Help spread the holiday cheer together with the Millennium Maxwell House which is offering a “Spirit of Giving” package to benefit the Toys for Tots charity. Travelers who book the package are encouraged to bring a new toy or monetary donation to the hotel which the Maxwell House will personally deliver to the Toys for Tots chapter in Nashville.

The package also includes a two night stay, $50 shopping certificate which can be used at the Opry Mills Mall, transportation to and from the Mall, American buffet breakfast for two, complimentary parking and high speed-Internet access. The “Spirit of Giving” package is priced at $249 excluding tax and service charge. Available November 17, 2006, through December 20, 2006. For reservations please contact 866-866-8086 or visit www.millenniumhotels.com.

Guests will enjoy the Southern hospitality of this country-music themed hotel which features displays of memorabilia from legends like B.B. King, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. Public spaces and guest rooms are also tastefully decorated with Hatch Show prints of famous country music acts.

About the Millennium Maxwell House, Nashville
Since the 1860s, the Maxwell House name has epitomized Southern elegance and hospitality in Nashville. In many ways, the continued existence of a Maxwell House hotel after more than one hundred years of change and a variety of calamitous events, including the Civil War and a 1961 fire that claimed the original structure, represents a perseverance and respect for traditions that defines the community. While the hotel’s appearance and site are no longer the same, the vision of providing a remarkable and welcoming “home away from home” for MusicCity visitors, ranging from inventor Thomas Edison to award-winning singer Alicia Keyes, has never faltered.

As current caretaker of the Maxwell House Hotel legacy, Millennium Hotels and Resorts has invested considerable time and money to preserve, and improve, upon this Nashville institution. The property has recently undergone a complete overhaul of its 289 guestrooms and suites, the renovation of corridors and upgrades to the pool area and fitness room.
Located in the MetroCenterBusinessPark, the Millennium Maxwell House is just five minutes from downtown and offers fantastic views of the surrounding city. Guests can take advantage of free, scheduled transportation to the airport and a number of top entertainment, dining and shopping attractions. Additional highlights include Praline’s restaurant, which offers casual dining in a welcoming and authentic Southern setting, Maxwell’s Lounge, 27,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space for up to 1,000 guests, including a 10th floor ballroom with 20-foot ceiling and two lighted tennis courts.

 

by Sue Tinnish

847.394.9857

stinnish@ameritech.net

You want new ….
You want different …
You want innovative …
You want to borrow from something done before…

Many of us have only a passing familiarity with the principles of copyright law and the area of intellectual property. The Internet’s technology, ease and flexibility have made it incredibly easy to have access to, copy or even forward information. For the first time, the average person sitting at a computer can gain access to a wide range of every type of copyrighted material and can easily copy or communicate that material virtually instantaneously. In a digital format, it’s not so easy to determine if a work has been copied. Original photocopy machines left tell-tale signs that a work was a copy. Later, color copies made near perfect originals. Now it is next to impossible to ascertain whether and at what point in the process a copy has been made or a performance has occurred.

From students to authors to people involved in planning meetings, copyright law is important to understand. There is a price to innovation and in many cases it’s determined by copyright laws or other areas of intellectual property rights.

Copyright or © is a legal protection for authors. Copyright law affords protection from “copying” of material. Ideas and facts are not protected by copyright laws. Individual words can not be copyrighted. Copyright only protects the particular way an author expresses facts or ideas. Ultimately, copyright laws allow authors to profit from their work.

Like many laws, copyright laws have been amended since first created in 1790. Some parts of the law are ambiguous or poorly written. And no law can cover all situations in all circumstances. (And hence lawyers can make a profitable living!)

Materials that are protected by copyright include:

• Writings
• Musical works
• Cartoons
• Plays
• Photographs
• Maps
• Artworks, sculpture
• Movies
• Pantomimes and choreographed works
• Recipes
• Architectural drawings

Copyright law protects published and unpublished works. Copyright protection for all works created after 1978 begins the instant a work is created – whether it is registered or not with the US Copyright Office. It is not even necessary to publish the copyright notice. Some works may not be copyright protected but exist in the public domain. Public domain works are available for copying or using without gaining permission from the author.

How do you tell if a work is copyrighted? Unfortunately, there is no straightforward rule. To understand when a copyright has expired, you need to know when the work was published.

• Everything published in the United States before 1923 is in the public domain.
• Works published in the United States between 1923- 1963 and not renewed are in the public domain.
• All unpublished works by authors dated over 70 years are in the public domain.
• Foreign works published before 1901 are in the public domain.
• Foreign works published 1909-1923 with copyright notice are in the public domain.
• Copyright protection for current works (published after 1977) generally lasts for the extent of the author’s life plus 70 years.
• Works made for hire – that is works that are created as part of a job are protected for 90 years from the date of publication or 120 years from the date of creation whichever comes first. Examples: Training materials.

