Coordinator of the Schedule, Panelists, and Volunteers

You are responsible for, well, coordinating the Schedule, Panelists, and Volunteers. The name pretty much says it all. But what precisely does that *mean* ? For one, it means a lot of email writing, and a lot of note-taking, and a lot of schedule tweaking. For the general layout of a schedule and a few samples of schedules of previous conventions, please see the "Schedule and Event Planning" section of CP 101.

With the rest of your staff- who may have specific ideas for scheduled events or who may not care in what order things happen- you need to figure out a) what sort of panels you would like to see at your con, and b) how many spaces do you have available for them. Try putting them into your schedule blank. Pay careful attention to things the suggestions in the Event Planning section- why Opening Ceremonies starts so late, how much time is needed for Radio Play auditions and rehearsals, having art panels opposite writing panels in the same block instead of doubling up on the same type in the same timeslot, and the Special Guest/Fan Panelist equivalent of the same. Shuffle things around...but don't get attached to one particular layout. Your schedule is going to go through a lot of different permutations.

You don't want to plan for Special Guest Panels that can't be handled by your confirmed Special Guests; a storyboard artist probably won't be interested in trying to host a character design panel. Know what your special guests are willing to do; ask them if they have anything they have enjoyed hosting before, or would like to host but have not previously had a chance to. (You will, of course, be asking most of these people through your Guest Liaison.)

Once your staff has an idea of what sort of panels you'd like to have, it becomes your job to arrange for them. A nice way to get ahead start on this is to approach people at the current year's con who have done panels you've enjoyed in the past, and ask if they are interested in hosting something similar for your con. Talk to people during the con, see if any of them had an idea that they thought of too late to get in for the current year's scheduling but would like another shot. Take email addresses, write down ideas, and follow up.

Have one of the first updates your con gives to announce that you are accepting both panel suggestions and hosts for, say "the next two months". Set a deadline for people interested, and remind them in the updates along the way. You probably won't get too many people who jump at volunteering for this; many are unsure to put themselves forward. If anyone wants to host a panel that the staff does not feel belongs at the con- though we tend to be pretty varied in our interests, so it would have to be something pretty bad not to make the cut, or someone you know through experience would not be a good host for it- feel free to politely turn them down.

Take your list of "panels we want for the con" and "panels we have people wanting to host for the con" and see how many are similar in nature. All the rest, you know have the job of putting together. Which you do by tracking down someone who has hosted a similar panel in the past or someone you *know* will be good at doing so, and asking them if they are interested. Be clear about the idea you have, and how much freedom they have to alter it. They are going to be the one(s) hosting the event, after all. Ask several people, if its the sort of panel that works better with multiple hosts, and then make sure each one is comfortable with working with each other. See that each co-host has eachother's emails, and let them plan. They probably won't get too in-depth until a couple months before the con; check back with them to see how things are going around then, and make sure they are still in for it.

A single person can be a host on more than one panel- as long as they are not going on at the same time. Be careful that you don't "double book" a person in the same timeslot.

Your schedule will likely be too fluid to bother posting at an early date; however, you should at the least have a) A list and description of events and their hosts, b) The starting time of the first panel on the first day of the con, the ending time of the last panel on the last day of the con, and which night is the Banquet/Masquerade if you are having, and c) A disclaimer telling people that all panels and hosts are subject to change, and that a finalized schedule will be posted closer to the convention dates.

You may also want the give your panel and event hosts the opportunity to include a short bio for the website, and con booklet if your con is producing one. Emphasize "short" - in depth explanations of their life and art may be posted on their website, the url of which may be included in their short bio. Editing may be required either way.

While you are talking with your panelists, you may want to ask them if there are any panels on the list that they themselves would like to attend, and if at all possible avoid scheduling a panel they are hosting opposite ones they are interested in. You probably also want to confirm with them that they are going to be there for the full weekend- some people arrive late and leave early, and you can't pen someone in for hosting a panel that they won't be physically present for.

After you have a full finalized schedule- which may not be until a few weeks before your con, although you may want to include a rough schedule on your con website before then, again with the "subject to change" disclaimer- run it by your panelists. Make sure that they are at least agreeable to the time slot they have been given, and that you have all the pertinent details correct- like who is going to be presenting it, since its hosts may have changed since the first time you spoke to them. Last-second changes might be needed; once you have everyone signed off on the schedule, post it to the website and turn over the physical Schedule file- as well as event descriptions and panelist bios- to however is putting together the con booklet layout. (Which might be you.)

After all that, you have the *slightly* easier job of coordinating your staff and volunteers for the con. People's duty blocks should follow the same pattern as the panels do, 90 minute blocks or however you have chosen to lay you schedule out. You need one staff member at least at the Registration and Staff Table at all times that each is open; generally you want two people at each location but one can be a volunteer- make sure it is someone you know you can trust. The Staff Table staff member is also the on-call person for dealing with any problems the dealers may have; ie, you are acting Dealer's Head while said staffer is on break. (You don't want to stick your staff in one location for the duration of the con, nor heap them with duties. They should have a little time to enjoy what they helped put together...and remember, some of them may have panels to host.)

You also need someone- or some two- watching the Art (section of the) Room. Again, one should either be your Art Room head or acting in that capacity, and one can just be a trusted volunteer.

Often the Radio Play Auditions need a volunteer or two to keep the waiting line in order; If you are having any special events like the Clan Olympics, a volunteer or two for them may be in order. Check with people to find out what they need. You may need a volunteer to act as a "runner" at different times of the con. You may need extra help specifically for the set-up and tear-down of the Art Room. A few people may need to be tapped to watch the Consuite when the host/ess needs to take a break.

After you okay the staff duty schedule with your fellow staffers, you get to do the rest of the volunteers. Your registration forms should have a check box for people interested in loaning a little time to volunteer; the registration coordinator should be able to give you a list of names and email addresses. Try to minimize the amount of work you need from each volunteer- if you can get away with each person only having to do one block of volunteering for the whole con, do it. Otherwise, it is the same as the panelists- see if anyone has a preference for duties and times, and try to match it up.

Why, you may ask, should one go through all this effort to make sure the volunteers are comfy with their schedule? Because you *need* their help. If you didn't, you wouldn't be going through the effort of arranging to have them in the first place. And if you haven't bothered to clear that their work and times are okay with them- like making sure you haven't penned them in to sit registration opposite the one panel or event they were most looking forward to participating in- they might just blow you off and go do what they want anyway. And then you're left short-handed, which is never fun. A little extra effort in the first place can save you a lot of trouble down the line.