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The purpose of this guide is to assist students, faculty and staff with event planning at Northwest. Events are most successful when they are well organized and planned in advance. The events that you plan define the quality of your organization or department. They also have a direct reflection on the University and its public image.
The use of this guide will make your planning easier, less stressful and more successful. If you have questions regarding the “nuts and bolts” of planning an event, you may contact the Office of University Relations at ext. 1143.
The Office of University Relations provides publicity for campus events through campus media and regional media outlets. Important information about your event should be communicated to the Office of University Relations at least 10 days prior to the event for the optimal benefit of media coverage. Information received late will result in less publicity. Information for local media release may be submitted by contacting Tony Brown, media relations specialist at ext. 1704. To submit information for channel 9 or Notices of the Day, e-mail the name of the event, date, time, location, any other pertinent information and the name of the organization sponsoring the event to Gina Bradley at gbradle@nwmissouri.edu.
Signage not created in the publications area of the Office of University Relations must be approved and stamped by Nikki Bucy in Auxiliary Services located on the second floor of the Union in the Student Affairs Office.
Advertising may be purchased from the Northwest Missourian, The Maryville Daily Forum, KNIM Radio, KZLX Radio, and other media sources. Ads may be placed in one of two ways. You may inform our marketing specialist, Mallory Murray, at ext. 1628 of your advertising requests, and the Office of University Relations will produce the ad and place it in the media source(s) of your choice. If the organization or department has a university budget account, a signed purchase request should be submitted at the time the advertisement is ordered. The other way to purchase advertising is to place the ad yourself. Remember to refer to the University as NORTHWEST rather than NWMSU in all your advertisements. For departmental accounts, advertising is treated as an operating expense.
Printing of publicity pieces such as flyers, posters, post cards, invitations and table tents can be arranged through Teresa Carter, ext. 1580, in the publications area of the Office of University Relations. You must consult with Teresa at least three weeks prior to your event in order to have items in hand by your mailing or display date. The publications office can provide assistance in designing and layout for these items as well.
Given adequate notice, the publications area can also assist with the creation of programs, brochures and other publication materials. “Rush” requests will be accepted only if time is available to accommodate them.
While some smaller jobs are done in-house, printing is generally done by the printing company that is under contract with the University. The decision will be made by Teresa Carter based on your request.
If you wish to have your programs, posters or other printed materials reproduced by photocopy, fill out a copy request form and take your materials to the Copy Center, located on the first floor of Thompson Ringold. To ensure a high quality copy, please print master copies on a laser printer if possible.
Checking the availability of a desired room will sometimes be the driving force in setting a date for your event and should always be one of your first priorities in planning. Reservations are accepted several months in advance. It should be noted, however, that the availability of some facilities is limited during certain times of the year. For example, facility space is difficult to reserve around Homecoming and near the end of each semester.
Facility reservations for rooms in the following venues are made by contacting:
Nikki Bucy in Auxiliary Services at 562-1430
J.W. Jones Union rooms
Ballroom theatre style seating – 500
Ballroom banquet – up to 400
The Station
Centennial Garden
Memorial Bell Tower
All university classrooms
Shawn Wake – Performance Facilities Manager at 562-1320
Mary Linn Performing Arts Center (holds approx. 1088)
Charles Johnson Theatre (hold approx. 550)
The College Park Pavilion (outdoor amphitheatre)
Brenda Mullins – Secretary of Art and Music Departments – 562-1326
Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building
Fire Arts Building
Bob Lade – Director of Recreational Sports – 562-1725
Bearcat Arena
Martindale Gym
Student Recreation Center
Bearcat Stadium
All athletic fields
Lynn Ruhl – Executive Assistant for Advancement – 562-1248
Advancement Center Lawhead Conference Room
Alumni House
If you wish President Dean L. Hubbard to speak at your event, please make your request to the president’s secretary, Claudia Beacom, at ext. 1110 as soon as possible. Requests should be submitted at least six weeks in advance if at all possible. It should be noted that there are times when Dr. Hubbard is unexpectedly called out of town and, consequently, some of his appointments have to be rescheduled or canceled. The Provost, Dr. Kichoon Yang, may speak on his behalf. When scheduling Dr. Hubbard to speak, please indicate date, time and location, what you would like him to speak about and any other pertinent information.
