We’ve given readers some periodic teasers about planning for the upcoming LauraPalooza 2012. One such teaser is the formation of sub-committees. We asked a while ago on the Facebook page for LP 2012 about volunteering for various committees, and a lot of you were interested. We’re ready to start forming those now—hooray!
To volunteer, please email [email protected] using the subject line “Committees.” In the body of the email, mention up to two committees you would like to help on, with your top choice ranked first. When choosing, we ask that you note two things:
- The LIWLRA is an all-volunteer organization. We understand fully that people’s lives are very busy these days; please do not volunteer if you don’t have the time to participate. Most of the committees’ work can be done from afar, but periodic online or phone meetings will be necessary. If you expect this to be difficult to fit into your schedule or aren’t good with deadlines, it is likely that being a part of a committee will frustrate you.
- Please offer to volunteer only on committees where you feel confident your experience will help. Everyone has different talents and we want to use all of your individual gifts in the best possible ways.
The sub-committees that will help plan the conference follow. Please note that with few exceptions (notably the Merchandise Committee), existing board members will chair each committee:
Fundraising. Create several long-term and one-time plans of generating funds for the purposes of LIWLRA. Looking for interest and/or experience in grant-writing, working with non-profit fund-raising, organizing silent auctions, etc., and helping with details while at the 2012 conference.
Chair: Connie Neumann
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: 2-3
Keynote Programming. Invite prospective keynote speakers, plan their travel, follow up post-conference with thank-yous, and everything in between.
Chair: Rebecca Brammer
Other board members: Sandra Hume, Jonni Craven
Additional volunteers needed: 1-2
Awards/Awards Dinner. Responsible for developing a process around the ordering of the Legacy Award and presenting it to the board, as well as planning the awards dinner. (Note: recipient has already been selected.)
Chair: Rebecca Brammer
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: 1-2
Content Programming. Review paper, panel, and educator proposals and develop a rubric for judging them. Help schedule content programming throughout the conference.
Chair: Amy Lauters
Other board members: Sandra Hume, Connie Neumann
Additional volunteers needed: 2-3
Friday Night Entertainment. Determine what entertainment we will schedule for Friday night of the conference; a largely logistical job.
Chair: Jonni Craven
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: 1-2
Elections. Establish voting procedures for board members of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association; plan upcoming vote.
Chair: Sandra Hume
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: 2-3
Registration. Handle records and registration; provide tallies for meal and housing counts as well as overall numbers.
Chair: Jonni Craven
Other board members: Sandra Hume
Additional volunteers needed: 1-2
Publications. Responsible for all aspects—writing, editing, designing—of program, assembling speaker bios, collecting maps, etc., and making sure everyone who needs them has copies.
Chair: Sandra Hume
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: 2-3
Food. Plan meals with University.
Chair: Amy Lauters
Other board members: Connie Neumann
Additional volunteers needed: probably none, unless you have a particular passion for food
Children’s Programming. Responsible for planning activities and arranging for their implementation for children entering grades K-6. Skills or knowledge in hands-on pioneer activities is desirable. (Joining this committee does not require you to miss the adult conference activities.)
Chair: Rebecca Brammer
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: 2-3
Merchandise. Plan what merchandise (T-shirts, etc.) to have available for conference attendees. Note: This is the only committee that does not have a board member as its chair. We would love to find someone who has experience in this area to chair this committee. Is it you?
Chair: TBD
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: 3-4
Just-In-Time/On-Site/Technical. Help pre-emptively solve anticipated problematic issues regarding participants’ needs during the conference; be available on-site during the conference to address needs that come up.
Chair: Amy Lauters
Other board members: Sandra Hume
Additional volunteers needed: probably none, unless this particularly appeals to you; an events-planning class at the University will be spearheading this.