Though a reduction in benefits has put the squeeze on COMMON volunteers, the resulting policy is fair and necessary, says COMMON president.
Despite the reduction in volunteer benefits, there is a waiting list of speakers who want to conduct educational sessions at COMMON'S upcoming 50th anniversary conference in Orlando, Florida, this spring, according to Wayne Madden, COMMON president.
Madden, who is also Penton Digital Media and Communications Division market leader, says that while the conference will be shorter by one day than last year's event at Reno, users will have nearly as many session hours of training. While the total number of sessions offered has been paired from about 500 to around 315, the actual number of hours one can attend training has changed only from 23 to 21 hours.
"The conference will have over 300 sessions and four workshops, and all the speaker slots are filled," says Madden. "We still have a waiting list—people who want to speak in sessions that need to be scheduled." More than 60 sessions being scheduled will be entirely new, he said.
Madden expressed concern about four speakers, including longtime volunteers Jon Paris and Susan Gantner, who announced they will not be speaking at sessions in Orlando this time, partly because of the COMMON Board of Directors' decision to eliminate registration, hotel, and travel credits that speakers and other COMMON volunteers had been earning for donating their time and expertise. The policy was tightened after last year's conference, when attendance dropped to half what it had been during pre-recession times and revenues declined along with it. In the past, volunteers could earn what were known as COMMON Credits and not only apply them against the semi-annual conference registration fees, but in some cases, get reimbursed for hotel and airfare.
Madden says only 10-15 speakers actually got their hotel, airfare, and registration conference fees comped, while most volunteers merely got a discount off the registration fee. Speakers who spoke at four sessions would have their entire conference fee waived but still had to pay their hotel and airfare.
Paris and Gantner announced in a November blog that they wrote in IBM Systems Magazine that they couldn't justify the expense of attending COMMON based on the newly defined volunteer benefits. There were other lingering issues, too, they said, but didn't elaborate. When asked to comment for this article, Jon referred readers to his and Susan's blog.
Another longtime volunteer and popular speaker, Paul Tuohy, who lives in Ireland, also told the Board that he would not be speaking following the announced revision in volunteer benefits, Madden said. Tuohy also resigned from his volunteer position on the education committee. A fourth person, who was scheduled to give one session, also cancelled. Paris and Gantner will continue with their volunteer committee work for the organization outside of the speaking roles, said Madden. He said the Board responded to them with a note of thanks and sincere appreciation for their past volunteer service and expressed a hope that they would return as speakers at a future conference. Madden noted that volunteers, including speakers such as himself, eventually relinquish their roles to other volunteer members because they get busy or simply move on with life.
Though four speakers cancelled, eight others who previously had not spoken stepped forward to offer their services, Madden said. These people all are among the group of non-IBM speakers, since the ones from Big Blue rotate according to their job assignments and availability.
Madden explained that the new Board policy on volunteer benefits excludes hotel and airfare perks for most. Only the Board's four-member executive committee will be reimbursed for airfare, since the bylaws require them to attend the annual meeting. COMMON Credits have been eliminated altogether, but volunteers will get a discount of about 20 percent off the conference registration fee. Speakers can earn deeper discounts on the registration fee, depending on how many sessions they give. Whereas it used to take presenting four sessions to cover the entire registration fee, now it will take five sessions, he said.
"We, as volunteers, changed the volunteer benefits for everyone, including ourselves," Madden said. "Every single volunteer in the organization will pay the volunteer registration rate. So, by being a volunteer, one will get a volunteer registration rate, which is cheaper than the normal rate we charge. Board members will now pay a volunteer rate to attend the conference," he said.
Madden emphasized that the Board consists of volunteers, and the length of service is limited to two consecutive terms. He said about a third of the board slots come up for re-election each year and noted there is regular turnover. Asked if he thinks the present policy regarding volunteer benefits will remain in force indefinitely, Madden said he couldn't predict because the makeup of the Board is bound to change.
"About every third or fourth year, about half the people are new," Madden said. "I can't predict what they are going to do. I will say that I believe—and the Board believes—that it's in the best interests of all of our members and for the good of the organization to have this policy in place right now and in the near future until we can see what the economy is going to do."
Madden was highly upbeat about the prospects for a successful 2010 Annual Meeting and Exposition (May 3-6) in Orlando, partly because of its being the organization's 50th anniversary, partly due to an expected series of new announcements from IBM detailing enhancements to RPG and IBM i, partly because the Orlando location has proven to be popular in the past, and partly because the behind-the-scenes team of volunteers helping to put the conference together hasn't been fazed by the change in the benefits. "There have been many volunteers that have elected not to use COMMON Credits and either paid for themselves out of loyalty to the organization or their company saw enough value in their attending that the company paid," said Madden.
Reflecting on last year's conference, which made money despite the drop in attendance, Madden says he thinks Reno was a tough location in a tough economy. "I will say that I think Reno was a hindrance to us last year," he says. "It had been planned for awhile…. Orlando is a little more attractive for people who might want to get away with their families."
Madden says that at the last COMMON conference in Orlando, many users invited their families to come along for a vacation, and the Hilton Orlando this time is offering discounts to attendees who want to stay longer to take advantage of the region's famous theme parks, including Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World Adventure Park, and other attractions.
"We think there is a better reason to come there than perhaps Reno, and there will be some pent-up expectations since a lot of people didn't get to go last time," he said. "I would say we're expecting to rebound some, but we have positioned it so if we have the same number, we would continue to move forward and be fine."
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