Examples of Public Domain works:

• Louise May Alcott’s Little Women
• Leonardo DaVinci’s Mona Lisa
• The Lone Ranger but not E.T. or Hopalong Cassidy
• Any facts

Copyrightis a complex issue. If you find a work that you want to copy, adapt or otherwise use and it is not in the public domain, you have three alternatives:

1. Find something that is in the public domain

2. Obtain permission to use the work

3. Use the work without permission relying on the principle of the “fair use” which allows copyrighted material to be used for free in limited situations.

Fair use is a concept only legally recognized in the United States. No other country in the world gives the public latitude to use copyrighted works without permission. Under the fair use privilege an author is permitted to make limited use of another author’s work without asking permission.

When is it fair to use someone’s materials?

• When you comment or criticize
• For news reporting
• For research or scholarship

Three other considerations for fair use:

• The type of work – factual works (technical, scientific) vs. works of fancy (novels, poems, plays)
• The amount and importance of the material used
• The effect of the use of the material on the potential market or the value of the copyrighted works

People sometimes unknowingly violate copyright laws. The wide amount of information available via the web and electronic distribution makes it easy to have access to information and to add it to a presentation, brochure or other marketing information.

You may not realize that you are infringing upon an author’s rights. Here are some flagrant examples of violating copyright laws:

• Copying training materials (this is an example of a work made for hire) to reduce the cost of purchasing additional materials from a training company.
• Photocopying of articles from magazines for mass distribution.
• Using a song as background music in a video production.

Works on the Internet do not automatically qualify to be considered public domain. Nor does out of print mean out of copyright.

If you are concerned about copyright issues, you can:

• Research the topic in more depth using these resources:

1. US Office of Copyright http://www.copyright.gov/
US Office of Copyright

2. Brad Templeton writes a brief introduction to copyright law at http://www.templetons.com/brad/copyright.html
Brad Templeton’s Intro to Copyright Law

He also has the 10 Myths about Copyright which is definitely worth a read at http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html
Brad Templeton’s 10 Myths

3. Copyright website at http://www.benedict.com/
Copyright Website LLC

4. Using Copyrighted Works For Meetings, Seminars & Conferences by J. Wesley Cochran, Professor of Law, Texas Tech University, August 1999 at
http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/copy-corner12.htm
Prof. Cochran

• Ask permission to use the work. (This can be time-consuming.)
• Use royalty-free content. You can purchase for a one-time fee for unlimited use (with some restrictions) of music, stock photos or graphics in presentation materials.
• Use works of the United States Government. By statute, U.S. Government works are not protected by copyright. This would include photographs from NASA, database and statistics (like the US Census data).
• Gain explicit agreements from your speakers that protect your organization from claims that the speaker used copyrighted materials (e.g., a PowerPoint® presentation) without permission. Speaker agreements also should ensure that the sponsor has the right to record and replay the presentation or reproduce the handouts for distribution or sale to non-attendees. Speaker agreements also should include language that allows the sponsoring organization to reproduce the presentation materials in any form or media (e.g., on the sponsor’s Web site). This idea taken directly from Association Meetings, Dec, 2000 by Jed R. Mandel at http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CXQ/is_6_12/ai_68965444
• Link Well. Links to web sites may be freely reproduced for hyperlinking. Always proper cite a website and depending upon your usage notify the web page provider. Also avoid deeply linking to a specific page. Some websites prohibit deep linking which allows you to avoid the home page.
• Obtain Music Licensing. Unless a song is clearly within the “public domain,” any music–live or recorded–played at an event is subject to copyright protection. Event sponsors may need copyright licenses from one or all of the music licensing organizations (ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC). Each organization has a “playlist” of music for which it is authorized to give licenses on behalf of copyright owners. They can provide you with a blanket license tailored to the meetings industry.

· Research sources for Public Domain works:

1. The on-line Books Page at www.digital.library.upenn.edu/books
On-line Books

2. www.ibiblio.org contains links to many websites with public domain materials
www.ibiblio.org

3. Wikipedia contains many links to public domain at http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/wikipedia:public_domain_resources
Wikipedia Public Domain

4. Audiovisual and sound recordings at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) at www.archives.gov
NARA

5. Maps at the US Geological Survey (USGS) at www.usgs.gov or the National Archives Cartographic and Architectural Branch at www.nara.gov
USGS

6. Art works through web searches using the artist’s name or check Art History Resources on the Web at http://witcombe.bcpw.sbc.edu/arthlinks.html
Art History Resources

Strive for new, different and innovativemeetings. But respect other people’s work. Plagiarism is an ethical issue. While you may no longer be in school and concerned about plagiarism, you should give credit for ideas and facts that you borrow from authors.

