Public Relations

1. Know the Details: Ensure you have the date, time, location, description, website (or link to the departmental homepage) and any details that might help promote the event.
2. Coordinate the event with University Communications and Marketing:
   • Contact University Communications & Marketing
   • Submit a Media Request Form
   • Request a mention on WIU Social Media accounts.
3. Complete the online form to submit the conference for WIU's public events calendar
4. Create Print Publications
   • 11" x 17" poster formats are easier to see from a distance
   • Ensure poster proofs are approved by DGSE PRIOR TO PRINTING
   • Contact University Printing & Mailing Center for printing process and prices
5. Hand out posters to other EGO members to post around campus. NOTE: ALL campus buildings have a building representative who must view the poster and make it for permission or it will be discarded. Suggested buildings: Simpkins, Union, Morgan, Currens, Library, Horrabin.

Facilities

Responsibilities include reserving a room for the Keynote Lecture. Minimum requirements:

• The room should have A/V (see below)
• seating for at least 40-80 people (depending on topic and profile of speaker)

For Morgan 109, contact the Registrar's Office about a month in advance to reserve the room and was sent a confirmation email.

Key for the room and technology cabinet must be checked out from the Office of Public Safety. They will keep your ID and will need to see the written confirmation form signed by your faculty advisor.

Audio/Visual

To obtain a PA/microphone:

• Call University Libraries well in advance of the event to reserve necessary equipment (309) 298-2758.
• The day of the event--or first day of reservation--you can go pick it up. That thing is super heavy, so lift safely, use your legs to lift, not your back, eat your spinach, etc. Getting assistance lifting is preferred.
• After checking the equipment out, you can pull up to the loading zone on the side of the library for ease of loading. You will need your student ID to check the equipment out.
• Be sure to return all the equipment or you will be charged for it.

Food

• WIU's on-campus vendor is Sodexo.

Primary Duties of Refreshments Coordinator

• Reserve an appropriately-sized space for conference lunch.
• Obtain quotes for breakfast, lunch, and daily coffee from Sodexho.
• Confirm order information with Sodexho.
• Pay Sodexho their blood money within a reasonable amount of time.
• Compose a report detailing all pertinent information for next year's conference.

Reserving a Room in the Union

• Go to the Office of Conference and Event Services/Sodexho Campus Services suite on the second floor. This is in the left corner of the building.
• Talk to the main receptionist, usually a student worker.
• Reserve a room in the Union as soon as possible as they fill up quickly. You should complete this task within a week of being assigned the responsibility. Give an approximate head count, the times the room is to be reserved, and how you would like the room arranged.
• You may have to confirm your reservation via email.

Obtaining Quotes

• In the same Reservation Services suite, there is a Sodexho services side room. Go there.
• Sodexo will give you all the information you need and generate a quote for you based on whatever ideas you might have.
• The past two years have had a lunch head count of around 35-40 people. For breakfast, we estimated 60.
• You may confirm your choices via email. Quotes arrive within a week or so of being placed.

Best Practices

Preparation

3 Weeks Ahead: Contact your speaker by email to introduce yourself and ask questions about what to include in the introduction a few weeks before the conference.

• Ask for all links they wish to have promoted in relation to the event
• Ask for comprehensive needs list for A/V needs, and check with University Technology to ensure the room can accommodate all hardware, software, apps, internet feeds, etc.
• Ask your speaker to please send a HI RESOLUTION PHOTO to you and forward it to university relations as soon as possible for the press kit
• Consider asking university relations for a brief media training to hone your soft skills, boost your vita, and help get to know our WIU university relations professionals
• View all your presenter's digital materials to ensure they work, you have access to them, can load the presentation and put everything on a backup flash drive

The Night Before: It is incredibly important to have met the speaker before introducing him/her.

• Discuss the introduction with the speaker with enough time afterwards to revise based on his/her preferences.
• Practice saying their preferred name, title, credentials
• Have your speaker's thank you note the night before and have your team sign it. Include the number for university relations in case they have questions about the news coverage.
• Load up your speaker's digital files on the A/V equipment if possible.
• Prepare Nametags for all leaders and speakers
• Prepare sign-in sheet.

Press Kit Final Checklist

Your official "Press Kit" for the conference should include, for each speaker/topic;

1. A high resolution photo suitable for publishing in newspapers submitted to University Relations
2. The speakers/books/topic one page bios/summaries in PDF for easy download
3. Contact Sheet - List all persons able to answer questions about this conference for quotes, comments, filler for news releases, including:
   • Correct Name Spellings
   • major or credentials
   • hometown (so their hometown newspaper can be contacted and promote it)
   • links to relevant blogs, websites, other resources
4. Put all items in a folder. Compress the folder, and send copies to all presenters, faculty advisor, DGSE, and University Relations. 

Introducing Guest Speakers

Speaker Introduction: EGO Conference

• Read and review your guest speaker's book well in advance.
  • If you need assistance with the book, visit WIU's Malpass Library to see if it's available via interlibrary loan. If unavailable, consult with our Departmental Chair, Dr. Marjorie Allison.
  • Read and took notes on the book.
  • Prepared a ~2.5 double-spaced page (~5 minute) introduction, mainly noting their credentials and summarizing key parts of her book.
• Submitted introduction to various EGO members and faculty advisor for review and revision suggestions.
• Met with your guest for dinner before the conference.