1. You Get the Speaker & I’ll Get the Room Event Planning
Karen Copper
Career & Professional Development Committee Chair

2. B.S. Civil Engineering – Structures
Who Am I?
B.S. Civil Engineering – Structures
37+ Years in Aerospace Engineering (McDonnell Douglas/Boeing)
AIAA member since 1998
St. Louis Section
Arrangement Coordinator (1998)
STEM Outreach Officer (1998 – Present)
Section Chair (2004)
Publicity Chair (2007 – Present)
AIAA Standing Committee - STEM (2002 – 2008)
AIAA Standing Committee - CPDC (2008 – Present)

3. Executing a Successful Year
Some (or Much) Assembly Required!
Set program goals – start now!
Delegate – engage your membership
Select topics of interest to your membership
Focus of the event
Intended audience
Seek input from Section Advisors & past council members
Realize it will take time, and plan ahead

4. Gather Your Team
Fill the Committee Chair positions
Encourage the Committee Chairs to develop a committee > 1
Programs/Arrangements
Career & Professional Development
Education
Historian
Honors & Awards
Membership
Newsletter
Pilot Education
STEM K-12
Public Policy
Publicity-Internal
Retirees/General Public
Service Projects
Technical Specialist
Webmaster
Young Professional
Strategic Planning

5. Define Goals & Objectives for Year
Look at past successes
What works for your Section?
Is it time to change?
Look at history… is it time to repeat a past program?
Consider distribution of activities
Dinner programs of general interest
Technical Specialist programs of specific interest
Career & Professional Development event
Young Professional focus
STEM event
Education event
Family event

6. Event Planning – The Nuts & Bolts
Audience
Date
Venue
Price
Publicity
Event
Post Game

7. Who is the focus of the event? Format
Audience
Who is the focus of the event?
Format
Presentation
Dinner with Speaker
Panel discussion
Formal or Informal
Networking
Class
Fair
Are there other groups with a common objective
Opportunity for joint sponsorship

8. Topics of more general interest
Dinner Program
Topics of more general interest
Pilots
Astronauts
Program Directors/Managers
Government Leaders in Aerospace
Public Policy on Aerospace
AIAA Distinguished Lecturer Program
Aerospace History
Local Historians
Museum
Sister Societies

9. Technical Specialist Event
Technical Topic with Detail Focused Presentations/Discussions
Professors
Corporate Technical Experts
Laboratory Tours
AIAA Technical Activities Committees

10. STEM K-12 Outreach School Visits Scout Badge Camp School Science Fair
Community Fairs & Festivals
Paper Airplane Contest
Rocket Contest
Sponsor EAA Young Eagle Day
Meet & Greets

11. Young Professional Event
Networking
Social
Education
Skill Development
Leadership
Technical
Management
Recognition

12. Career & Professional Development Event
Seminars, workshops, forums, panel discussions, lunch-and-learn programs, special celebration activities, symposiums, and use of videos or career related topics such as:
Time Management
Career Transition
Stress Control/Anxiety
Financial Planning Matters
Personal Development
Pension Issues
Employment Outlook
Mentoring
Engineering Registration
Ethics
Pre-retirement/Retirement Planning
Performance Reviews
Attitude, Perception & Perspective
Resume Writing
Interviewing Positively
Going into Business for Yourself

13. Special Events
Historical Anniversaries
AIAA Conferences in Section’s City
Movie Night
Trivia Night

14. Student Outreach Events
Advocate Aerospace
Support Student Paper Conference
Design, Build, Fly
E-Week
Mentoring
Networking
Joint Events
Resume Preparation
Interviewing Skill Development
Offer Live & Virtual Options

15. Resources
Distinguished Lecture Program
AIAA Standing Committees – Contact Your Deputy Director for Event Suggestions
Career & Professional Development
STEM K – 12
Young Professional
AIAA Technical Activities Committees (Some TACs have
Other Sections

16. More Resources
E-Week,
Local Businesses
Websites with Activities

17. Select date as far in advance as possible
Setting the Date
Select date as far in advance as possible
Does the Section have an established schedule?
Break tradition?
Define a monthly calendar format
Avoid conflicts with other Section events
Speaker availability
Publish Section Calendar of Events

18. Attendance limits / Age limits Location
Selecting the Venue
Suitable for event
Restaurant
Hotel/Casino Banquet facility
Airport
Attendance limits / Age limits
Location
Central for membership
Special “destination” feature of event
Expenses
Negotiate amenities
Free parking
Free bartender for Cash Bar
Corporate facility
Museum
Park
Research and create a database

19. Equipment Requirements
Logistics
Equipment Requirements
Audio Visual
Laptop
Define a monthly calendar format
Menu selection
Snacks
Casual
Buffet
Plated
Speaker
Arrange transportation?
Provide time/location information
Accommodate special needs
Vegetarian options
Be open to assist other needs

20. Costs Venue Meal Other Expenses Rental fee Parking Food/Drinks
Tax (Tax exemption letter?)
Tips
Other Expenses
Name tags
Attendance prize
Entertainment
“Thank You” gift for Presenter

21. Ticket Price & Reservations
Set Ticket Price at level affordable for attendees
Members – break even price or price break?
Non-members – offset profit?
Students – price break
Educator Associate members – price break?
Budget for any event pricing offsets

22. Publicity – Check List
Example - AIAA St. Louis Section Publicity Information Submittal Form Allow 4 weeks prior to event for publicity Committee sponsoring event: Co-sponsors (if non-AIAA, include logo for group): Event Contact:
Date:     
Time:     
Location & Map (in needed):     
Menu (if applicable):     
Ticket Price(s):     
Reservation Deadline:      
Ticket Sales Contact(s) Name and Phone/      
Program Title:     
Program Description (100 words or less):     
 Guest Speaker(s):     
Speaker Bio (brief) (100 words or less):     
Picture for flyer (enter file name):     
(attach file)

23. Post on AIAA Section Calendar & Announcements
Publicity
Post on AIAA Section Calendar & Announcements
to membership (pdf)
Mail to retirees when requested
to sister societies
Post in local aerospace company news feeds & bulletin boards
Utilize Social Media
LinkedIn
FaceBook
Twitter 23

24. Ticket Sales / Reservations
On-line Reservations
Payment options
PayPal/Credit Card/Cash/Check prepayment
Advance Reservation - Pay at the Event
Registration Table at Event
Collect Tickets
Collect Money
Check in Members & Guests
Name Tags 24

25. Greeters to meet Guests Registration Table Council Welcome Guests
Event – Show Time
Greeters to meet Guests
Registration Table
Council Welcome Guests
Ice Breaker
Section Announcements
Introduce Speaker
Presentation
Thank Speaker and Guests
Acknowledge members responsible for the event
HELLO My Name is
Karen Copper

26. Follow Up
Thank you note to Speaker
Financial Closure
To Treasurer
Submit ticket sales
Submit receipts
Report event outcome to Section Chair and applicable Region DD
Publish article about event in next newsletter
Record event details for year-end report

27. Wishing you a fantastic event filled AIAA year!
Cheers!