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[[Category:Strategies for Program Chairpersons]][[Category:Finley, Carmen J. Finley, Ph.D.]][[Category:Programs]]

Perfecting the Art of Planning a Local Seminar
by Carmen J. Finley, Ph.D., CG
INTRODUCTION
The Sonoma County Genealogical Society
(SCGS) has developed planning strategies for
all-day seminars that provide top-notch speakers
and make enough money to finance activities
that do not support themselves.
SCGS is located in Santa Rosa, California, 50
miles north of San Francisco1. The society has
about 375 members. SCGS has offered seminars
since 1992, but major changes were made in
1998. The strategies perfected since then may
benefit others.
SUCCESSFUL SEMINARS
Some key ingredients to a successful seminar
are (1) obtain a top-notch nationally-known
speaker; (2) use a committee to handle planning;
and (3) learn from your experience through
evaluation.
(1) Obtain a Speaker
Finding the right speaker is no small chore. Our
members who attend regional or national
conferences are assigned to scout out potential
speakers who are knowledgeable in the field and
able to hold the attention of the audience.
When a potential speaker is identified, one or
more of his/her lecture tapes is purchased so that
others can hear a sample of the person’s
delivery. Those who have listened to speakers
live or on tape, nominate their favorites.
At the first meeting of the seminar planning
committee, usually in September, the group
reviews these speaker nominations along with
information gleaned from the Genealogical
Speakers Guild2 and elsewhere on the Internet.
Searching Google3 for the name of the speaker
candidate will usually bring up helpful
information and often a list of the tapes that
have been produced by that person. Also listed
might be any recent seminars given by a
potential speaker in your area.
Armed with this information, and whatever else
members of the planning committee contribute,
a ballot is taken of the six or eight persons on
the list. The speaker candidate who receives the
highest rating is then contacted, not for the
coming year, but for the following year. The
society has found that planning a full year and a
half ahead avoids conflicts in scheduling both
the speaker and the facilities.
�
Perfecting the Art of Planning a Local Seminar
Page 2 FGS Society Strategies, Set VI Number 7
(2) Use a Planning Committee
The planning committee consists of ten persons,
including the SCGS president in an advisory
capacity. Titles and responsibilities include:
Chairperson; Secretary; Treasurer; Speaker;
Registrar; Facilities; Publicist; Vendors; Packet
Preparation for Participants; Lunch and
Refreshment Arrangements. Someone is also
responsible for Post-Seminar Evaluation.
A monthly meeting keeps everyone on track and
serves as an information source about the
seminar. The secretary and treasurer perform the
typical job functions, while the remaining
committee members serve as follows:
Speaker Liaison
One committee member makes all contacts and
arrangements with the speaker. This begins with
the invitation and negotiation of dates. It
includes coordinating the selection of topics (a
function of the committee-at-large), obtaining
information for publicity, determining speaker
needs (equipment, printed material the speaker
wishes to have reproduced, etc.), assisting in
transportation needs, making local hotel
reservations, meeting the speaker on arrival and
being available throughout the duration of their
stay. This committee member also arranges a
dinner for the speaker and committee members
following the seminar.
Registrar
The registrar is the person who receives the
registration form and the payment from persons
planning to attend. Fees vary depending on the
membership status of the individual. The
philosophy of SCGS is to keep rates low in
order to encourage better attendance: SCGS preregistered
members pay $15, non-members $18;
walk-ins on seminar day pay $20 regardless of
membership. An optional box lunch is $10.
The registrar develops a database of reservations
and forwards checks to the treasurer. In the last
week before the conference, the registrar prints
name labels for attendees and master lists of
pre-registrants for the registration desk. Lists
also show orders for the three box lunch
options. The name tag is coded with one of three
colored dots if a lunch has been ordered.
Facilities Liaison
One member is designated as liaison between
the society and the meeting place. In 1998, a
major change was to move to a local facility that
had a 400 seat auditorium. This was an
improvement over the previous facility, but also
was considerably more expensive. The society
in 2001 paid $885 for rental of the auditorium.
To the basic rate, other charges are made for
additional requirements (tables, audiovisual
equipment for the speaker, etc.).
Publicist
Publicize, publicize, publicize! Getting the word
out is an on-going process that begins at least
nine months before the planned event.
Seminars tend to be held in late March, so the
first effort usually begins the preceding May or
June. The speaker liaison obtains material and
photo from the speaker, and writes the first
publicity which goes onto a Web page4. This is
used as the basic information to be developed in
different formats—fliers, mailers to local news
media, and the program to be included in
participants’ packets.
The message is delivered by several members in
a number of ways. The person who develops the
Web page contacts other local, state, and
national Webmasters to ask them to link to a
page announcing the new speaker. While these
requests are not 100% effective, at the national
level cooperation is always received from the
Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS), the
National Genealogical Society, Genie Speaks,
and Dick Eastman, whose column is read by
thousands of persons. At the state level,
CAGenWeb can always be counted on. The
California State Genealogical Alliance (CSGA)
also helps get the word out.
