SWOFFORD, from pg. 11
Internet/A/V What was very surprising to us was the Internet rate. As we continue in our quest to allow our membership to be connected educators, it brings with it the cost of the digital age. Our current venue provides the Internet to the association at no charge unless we request to hardwire a device. As we investigated locations other than Tan-Tar-A, some quoted up to $1,000.00 per room, per day for just Internet! This does not include screens, tables, electric, projectors, or other items that may be needed for our guest clinicians. The lack of adequate digital services we feel would become a large burden for our membership and would result in registration delays, diminished clinics, and the loss of other aminities our members have come to both depend on and enjoy. Service charges are another fact of conference planning and we would be looking at an additional 30-35% in service charges for all of our event orders. This factor alone is a very layered and detailed aspect of conference planning that can be difficult to estimate.
Catering In most cases of investigated locations other than Tan-Tar-A, groups are required to have an agreed food and beverage minimum depending on size, rooms, and meeting space. A group our size, depending on the venue, has quoted bids that ranged 40%-60% over what we are now paying. This can easily add up into the 10s of thousands of dollars in burden to the association. The cancelation policies at
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several venues would require the association to take out an additional insurance rider as well as increase our current coverage. As a highly valued returning convention client, we have been able to keep the food and beverage minimum very low compared to other venues. Also, our Tan-Tar-A cancelation agreement is very friendly to the association.
Parking While we all know that parking at our current location can be at best a challenge, the one good thing about it is that it’s free! I think we all know what nightly large city parking rates are, and of course taxi and shuttle fees. In fact, at some hotels, the parking rate over a three-day period would be greater than your registration fee. At our last post-conference meeting, Tan-Tar-A informed us that they would be running four 6 passenger carts throughout the parking lots to better serve our attendees. They are very aware of this and are looking for ways to improve. We are also looking to expand the off-campus shuttles, which were initiated this year. (As we all know, you do not need a taxi to get to a concert from Mr. D’s!) Another consideration about parking is that in a metropolitan area, MMEA is not the only game in town, so to speak. Parking is no guarantee in a large city. At any given time there are many conventions going on with large groups of members all vying for parking, rooms, and space.
Meeting rooms/Performance/ Rehearsal Venues An additional large cost factor many are not aware of is our meeting/clinic rooms, performance halls and rehearsal areas. Due to our conference
attendance and our membership securing lodging at Tan- Tar-A capacity, our meeting rooms, rehearsal facilities and performance facilities are complimentary. We do not pay any rental fees for clinic rooms, the All-State rehearsals, the performance salons, or group meetings. Imagine the impact of this added cost to our membership. Other venues we visited either submitted quotes by the square foot or a flat daily rate. We would also have to locate separate rehearsal areas for the All-State groups and hire and arrange shuttles to take the students to and from the rehearsal rooms. This rate has been estimated to total more than we are currently paying for the entire conference, without food and beverage, A/V or rooms. We would no longer be able to move equipment or set the stage with MMEA personnel and NAfME-C work techs. All moving and staging would be performed by venue labor at an hourly cost.
Having all of our All-State groups perform at our conference is something that we do not want to compromise. Missouri is one of the few states that can showcase ALL of our All-State groups under one roof. This feature is one of the reasons MMEA is widely thought of as among the very best conventions in the nation.
If I may, let me share a bit of history with you. I was a member of the All-State band when the conference was in Jefferson City; we stayed at a separate hotel and rehearsed at Lincoln University. There were but a few
See SWOFFORD, pg. 14 MISSOURI SCHOOL MUSIC | Volume 71, Number 4
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