 

SEAL Inc.

847.394.9857

stinnish@ameritech.net

 

Do your meetings fall victim to Corporate Attention Deficit Syndrome?

The message of your meeting is the most important aspect of your meeting. Food, drink, sleeping rooms…yes these are all important. But the ultimate reason for a meeting is to deliver a message. Even an incentive trip to the most exotic, luxurious destination would go awry if the “message” sent to the participants wasn’t correct.

The message must be well crafted (clear, articulate, and consistent).
The message must be delivered (physically heard).
The message must received (fall upon receptive ears).

Presenters or paid speakers certainly shoulder responsibility for crafting their messages. But how can you create the optimal environment to allow that message to be heard and received?

Today’s meeting audiences are typically filled multi-tasking and over-tasked individuals. Many have likened the challenge of getting and keeping our audiences’ attention as Corporate Attention Deficit Syndrome.

The book, The Attention Economy, outlines what we pay attention to and divides our attention into 6 types:

• Attraction (victory, super models)
• Aversion (car wrecks)
• Captive (bad weather, movies)
• Voluntary (hobbies, print advertising)
• Front of Mind (discussion, task at hand)
• Back of Mind (to do list, commuting)

The authors, Thomas Davenport and John Beck, promote the idea that understanding and managing attention is now the single most important determinant of business success.

You can help meetings be an attraction. You can help create environments where our audience feels they are participants not captives.

The majority of people are visual learners (60%). They retain information best when they can “see” the information. Numerous surveys show that retention increased by 70 - 80% when visuals are used. That’s one reason every speaker seems to use PowerPoint. (In addition, to the fact that speakers find it a great crutch!)

Beyond PowerPoint, consider changes in your meetings to make presentations more visual so you and your presenters shine:

• Stories This is not your traditional visual. However, stories woven within a presentation create pictures in people’s minds. Stories work to grab attention and create emotional connections. When done in support of a point in the presentation, stories help increase retention and interest.
• Props Props help make information tangible. Props should illustrate or emphasize a key point. Several suggestions for presenters when using props:

1. Make sure the prop is large enough to be seen

2. Allow sufficient time for the audience to see the prop

3. Don’t let the prop become a distraction from you or your presentation

• Handouts Handouts need not be the PowerPoint slides reproduced. Handouts can include background information, supplemental charts and statistics, anything that supports the presentation. Handouts have the following advantages:

1. Handouts can help fill in gaps in the audience’s knowledge and understanding of the topic

2. Add to the presenter’s creditability

3. Keeps everyone focused

4. Serve as a place to take notes

• Flip Charts The old fashioned flip chart is still a work horse in small to mid-sized meetings. Flip charts allow a presenter to:

1. Create group interest and attention

2. Focus the group on key points

3. Allow people to visually trace their conversation

• Change the scenery The same part of your brain that controls long-term memory also controls large motor skills. Who among us hasn’t sat through a mind-numbing presentation? When a presenter asks the audience to move, they get their attention and re-awaken the part of their brain that controls long term memory.
• Questions Questions ask the audience if the picture is complete for them. Presenters can ask rhetorical questions or they can ask the audience to respond to a question. Additionally, PowerPoint slides can be crafted in such a way that each slide asks questions thereby inviting the audience to reflect and possibly express their opinions and feelings.

You can fight Corporate Attention Deficit by creating visually more interesting meetings. Work toward well crafted (clear, articulate, consistent), well delivered (physically heard) and well received (fall upon receptive ears) messages. Both you and your meeting participants will be glad you did.

Exciting new technologies like interactive computer use, live video enhancement of speakers, and teleconferencing can be utilized but the associated cost of these new technologies can be steep. The type of AV support you will need for your meeting or event may be simple or more complex. Be sure to review all your options and plan ahead:

• Get a list of all speakers’ needs well in advance of your meeting date and schedule a rehearsal.

• Allow for rehearsal and set-up time in your meeting rooms.

• Give speakers a chance to rehearse with equipment they will be using.

• Test equipment immediately prior to the beginning of the event. Check acoustics Clap your hands sharply… talk loudly… listen carefully Check to see if there are any echo’s or dead spots. Do drapes or acoustic panels need to be added? Plug-in and test the audio. Is the public address system working? Is there any feedback at working level? Are the speakers correctly placed? Are there enough microphones, cords, stands?

