Spike
Wharton

MBA Program Office

CONFERENCE PLANNING GUIDE

Congratulations! So, you've volunteered and been selected to chair a conference. Organizing a conference will require a lot of hard work, dedication, organization, and good humor, but the experience can be extremely rewarding! On this page, you will find guidelines and suggestions to assist you. To host a professional conference, you must plan well in advance and assemble a strong executive committee. The primary purpose of every conference is to provide robust educational content. Please note that everything you do in planning and preparing for your conference reflects on the Wharton School as a whole. It is essential that you understand the importance of maintaining and building on the Wharton brand.

The information that follows is based on the experiences of previous student conference chairs and Wharton administrators. The accuracy of the information depends greatly on students like you who take the time to inform the MBA Program Office of suggested updates and changes. Good luck!

Part I:  Getting Started/Planning Ahead

Part II:  Maintaining Momentum

Part III:  Final Steps

Part IV:  When the Conference is Over

Part I: Getting Started/Planning Ahead

Students should start planning a minimum of 8-12 months in advance. Allow plenty of lead time but stick to deadlines. Discrete tasks for which people can easily be accountable are best. Remember that high-profile speakers tend to book their schedules 6 to 12 months in advance. Venue selection is also likely to be limited if you do not plan ahead. When asked what they would do differently, former student chairs unanimously reply, “PLAN AHEAD!”

Step 1. Form an Executive Committee
The key to a successful conference is assembling a strong executive committee comprised of dedicated, hardworking people. Select the VPs right away and ask the VPs to choose their team immediately thereafter. Don’t forget to recruit Wharton undergraduates! Wharton undergraduates often have amazing contacts, are very helpful in marketing the conference to a wider audience and are a tremendous source of talented and energetic labor.

Offices (and subcommittees) that you may wish to fill include:

  • Marketing VP
    • Director of Student Relations: Motivates students to attend the conference. Duties include stuffing mail folders with announcements, sending e-mails to the Wharton community, affixing posters around Wharton, and publicizing the conference to local and regional universities.
    • Director of University Relations: Encourages involvement among Penn constituencies by placing ads in the Daily Pennsylvanian, contacting other graduate schools, GAPSA, etc.
    • Director of Community Relations: Contacts local groups outside the University community, such as the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, business councils, consulates, local businesses, etc.
    • Director of Alumni Relations: Liaises with Alumni Affairs to encourage alumni to participate as speakers, panelists and attendees.
    • Director of Public Relations: Liaises with the Wharton Communications Office to encourage media coverage. Writes articles for the Wharton Journal and other Penn publications.
    • Director of Website Development: Oversees the design, development and maintenance of the website, including on-line registration.
    • Director of Promotional Materials: Oversees design and production of programs, posters and flyers.
    • Director of Sales: Oversees ticket sales including recruitment and scheduling of volunteers to sell tickets and reserving space to sell tickets.
  • Corporate Relations VP: Secures and monitors sponsorships commitments until all have been confirmed and collected. Also responsible for confirming names of sponsor attendees, obtaining sponsors’ logos, banners, posters and giveaways, and for sending out thank-you letters.
  • Treasurer: Creates conference budget, handles all deposits and vendor payments and keeps chair informed of conference’s financial status.
  • Logistics VP: Works with Conference Coordinator (CC) to coordinate all pre-event and on-site services at venue (including food and beverage, audio visual, registration, name tags, name tents, speaker gifts, and clean-up after the conference such as mailing back collateral materials to companies, etc.).
  • Content VP: Supervises selection of panel topics and oversees the work of the panel directors.
    • Panel Directors: Act as the point persons between the speaker and the conference; request speaker photos and bios; coordinate all travel arrangements with speaker; and send written thank-you notes.

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Step 2. Create a WebCafe and Establish Regular Planning Meetings
In light of the large number of people and tremendous amount of work involved in organizing a conference, you may want to use webCafe to facilitate communication among the organizers. Meet with past conference organizers ASAP to complete the transfer of all useful information and documents from the prior conference.

