The single most important thing you need for a successful event.
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People! Without people you have nothing. Obviously you will think about attendance, but that is easier than you might think. Attendance is a result of promotion. Flyers, advertising, word of mouth, internet listing, and PSAs by various media can help to promote the event. If it is a FUN event then the next time you put on an event positive word of mouth will help future attendance. Which brings us to where people are really important. Staffing.
For a simple event you need a minimum of people to help with the event. Lets take a poker run for example. You need sign in. You need stops. If you get fancy you will need people at your stops. You need somebody to check in and draw the final cards or the hand at the end. If there is a party or barbecue with it, who is going to prepare food, serve drinks, serve if a large crowd? For a bigger event will you need an announcer? Will you need more than one? Are you going to burn people out by making them stay in one spot all day? What about the people who print flyers, do the planning, get supplies, and handle promotion.
You have several problems with staffing, especially with volunteers. Club or association officers will often want to maintain a high profile, but don't actually help. People who helped in the past got burned out. People who helped in the past want to sit on their laurels, because, "They paid their dues." New people may want to help, but don't know what to do. Experienced people who tell new people what to do, but don't actually work wind up being resented by those who work. People who get stuck in one place all day wind up deciding they don't want to be a part of it in the future. People who sit on their ass and do nothing piss off people who work when they make criticizm of any kind without solutions.
Ok. I ranted and raved about the problems. Now, what to do about it? The first thing you need to do is decide how many people you need. Its also a good idea to break it up into specific jobs. Sometimes that helps to define the right people for the jobs.
Here is a sample list of jobs:
Original planning and decision making.
What is the event?
Will you have...
Games
Food
Event location
Entertainment
Security
Children (what do do with them)
Before the event.
Do promotion
Get food
Food, main course, side dishes, etc
Utensils, serving
Plates, cups, silverware
Plan games
Print rules, sign in sheets, elimination brackets etc...
People Games
Bike Games
Kid Games
Plan entertainment
Band
Intermission
Other Activities
Arrange Equipment
Bring
Borrow
Buy
Rent
Hire Security
Club
Professional
Law Enforcement
Medical
At the event:
Gate
Sign in
Take money
Give "ticket, hand stamp, packages, etc"
Announcing
Sound System
Setup
Usage
Announcer
Information "runner" to get proper info to announcer
From judges
From sign in
Special Announcements - It is good form and public relations to give
other clubs and organizations the opportunity to announce
their events at yours. It will also give you more opportunities
to announce your events at others.
Any Secondary sign in
Games
Special secondary events
Money Handling
Security
Procedure
Games
Run games
Judges
Get materials
Setup
Food
Cooks
Servers
Cleanup
PreCooking?
Money Handling
Runners
Runners and relief staff may sometimes be synonymous, but they are esssential.
Beverages
Materials
Information
Relief staff
Obsolutley Essential
Nobody wants to be stuck in one place all day long at a fun event and not get to
have a little fun themselves. Especially a volunteer.
After the event:
Cleanup
Pickup Trash
Haul away trash
Return equipment, materials, etc
Thank volunteers, vendors, host, sponsors.
After the event meeting.
If you are going to do it again this absolutely essential. What did you do well
and how can you makes sure that the right people handle it so it is done as well
in the future? What was not done? Was anything done wrong? Can anything
be done better?
That is decent list of jobs. Some are very simple some more complex. For a specific event you may not need all of these things done, or you may have some special tasks that are not listed. The thing you need to do is decide what jobs you need done and make sure you have enough people to handle them. The last thing you want to do is turn away somebody who volunteers to help. Ask them to hang around for cleanup, take money, anything. People want to feel appreciated. By letting them know they are appreciated and the work they did was necessary you asure that you will have help in the future.
How about those experienced people in your organization who think they have paid their dues and don't have to do anything anymore. I don't have a hard and fast answer, but I might suggest asking them something like this, "Can you help with this task? We need somebody who has done this before to set a good example." Sometimes this can lead to another problem. A person who stands around telling other people what to do. The answer. Make it clear that somebody else is in charge of that task, but they are there to help and set a good example because they are more experienced. The exact nature of managing this must be personal, but the basic idea is sound.
Then there are those who want to be a part of things, but don't really want to help. First thing. Walk up to them and ask them personally to help with a particular task. You will find that more than you might think will be glad to help if asked or given a specific task, but will do nothing without a little prompting. Others will make excuses. Don't waste a lot of time on those just try and remember if they always have an excuse or if they sometimes help with things. This way you will know if its worth talking to them in the future. Some will just say no. Don't push them. An involuntary volunteer or a person with a bad attitude about things is worse than being a little under staffed.
People are what you need for a successful event. Planners that actually are informed or take the effort to become informed. Promoters that get the information out to the people most likely to attend. Cooks, Gatekeepers, Security, Announcers, Judges, Runners, Relief. With out these people you don't have anything. Your event will fall on its face and die. If you have a successful event then it is because these people made it happen. Make sure they know it.