�
Perfecting the Art of Planning a Local Seminar
FGS Society Strategies, Set VI Number 7 Page 3
In the San Francisco Bay Area many of the
CAGenWeb county pages will link to the SCGS
announcement. Notices are posted to NORCAL,
the Northern California mailing list several
times during the months preceding the seminar.
SCGS has a person who is the official liaison
with both FGS and CSGA. She takes fliers to all
regional and national meetings. She visits
nearby county societies to hand deliver fliers
and to announce the coming event. The SCGS
newsletter carries articles several months before
the event. In January, a full-page colored flyer is
inserted into the newsletter.
Local and nearby Family History Centers
receive flyers. Flyers are distributed to all
branch libraries in Sonoma County. Local
genealogy classes receive flyers. The society’s
publicity person contacts all newspapers and TV
stations on the regular mailing list.
As a community service, the local newspaper
will provide free display ads once a year, if
requested six months in advance. In the first
couple of years this ad occupied one-sixth of a
page. Last year it was somewhat smaller, but
still very generous. Participants at the seminar
receive a flyer in their packet announcing the
next year’s seminar.
It is impossible to overemphasize the
importance of publicity.
Vendors
SCGS has not been successful in attracting
many commercial vendors, although those who
do come provide interesting materials and are
supported by audience members.
Packet Preparation
One committee member takes responsibility for
printing the materials that go into packets for the
participants. These usually include the speaker’s
outlines and notes, a program, a list of SCGS
publications for sale, and an evaluation form,
along with a flyer for the next seminar. The
planning committee members assemble the
packets in about 1½ hours.
Lunch and Refreshments
One committee member sees that coffee and
muffins are available before the seminar and
during session breaks. That person also relays to
the caterer the number and kind of box lunches
ordered, and oversees their distribution on
seminar day.
(3) Learn through Evaluation
Participant evaluation is critical but having the
form in the packet does not guarantee a good
response. The seminar chairman, during the
opening announcements and at each break,
reminds the participants that evaluations are
critical to future planning.
In addition to comments on the speaker,
facilities, and vendors, we ask where they heard
about the seminar and how many years they
have been doing genealogy.
In 2001, an 85% return was received from a
group of 237 persons. The analysis includes a
breakdown of pre-registered members and nonmembers,
walk-ins and where attendees came
from. The 2001 analysis revealed that 130
members and 107 non-members attended. Of
these, 1 member and 40 non-members registered
“at-the-door.”
One disappointment for SCGS is that a high
proportion of our own members typically do not
attend. On the other hand, it is heartening to find
that the seminar drew over 100 persons who are
not members.
Equally revealing is an analysis of their
residence by county (other than Sonoma). Thirty
came from adjacent counties, 23 from the Bay
area, and 16 traveled from a distance more than
100 miles from Santa Rosa.
Vital to the publicity effort, SCGS asks
participants how they became aware of the �
Perfecting the Art of Planning a Local Seminar
Page 4 FGS Society Strategies, Set VI Number 7
seminar. Responses for the March 2001 seminar
showed the majority (103) received the news
through the SCGS Newsletter. Referrals from
friends was the second most popular method
(28) while reading about the event in other
newsletters drew 19.
The Web site attracted 17 registrants; a flyer
posted at a nearby Family History Center drew
16. Announcements in the local newspaper
appealed to 13 and a letter or announcement by
the president also gained 13 attendees.
Other efforts were responsible for under ten
registrants each: a posted flyer at the library, an
announcement in a genealogy class, and posting
on a local area events calendar.
SUMMARY
The experience SCGS has accumulated over the
past four years has demonstrated that this model
for seminar planning is successful. However,
any society that undertakes planning a seminar
as a way to educate their members and provide
funds for other society activities, must be
willing to spend a lot of time in advance
planning. The guidelines discussed in this paper
can be adapted for specific needs to make any
local seminar a success.
NOTES
1. Sonoma County Genealogical Society, PO
Box 2273, Santa Rosa, CA 95405-0273.
2. Genealogical Speakers Guild Web site:
<http://www.genspeakguild.org/>.
3. Google: <http://www.google.com/>.
4. The Sonoma County Genealogical Society’s
Web site is at <http://www.scgs.org>.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carmen J. Finley, Ph.D., CG, chairs the NGS
Family History Writing Contest and has
authored numerous articles that have appeared
in FORUM the National Genealogical Society
Quarterly, the American Genealogist, the
Virginia Genealogist, and others. Her Finleys of
Early Sonoma County, California was published
in 1997 by Heritage Books, Inc. She is the
UsGenWeb’s coordinator for Augusta County,
Virginia.

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