Tag Archives: Mary Pam Kilgore

Post-it® brand Name Badges Review

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You have the perfect setting for a meeting. The attendance is higher than last year. The program will be amazing. The food had been ordered. The Audio Visual is in place and working. The registration list is in alphabetical order and triple checked. What final thing are you missing? Oh yeah, name badges.

Name Badges

Name badges. They can range from personal pieces of art to “Hello My Name is …” written with a Sharpie. Name badges show everyone that you belong in the event and help in making connections from one person to another. Most people don’t think about name badges until there isn’t one with their name on it at an event.

I don’t remember when I bought my first box of Post-it® brand name badges. I do know I haven’t purchased another brand since then. They seem heavier and more substantial than other badges. They are perforated around each badge and separate easily. They stay on longer but don’t leave a residue. Like all adhesive name badges, the Post-it® brand is not recommended for certain fabrics including suede and silk. One more thing is the name badges don’t work with my laser printer even though they are supposed to work with laser printers. It could be that Post-it® brand name badges are thicker than other name badges. I also have an ink jet printer and have no problems with the badges. Post-it® brand name badges also work with Avery name badge templates so you don’t have to change your badge set up.

If you are using adhesive name badges, try Post-it® brand and you will be glad that you did.

Mary Pam Kilgore, CMP, helps corporations and nonprofit organizations serve their target market with effective meetings and events. She is the owner of Kilgore Business Services, LLC, www.kilgorebusiness.com and teaches Event Planning As A Career at CCAC.  She may be reached by email marypamkilgore@gmail.com

Photo from jason_one

Catering Terms: Knowing the right terminology is half the battle

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Menu TerminologyWhen you are reading catering menus you will see terms that may be unfamiliar to you. Here are a few definitions to help you when planning the food for your next event.

Hors d’oeuvres: An appetizer served before a meal.

Displays: These are foods that are placed on a table and people serve themselves. Fruit and cheese are often presented in this manner at receptions.

Crudités: Raw vegetables cut into bite size portions and served with a dip. Usually presented as a display.

Canapés: Bite sized hors d’oeuvres served on bread or toast.

Butler served: Hors d’oeuvres passed by a server.

Stations: Think buffet, but broken up and placed around the room. Sometimes stations may have a theme such as Italian or Mexican. Others may be carving stations such as a turkey or beef carving stations. Or a station may serve mini burgers with all the fixin’s.

Heavy hors d’oeuvres: I am not sure how this term originated, but it has come to mean by some as a combination of different types of passed hors d’oeuvres, displays and stations. It is sometimes being used in lieu of a sit down meal. People sometimes think that having heavy hors d’oeuvres will be cheaper than doing the regular dinner, this isn’t true.

Reception: A reception is a stand up social event. In other words, you may not see a lot of tables with chairs. It may be held prior to a meal or banquet.

In conclusion, menu terminology are sometimes confusing, I hope the above definitions helped.

Mary Pam Kilgore, of Kilgore Business Services, LLC You may reach me through my website www.kilgorebusiness.com

Photo from Muy Yum

A Timeline Is How To Eat An Elephant

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Today, I am going to talk about what a timeline is and how it is used in meeting and event planning (and lots of other places). According to one dictionary I read, a timeline is .. a sequence of related events arranged in chronological order and displayed along a line (usually drawn left to right or top to bottom). Another described it as a management tool that lists when items are to be completed and by whom. Both of these entries are really good explanations of what a timeline is. What I am writing about is what four things a timeline does for me as both a planner and in other aspects of my work life.

Timeline

1. A timeline is one of the best ways to keep track of what needs to happen when. That is what organization is all about. Never think that just because you have done something many times you can keep things in your head. You will eventually miss something if you don’t have a written timeline.
2. A timeline gives you peace of mind. You have an action plan and you know when tasks need to happen. When you have multiple committees doing 50 or so tasks each, a timeline is the only way you will keep moving and everyone on track.
3. A timeline is one way to help keep you within budget. You can order items well in advance so you are not paying for unnecessary things such as 24 hour shipping, or on site printing.
4. A good timeline carries the event forward. I believe committees work best with clear direction. Timelines are one way to achieve clear direction.

New to using a timeline? It gets easier after you have created one a few times. A good tip is to develop a generic timeline and then customize it as needed. One of the best sayings about getting tasks done is comparing it to how you eat an elephant. You eat it a bite at a time. A timeline is that bite at a time that helps you get things done.

Mary Pam Kilgore,CMP, helps corporations and nonprofit organizations serve their target market with effective meetings and events. She is the owner of Kilgore Business Services, LLC and teaches Event Planning As A Career at CCAC.  She may be reached by email at marypamkilgore@gmail.com

Photo from Meg Pickard