Other speakers can be referred to you by the University media relations specialist, Tony Brown, at ext. 1704.
Campus Dining caters events on campus and in the community. The catering managers are available to consult with you regarding your order for refreshments, served meals and buffets. In addition to food, they can offer linens and decorations to add a special touch to your event.
To make catering arrangements, contact the catering manager, Sharlet Dumke, at ext. 1275 or e-mail her at sdumke@nwmissouri.edu. Catering arrangements should be made at least two weeks in advance if at all possible. Please have your University account number or other billing information available when you book your party. All food and beverages served in the J.W. Jones Student Union and The Station must be provided by Campus Dining Services.
If your event will attract off-campus visitors to the campus, you will need to inform them of a designated parking area for their use. Contact the director of Campus Safety, Clarence Green, at ext. 1254 to assist you in identifying the best parking lot to use. You may obtain visitor or guest parking passes from Campus Safety or the Student Service Center to send to the event participants if you so desire. You should consult Campus Safety about parking issues at least two weeks in advance of your event. If one of your visitors receives a parking ticket that you feel in inappropriate, contact Campus Safety.
Some of the most complex events held on the Northwest campus are the contests and competitions involving students from area junior high and secondary schools. Many of these activities are considered excellent recruitment opportunities, not only for the college or department sponsoring the activity, but for the entire University as well. Therefore, the Office of Admissions should be notified of these events to allow for the preparation of information booth, campus tours or other recruitment efforts. It is also beneficial to provide the Office of University Relations with pre-event promotional materials and post-event results for news releases.
University vehicles may be used both on and off campus for events. Because of limitations to the size of the bus and fleet vehicles, reservations for their use should be made at least one month in advance. Vehicles may be used for day or overnight trips as long as the rules and restrictions regarding the use of University automobiles are adhered to. Contact Janet Daniels at ext. 1181 to check availability and make reservations for fleet vehicles.
Mailing lists and labels for currently enrolled students must be requested through Terri Vogel in the Office of the Registrar by calling ext. 1151. Lists involving more specific information such as hometown, grade classification, major, etc., are reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis.
Requests for current faculty and staff labels may be submitted to Michelle Drake in the Office of Human Resources at ext. 1127. Indicate your preference of home or campus address.
Mailing lists and labels for entering freshmen may be requested through the Admissions Office at ext. 1146.
Mailing lists for alumni and emeriti faculty can be obtained by e-mailing your request to Anna Summa in the Advancement Office at: summa@nwmissouri.edu.
When charging fees for materials, meals, etc., process all monies through a University revolving account. Please contact the Controller’s Office at ext. 1579 for an approved account. Specific money management procedures must be followed regarding event fee. Please contact the Bursar’s Office at ext. 1103 for information pertaining to: 1) wording within publicity brochures describing payment instructions to customers 2) billing steps 3) balancing receipts and deposits 4) depositing receipts with the Cashiering Office 5) processing refunds to customers.
There are several people across campus that will play an important role in your event planning. You need to make sure to contact them and not assume that just because you have reserved a room, everything will be in place.
You might want to consider giving a memento to the guests at your event. Almost any item you can imagine can be imprinted with the University Logo or name. Several companies have on-line catalogs to get ideas and pricing information.
A few are: www.4imprint.com, www.crestline.com, www.logopromos.com and www.amsterdamprinting.com.
You can place the order yourself or contact Gina Bradley at ext. 1143 for assistance.
Remember that the key to a successful program is the careful planning and organization that precedes it. Begin planning well in advance and take the time to double check on arrangements. It is better to be safe than sorry. As previously stated, the events and activities that a department or organization plans often reflect the quality of its operation.