One swell swoop: Conference Management unit a smooth operator
PULLMAN, Wash. – Five hundred people wait in Martin Stadium. The next speaker? WSU President Elson S. Floyd. Then the microphone stops working.
Its OK. Ill just shout, the woman on the field yells.
The audience shouts back: What?
The event is seconds away from becoming what WSU Conference Management Director Kelly Newell calls a goat-rope, aka a chaotic mess. But Newells job involves another phrase: A swoop-in moment. And she does. She swoops onto the field and fixes the loose connection.
We plan every detail but theres always something that goes wrong, she says in her office at the Center for Distance and Professional Education, which includes WSU Online. But not much can go amiss that we havent seen.
Conference Management organizes 40-50 educational conferences and events a year. Newells staff of nine is divided between Pullman and Puyallup. Our job is to make everything look flawless, Newell says. Then the client can enjoy the conference – and get all the credit – instead of running helter-skelter trying to put out fires.
Many problems are tech related, but Newell and her staff also know who to call when gates are locked, the power is off or the bathrooms are dirty. They deal with sprained ankles, gallstones, earthquakes, cancellations, unregistered attendees and finding a mini-refrigerator for insulin. They know who to talk to about the food, and what to say. Our staff has a long-standing relationship with the back of the house, Newell says. We can go to the kitchen or the sales office and get the problem fixed.
Another key conferencing phrase is scope creep. Thats what happens when clients realize theyre heading for a goat-rope.
The client goes through our bid and scratches off line items to save money – Oh, well handle that on our own, Newell says. Invariably, they come back and say, What were we thinking? can we add it now?
Newell says her organizers are all high energy, type A people:
Were always clicking. She snaps her fingers. We dont have a panic mode. When we have something to do, we just go ahead and do it. Snap, snap, snap. And we have the connections to make sure things get done. Does that energy translate into her personal life? Sure looks like it. Newell and her husband are raising 4-year-old twin boys (the newts), shes earning a doctorate in higher education administration with an emphasis in cultural studies, and shes a triathlete who has done four Ironman competitions.
Im a multi-tasker, for sure, she says.
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