Step 3. Select a Date and Venue
The Conference Coordinator is responsible for setting conference dates and ensuring that those dates do not overlap to the extent possible. She will also hold and/or book space for your conference at Wharton, the University of Pennsylvania and/or an appropriate off-campus location (e.g., The Union League, the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue, the Westin, etc.). Note that conference chairs are free to select an alternative venue should they so desire. The responsibility for selecting an alternative conference location rests with the conference chairs who should notify the CC as quickly as possible so that she can release the original reservation.

Arrange for a visit to the venue to see the rooms, layouts, traffic flows, etc. Will there be a room rental charge in addition to the charges for food, audio visual, etc.? Can sponsors ship boxes directly to the venue?

Step 4. Budget and Contracts
Because all student conferences are held under the auspices of the WGA, which is an independently incorporated 501(c)(3), almost all the services you will pay for are tax-exempt. Click on the link to obtain a copy of the WGA’s “Pennsylvania Exemption Certificate.” We also suggest that you familiarize yourself with the "WGA Treasury FAQ (.pdf)."

EXCEPTION : If you serve any alcohol you will still be charged the 10% state liquor tax. Also remember that hotels and other event sites routinely charge a 20% service charge on top of the other charges. Think of this as a giant, non-negotiable tip.

Do not sign any contracts until they have been reviewed by the Conference Coordinator (and Penn’s Risk Department, especially if the contract specifies any insurance requirements).

Food and audio visual expenses will be much higher than you expect. Continental breakfasts typically run about $15/person, lunches (box, buffet, plated/served) start at approximately $25/person, and breaks generally cost about $10/person. Keep in mind that you’re paying for more than the food—you’re paying for the labor, the beautiful displays, the decorations, the linens, etc. Audio visual (AV) costs are **very** high, far more costly than you would ever imagine. The expense can easily run into the thousands of dollars. Get several written quotes for all AV costs before your event so that you don’t receive a nasty surprise.

Once you have a rough idea of the costs for site and equipment rental, food, and marketing, establish a realistic budget. Determine how much money you will need to raise to cover your expenses. When creating a budget, remember the 20% service charge that is added to the basic hotel charges for food and beverages as well as audio visual expenses.

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Step 5. Develop a Theme and Panel Topics
Select a theme that highlights the educational objective of the conference. This will make it possible for you to invite speakers appropriate to the theme of the conference overall and the panels in particular. The Wharton School's high academic reputation should be reflected in the quality of the speakers and the depth of discourse that occurs during your conference.

Leave sufficient time in your schedule for people to move between events and network (e.g., between keynote speeches and panels, to/from lunch, etc.). Give participants—and yourself—some breathing room.

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Step 6. Invite Speakers and Panelists
Securing high-profile speakers takes time and good contacts. Although Wharton has a strong brand, CEOs, political leaders, ex-presidents, ambassadors, entrepreneurs, VCs, et al. are extremely busy people who book their schedules 6 to 12 months in advance. Contact potential keynote speakers as early as possible. Marketing the conference is much easier once you’ve secured at least one keynote speaker.

Leverage contacts as much as possible; cold calls/letters are far less productive than having a personal contact. Inform your speakers that it is possible that there will be members of the press in attendance at your conference/event. If you want to invite a Dean or ask a professor to be a moderator, ask them ASAP. They really appreciate it when you respect their time and their other commitments.

Wharton does not pay honoraria and generally panel members pay for their own travel and overnight expenses (if the latter are even required).  If you would like to give the speaker a small gift as a token of your appreciation you may do so.  The gift should be tasteful but it need not cost more than $25.

Be prepared for the possibility that a panelist or moderator may cancel very close to the date of the conference. It is wise to maintain a list of potential panelists who could possibly be secured within a limited timeframe.

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Step 7. Fundraising/Sponsorship
Presenting a conference can cost anywhere between $15,000 and $100,000. We require that you schedule a meeting with Wharton Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR) prior to the summer break to discuss your fundraising strategy and present your proposed sponsorship package.

