EDUCATIONAL session schedule

A complete listing of 2017 Educational Sessions is listed below.

All sessions are included in the conference registration fee unless otherwise noted. Speaker bios are available by clicking on their name. Additional speakers may be announced at later dates. Room assignments and will be posted in the Mobile Event App (available for iPhone and Android in July 2017) and on Event Signage. Each session is labeled with a target experience level set by the speaker in order to help determine which sessions are appropriate for the attendee.

Wednesday, August 2nd 8:30am - 10:30am

General Session: The Future of Festivals In a Virtual World

Presented by Bruce Erley

With the proliferation of new media, e-shopping, cyber-socializing, webTV and a flurry of technology designed to capture the time and attention of the public, what will happen to the community festival?  Will it become passé or perhaps be held in “real time” over the Internet?  And will sponsors still find special events and festivals a viable marketing and communications option or think of us going the way of the 8 Track? Bruce Erley, President and CEO of Denver-based, Creative Strategies Group, the nation’s leading sponsorship and event marketing agency for festivals and events will share his insights.

Wednesday, August 2nd, 10:45am - 12:00pm

Instabrags vs. Videosnaps: How & When to Use Both
Presented by: Cassie Roberts
Social Networks, especially Instagram & Snapchat have taken a turn for the similar—it seems like everything you can do on one you can do on the other. So when should you use Instagram and when should you use Snapchat? What are the differentiators that make it worth having both or should you just pick one? Join us to answer these questions and strategize on how to most efficiently put these Millennial and Generation Z-focused apps to work for you!
Experience Level: Intermediate, Advanced
Session Type: Social Media, Marketing
Room: St. Cloud A

Do You Hear What I See?
Presented by: Nicole King, PhD
Have you ever tried to communicate with a customer or co-worker and been unable to get on the same page? Communication is at the heart of impressions; having clarity on verbal and non-verbal communication, recognizing barriers, and listening in the way we communicate will be the key components in this session. Understanding the importance of impressions and how we form them are important elements of how we get results. Excuses are a part of our everyday life, and are often used as a reason why we don’t get or give great service. We will discuss why that is and ways to stop using them. We will seek to understand and recognize when negative communication is used and how to turn it into a positive. Raising awareness about everyday things that affects our senses, and how it communicates to us is the overall goal of this session to help you overcome any barriers you may have.
Experience Level: Beginner, Intermediate
Session Type: Customer Service, Operations, Communications
Room: St. Cloud B
 
Building an Effective Board of Directors
Presented by: John Melleky
Nonprofits are governed by a board of directors.   They provide the strategy and vision to have your organization meet its goals and objectives.  Learn the functions of a board, how to build a board of directors, how to assess performance, and how to recruit effective board members for your organization.
Experience Level: Beginner/Novice, Intermediate
Session Type: Nonprofits, Board of Directors, Organization, Internal Operations
Room: Celebration A

Law & Order - Ethical Victims Unit: Ethical Considerations for Event Professionals
Presented by: Jim Barnes
Questions surrounding the ethical conduct of public sector employees arise on a regular basis. Ethical decision-making is not simply about avoiding conflict-of-interest situations. The public process and public trust requires us to understand ethics in its broadest sense and to act from that perspective.  There have been numerous efforts at the state and local level to deal with unethical behavior by better defining rules of behavior, increasing penalties and expanding enforcement powers. The individual stories are fascinating, but what more can we learn from this sordid experience?  Gain a better understanding of ethics, review the IFEA Code of Ethics, Florida ethics requirements of all public officials in Florida including sunshine and public records laws, local ethics ordinances and codes, as well as examples of ethical conflict ripped from the headlines. 
Experience Level: Beginner/Novice, Intermediate
Session Type: Operations
Room: Celebration B

Exhibitor Session: Tips for Growing your Event Business
This panel discussion is for our supplier members! Join our panelists for their best advice and tips on preparing and participating in tradeshows, reaching event directors, responding to RFPs and closing the sale to groow your event business. Panelists are all FFEA Suppliers with a proven track record of working with events.
Experience Level: All
Session Type: Exhibitors
Room: Tradeshow Lounge

