See update: Straw Man Agenda #2 – Split Schedule with a proposed date of April 10, 2022.
None of what you read below is final, or anywhere close to it. This is the chair’s concept, subject to further discussion in our initial planning sessions (Nov. 17 and Nov. 21) and by the conference committees still to be formed. These dates may or may not be realistic, largely depending on volunteer commitments.
January 8 – Deadline for Commitments By Sponsor Clubs
To qualify as a sponsor and be invited to participate in the Webinar Contest, a club must provide one or more volunteers for the organizing and event day activities. They will also be asked for a token monetary contribution (probably $10 to $15 USD). Proposed: Both districted and undistricted online clubs will be welcome. Previously only members of undistricted clubs were invited to participate in the contest.
Saturday February 26 – Webinar Contest Semi-Finals
2 weeks prior to the main event, contestants from competing clubs meet to demonstrate their digital presentation expertise. All online clubs who participate as sponsors are eligible to put forth a champion (ideally chosen by a contest held within the club). The top 5 contestants will go on to compete at EVV CON.
Saturday March 12 – EVV CON 2022
- 1 day, not 2
- 3 Featured / Keynote Speakers
- Tech Tips Session – follow the model from EVV CON June 2021
- Webinar Contest – would like this to be conducted live (we showed a recording last time because of time constraints and the number of contestants)
- Breakout rooms to meet with speakers / clubs but less time allowed / emphasis than the June 2021 event
- After Party
Here’s a potential schedule (times in US Eastern Time)
| Start | Activity | Time Allowed |
| 9:00 | Opening | 0:10 |
| 9:10 | Featured Speaker 1 | 0:50 |
| 10:00 | 15 minute break – speaker / club breakout rooms | 0:15 |
| 10:15 | Tech Tips | 1:00 |
| 11:15 | 15-Minute Break | 0:15 |
| 11:30 | Featured Speaker 2 | 0:50 |
| 12:20 | 15-minute break – speaker / club breakout rooms | 0:15 |
| 12:35 | Webinar Contest | 1:00 |
| 13:35 | 15-minute break – breakout room for contest winner | 0:15 |
| 13:50 | Additional 15 minutes break / intermission | 0:15 |
| 14:05 | Featured Speaker 3 | 0:50 |
| 14:55 | 15-minute break – speaker / club breakout rooms | 0:15 |
| 15:10 | Closing Ceremony | 0:10 |
| 15:20 | After Party | ? |
This is about 6 and a half hours of programming — about the most I’d want to pack into one day. Times equate to 4 pm to 8:20 pm in London, 8 am to 12:20 pm US Pacific Time, and 8 pm to a little past midnight for past co-chair Krishn Ramchurn in Mauritius.
Decisions and Turning Points
- Do the dates work? Initial feedback was that the date I initially named, February 26, might not allow enough time for planning, so now thinking of that as a contest semifinals date, leading to the main EVV CON event on March 12. We may run into some conflicts with district contests and other events. Showstoppers?
- Who will step forward to make this event happen? We can expect some repeat participation from the past 2 events but will also need new faces volunteering to lead and participate in committees. Whether we get committee leaders in place within the next few weeks will also determine whether the dates outlined above are realistic.
- Expenses: Do we plan to spend some money on advertising? Honorarium for speakers? Zoom upgrade?
- Potential Revenue Sources: Charge each participating club $10 to $15 USD. Also consider charging for admission, maybe $10 USD, to raise money but also to get more of a commitment from those who register that they will actually attend.
- Participation boundaries: Can we agree the following? To broaden participation to both districted and undistricted online clubs for event leadership and participation in the webinar contest? Members of hybrid clubs and traditional community clubs would be welcome to attend, but our target audience and the clubs invited to participate would be 100% online clubs.
Volunteer Needs
Based on past practice, we will need leaders / members for these committees. Final list may change.
- Talent – recruiting and working with featured speakers
- PR/Marketing
- Liaison – staying in touch with participating clubs
- Contest – organizing our webinar contest focused on online presentation skills
- Zoom team – managing the Zoom environment for the best experience
- Program Book
- Breakout Rooms
- Video recording / editing