Fulfilling experience

----posted on behalf of Vivian Lee-----

Last friday was the day of the event I was helping to organize - ACRES
10th birthday gala dinner. This is the first time I'm taking part in
organizing such big event and actually executing it. Now I'm having
some withdrawal syndrome.

When we were all preparing for the actual day, we can't wait for it to
be over because nothing is ever an easy task. Everything was in a rush
and there is always endless things to check. Now, I kind of miss the
whole event. Your colleagues thanking you and all the praises make you
feel that every hard work and effort you put in is worth everything.

I wanna share some pointers that I've learnt from this event.

1. Finding sponsorship is never easy.
No one likes to do things or give their products away for free. After
they gave you a confirmation, it's all about calling and always
updating them what's happening, keeping in touch, make sure you thank
them lots and make them feel appreciated. Even if they agree on
helping you at first, they might pull out at the last minute for any
reasons. So......

2. Always have a back up plan and expect the non-expected.
We experienced some performers backing out because of personal matters
three days before the event. Also, people tend to be late, thus we
must always be prepared that show might be delayed and of course,
those who are on time will be unhappy. Hence, we need to be really
polite and always thanking them and apologize for anything. This goes
back to building good relationships.

3. Introduce yourself and make contacts.
During an event, you may or may not have met all the people yet
(sponsors, venue person-in-charge, all performers). So it is always
good to say hi, introduce yourself as they might be of help to you in
the future.

4. Volunteers management.
Once again, we couldn't have possibly done it if not for all the
volunteers that were helping us. They are the second most important
asset in an organization. It's always better to have a good
relationship with them.

Next step will be doing post evaluation and maintaining relationship
with our supporters which I will cover in my next entry!