CONvergence Convention Committee Meeting Notes
Saturday, June 18th, 2016
Future meeting dates (subject to change)
Sat, July 23rd* (Post Mortem and Volunteer Party)
This is a date change from previous notes
To be confirmed
August 2016
September 2016
October 2016
November 2016
January 2017 Board Election
February 2017
March 2017
April 2017
May 2017
June 2017
June 2017
July 2017 Post Mortem and Volunteer Party
Board Announcements
Post mortem
Post mortem break out will be an executive section. However the first part of meeting will be open to the public as usual. Bring your concom badge to the post mortem break out sessions to identify yourself as current convention committee members.
Hotel watch
The HoME Division is watching the DoubleTree’s performance very closely this year. If any department should experience any challenges with the hotel’s servicing of our convention, please report these right away. If the challenge requires immediate attention please contact the HoME Division Director or Division Director-elect Nadim Khalidi via radio. Please do not engage the hotel staff in these situations. If the situation merely needs to be reported, please send an email to ho…@convergence-con.org and to facil…@convergenceevents.org. We ask preferably send to both addresses, but either one alone will suffice.
The board would like to remind everyone to please be on the lookout for trash in the hotel
Hotel Future
DIVISION DISCUSSION –
CONvergence has been in this facility since 1999 (Any thoughts that we spent a year somewhere else is clearly subversion and hallucination). In that time we have enjoyed a very good relationship with the hotel under all three banners.
However, we have grown beyond what this facility can provide, and we have had many problems in the last few years that are very hard to ignore including: contract breaches, price changes, poor treatment, billing issues, and exceptionally late availability of our spaces.
The board, lead by Ishmael, has been looking at new homes for two years now We have been given a very compelling offer from the Hyatt Downtown Minneapolis. 100,000 sq ft of function area, 800 hotel rooms, bus lines and light rail, attached parking ramp, skyway, next to other major hotels for rooms and functions, etc.
The decision to move will come eventually, the question is, when should we? The board has come up with an emergency plan available for moving in 2017 if needed. We could move more sedately for our 20th year in 2018. We could move with dispatch thereafter. There are a lot of reasons to move, there are a few (and shrinking) reasons to stay. It’s time to discuss and decide where our very-near future is.
NOTE – IF we must move in 2017, a decision to do so will be made by 4:30pm on Saturday at Con (July 2, 2016) and announced to the concom mail list, masquerade halftime, closing ceremonies, signs in registration, the website, etc.
DoubleTree Move in Times:
Logistics not in until noon on Tuesday (6/28)
Most space not available until noon Tuesday or Wednesday
ConCom Badges:
Will be handed out to you by your Divisional Director once we are on site for the convention.
Room Drawing
Brittney Vaillancart
The Big Thank You
“And how to we get there?” More accurately: how did we get HERE? Two weeks before the con, the “biggest endeavor that many of us engage in in a year.” We all got here based on the efforts of each other. We all pitched in this year. There have been aggravations, arguments. There have been tensions between people, but there’s also been a lot of cooperation, laughter, smiles, people caring for one another, that’s what makes Con go. The six directors and “the new guy” all greatly appreciate time, talent, sweat, tears, angst, joy, mirth, comedy, laughter that you all bring. This is truly community effort, we are the community that makes it go. From the bottom of our hearts, from one to another, thank you. Thank you for the show we’re going to put on. By the end of the weekend, bedraggled, underslept, undernourished, overwhelmed….still we’ll look back on it and say “damn, that was pretty.” Thank you.
Department Announcements
Activities
Administration
Volunteers
The Volunteer Party Host would like to announce the following prize packs for the big drawing at the Volunteer Party:
1) Up All Night: 4 cases (48 bottles) of True Stone Coffe Roasters’ Cool Brew (cold brew coffee in 12-oz bottles)
2) Date Night: 2 tickets to Fearless Comedy’s October show, Masquerade at Bernard’s (a Shakespearean Weekend at Bernie’s) and a $30 gift certificate to the Uptown Diner
3) Game Night: a prize pack from Fantasy Flight Games and a small gift basket from Isabel Street Heat (containing hot sauce or seasoned salts to top your snacks for the evening)
4) Decorating Geek: a framed laser-engraved drawing of the Serenity
5) Comics Geek Starter Pack: (actual contents yet to be determined, but some Volume 1s and a gift certificate)
6) Electronics Geek: an iPad (specifications yet to be determined)
Thank you to the various companies and individuals that have donated prizes. The full list of donors will go up as soon as it’s finalized.
