Professor Michael Parsons
University of Michigan
Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
E-mail parsons@engin.umich.edu

1. Organization of the Symposium Brochure:
The Registration Chairperson must prepare the symposium brochure and provide a good estimate of its reproduction costs to the Secretary/Treasurer. It should contain the following information:

• Attractive covers and colors (if any).
• Location of Symposium and dates.
• List of papers and authors, as the program will be presented. This list may include the moderators as well, but this is optional.
• Hotel or motel information
• Luncheon and keynote speakers
• A brief stated purpose of the Symposium signed by the Symposium chairpersons.
• A Symposium logo along with SNAME logo.
• Participating societies or governmental agencies, if any.
• Registration costs.
• List of Symposium Steering Committee and principal committee chairpersonships.
• Discussion information preprints, name and address of Technical Chairperson, brief information on format of discussion, and date discussion should submitted.

All or the above information has to be gleaned from the symposium committees and then once the brochure paste-up is ready to go to the printer, the Symposium Chairperson should review this rough draft with all the Chairperson’s to verify accuracy of the brochure activities. Camera-ready copies of the Society's logo can be obtained from SNAME Headquarters.

It in important that the Symposium Chairperson(s) compose its theme by stating its objectives, scope and rationale. It should embody a synopsis of important symposium events so that potential registrants will have an idea on the intents of the symposium.

The Accommodation Chairperson needs to supply the following for the brochure:

• Name of facility for meeting, convention center, trade center etc.
• Name of hotel, or motel for accommodations
• Addresses of meeting and accommodations
• Directions to facilities
• Telephone number for room registration
• Hotel/motel rates
• Parking or transportation information
• Hotel/Motel registration forms

Based upon this information, the Registration Chairperson should provide a registration form in the brochure that also can be mailed to the hotel or motel. This form should also be included in the web site for the symposium with direct link to Hotel/Motel if available.

The symposium cannot enter into contractual agreements with the airlines, railroads, bus companies, or any other types of transportation per direction of society Headquarters since this will involve questions of liabilities. You can have an airline be a preferred carrier who gives a discount if you mention a specific number as we do with Hotels. It is permissible for the Registration and Accommodation Chairpersons to research and provide information on airports, train stations, taxis, as well as bus or limousine services to the symposium site. Such information will be of benefit to the registrants of the symposium.

The registration brochure is often made from paper, or card stock in a four or six-part folded form. It should ultimately form a booklet in the form of a business-sized envelope that can be mailed at a bulk rate to Society members and other special interest groups. The Registration Chairperson should allot a number of brochures to other cooperating societies or agencies to distribute to their membership.

The format of the registration brochure for a Symposium should in essence contain the following:
A. Cover Fold

1. SNAME logo
2. Symposium logo
3. Symposium title
4. Symposium location
5. Dates of symposium
6. Sponsoring organizations and logo’s if participating

B. Cover Fold (Rear)

1. Return address (SNAME Headquarters or Symposium)
2. Non-profit organization permit
3. A note that this is "Dated Educational" material
4. Space in the center for an address label

C. Technical Program (Input from Technical Committee)

1. Paper Titles and Authors
a. Moderators
b. Time and day of paper presentations
c. Room or location of paper presentations

2. Special Events and Keynote Speakers

a. Time and location of each event
b. Plenary session
c. Keynote speech
d. Luncheon speeches
e. Summary session
f. Panel discussions
g. Workshops
h. Social events & tours
i. Dinners or other events

D. Registration Form
1. Symposium title
2. Dates of symposium
3. Provide space to be filled in by registrants for:

a. Name & SNAME membership number
b. Company or Affiliation
c. Mailing Address
d. Telephone number (email, business & home)
e. Early registration :fee (Member/Non-Member)
f. Regular registration fee (Member/Non-Member)
g. Late registration fee
h. Student member fee (with conditions)
i. Spouse fee (include space for name)
j. Special events and tours
k. Extra luncheon and dinner tickets needed

4. Method of Payment

a. Check, money order, bank draft, or travelers check
(in U.S. funds only) b. Government or company purchase order
c. Credit card
d. State cancellation policy

5. Total cost included
(Note: It a credit card is to be used you will need a number, company and the card's expiration date plus authorization signature)

The brochure should also state that payment be in U.S. funds (it based in the United States) or Canadian funds (it symposium is hold in Canada). Other information such as Society membership (it multiple organizations are involved) and mailing instructions for registration form and payment.

The brochure will include registration information for lodging it symposium in being hold in a motel or hotel. This will also help to track where registrants will be staying during the symposium, in case urgent messages need to reach them.