In crafting a strategy to solicit funds, please keep in mind that companies are bombarded with requests for sponsorships from different organizations at Wharton and from other organizations at other business schools. Potential sponsors will want to assess how your conference’s objectives will increase their visibility at Wharton. Be prepared to answer: What events/panels do you have planned? How can the company play a role in making them a success? How much financial assistance is requested? What benefits will the company receive in return for their financial contribution?

Helpful Hints When Soliciting Funds:

•  Ask early. Many companies make their sponsorship decisions between May and July.

•  Create an attractive list of benefits.

•  Include any marketing materials, e.g. past brochures, articles, website addresses, etc., with your solicitation letter. Sell your conference as the hottest event on campus!

•  Leverage any student contacts that you may have. Remember -- most sponsorship funds come from the company’s recruiting budget. Ask second years to solicit funds from their summer employers – this usually is the most effective strategy to secure sponsorship monies!

•  Follow up! Follow up! Follow up! Recruiters are very busy people and your request for funds is probably low on the totem pole. Companies are most likely interested in learning about sponsorship opportunities, but may need to be reminded that a response would be appreciated.

  • See the detailed information about Fundraising/Sponsorship (including sample sponsor letters and fundraising presentations)

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Working with Wharton Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR)
Wharton CFR’s primary goal is to raise money for The Wharton School. However, CFR staff members will also be available to help guide conference chairs about fundraising and may be able to connect you with companies or organizations that have expressed interest in a certain area.

100% of the sponsorship payments made directly (e.g., via check or wire) to the "Wharton Graduate Association--For the Benefit of (Conference Name)" will accrue to the conference. 80% of sponsorship payments made to your conference via the University of Pennsylvania or Wharton CFR will accrue to the conference.  This is because the University assesses a 20% overhead fee. (This is a fee charged by Penn to all schools on all funds. For example, Penn deducts 20% of your tuition fees before giving the rest to Wharton for its own budget.)  Certain corporations, especially if they have a foundation, will direct a lump-sum amount to Wharton CFR with instructions about how they want the money divided up between various Wharton initiatives.  This is the case for Merrill Lynch and Citigroup for example.

Sponsorship monies made directly to the WGA should be directed to:

Conference Coordinator
MBA Program Office
The Wharton School
University of Pennsylvania
300 Jon M. Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut Street
Philadelphia , PA   19104-6340

  • See the WGA Treasury FAQ (.pdf) for detailed information about the processes for wire transfers, deposits and reimbursements, etc.

Other Resources
Don’t forget to tap into university-allocated funds. The first stop is GAPSA (Graduate and Professional Student Assembly). This is the organization that represents all graduate students. Grants awarded range from $500 to $3,000. You can get more information and submit the grant request online at www.gapsa.upenn.edu . Certain centers and institutes may also be interested in supporting your conference. For example, the Center for African Studies, Small Business and Development Center, etc. have partnered with Wharton conferences in the past.

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Step 8. Website and Print Materials
Planning a conference entails designing a website, posters, flyers and a brochure. Having attractive, mistake-free marketing materials is essential to the successful branding of your conference. Therefore, it is imperative that publications be proofread very carefully to avoid mistakes .

Use of the Wharton Logo

  • Please see the Wharton Publications website for the detailed requirements for students’ use of the Wharton logo.

Print Materials
Do not underestimate the amount of time required to design, compose, edit, proofread and print marketing materials. Although you will retain a vendor to design the materials, you will still need to provide the designer with content and exchange proofs several times before the final draft is completed. Keep in mind also that you will need to collect and edit speaker bios and sponsor ads from many sources. Printing the materials usually takes 2 weeks. Aim to have all content to the designer a minimum of one month prior to the conference date.

Website Development
The conference website is the first place people go to obtain information about your conference. Create a homepage as quickly as possible and add information to it as soon as that information becomes available. Links to past conferences’ website are helpful in marketing the current year’s event.

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Part II:  Maintaining Momentum
Now that the ball is rolling, you need to maintain the momentum to ensure that speakers are confirmed and that conference rooms are packed with participants. This requires relentless follow-up and aggressive marketing. And you can’t forget to iron out all those logistical details such as food, beverages, audio-visual, speaker gifts, name tags and name tents, etc.

