In last month's newsletter I wrote that the cost of VOS conference meeting rooms is mitigated when attendees reserve resort accommodations through Penny Smith, VOS' travel agent. Penny is one of four people VOS pays for services (the other three are Maralyn Probst, Meggan Brovege, and Heidi DeCamp). Penny does far more for VOS than organize travel and rooms. She works behind the scenes as an event organizer, using her long experience in the ski resort industry to negotiate prices for food, conference rooms, and lift tickets, and generally smooths the way for VOS.

Penny starts the meeting planning process with Maralyn and the VOS board three years or more before the actual meeting date. The preparations for a meeting start in full about one year before the conference begins, at a site visit to the next year's location: Last March, Penny, her husband architect Bill Smith, Maralyn, and I visited Snowbird, Utah, the site for the 2017 meeting, for three days. Bill designs the exhibit hall layout, mapping out a jigsaw puzzle of table sizes to help Maralyn accommodate exhibitors' needs and wants while assuring a politically correct juxtaposition of competing products. He also plans the arrangement of chairs and tables in the lecture hall and makes sure we have enough seating.

Penny and Maralyn take the lead roles at the site visit, and since Penny usually knows several people at the site, she liaisons with the resort staff and attends planning meetings. For example, Penny, Maralyn and I spent four or five hours meeting with Snowbird facilitators planning the conference menu. Penny suggested food choices off a long list provided by Snowbird, Maralyn kept an eye on costs, and I did my best to look presidential.

The modest amount that VOS pays Penny (I assume some trickles down to Bill, who volunteers his services) is for her conference organizing duties, which are in addition to her travel agent duties. Like all the people who help organize the VOS conference, she pulls double duty.

 

Rich Evans, PhD