Addition:Due to a very generous donation from one of our invited participants, the Volunteer Party has added a seventh prize pack:
7) Superhero Geek: A superhero-themed art glass hanging wall panel from Kitsune Art Glass. The choice of superhero is yours!
Pick up your Uber Gift and T shirt today, otherwise we will be open on Wednesday, June 29th during Badge Pick Up!
Something new this year we are trying is Mobile Volunteering. Sarah Seitz will be dressed up as Mary Poppins and will be out and about the Convention actively recruiting Members to fill High Need and other positions. She will also be able to answer any questions that members may have about Volunteering. If your department has a High Need position that you have a hard time filing, please email volunteers@. Special perks and rewards will be giving for those who volunteer with Volunteer Mary!
We also need ideas and suggestions for the special perks and rewards for these special volunteers who step up to fill a high need. If you have any ideas or suggestions for next year, please email volunteers@
Throughout Con we will be available with Google Hangouts, volunteers@, and on the radio. If you need volunteers immediately, please contact us through one of these means.
If your department needs additional help because of our condensed move in time, please email us at volunteers@! We will be putting a call out for additional volunteers, so please let us know if we can send them your way.
Logistics
With the time crunch this year to get all departments moved we will move departments in based on the order the room are available. Once have finalized schedule we will post it in our set up area.
To help us out if you could please provide a main and secondary contact. If for some reason a room opens early we can contact the individual department.
Also, if there are any special instructions we should be aware would be a good opportunity to let us now that as well.
Send info to Logi…@convergence-con.org
Please also be patient with my team. We will work as fast as we can and we will get all equipment out.
Registration
Numbers:
4692 Adults
201 Teens
110 Children
88 Youth
5091 Total
Facilities
First Advisors
Hospitality
Operations
Radio Training
If you plan to use a Radio at the convention you must attend a session of annual radio training. Training will take place during the working portion of the ConCom meeting and at 5pm Wednesday June 29. We will also provide Radio Training to those who need it but cannot make the scheduled session on Tuesday and Wednesday prior to con by appointment. There are three types of radio training being offered to members of ConCom this year. Choose the type that best suits your needs and complete this requirement, preferably before the convention.
Schedules and Contact Information
As you finalize your department schedules, please provide Opera…@convergence-con.org with details related to your department hours of operation, Head(s) on Duty schedule, contact information for the people who should be contacted to represent your department when you are not open and blackout hours. Further, please note that the ConCom list no longer contains phone numbers. If you anticipate that anyone may need to reach you at any time during the convention and will come through Operations to do so please provide a phone number. If you have a preferred method of communication (text vs voice), please provide us with that as well.
Guests
Wednesday June 29th at 7:00 pm, please join us in Atrium 4 for the Guest of Honor Reception. There will be food and non-alcoholic beverages. You, as ConCom members, may bring one Plus 1.
This is your chance to meet the GoHs, as you’re probably busy running the convention for the rest of the weekend.
We look forward to seeing all of you at the Guest of Honor reception.
Any department that needs the Guest Liaison Identification Sheet, please email [email protected]
Hotel
Membership Communications
Publications
-Program Guide is in Print
Productions
MainStage
Ceremonies
If you need to talk to ceremonies please text or facebook message Windy
Video
Systems
Finance (check reminder)
If you will need a check at the convention, please notify the Finance department at fin…@convergence-con.org ASAP.
As a reminder, reimbursements may be submitted via email as well. Scan or photograph the form and any receipts or other supporting data and email to finance (address above) as well as your head or co-head to authorize. Checks can and will be mailed out prior to the convention.