A. Speakers/Panelists
Once a speaker/panelist has been confirmed, request a bio and .jpg photo from the speaker. Speaker bios should not exceed 150 words in length.

Also follow up with the speakers regarding travel and hotel arrangements, the program agenda, AV needs, etc. Many speakers have expressed frustration at being left in the dark until a couple of days before the conference.  Remember that speakers are extremely busy people who have taken the time out of their busy schedule to participate in your conference. Please act in a respectful, considerate manner.

B. Online Registration and Ticket Services
Most of your attendees will register online during the two weeks just prior to the conference.

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C. Marketing
It is of the utmost importance to the success of the conference and the Wharton brand that the conference rooms be filled to capacity. A half-filled room can dampen the mood and energy of the conference. Furthermore, speakers and panelists will likely be disappointed to have traveled so far to speak to only a handful of people.

Conferences usually target five markets: 1) Wharton/Penn students; 2) Wharton alumni; 3) regional and other business schools; 4) Philadelphia business community, and 5) industry professionals and the public at large. Conferences can also attempt to attract regional and national attention by soliciting media sponsorships.

1. Wharton/Penn students
Approximately 50-75% of your conference attendees will be Wharton students. Ways to publicize your conference include:

  • Link on Wharton Worldwide Web. Conferences can request Wharton Publications to create a conference hyperlink on Wharton’s homepage. Wharton Publications will review the conference’s website to ascertain the correct usage of Wharton’s logos and information before creating the link. E-mail editor@wharton.upenn.edu for additional information.
  • Mail Stuffing. Your group can insert flyers about your conference in student mail folders. Alternatively, for a nominal fee, the WGA can stuff mail folders for you.
  • Ad in Wharton Journal. Ad submissions for the Wharton Journal are due by Monday at 5:00 pm for the following week’s issue. Contact the Wharton Journal for more information.
  • For other effective ways to reach Wharton students see Publicizing Your Event.

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Ways to reach students at Other Penn Schools:

  • GAPSA list serve. GAPSA is the umbrella organization for Penn’s 12 graduate schools. If you would like to include your event on GAPSA’s calendar and its weekely e-mail of upcoming events, see the instructions at http://www.gapsa.upenn.edu/announce/ .
  •  Ad in Daily Pennsylvanian. An ad in the DP, though pricey, reaches the entire Penn community. Ads must be placed 2 business days before the desired publication date. However, the DP does offer free event listings. Log on to www.dailypennsylvanian.com for more information or call the DP at (215) 898-6581.
  •  Penn Almanac. Penn Almanac, a campus-wide newsletter, offers free event listings. Request for event listing must be submitted one month before publication date. For more information, visit www.upenn.edu/almanac/calendar/caldead.html .
  •  Flyers and Posters. There are announcement stands located throughout the university. We recommend a stapler gun to affix the flyers and posters on the wooden blocks. Residential dorms and educational departments also have bulletin boards where posters and flyers can be affixed. To obtain a full listing of available buildings and departments on campus, please refer to the back of Penn’s telephone directory.
  •  E-mail List Serve. There are various ways to reach student groups. One way is to contact student groups listed on http://dolphin.upenn.edu . Another way is to contact each school’s admissions or student affairs office to inquire about their student listserve. Below is some contact information:

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2. Wharton Alumni
Rebecca Stone is the Alumni Affairs staff member dedicated to supporting the outreach efforts of current students. Allow at least two weeks to obtain the contact information you would like from Rebecca. Rebecca can also help you obtain approval to send e-mail messages to targeted alumni mailing lists.

3. Regional and Other Business Schools
In recent years, Wharton conferences have been successful in attracting graduate and undergraduate students from other schools. To contact specific student clubs, please visit the schools’ websites, where club and contact information is usually posted.

In addition to sending e-mails, you may want to consider sending posters to those schools and asking them to post them in conspicuous locations. If you have friends who are students at those schools, ask them to help you publicize your event there.

