Planning Meetings Venue will provide an event coordinator as the point of contact for the Department’s event coordinator and to collaborate in organizing and coordinating the event. This event coordinator is expected to do the following: Be available for all the pre-planning as outlined in subsection A.2. Be available onsite during the event. Participate in a follow-up meeting post-event. Event coordinator will be involved in the following pre-planning activities starting in September: Develop a timeline for organizing the event. Schedule at least monthly virtual planning meetings with the Department. Ensure planning timelines and other due dates are communicated to the Department, Planning Committee, and venue staff. Final pre-event planning meeting should be held at least 10 days before the event. Upon arrival for setting up the event, the event coordinator and planning committee leads will meet to review final details, including room set ups, A/V, and meals. Debrief post-event meeting to occur within 30 days from the Summit. Venue must: Be able to hold the event within the timeframe of January – March Have availability to hold the two-day event on a Thursday and Friday and allow for set-up Wednesday evening prior to the event. Have a meeting space that accommodates at least 300 attendees for general sessions with round tables, this would accommodate the growth of the event over the next 5 years. Have availability for early morning sessions (starting at 6 a.m.) and evening sessions (no later than 9 p.m.) Central registration location with tables, space/storage for committee materials, easy access to restrooms, and signage to direct attendees to spaces. Have a large meeting spaces in a close proximity to each other, that will accommodate at least 300 attendees comfortably for round table presentations with conversations and movement occurring. Have at least 8 spaces for breakout sessions (to accommodate 12 – 50 attendees/room) including the ability to offer a cooking demonstration that uses small appliances with access to facilities for clean-up. Be able to change setup space as needed between sessions and accommodate round tables, long tables, theater style, or other requests from presenters. Have space and facilities to accommodate a variety of indoor and outdoor wellness activities including a fitness center and pool. Activities include but are not limited to outdoor winter activities like cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and walking paths and indoor activities like water aerobics, fitness classes, meditation space, and dance. Have space to accommodate exhibit tables if needed. Provide for audio and visual needs: Have technician support onsite during the event. Provide projectors, screens, sound system for all rooms as needed. Provide podium and risers for the general session room. Have strong, uninterrupted Wi-Fi service throughout the facility. Have recording services for the keynote presentations. Provide quality, healthy food options within the US General Service Ad ministration per diem rates, inclusive of the gratuity. Provide breakfast, lunch, a light snack, and beverages (coffee/tea/cocoa/water) on days 1 and 2 (Thursday and Friday). Provide dinner on day 1 (Thursday). Accommodate the dietary needs of attendees. Provide lodging accommodation for overnight attendees, at least 150 rooms. Attendees will be responsible for the cost of their own lodging. Providers are encouraged to offer their most competitive pricing for lodging; in most cases attendees will seek costs at the State of Maine per diem rate. See per diem rate information for your area by clicking on the following link and selecting Maine on the US map, www.gsa.gov/travel. Provide lodging for up to 18 required attendees within the contract (Planning Committee Members, presenters, Maine DOE support staff), at no more than the allowable government per diem rate. Provide a reservation point person to assist attendees with all aspects of reservations and lodging. Extend the conference room rate for those wishing to extend their stay on Friday and/or Saturday nights. Be able to accommodate parking at no additional cost to attendees.