Have spare bulks and extension cords on hand. If you are taping, is the tape recorder microphone working? Check to see if you have to erect a stand or move a table

Is the audiovisual the right distance from the screen, rigid and level? Know the location of circuit breakers and fuses Have spare fuses and standby circuits ready Test the intercom system. Is the emergency work light ready?

• Having a technician available to attend to your needs throughout the meeting may be your best insurance policy.

• If the facility where you are holding your meeting has AV equipment available check to make sure it is in good working order.

• Remember that poor-quality AV equipment can ruin a meeting.

To maximize your audio visual budget, try the following:

• If using an outside vendor, choose a reputable company and reserve equipment early. If you have never worked with the supplier before, ask for references and check them.

• Negotiate all costs. Package deals are good for you and the rental companies. If they know your needs and have your timelines, it will be more cost effective.

• Make sure all agreements are in writing. If one company is not able to meet your needs, look at other companies until your needs are met.

• Provide clear instructions in writing. Include agendas and room layouts so your vendors know exactly what you expect.

• If you need help, find experienced production managers and technicians to oversee the AV portions of your event. Introduce yourself to the technicians who will be working your event, and find out how to contact them should the need arise.

• Barter goods and services with your rental companies. They may want to advertise in your publications, exhibit at your trade show, or acquire leads from your attendees.

• Guaranteed performance is often a policy of AV companies. They will compensate clients for rental costs in the event of equipment failure. Even better, many will provide on-site back-up.

Check the audio-visual equipment that is available at the meeting facility you are using. Many facilities have their own in-house audio department. Ask if any audio-visual equipment is included in your room charge? Be sure to check out the quality and age of the equipment provided.

Most facilities only provide a podium and microphone, so you will need to rent additional equipment from a qualified local audio-visual rental company. The facility where you are holding your meeting can provide recommendations.

Written by Yvon Douran, http://www.keynoteresource.com/

You’ve got a great business plan, a phenomenal product or service, and the energy and drive to promote your business. There’s only one problem. You’re running your entire company out of a corner of your living room, or your garage; or you’ve rented a hole in the wall office furnished with ancient office furniture scrounged from anyplace you could find it, and you’re not really comfortable inviting high power prospective clients to your location.

Your regional meeting and conference center may have the perfect answer. These centers are springing up all over the country, and offer a range of options for meetings, conferences, and conventions. Designed to project a modern, professional corporate image, they allow even small start ups to make a dynamic impact on potential clients and management personnel. Whether you need to schedule a ten o’clock meeting with a few representatives from a major corporation you’re targeting for business, or you need to rent a room for an entire day to interview a series of potential management hires, an attractive, functional meeting room will reflect your company’s professionalism.

When you’re choosing a meeting and conference center, be sure to research the availability of communications technology; the best centers will offer the latest high tech media equipment, so that if you have to project a Powerpoint display, a CD-Rom, or a DVD presentation, you have access to the equipment you need. A competently operated business center will also provide high speed Internet access and dial-up, as well as a number of business services including secretarial and clerical support, photocopying services, and faxing capability. If you’re going to be holding a lengthy meeting, you also need to make arrangements for your clients to have lunch or morning or afternoon food breaks, depending on the timing of the meeting. If you hold annual meetings for your employees, your partners or stockholders, or your board of directors, you may want to splurge on an informational meeting which includes a sumptuous catered meal.

If you’re expecting potential clients or vendors to travel to meet with you from out of town, you may want to pay special attention to the meeting center’s ease of access, both from Interstate highways and from regional airports. Business people who travel frequently want to get to a meeting quickly, have a productive experience, and then get back on the road, to the airport, or to their hotel room with as little fuss as possible. Choosing your meeting’s location to facilitate this will make a positive impact on those you’re meeting; putting them in a position of getting snarled in city traffic will definitely not.

Of course, the best meeting and conference center in the world is only as impressive as the presentation you make. Make sure you’re prepared, and have all the documentation you need at the meeting, polished and organized. If you have a media presentation to make, be sure it says what you want it to say, and then communicate with the tech experts at the meeting center to be absolutely certain you know how to operate the equipment. If possible, troubleshoot the equipment, and practice the presentation, well before your meeting so that you can make a smooth, polished performance.