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4. Philadelphia Business Community
In recent years, more and more members of Philadelphia’s business community have participated in Wharton conferences. Attracting members of Philadelphia ’s business community has several advantages: strengthening the ties between Wharton and Philadelphia , ensuring strong turnout, and earning huge profit margins. Past conferences have benefited greatly from creating a strong alliance with local business councils. In return for limited visibility, these local business councils offer Wharton conferences access to their mailing list, help promote the conference, and may also create a link from their website to the conference’s website. Forming alliances with local businesses is a strategic move worth considering. Below is a list of organizations that have partnered with Wharton in the past:

Eastern Technology Council
Karen Carr, Director of Programming
435 Devon Park Drive
Building 600, Suite 613
Wayne, PA 19087
Phone: 610-975-9430, x4468
Fax: 610-975-9432
kcarr@techcouncil.org
www.techcouncil.org

University City Science Center
3701 Market Street , 3rd Floor
Philadelphia , PA 19104
Tel. 215-966-6000
info@sciencecenter.org
http://www.sciencecenter.org/index.asp

Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce
200 South Broad Street, Suite 700
Philadelphia , PA 19102-3896
Phone: 215-545-1234
http://www.gpcc.com/

Also, be sure to investigate partnership possibilities with Wharton’s Small Business Development Center. The SBDC also has a mailing list that can be a great source of contacts. International conference organizers may want to contact certain of the numerous consulates located in Philadelphia . Below is a partial listing of consulates in Philadelphia and their phone numbers.

Austria

215.772.7630

Chile

215.829.9520

Czech Republic

215.646.7777

Denmark

215.772.7454

Dominican Republic

215.923.3006

Finland

215.465.5565

France

215.851.1474

Germany

215.568.5573

Haiti

215.751.2516

Israel

215.546.5556

Italy

215.592.7329

Japan

215.963.5565

Liberia

215.854.6369

Mexico

215.922.4262

The Netherlands

610.520.1614

Norway

215.564.5708

Panama

215.574.2994

Portugal

215.745.2889

Spain

215.848.6180

Sweden

215.496.7200

Switzerland

215.922.2215

United Kingdom

215.557.7665

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5. Public at Large
For a broader-based marketing strategy, many groups have solicited media sponsorships from companies such as the Asian Wall Street Journal, FastCompany, Localbusiness.com, etc.

Another incredible Wharton media resource is Knowledge@Wharton. K@W has partnered with student conferences by writing articles about the event in its on-line publication, which currently has 250,000+ subscribers. For more information, contact Roberta Shell.

Admissions has also been very helpful with regard to marketing the conferences. Admissions representatives travel throughout the States and overseas to host information sessions. They would be more than happy to distribute brochures, flyers, etc. at these information sessions. For more information, please contact Judith Silverman. Alternatively, please feel free to drop by Admissions on the 4th floor of JMHH to chat with a member of their office staff.

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D. Print Materials
The most time consuming project is creating the program. You will need to draft and/or edit panel descriptions, a welcome letter from the Dean and speaker bios. The legwork required is tremendous since several follow-up calls have to be made to secure all the information. Your goal should be to have the bulk of the program finalized a month in advance of the conference. Most designers will be able to make changes, for a reasonable fee, as long as the layout of brochure isn’t drastically altered. As for the print job, most printers can complete the job if given 7 –10 business days, however, there may be a premium fee placed on short turnaround jobs. Some things to keep in mind:

  • All digital photos should be in .jpg format.
  • Sponsor logos should be in .eps format.
  • Speaker bios should not exceed 150 words in length.
  • If you’re unsure about additions to the program such as speaker bios, ask the designer to create placeholders for you. Creating placeholders is a lot cheaper than asking the designer to revamp the layout.
  • Print cost depends on the cut of the brochure and the number of colors used. Black and white is the cheapest; 4 colors are the most expensive.
  • Print cost also depends on turnaround time.
  • Many of the costs related to printing are fixed. Hence there may only a slight cost differential between printing 1,000 and 1,500 brochures. However, once a job is on press, there is no turning back…therefore, proofread everything carefully before going to press.