Wednesday, August 2nd, 1:45pm - 3:00pm

Applied Sponsorship Research
Presented by: Bruce Erley
What are the protocols and procedures larger sponsorship agencies use to identify, target and solicit sponsor prospects?  This session will provide best practices to developing prospect lists, identifying decision makers, determining your approach and the best research sources.  If you ever struggle with where to find your next sponsor, you’ll want to attend this session. Bruce Erley, President and CEO of Denver-based, Creative Strategies Group, the nation’s leading sponsorship and event marketing agency for festivals and events will share his insights.
Experience Level: Beginner/Novice, Intermediate
Session Type: Sponsorship
Room: Kissimmee
 
 
Why Your Social Media Isn't Working
Presented by: Kevin McNulty
A "top ten" style presentation on the most common reasons for a social media program to be ineffective, and how to fix them. A clear and highly-relatable way to make sure your program avoids common pitfalls and mistakes.
Experience Level: Beginner/Novice
Session Type: Social Media, Technology, Marketing
Room: St. Cloud A
 
 
Becoming a Productivity Ninja with Technology Tools
Presented by: Tess Vismale
Legend has it that in ancient Japan, ninja training included invisibility, walking on water, and control over the natural elements. At times, the role of the meeting & event professional seems to require these skills and more. But when it comes to technology, we often forget our ninja strength and become overwhelmed and frustrated. This tech session is about empowerment and understanding of how to use technology to meet our goals with a focus on confidence and strategy.This session, will support your ninja prowess with mobile apps, useful gadgets and other tactics to keep teams organized and efficient in a digital culture, whether in the office or on the road.
Experience Level: All Experience Levels
Session Type: Productivity, Technology, Time Management,
Room: Celebration A
 
Protect Your Event Through Trademark, Copyright & Computer Laws
Presented by: Darren Spielman
A legal review of festival and event intellectual property concerns including website and social media best practices. Learn about proper website terms of service/privacy policies as an necessary element of legal protections. Manage your legal risk and understand the proper use of social media accounts, including using trademarks and copyrights. Build long term branding through trademark laws, including selection, registration and enforcement. Also learn about protecting original company content such as marketing materials, event or festival manuals and online content through copyright laws. Lastly, learn about how to handle online criticism and negative reviews of your event or festival.
Experience Level: AllSession Type: Operations, Marketing, LegalRoom: St. Cloud B

Emergency Action Plans
In this session, we will discuss how to build an improved and more comprehensive emergency action plan. We will review crowd management rules, roles, and responsibilities. Through panel discussions and interactive exercises, we will explore how to implement the emergency action plan with topics ranging from severe weather, active shooters, fire emergency, structural emergency and more. Participants are encouraged to bring with them their emergency action plans for their events to use as a reference and an example of different plans.
Presented by: Evan Narlinger & Chuck Akers
Experience Level: Beginner, Intermediate
Session Type: Operations, Risk Management, Emergency Management
Room: Celebration B
 

Wednesday, August 2nd, 3:15pm - 4:30pm

Municipal Group Discussion
If you are a municipal planner then this session is for you! This session is a group round table designed to enable our municipal members to discuss common challenges including: Permitting Outside Events, City Regulations, Departmental Communication and more. Bring Your Questions!
Experience Level: All Experience Levels
Session Type: Operations
Room: St. Cloud B

Booking National Talent - The Real Deal
Presented by: Drew Pompilio
National talent does not have to be a difficult piece to an event. Discussion will be on why you need written offers, what can you expect from an artist, contracts, production, and a some inside moves to help ease the fear of the whole process. Whether a festival, stand alone corporate event, or a street fair learn how to position yourself for solid results.
Experience Level: Beginner/Novice, Intermediate
Session Type: Entertainment
Room: Celebration A

