Guidelines
For
Meeting and Event Notifications
Revision 8-22-2016
Purpose:
This guideline is intended to ensure the meeting notices are sent out to “interested parties” in a timely and
effective manner which will promote participation in the events hosted by the Binghamton section of the ASQ.
Objectives:
Advance notification of events is critical so individuals can plan their calendars in advance and reserve time to
support section activities.
Well thought out and effectively prepared notifications should project an image of friendship and welcoming. The
theme and purpose for the notification should be clear and concise.
Notifications take two forms:
- “Push” notifications in which information is sent to recipients and;
Examples: Email distributions and U.S. Postal mailings
-
“Pull” notifications in which the recipient must access the information him or herself.
Example: Website postings
Scope:
Meeting and event notifications are to be considered for the following “categories” of interested parties:
- Executive Committee Members
- Section Members (Including Executive Committee members)
- Non-member Event Attendees
- Companies and Company Contacts
- Friends of the section
Event notifications may be electronic, hardcopy or a combination of media, which may include:
- Email notifications
- U.S. Post Office Mailings
- Website Postings
- Personal Contact or Phone Contact
NOTE: It should be kept in mind that personal contact is generally the most effective method of
communications, but is also the most time consuming. Since individuals react differently to notifications, it is
often most effective to use a combination of communication methods. The potential reaction of the receiving
individual should also be considered and there should be a mechanism for removing individuals from the
contact list if they make such as request. It is important not to offend individuals.
Responsibilities:
A. General Responsibilities
 The Section Executive Committee will ensure resources, such as Publicity Chairperson and
Communications Chairperson, identified to carry out the intent of this guideline.
 An annual “Events Calendar” defining the dates for Executive Committee Meetings, Dinner Meetings and
other known events (such as conferences) will be established by the Publicity Chair and approved by the
Executive Committee will used as the basis for meeting notifications.
 The Publicity Chairperson, working with other section personnel, will determine the appropriate type(s) of
notification to be sent out for each given event using the table below as a guide.
 The Publicity Chairperson and the Communications Chairperson are responsible for maintaining contact
lists and sending out event notification as defined in the table in item “B” that follows.
NOTE: The contact lists may be created and maintained on individual personal computers. The maintenance
and frequency of updates to a specific list is the responsibility of the assigned “List Maintenance”
chairperson. That chairperson is responsible to forward the revised list to the chairperson responsible for
“Notice Distribution” and to the Section Secretary where the latest list can be added to the section laptop
computer.
Guidelines
For
Meeting and Event Notifications
B. Contact List Maintenance and Notice Distribution
The responsibility for maintenance of the various contact list categories shall be as follows:
TABLE 1
Contact List Type
V
Executive Committee Meetings
Section 205 Members
Non-Member Event Attendees
Companies & Company Contacts
Personal Contacts
New Members (Welcome List)
List
Maintenance
Email
Publicity Chair
Communications Chair
Publicity Chair
Not Applicable
Publicity Chair
Not Applicable
Notice
Distribution
Communications Chair
Communications Chair
Communications Chair
Not Applicable
Communications Chair
Not Applicable
U.S. Mailing List
List
Mailing
Maintenance
Distribution
Publicity Chair
Publicity Chair
Publicity Chair
Publicity Chair
Publicity Chair
Publicity Chair
Publicity Chair
Publicity Chair
Publicity Chair
Publicity Chair
Publicity Chair
Publicity Chair
C. Schedule and Frequency of Event Notice Distribution
Event notifications must be sent out in a timely manner so recipients have adequate time to plan their personal
schedules. It is the responsibility of the assigned “Notice Distribution” chairperson to ensure notifications go out
as follows:
- Executive Committee Meeting notices should go out to everyone on the Executive Committee based
on the Events Calendar at least one week ahead of the meeting. The notices should confirm the
date, time and place of the meeting. The Section Secretary will provide the date, time and place
information. Whenever possible, the “Meeting Agenda” shall be included in the notification.
- Dinner Meeting notices should go out twice... the first within four to five weeks of the meeting and
a second “reminder” notification should go out at least one week ahead of the meeting. Both
notices must confirm the meeting date, time, place and program topic. Notification shall be by email
as defined by the above table in item “B.”
NOTE: Occasionally, it may be appropriate to send out email notifications to selected “Companies and
Company Contacts.” This will be determined by the Publicity Chair, who will be responsible for providing
the Communications Chair with the email distribution list.
Whenever practical and at the discretion of the Communications Chairperson, the Section 205 email address will
used to send out email notifications. The section 205 email address is: [email protected]. The
password shall be retained by the Secretary who is responsible of authorizing access to the section account and
maintaining the current access password.
To ensure the privacy of all individuals on the distribution list, the list will be sent out using the “blind carbon
copy” (bcc) distribution field of the email account. The Section Executive Committee members will be will be
included in the “Send To” distribution field to their identity is visible to the entire distribution in case there is a
need to contact any one of them.
Attachments to event notifications should be avoided since many company spam filters reject messages with
attachments.
D. U.S. Post Office Mailings - Special Event Notifications
- U.S. Postal Mailings are expensive and done when deemed appropriate by the Publicity Chair in
agreement with the Executive Committee. The “target recipients” may be any combination of
“Contact List Types” shown in Table 1 based on the needs of the Section at that time.
The goal is to
-
The following timeframes should be considered:
- Mid-December of each year to inform recipients of the event schedule for the coming
year. A copy of the “Event Schedule” should be included for posting.
- Mid-August to remind individuals of event start-up after the summer break.
NOTE: The goal is to contact all section members by U.S. Postal mailing at least once per year… prior to the
start of the coming year… providing them with a “Calendar of Events” or list of dinner meetings and events
for the new year. A letter welcoming new members will be sent throughout the year as new members
occur. In the welcoming letter, new members should be reminded to add the ASQ to their email “Safe
Senders” list to avoid rejection of ASQ messages by their company or personal email accounts.
Guidelines
For
Meeting and Event Notifications
E. Website Notifications
- Website postings of events shall be done in parallel with other notification methods. (Refer to the
“Guidelines – Website Maintenance and Use” for specific details.) The intent, however, should be to
maintain and accurate and up-to-date website at all times such that individuals can effectively see
event status.
Word File: ASQ > Procedures-Policy-Guidelines > “^Guideline – Meeting and Event Notifications”
JDT – 08/22/2016