 
>> > 
>> > My question to the AIS Board is.... Would AIS be willing to sign the 
>> > hotel contract and take on the financial responsibility of the hotel? 
>> > I 
>> > would estimate the cost of the hotel expenses would be about $25,000. 
>> > 
>> > I would like to have your suggestions as to what I need to do and what 
>> > role will AIS have in this convention and also future conventions. 
>> > 
>> > Thank you, 
>> > 
>> > Paul 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > ____________________________________________________________ 
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>> > 
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