LifeHacks for the Busy Event Professional
Presented by: Dahlia el Gazzar
Life is too short, and you’re constantly being asked to do more with less. We will share apps and productivity tips to help you get untethered from your manual workflows and desktop! Come learn how you can automate workflow/actions so you get more time for your day, work well even when you’re on-the-go for events so work doesn’t pile up, and find new apps that can help with your workflow
Experience Level: Beginner/Novice
Session Type: Time Management, Productivity, Professional Development, Organization, technology
Room: Celebration B

Share, Tweet, Post & Engage
Presented by: Michelle Bergstein
Social media is crucial in marketing and promoting your event. More importantly the relationship between your attendees as soon as they step foot at your event is prime time for them to be your best advocates in helping driving more attendance, more exposure and more advocacy to further the success of your event. In this session we explore strategy, ideas, tools and components to create the most attendee engagement - before, during and post event. Learning deliverables include: Social media content strategy (tools, tips, and tricks for engaging content), Social media engagement strategies and protocols (keeping the conversation going - best practices for keeping up), On-site social media activations - social media wall solutions, contests, and integration elements at the event, Post event strategy and planning for feedback and future promotion.
Experience Level: Beginner, Intermediate
Session Type: Social Media, Marketing
Room: St. Cloud A
 
 
Do You Need a Liquor License for Your Special Event? Find Out From the Expert
Presented by: John Harris
Requirements for temporary liquor licensing for special  events that counties, municipalities, nonprofit civic organizations, charitable organizations need to know.  John Harris, a 49 year veteran in FL alcohol laws/rules/policies will review the requirements for these special event permits as well as answer questions to help you understand the privileges and restrictions of these permits when issued.  He was with the Division of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco and participated in the original language creating these permits in 1972.
Experience Level: Beginner/Novice, Intermediate
Session Type: Food and Beverage, Liquor License, Operations
Room: Celebration A

Business Plans & Budgets
Presented by: Penny McBride
Learn to produce an exciting festival or special event that makes money.  This workshop focuses on the planning process necessary to create (or re-create) a profitable event.  Learn how to create a written business plan that will provide organizational clarity and higher efficiency.  You’ll take home dozens of ideas that will help your next event be better, happier and more profitable than ever before!
Experience Level: Beginner, Intermediate
Session Type: Operations, Administration
Room: Celebration B 

Exhibitor Session: Tips for Growing your Event Business
This panel discussion is for our supplier members! Join our panelists for their best advice and tips on working with special events.  Panelists are all FFEA Event Producers with events of different size and scope.
Experience Level: All
Session Type: Exhibitor
Room: Tradeshow Lounge

Thursday, August 3rd, 1:30pm - 2:45pm

FOMO – What You Get When Event Design & Marketing Work Together
Presented by: Nick Borelli
Festival attendance and spending has been increasing over the last 6 years because the experience economy is being fueled through social media. Everyone contributing to the design of an event from venues, caterers, entertainment, and planners can increase the likelihood of attendees sharing photos and videos from an event online which exponentially increases your marketing reach. You will learn why attendees share experiences and what activates them to do so in order to ensure those who didn’t buy a ticket this year will experience fear of missing out and won’t make the same mistake twice.
Experience Level: Intermediate, Advanced
Session Type: Event Design, Marketing
Room: St. Cloud B

The Volunteer Experience is More Than Just a 4-hour ShiftPresented by: John Melleky
Volunteers are the lifeblood of our organizations and festivals.  Learn about building an effective volunteer management program that expands from recruitment to orientation, effective communications, the festival itself, and what happens after the festival.
Experience Level: Beginner, Intermediate
Category: Volunteers, Operations
Room: Celebration A

Thursday, August 3rd, 3:00pm - 4:15pm

60 Great Ideas in 60 Minutes
Presented By:  Penny McBride
This fast-moving session covers simple tips and creative ideas to improve all areas of your event.  Promotional tricks of the trade, sponsorship techniques, volunteer management, logistics, merchandising and more are covered in an interactive format that bats a new idea into the audience every 60 seconds!
Experience Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Category: Sponsorship, Volunteers, Operations, Merchandising, Marketing
Room: Kissimmee