Conference Committee Timeline

  1. This committee is unique as far as the term of the committee. It does not run from January to December like the other committees but rather runs from conference to conference (usually April to April).
  1. Contact committee members to make certain they want to be an active member of the committee. This should be done in late summer or early fall for the spring conference.
  1. Conference dates should be established as early as possible. Be sure to check with South Dakota’s president or conference chair to make sure conference dates don’t overlap (this is so lenders & guarantors can attend both conferences). Conference dates for the 2023 conference were set in May 2022.
  1. Contact various hotels to check availability, their willingness to give state rates for sleeping rooms and the number and set-up of meeting rooms. Also, check if they are willing to give comp rooms. The executive board meeting and NDUS systems training may precede the conference, so you may need to book rooms for this as well. Might be a good idea to tour the hotel to ensure needs are met.
  1. Sign a contract with the hotel as soon as possible.
  1. The budget used for the conference is any sponsorship you may receive (usually around $2900) and registrants (the March 2023 conference had 69 registrants at $85 each).
  1. Speakers and entertainment can be booked 3-4 months in advance. Be sure to do follow-up if you book early. It is also a good idea to get a written confirmation. The format for the conference is constant and is usually based on prior conferences.
  1. Contact potential vendors to attend conference and/or display materials – determine space needed for vendors.
  1. The committee needs to be aware of any retirements in the association and plan accordingly.
  1. Stay in contact with the hotel so you can adjust meals in accordance with the number of registrants.
  1. For future conferences keep track of the number of meals served and amount of food used for breaks as well, the actual number of registrants (including the number of on-site registrants) and the number of sleeping rooms used.
  1. The Electronics Initiatives Committee provides one or more committee members to serve on the Conference Committee to meet all NDASFAA website, conference registration, virtual hosting, and miscellaneous technological needs. This includes creating conference graphics for materials and the NDASFAA website.
  1. Recommended instructions for timeline for conference schedule:
  1. The prior year schedule can be used as a template for the upcoming year.
  1. As a courtesy, the institution or locality that is hosting the conference should be given first opportunity to select a presenter to give the welcome message (to open the conference).
  1. If the schedule will be built by submitted proposals, that should be done by early to mid-December.
  1. Conference schedule should be built as much as possible by end of January or mid-February.
  1. Check in one or twice with presenters to make sure they have the correct dates/times for the presentations.