State, regional, national, and international meetings in agricultural and natural resource professions often include educational tours in or near the host city. Education improves if the tours are well-planned and executed. Contingency planning is integral to the process; plan for bad things to occur. Evaluation planning, implementation, and communication are tools for improving future professional meeting tours

Oldham, J Larry

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The Journal of Extension Volume 45 Number 2 Article 29 4-1-2007 Professional Meetings: Planning and Performing Multiple Location Tours for Maximum Benefit and Impact J Larry Oldham Mississippi State University Extension Service, loldham@pss.msstate.edu This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Oldham, J. (2007). Professional Meetings: Planning and Performing Multiple Location Tours for Maximum Benefit and Impact. The Journal of Extension, 45(2), Article 29. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol45/iss2/29 This Tools of the Trade is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Journal of Extension by an authorized editor of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact kokeefe@clemson.edu. 	 JOEHOME JOURNAL GUIDELINES ABOUT	JOE CONTACT NATIONAL	JOB	BANKCurrent	Issues Back	IssuesApril	2007	//	Volume	45	//	Number	2	//	Tools	of	the	Trade	//	2TOT60Professional	Meetings:	Planning	and	Performing	MultipleLocation	Tours	for	Maximum	Benefit	and	ImpactAbstractState,	regional,	national,	and	international	meetings	in	agricultural	and	natural	resourceprofessions	often	include	educational	tours	in	or	near	the	host	city.	Education	improves	if	thetours	are	well-planned	and	executed.	Contingency	planning	is	integral	to	the	process;	plan	forbad	things	to	occur.	Evaluation	planning,	implementation,	and	communication	are	tools	forimproving	future	professional	meeting	tours.	IntroductionProfessional	meetings	are	increasingly	expensive	investments	for	individuals	and/or	theiremploying	institutions	in	money	and	time	away	from	the	office.	State,	regional,	national,	andinternational	meetings	of	agricultural	and	natural	resource	professions	often	include	educationaltours	to	highlight	unique	features	in	the	vicinity.	To	justify	the	cost	during	tight	budgetary	times,distant	meetings	must	offer	high-quality	programming	that	provides	clear	and	effective	education.I	have	participated	in	professional	tours	as	client,	tractor	driver,	content	provider,	planner,	andcoordinator.	My	experience	ranges	from	fantastic	to	horrible.	Not	all	of	my	bad	tour	experiencescould	have	been	mitigated	by	better	planning,	preparation,	or	performance.	However	a	systematicapproach	may	lessen	the	pain	endured	by	Extension	clients	and	improve	program	impact.The	goal	is	an	effective	educational	experience	for	professionals	who	are	investing	time	andinstitutional	support	in	the	exercise.	Hawkins	and	Southard	(2001)	provided	a	detailed	checklist	forplanning,	implementing,	and	evaluating	Extension	field	days	with	a	6-month	gestation	period	fromfirst	planning	to	follow-up	evaluations.	This	discussion	focuses	on	the	special	considerations	formultiple	site	events	that	may	involve	planning	timelines	of	a	year	or	more.PlanningSuccessful	tours	begin	with	successful	planning	processes.	If	a	meeting	is	important	enough	forpeople	to	travel	great	distances	to	attend,	it	is	important	enough	to	devote	adequate	time	andpersonnel	to	planning,	practicing,	and	providing.	Collaborative	processes	between	the	sponsoringorganization	and	the	planning,	facilitation,	and	implementation	team	need	to	start	early	(Taylor-Powell	&	Rossing,	1998).The	model	below	offers	a	general	planning	and	implementation	guideline.SituationParticipants	in	the	meetings	of	agricultural/natural	resources	professional	groups	are	ofteninterested	in	learning	about	unique	operations	and	practices	available	in	the	vicinity	of	theirconferences.Resources/InputsJ.	Larry	OldhamExtension	Professor	-	SoilsMississippi	State	University	Extension	ServiceMississippi	State,	Mississippiloldham@pss.msstate.eduAdequate	financial	resource	commitment	at	the	beginning	is	critical.	Transportation,	insurance,refreshments,	meals,	speaker	stipends	and/or	travel,	and	other	anticipated	costs	must	beanticipated.	Local	knowledge	and	assets	in	organizations,	individuals,	and	community	resourcesmust	be	utilized	in	implementation.	