Even if you’re operating a start-up company on a shoestring, creative use of your regional meeting and conference center will allow you to project a professional, successful image to your business associates; and nothing sells like success. http://www.forefrontcenter.com/audiovisuals.htm

Establish yourself as an expert in front of meeting professionals. We are seeking articles on the following meeting topics immediately. If your article is selected, we will provide your name as the author and a link to your website from our populare Heres Network Cities. We are seeking the following topics:

· Meeting planner Tips

· Business meeting Tips

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· Corporate meeting Tips

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· Meeting facility Tips

· Conducting a meeting Tips

· Meeting planner association Tips

· Conference meeting Tips

· Medical meeting Tips

· Meeting planner international Tips

· Business meeting etiquette Tips

· Conducting business meeting Tips

· Need help with meeting Tips

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· Meeting directory Website Tips

· Meeting and conference Tips

· Meeting planning company Tips

· Meeting planner job Tips

· Location of top meeting Tips

· Planning checklist meeting Tips

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· Meeting facilities Tips

· Conducting effective meetings Tips

· Hotel meeting room Tips

· Meeting planning software Tips

· Meeting travel planning Tips

 

If you are interested, please direct all articles and inquiries to: Heres Editor: heresnetwk@yahoo.com

Do you announce a meeting and find either no one shows up on time, they come with their own agenda, or the meeting goes on and on? If this is true in your case, then worry no more.

Here are six steps to help you develop successful meetings:

1. Establish a realistic and specific objective. Ask yourself, ‘What do I want to accomplish?’ or ‘Why am I calling people together at this time?’

Do I want:

• to solve problem(s). * to inform. * to gain feedback. * to orient.
• to motivate. * to reward. * to buy. * to sell.

Then decide the best mode to accomplish your objective. Ask yourself which best suits your needs:

• a conference with a panel(s) of speakers?
• a half-day workshop? Or a full-day seminar?
• a staff meeting that includes your immediate staff?
• a staff meeting that includes your department or division?
• a staff meeting that includes everyone from all levels of the entire organization?

2. Create a well-developed agenda. Review your agenda before announcing your meeting. Make sure it avoids:

• spending too much time on details technical subjects. (It puts people to sleep and does not communicate with them.)
• failing to specify the starting and ending times. (Employees need to know when to be there, when it is expected to start, and when it is expected to be finished so that they can reschedule their other duties and responsibilities.)
• adding irrelevant topics. (Doing so only lengthens the meeting time and serves to anger people or put them to sleep.)
• having speakers or presenters who are known to ramble. (One of the surest ways to put your audience to sleep is to have a boring meeting with speakers or presenters who talk on and on. This is especially true in cases where the agenda covers technical or scientific material.)
• crowding the agenda with too many subjects. (It is better to have a question and answer period during the meeting than to try to cover everything.

Now review your agenda and make sure you have included:

• a chairperson or Master of Ceremonies to move topics along without rushing the presenters, or allowing them to ramble.
• general logistics before hand, such as restroom locations, break times, and telephone or walk-in interruptions.
• a priority system so that the most important topics or pressing matters are covered first.

3. Assign particular responsibilities. Be sure to select responsible people to carry out the responsibilities of your meeting. Also be sure:

• to match the topics and tasks with competent presenters.
• to give them clear, complete, and specific instructions including assigned time to complete their presentation.
• to gain the concurrence of your key participants.
• to have a clock in clear view of the presenters.
• to start on time, regardless. (This is perhaps the most important aspect of running a successful meeting.)

4. Establish a positive meeting environment. Take the time to plan your meeting. Perhaps the most important aspect to consider is the environment where you will hold your meeting. To insure its success, be sure you:

• create an environment that is conducive to effective communication.
• set start and ending times that are conducive to all.
• develop the environment around a theme.
• consider the objective of the meeting when selecting the room.
• consider decorating the room, if this is warranted.
• arrange and test the audio-visual support before hand.
• arrange the seating of participants and attendees, depending on the estimated number of attendees.
• arrange the seating plan for optimal effect.

5. Plan all the activities. Take the time to plan and plan again all the events, people, places, and things related to the objective and theme of the meeting. Be sure to:

• gather input where relevant.
• take notes where necessary.
• prepare adequate quantities of handouts.
• prepare to post adequately the announcement of the meeting along with its agenda, times, participants, and any other relevant information.
• prepare backup materials.
• prepare post-meeting evaluations, where necessary, and summary handouts.

Remember: When you maximize your potential, every one wins. When you don’t, we all lose.

© Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW

Business meetings may be conducted formally or informally, depending on the company and the circumstances. The following guidelines are based on Robert’s Rules of Order.

Taking Minutes

Steps:

1.  Obtain the meeting agenda, minutes from the last meeting, and any background documents to be discussed. Consider using a tape recorder to ensure accuracy.

2.  Sit beside the chairperson for convenient clarification or help as the meeting proceeds.