A. Chairperson
1. General:
The steering committee chairperson is responsible for the overall management and organization necessary for a successful symposium. The chairperson is selected by the Section's Executive Committee.
The success of any symposia is dependent upon the ability of the Chairperson to obtain the maximum effort from each of the committee chairpersons and their committee members. The ability to manage, direct, and indirectly control all phases of the planning, operation, economics, and progress of the symposium by the Chairperson, as outlined in this Manual, will lead to the overall success of the symposium.
In general, the Chairperson is responsible for the overall success of the symposium and receives advice and counsel from the symposium steering committee. The people chosen for these positions should be active Section members in good standing with proven capabilities. Such qualities will lead to a more successful symposium and a much more pleasant and easier management situation for the Steering Committee Chairperson.
2. Selection of Steering Committee Chairpersons:
The success of a symposium will depend largely on the dedication of the committee chairpersons and the members of the their committees. Selection of the person to head a committee is important as this person will be responsible for the successful management of the Committee in completing its assignments in a timely manner, whether it be papers, registration, hotel, or other important symposium functions.
The individual committee chairpersons should be selected from those individuals who have served on Section committees, and, if possible, on a previous symposium or large Section's meeting, and who also want to volunteer, rather than be drafted to serve in the position. The following criteria should be considered when making a selection of a committee chairperson:
a. Does the individual have the time, or can they make the time necessary to perform the work required for the success of the symposium?
b. Is the person capable of organizing, managing, and completing the work involved regardless of business or other pressures?
c. Has the person any previous experience on this or other committees?
d. Will the employer of the potential chairperson understand and agree to support the person's commitment to the Committee?
e. Does the person have the ability to communicate with members of his committee as well as with the Symposium Steering Committee Chairperson?
f. Is the person a doer, and not just a follower?
g. Is the person a volunteer? If the person is drafted or pressured into being a chairperson, then the Steering Committee chairperson will need to watch and possibly replace the chairperson if he should fail to complete the work involved.
h. Which committee will be best suited to the person's talents, personality, and previous experience?
i. Will the person selected work well with the Steering Committee Chairperson and other committee chairpersons?
It should also be determined that the committee chairpersons selected will not permit other duties in the Section or National Office to interfere with his/her performance in the symposium. If other organizations are involved in the symposium, such as the "Ship Production Committee”, then suitable representation shall be made on the various committees by assigning persons as Advisory Chairpersons of the Symposium Steering committee.
The reason for choosing a chairperson within a section hosting the symposium is to maintain close control and have people locally to attend organization and regular meetings. An example of this is the 1986 Star Symposium hold in Portland Oregon, where it was necessary to have people from Seattle on the committee and to help during the symposium. The Northwest Section is spread out over some 320 land miles between Vancouver, British Columbia and Portland, Oregon, and requires the assistance of knowledgeable people from this Section to succeed in such a great undertaking. Here, the chairperson and all committee chairpersons were from the Portland area, but they were backed by vice chairpersons from the Seattle area.
3. Committees:
A symposium chairperson must maintain tight control over his committee.
Generally, the committees that are needed are as follows:
a. Papers
b. Accommodations
c. Publicity
d. Publications
e. Registration
f. Social Program
g. Exhibits
h. Facilities
i. Sponsorship
The responsibility of these committees are discussed in detail in the following sections of this Manual and should be referred to by the Steering Committee Chairperson when evaluating people to be chairpersons of a specific committee. The person selected to head a specific committee should study the requirements of that committee, detailed herein, before agreeing to chair that specific committee. It is better to have a person satisfied that they can perform the duties when accepting the position, than to later find out that they should have taken another position or rejected the request. Remember each person chosen will spend two or more years in planning and carrying out the work to a symposium. It is a commitment and if one chairperson fails to do his work, it will jeopardize the success of the symposium.
4. Setting of Milestones for Progress:
Setting of timelines and milestones for accomplishments are of utmost importance in having a successful symposium. Each committee must determine the lead-time required for all functions within their control. The Section's Executive Committee, the Society Executive Committee, or their designee(s), other participating sponsoring groups, hotels, meeting facilities, etc. must be consulted to determine all necessary deadlines, advance notices, etc. required to completely chart the progress milestones. If these are properly set and followed the symposium can be very successful, but if not followed, can mean a failure by lack of attendance, and therefore, a money-losing proposition. A symposium must be planned to generate a minimum surplus of ten per cent of the registration fees.
Information needed to complete the milestone chart must be assembled from many sources and compiled for distribution to and approval of the Steering Committee. Milestones should be set for each committee and suggested ones are shown in Appendix A (please note these time frames are minimal and longer lead time should be allowed where possible).
5. Leadership and Accomplishing Milestones:
The Symposium Chairperson is the one who leads, assists, advises, and acts as the manager to make sure that each committee chairperson and their committees are performing their tasks. The Symposium Chairperson should not do all the work for the Symposium; he is there to maintain the progress, direct, cajole, help, and assist in meeting the committee milestones tabulated in Appendix A. He or she should encourage the committee chairpersons to make their own decisions.
It must be explained to all symposium management participants, the importance of meeting all the milestones and that by doing so the performance of the Symposium Steering Committee and the symposium will be a great success. Following a milestone set of goals, allowing committee chairpersons to follow reasonable guidelines, and having a small, efficient committee, the Sections will be able to have successful symposia.
If a committee milestone is missed, hopefully a new one can be set, and this goal met. Generally, most committees will build in an allowance for unexpected problems or delays, which helps when a milestone is missed. The chairperson should always have a contingency plan, which can be implemented in case of an unexpected problem, such as a fire, cancellation of a speaker, electrical power loss, non attendance of an author, etc.