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E. Sponsors
Please remember that your sponsors support your conferences financially. Therefore, you need to make them happy. Here are items you should be sure to discuss with your sponsors.

  • Request sponsor logos in .eps format immediately. You will need these files if you intend to place the sponsor’s logos on the self-mailer, banner, program, t-shirts, etc. It is better to ask for them early on.
  •  Send the sponsors ad specifications for the program. Ask your designer for ad specs and for the format requirement, e.g. film, digital file, black/white or color etc.
  •  In most cases, sponsors request that a representative from their company participate in one of the panels in return for sponsorship. Confirm with the sponsors regarding company reps and make sure you obtain the rep’s bio and photo. Also send them all pertinent information regarding agenda, hotel, logistics, etc. Sponsors habitually complain that they are left in the dark until the last minute.
  •  Ask the sponsor if they have a banner or poster they'd like to send.
  •  Ask the sponsors if they would like to give any promotional items away, e.g. folders, pens, bags, etc.

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Part III. Final Steps
You’re almost there! These last 2 weeks will be extremely hectic since this is now crunch time. Below please find a checklist to confirm that you’ve covered all your bases.

Publicity

 

Placed notice on Spike Calendar

 

Submitted ad to Wharton Journal

 

Submitted ad to Daily Pennsylvanian

 

Sent global e-mail (Save The Date) to faculty, staff, and students

 

Placed posters throughout campus and at Wharton

 

Sent e-mail to GAPSA listserve

 

Sent e-mail to other Penn schools

 

Ordered banners and submitted work order to Facilities

 

Prepared flyers for mail stuffing

 

Sent final e-mail to alumni listserves

 

Sent final e-mail to other regional schools

 

Contacted press such as Knowledge@Wharton , Daily Pennsylvanian, and Wharton Journal staff

•  For assistance with press releases, see the Conference Press Release Guidelines from Wharton Communications elsewhere on this website.

Hotel

 

Reviewed menu with caterer and approved the detailed Banquet Event Orders (BEOs)

 

Confirmed # of attendees (Aim below the expected #. You can always add more food, but you cannot decrease the amount of food once you’ve confirmed the head count.)

 

Confirmed snacks/coffee/tea for breaks

 

Requested telephone and/or data lines (if required)

 

Requested easels

 

Requested hotel pencils and pads

 

Requested microphones

 

Requested other A/V needs, e.g. screen, webcast, etc.

 

Requested podiums

 

Arranged registration set-up and room set-up

 

Confirmed placement of banner

Ticket Sales

 

Requested tables from for ticket sales

•  See Ticket Sales in Huntsman Hall elsewhere on this website.

 

Listed ticket sales on “What’s New” on SPIKE

 

Purchased receipt books for ticket sales

 

Requested Ethernet connection to sell ticket on-site

 

Obtained blank name tags for day-of sales

 

 

Attendee Logistics

 

Prepared name tags

 

Confirmed the delivery date and location for programs

 

Ordered attendee gifts (if any)

Speaker Logistics

 

Prepared name tents

 

Prepared name tags

 

Purchased speaker gifts

 

Confirmed travel arrangements

 

Confirmed audio-visual needs

 

Confirmed dietary restrictions

 

Sent final e-mail to speakers re: directions, parking, etc., and an overview for their panel including time, location, review of theme, potential questions and other panelists’ bios

Sponsor Logistics

 

Received banners, posters, giveaways, etc

 

Confirmed list of corporate representatives attending

Admin. Logistics

 

Confirmed with Dean’s Office regarding attendance

 

Confirmed with professors regarding agenda

Volunteer Logistics

 

Recruited volunteers to sell tickets in JMHH

 

Recruited volunteers for set-up and for tasks on day of conference

 

Recruited volunteers for clean-up

 

Prepared name tags

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Part IV. When the Conference is Over
You will be proud, but exhausted, when the conference concludes. Remember that the actions you take after the main portion of the conference is over are just as important to maintaining a good impression as the steps you took in planning and executing the conference.

Send hand-written thank-you notes to each speaker and panelist and make sure that you have cleaned up and shipped back to the sponsors any extra materials left at the conference venue.

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