Extension	personnel	often	have	unique	blends	of	interactionsin	the	area,	including	individuals,	private	technical	service	providers,	other	agencies	(local,	state,and	federal),	financial	organizations,	and	stakeholder	groups	that	can	facilitate	local	activities	tomeet	the	planning	needs	of	the	professional	group.ActionsNumerous	activities	are	necessary	before	a	successful	professional	meeting	tour.	This	list	likely	isnot	complete	for	every	tour,	but	should	provide	starting	points	for	discussion.Define	the	tours	goals.	Are	they	to	survey	several	features	of	the	area?	Are	they	to	provide	anin-depth	examination	of	an	issue	indigenous	to	the	region?	Know	what	you	are	attempting	todo.Clearly	define	objectives,	and	address	them	with	interesting,	timely,	educational,	and	well-presented	topics.Get	the	logistics;	time	is	important	to	people.	Be	efficient	in	all	time	management.	Have	foodand	beverages	where	they	are	supposed	to	be,	when	they	are	supposed	to	be	there.	Try	tominimize	road	time	unless	there	is	an	educational	component	to	the	travel.Account	for	the	elements.	If	the	tour	is	mid-summer,	assume	it	will	be	hot,	and	planaccordingly.	If	the	tour	is	mid-winter,	assume	it	will	be	cold.	If	you	will	be	40	miles	from	thenearest	town	at	lunch,	plan	for	it.Practice.	Do	dry	runs	of	tour	routes,	particularly	close	to	the	event,	as	road	construction	canchange	routes	dramatically.	Work	with	speakers;	some	may	require	help	clarifying	andpresenting	their	message	to	meet	the	audience	needs	and	expectations.Remember	and	respect	diversity	and	challenges.	Determine	special	needs	in	advance,	suchas	physical	and	accessibility	factors,	language	issues,	or	special	dietary	concerns.Define	and	plan	for	worst-case	scenarios	and	contingencies,	including	bad	weather,equipment	malfunctions,	transportation	issues,	illnesses,	or	injury	accidents.Develop	an	evaluation	plan	(see	below).Write	thank	you	notes	or	letters	to	planning	committee	members,	speakers,	hosts,	vendors,tour	leaders,	and	everyone	who	helped.Participants/Target	AudiencesParticipants	in	national	and/or	international	professional	meeting	tours	are	often	well	educated	andinformed,	plan	and	implement	their	own	professional	meetings,	and	have	high	expectations	foreducation	to	amplify	their	own	endeavors.	To	justify	the	time	and	expense	of	the	professional	tour,it	is	important	to	know	their	expectations,	and	meet	or	exceed	them.OutcomesShort-term	outcomes	are	changes	in	attitude,	knowledge,	skills,	and	behavior.Additionally,	tour	events	may	have	organizational	outcomes	such	as	improvement	or	changes	infuture	tours	and	improved	resource	effectiveness.	Capturing	these	outcomes	requires	multipleevaluation	tools	such	as	immediate	or	post-event	participant	surveys	and	post-event	planningcommittee	debriefings	(Taylor-Powell	&	Rossing,	1998,	Table	3).Longer	term	outcomes	are	more	difficult	to	assess.	Intermediate	results	depend	on	implementationby	the	audience.	Long-term	results	are	changed	conditions.	Evaluation	at	these	time	frames	is	therole	and	responsibility	of	the	sponsoring	entities	through	time.SummarySuccessful	multi-location	professional	tours	are	the	result	of	planning,	preparation,	and	practiceprocesses	that	justify	the	significant	resource	investment.	Time,	money,	and	other	assets	must	beinventoried	and	employed	wisely	to	maximize	results.	Contingency	planning	and	evaluationdevelopment	are	critical	elements	of	event	planning.ReferencesHawkins,	S.	E.,	&		Southard,	B.	(2001).	Field	tours--An	old	tool	that	can	still	work.	Journal	ofExtension	[On-Line].	39(1).	Available	at:	http://www.joe.org/joe/2001february/tt4.htmlTaylor-Powell,	E.,	&	Rossing,	B.	(1998).	Evaluating	collaborations:	Challenges	and	methods.Retrieved	May	22,	2006,	from	http://danr.ucop.edu/eee-aea/rossing.htmlCopyright	©	by	Extension	Journal,	Inc.	ISSN	1077-5315.	Articles	appearing	in	the	Journal	become	the	property	of	theJournal.	 Single	 copies	 of	 articles	may	 be	 reproduced	 in	 electronic	 or	 print	 form	 for	 use	 in	 educational	 or	 trainingactivities.	Inclusion	of	articles	in	other	publications,	electronic	sources,	or	systematic	large-scale	distribution	may	bedone	only	with	prior	electronic	or	written	permission	of	the	Journal	Editorial	Office,	joe-ed@joe.org.If	you	have	difficulties	viewing	or	printing	this	page,	please	contact	JOE	Technical	Support©	Copyright	by	Extension	Journal,	Inc.	ISSN	1077-5315.	Copyright	Policy

Professional Meetings: Planning and Performing Multiple Location Tours for Maximum Benefit and Impact

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Professional Meetings: Planning and Performing Multiple Location Tours for Maximum Benefit and Impact

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