The final draft of the registration brochure from the printer should be reviewed at a meeting of the Symposium Steering committee so that other chairpersons can make changes. The printing and mailing of the brochure are important issues that the Registration Chairperson must consider at this point in the symposium process. He or she has to maintain close liaison with Society Headquarters and the advisory chairpersons of contributing societies (if they’re any involved in the symposium). SNAME Headquarters handles the printing and mailing and the symposium will be billed for the cost incurred or the symposium can be arrange for the mailing.

2. Budget
The Registration Chairperson has to prepare a budget for the Secretary/Treasurer so that, the symposium fee can be established. Some temporary items that should be allowed for:

• Typewriters
• Computer rentals (especially if using University of Michigan registrant program) or hiring of local firm to do registration duties
• Name tags and badges
• Volunteers, paid temporaries, or commercial firm to handle registrants during days of symposium

3. Mailing of Brochure
The mailing of the symposium registration brochure should follow these steps:

• An International Symposium that is an approved by the National Executive Committee can be mailed through arrangements with the Printer by bulk mail by Society Headquarters.
• Section-Sponsored Symposium - this will be accomplished by the Section's Executive Committee through arrangements made by that Section with its own printer.
• Special Symposium - Will take care of its mailing through. arrangements made by its own steering committee.

4. Receiving and Processing Registration
Record keeping of symposium registrants begins with the return of the first response. It is important that record keeping of registration be performed in a timely and efficient manner to maintain a current list of registrants. These records may be maintained manually, although this is a tedious and error-prone way of accomplishing the task. The beat method is using the computer, particularly the Registration Program mentioned earlier. Several other alternatives are possible such as the use of a word processor, personal computers (Apple, PC, etc.) or a company computer. It is recommended-that the registration information be as simple as possible for several reasons:

• Accuracy - the more information recorded, the greater the possibility of error.
• Keep the recording and information retrieval time to a minimum.
• Simplicity tends to expedite the contemporaneous input of information for status reports on registration progress.

Brochure information from the registrants may exceed that necessary for the use of the Registration Committee. Such details as Society memberships (if more than one Society in involved), the registrants’ accommodation locations, requests for papers, etc., should be kept separate for use by other committees. One method is to assign a number in sequential order as each registrant's registration brochure is received. This numeric code can be used for future control of all documentation regarding luncheons, dinner, special event tickets, registration packages, distribution of preprints, etc. All registration brochures, as they are received, should be dated and retained for future reference if necessary along with copy of checks, etc.

Registration information to be recorded by the Registration Committee might include all of the following:

• Name or Registrant
• Company/Affiliation
• Mailing Address
• Type of Registration and fee paid (check, money order, cash, or voucher)
• Special Events Registration.

The primary use of recorded registration material is to have a summary of the total and type of registration, special event registration, and the total money collected, owed or refunded. If this information in recorded in a computer, interim printouts can be made for interested parties such as the Symposium Chairperson(s), Secretary/Treasurer, Accommodation Chairperson, and Technical Chairperson. If there are any problems with registration, then the Symposium Chairperson(s), the Section Chairman, and the Publicity Chairperson should be notified immediately.

5. Bank Deposits
All checks, money orders, Traveller's checks, and cash should be turned over promptly to the Secretary/Treasurer for deposit in the Symposium's bank account. Similarly, purchase orders and credit card payments must also be given to the Secretary/Treasurer for processing and collection. It is suggested that a photocopy of each check or other form of payment be attached to the registration form received from each of the registrants.

It may be convenient for the Secretary/Treasurer to provide a number of deposit slips and a special stamp to allow the Registration Chairperson to make direct deposits of incoming funds in the Symposium's bank account. Copies of these slips with bank receipts must be provided to the Secretary/Treasurer for accounting purposes and the audit that will be accomplished by the Section once the Symposium has concluded all its business transactions.

6. Cancellations
Cancellations and associated refunds should strictly adhere to the policy that had been established by the Steering Committee and the words printed in the registration brochure. Upon receipt of an acceptable cancellation, the registration records should be amended and refund sent by the Secretary/Treasurer with a letter of regret. Payment receipts, however, shall be part of the Symposium's financial records for audit purposes If the cancellation is a government or private purchase order; the name of the registrant can be deleted and the Secretary/Treasurer so informed.

Cancellations may be made over the phone and the individual who cancels may have made a stop-order on the check. If this should happen after the official cancellation date, the registrant may still be liable for the luncheon, dinner, and Symposium proceedings costs. This liability must be clearly written in the registration brochure. Pursuit of costs associated with the cancellation then become the responsibility of the Symposium Chairpersons and the Secretary/Treasurer.

