1. Hub Management: Twelve Months of BEST
Best National Conference July 21-23, 2011
Terry Grimley
San Antonio BEST

2. Year round – really? Establish a year-round schedule to:
spread out the effort.
keep volunteers involved.
allow sufficient time for tasks.
allow sufficient time for purchases.
allow for scheduling flexibility.
Some tasks occur naturally throughout the year:
Community exposure.
Team/volunteer/sponsor recruiting.
Web site maintenance.

3. January - February Set goals for team count
Establish budget based on team count, new technology needs, replacement needs, etc.
Start fundraising
potential new sources to target
Preliminary inspection of return kits.
IRS E-Postcard (990N)

4. March Start team sign up and recruiting of new teams.
Order any return kit items with long-lead times.
Start building a proto machine – can also be used at kickoff.

5. April
Volunteer recruiting.
Start developing game logo.

6. May
Initial consumable kit ordering (switches and other parts that tend to go out of stock).
Prototype game – will help with field building, rule understanding and provides opportunity for input.

7. June Order bulk of consumable kit (McMaster)
Order any long lead game items or difficult to source game items if possible.
Fundraising – good time to follow up.
Confirm venue(s) for fall activities.

8. July Final kit ordering (Consumable & Returnable).
Returnable kit maintenance (refurbish, replace, repack).
Start field building.

9. August Consumable kit packing.
Kickoff & training preparations (documents, logistics, presentations).
Final team recruiting.
Teacher & mentor training.

10. September: Kickoff New team training Short presentation
Game demonstration

11. September: Kickoff
Teams are allowed to inspect the field - up close and personal.

12. September: Kickoff Kit Distribution
Additional training while distributing returnable kits.
Consumable kits distributed from a truck - minimizes handling of material.

13. September: Training
Return kit training – hookup, software loading and programming.
Conduct one week after kickoff to give teams time to try kit and have questions.
Hands-on: use simple training bots.

14. September - October: Final Preparations
Order Trophies
Support for teams – troubleshooting, spare parts, advice.
Finalize volunteers & assignments:
Game day volunteers
Judges
Referees
Finalize venue setup

15. October: Demo Day Check team status. Good chance to help teams.
Begin notebook judging.
Train referees.
Check scoring, other game/field issues.

16. October: Game Day

17. November - December Gather feedback from teams & volunteers.
Capture “lessons learned” and needs for next year.
Support teams for regional & provide volunteer support for regional.
Reorganize field & kit materials stored in haste after game day.
Make initial contact for scheduling venue(s) for following year.
Ensure that all sponsor acknowledgment forms are sent out.