A Six-Step Recipe for a Tasty,
Successful Gathering

Take volunteers, volunteers and volunteers, and add volunteers. Stir in long-range planning, negotiation and budgeting. Discard the rotten eggs of micromanagement and meddling. Mix your good ingredients well, gradually adding extensive communication. Season thoroughly with plenty of variety in hospitality and sweeten with interesting programs. Let excitement rise at 350 degrees for three months to a year, depending on your level of experience, then raise temperature to 500 degrees, and, for the final week, cook. Serve with great attention to presentation. Make sure lots of people get a portion.

Why put all the necessary energy and work into staging a gathering? Those of you whose groups regularly hold one already know the answers to this. First and, in our opinion, most important, a gathering builds your group's volunteer base. Active, involved members cannot be driven away with a stick — yet it's very likely that members who never participate will lapse within the first few years after joining. Recently, there have been statements urging groups to utilize "professionals" rather than local group volunteers for various tasks. Before heeding that advice, keep in mind that volunteers frequently have more extensive and lengthy expertise in the area in which they wish to serve than does the "professional." Not to mention the fact that volunteers have much more knowledge about Mensa and what makes Mensans tick!

Another reason for hosting a gathering is financial. Most local groups are finding it difficult, if not impossible, to break even or even subsist on the allotment they receive from the national organization. A regional gathering can easily net your local group hundreds of dollars; hosting an annual gathering can produce thousands in profits.

There are many types of gatherings within Mensa. Gatherings run the gamut from simple events at state park cabins to mini-RGs, officer training sessions, RGs, Colloquia and the AG. Each of these occasions requires facility negotiation, registration, hospitality, programs and publicity. The interrelationship and importance of each of these facets varies depending on the function's type. Decide which one you're having, and take off!

1. When recruiting volunteers, ask people to do things you know they enjoy. When making your request, cite an example of how they've previously excelled in this area. It's difficult for someone to turn you down when you're saying, "You're so great at this; please help me out!"

2. Initially you need to develop a timeline and recruit your core committee. Keep in mind that too long a lead-time is detrimental rather than beneficial. You can't keep your committee together and you can't maintain enthusiasm if you stretch the planning phase too long. When folks are asked to work on a gathering for years before it happens, the process becomes a second job rather than fun.

3. Next in the process is establishing dates for the event and negotiating a contract for attendee lodgings. It's a good idea to have more than one possible date in mind when approaching a facility. Quite often they will offer lower rates at a time when their hotel is not going to be busy. We have learned much in this area from volunteer Rose Lee Crutcher, Mensa's appointed Hotel & Travel Consultant, and a hotel negotiator extraordinaire.

4. You should begin your negotiations with the prices in your head that you are willing to pay for attendees' rooms. Mensa should pay $0 for hospitality and meeting space. For meal events, approach the facility with a menu plan and the price rather than asking them for either of those things. Remember, you will never get anything unless you ask for it!

If you as negotiator accept perks from the hotel, your attendees pay for them.

It is vital that you not accept any perquisites like free meals and free nights from the hotel during the negotiation process. There are two reasons for this: First, any cost the hotel incurs in getting your business will be reflected in higher costs to the attendees later. Second, it is very important to avoid even the appearance of special favors or kickbacks. Rose Lee has repeatedly stressed the fact that there is no such thing as a "free lunch." If you as negotiator accept perks from the hotel, your attendees pay for them!

It is also important to keep in mind that the hotel liaison job doesn't end with the signed contract. Enforcement of performance during the gathering and the bill review at the gathering's conclusion can have as much as or more impact on a gathering's success than the signed contract itself. Continual maintenance and after-event follow-through are Rose Lee's trademarks. This constant vigilance has made it painfully obvious which Annual Gathering contracts Rose Lee handled as opposed to those she did not, both in terms of gathering quality and cost to Mensa and attendees. The ideal contract with a hotel is a win-win for the facility, Mensa and attendees. For example, the Scottsdale Princess would like us to return even at the extremely low rate Mensa was charged for last year's very successful AG. It's important to remember that no matter how great your venue, higher prices reduce attendance and can cause feelings of resentment on the part of those who do attend.

5. Publicity is a key ingredient of your event. There's no point in holding a gathering if people do not attend. The best way to promote your event is to recruit actively at other gatherings of any type. Putting your flyers on display is fine, but this alone produces very few registrants. Talk to attendees at other gatherings; show enthusiasm, tell them it's important to you personally that they attend. Consider offering a discount for folks who register at another gathering.

6. The most important thing — the objective for hosting a gathering — is for everyone to have fun, both committee members and attendees. Make working events fun — serve food, perpetrate some foolishness, encourage committee members who are insecure. Negotiate and budget so that your group will make money and attendees will leave with smiles on their faces. Provide opportunities for veteran and first-time gathering participants to learn something new or expand some knowledge.

Rules cannot a successful gathering make, in terms of finances or attendee satisfaction. Volunteers, negotiation skills, planning and organization do make successful gatherings. You've gathered the ingredients, mixed carefully, cooked properly — and now it's time to enjoy the results of your work. Bon appétit!

— LeAnne and Steve Porter

LeAnne and Steve Porter have been attending, chairing and participating on regional gatherings' committees for more than 20 years. In addition to RGs, they have chaired an AG and even hosted a three-day leadership conference in their home.