Preliminary Report Local Arrangements Committee Grand Rapids, April 19-21, 2012 Nancy Richard and Portia Vescio, co-chairs Committee Members: Pam Berrington, Alticor/Amway (Fundraising/Development) Pat Bravender, Grand Valley State University Sharon Carlson, Western Michigan University (Tours) Matthew Daley, Grand Valley State University Tim Gleisner, Grand Rapids Public Library Dick Harms, Calvin College Val Long, Grand Valley State University (Tours) Marian Matyn, Central Michigan University (Reception) Nancy Richard, Grand Valley State University, co-chair Lori Vargo, Spectrum Health (Registration) Portia Vescio, Michigan State University, co-chair An additional call for volunteers and committee assignments will be made in May/June. Development and Fundraising: Pam Berrington has agreed to take charge of the fundraising. Michigan Archival Association has promised a financial contribution to support the meeting. Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University have also promised financial contributions. Other possible funding sources include Illitch Holdings, Meijer, and Amway. ProQuest is a potential vendor that is local to Michigan. Hotel: The contract has already been signed to have the spring conference at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. The hotel is located at: 187 Monroe NW; Grand Rapids, MI 49503. We have secured a guest room block from Tuesday, 4/17/2012 Saturday, 4/21/2012 Single/Double: $139, Triple: $154, Quad: $169 Group block cutoff date: March 27, 2012 Guest rooms are subject to 8% occupancy tax and 6% state tax. Guests can stay in the historic Pantlind side of the hotel or the newer glass tower side. River view rooms may be available in the newer side. They will receive complimentary internet in room and complimentary access to the fitness center. There are several restaurants, coffee shops, and places to relax in the building. Meeting space is complimentary based on agreed room pick up. The meeting rooms are located in the historic Pantlind side of the hotel. Catering and audiovisual When in the hotel, we are contractually obligated to use their catering and audio-visual resources. Registration: Lori Vargo has agreed to coordinate registration activities for the group. We will use Memberclicks to allow for online registration. After looking at the hotel and reception costs, we have decided to recommend the following registration fees:
Member: $70, Nonmember: $85, Student: $45 with slight increases of fees for late registration. Marketing: A 3-5 minute promotional video will be shown at the 2011 St. Paul business meeting. The presentation will have information about historic Grand Rapids and show reasons why MACers would want to visit the city today. A magnet and postcard have been produced to go into 2011 registration packets. They will also be handed out at the 2011 MAA conference on Beaver Island. Social networking sites will be used to market the meeting and provide information about Grand Rapids. Reception: Marian Matyn has agreed to coordinate the opening reception. A contract has been signed with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum to have the reception there. Desiree Ruhland is our contact at the Ford Museum. The museum is directly across the river from the hotel. Walking time is less than 5 minutes. The Ford Museum has agreed to waive the rental fee for us. The gift shop and exhibits will be open for people, however, there are a couple of restrictions. We are not allowed to decorate with balloons. We are also not allowed to sell or sell tickets for alcoholic beverages. The Michigan Archival Association has hosted receptions at the Ford Museum in the past and if we can get beer or wine donated to us, we can pass it out freely. The suggested caterer is Adeline Leigh Catering. The estimate we received was $4800 to include 5-6 cold and 4-5 hot appetizers and 2-3 non alcoholic beverages for 300 people. The estimate also includes plates, utensils, servers, etc. Since it is the 40 th anniversary of MAC, the LAC thought that it would be nice to have something to celebrate. We priced out the cost of cake at $345 for 300 people ($1.15 per piece). We asked Ice Brigade for a quote on an ice sculpture and they reported that it would cost $425 for a sculpture about 2-3 feet long of the MAC logo. Costs include set up and take down. If we wanted to add color to the sculpture there would be an additional $100 fee. We could ask for a punch bowl design and make the logo smaller. They will give us a few design options when they hear back from us. Suggested band: Roger McNaughton Trio (Jazz) - $750 for two hours Total approximate cost: $5895 or approx $6000 based on 300 people, or $5000 for 225 people. Tours Sharon Carlson and Val Long have agreed to take charge of organizing the tours. While nothing has been confirmed, several tours have been suggested, including: Furniture City Factory Tour Gypsum Mines former mines that have been turned into a large underground storage facility Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park Heritage Hill Walking Tour Amway Grand Plaza tour the hotel itself is historic and has an interesting history. The group thought people might enjoy a quick walking tour or at the very least a brochure with background information and interesting locations.
The committee was also brainstorming ideas for dinner locations for the New Members Dinner. At this point, our suggestion is to dine in the Cygnus 27, located in the Amway Grand Plaza. http://www.amwaygrand.com/cygnus27.html Grand Rapids is serviced by its own airport the Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR). There is also an Amway station and several interstate roads run around the city. The best way to get from the airport to the hotel is by taxi cab, though the city is hoping to have a shuttle between downtown and the airport by 2012. The reception is across the river from the hotel at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. There is a walking bridge connecting the two locations. The walking time is less than five minutes. We should not need transportation between the two facilities. Certain tours will need buses to transport the people (Meijer Gardens and the gypsum mines). Once we determine which tours will be offered, the tours which need buses will probably have a small fee to offset the cost of transportation or any admissions. The Amway Grand Plaza Hotel is located in downtown Grand Rapids. There are numerous restaurants and museums within walking distance. There will be enough restaurants to offer tours without additional transportation needed. There are also several restaurants located in the hotel, for people not wanting to venture too far for meals. Questions: Do you advise auction? What about the Ask an Archivist program/ Mentoring program? Ice sculpture or other additional anniversary cost?
MAC Spring Meeting 2012 Grand Rapids Preliminary Budget INCOME Registrations (325 paid attendees) Member ( 200 @ $70 ) 14,000 Nonmember ( 30 @ $85 ) 2,550 Student ( 25 @ $45) 1,125 Member - post deadline ( 20 @ $80) 1,600 Nonmember - post deadline (10 @ $90 ) 900 Student - post deadline ( 20 @ $50) 1,000 Day registrants ( 20 @ $40) 800 Total registration income 21,975 Donations 3,000 Workshops Advanced Workshop Fees ( 40 @ $50) 2,000 Basic Workshop Fees ( 20 @ $40) 800 Tour Fees Vendors Vendors ( 10 @ $400) 4,000 Nonprofit Info Vendors (5 @ $50each) 250 TOTAL INCOME 32,025 EXPENSES BUDGETED Programs and Packet 4,000 Name Badge Holders 500 Workshops AV Costs 600 Honoraria (3@100) 300 Copying 350 Reception Catering Food and Beverage (based on 225) 4,300 Cake for 40 th anniversary (based on 225) 260 Room Rental Entertainment 750 Ice Brigade Sculpture (2-3 feet) with delivery 425 and set up Adding color to sculpture 100
Hotel Room rental fee (waived if # room nights met) Exhibit space (extra space, opt.) 150 Morning Breaks 3,300 Afternoon Breaks 3,900 Tax on Food services (6% + 22%) 2,016 Audio-Visual Costs Projector, Cart, Screen, microphones, etc. 6,000 Tax on AV services (6% + 22%) 1,680 Tours Admission Fees Total Project Budget 28,631