7. Registration Day Procedures
On the first day of the Symposiums the Registration Committee should set up their registration facilities complete with the following:

• Computers with printers
• Registration name badges in alphabetic order.
• Blank name badges for on-site registrants
• Badge holders
• Ribbons - Identification by color of steering committee, authors, chairpersons, speakers, or honored guests.
• Signs (Directions to Registration Area, if necessary).
• Message Board
• Receipts (for those who pay in cash or wish to have a copy of their payment).
• Typewriter with a typist.
• Papers bounds, and 3 hole punched with binder or CD ROM

To assist in setting up the table and registration area, it would be wise to have the following miscellaneous stationary items:

• Paper Pads
• Scissors
• Stapler and Staples
• Paper Clips
• Rubber Bands
• Ball-Point Pens
• Pencils
• Felt-Tip Pens
• Tape (Scotch and Masking)
• Push Pin or Thumb Tacks
• 3 x 5" Index Cards

The registration name badges should be preprinted or be computer output on white or light pastel medium stock paper and should feature the Symposium title, dates, and logo. The registrant's name, title, if appropriate (Dr., Captain, Admiral, etc.) and affiliation will be typed or printed in reasonably large lettering for ease in identification by other symposium registrants.

Several types of name badge holders appropriate for symposium use are available, including clip, stick on, and pin. Holder colors may be used to signify different types of registrations, if desired. For example, red may be used to signify a member of SNAME, while yellow would indicate a non-member. This will allow the Section's Membership Committee to discuss with this individual the benefits of joining the Society during the Symposium. Other codes may be used to identify authors, VIPs, or Steering Committee members, thereby eliminating the need for ribbons although they can add special status and/or conversation starters if used sparingly.

It is very helpful to assemble all the registration materials into a single package, which can be an 8.5" x 11" envelope or more desirably a folder, printed with the symposium title, dates, and logo. A typical package would include the following:

• Name badge and holder
• Ribbon or color scheme (if appropriate)
• Event tickets
• Program and schedule
• Maps (if necessary)
• Membership information and application (for non-members)

The registration packages, marked with the registrant's name printed at the top, should also be marked to indicate if any payments are required. The packages should be placed in some form of box or holder in alphabetic sequence with the names at the top of the envelopes for ease of retrieval. It may be desirable to have the registrant's name printed on a card stapled to the outside of the registration package which would be signed by the individual accepting the package. The card would be retained as a receipt verification.

The on-site registration desk should be located in a reasonably spacious area at the entrance to the symposium. If there is a large attendance then more than one table should be set up with an appropriate division of names by alphabetic sequence. Additionally, it is advisable to allow for a separate table for walk-in registrants since they will require special attention. Also, this will be a way to note the extra fee for late registration.

The first day of the symposium, both the Registration and Accommodations Committees must work together so that the registration process in a quick and non-confusing affair. The registration desk will also be used by the Technical Committee to distribute the Symposium Transactions and collect late discussions for the authors. A list of symposium registrants with any other last-minute changes should be distributed at the registration desk as this in the focal point of the symposium during the morning hours of each symposium day.

It in important for a members of the Registration Committee to make sure that registrants of the symposium pay in U.S. funds (in the United States) or Canadian funds (if Canada). Besides being a lengthy process, most U.S. banks charge a substantial collection fee for cashing a check drawn on a bank in a foreign country (including Canada). If the registrant has no other means of payment, then a surcharge should be added to account for this collection fee, which ranges from $6 to $25 in U.S. currency. In addition, all payments should be checked to confirm that they are properly signed. If there is a problem with the registrant's prepayment, it should be returned to him or her with instructions for proper payment.

Please note that a check returned and marked with “insufficient funds" should be handled by the Secretary/Treasurer. The registrant should be held responsible for any bank fees incurred when a check bounces.

There may be mitigating circumstances for a cancellation death in a family, job transfer, layoffs, or severe illness and funds could be returned. The cause of a cancellation should be determined through correspondence between the registrant and the Secretary/Treasurer.

8. Final Report
The final report of the Registration Committee is primarily used by the Secretary/ Treasurer to confirm final registration receipts. It will also be useful to the Publicity committee and Secretary-Treasurer in developing reports of the symposium for publication in marine journals or accounting purposes. The report should contain the details of the total attendance, including guests, speakers, students, and authors. In recent symposia, it has been the practice to charge authors half the symposium fee to cover some of the meal and facility costs.