The First Registration

And the envelope goes to...

Georgetown Prep

First of all, I'm very excited that registration has already begun.  It means the process is working, schools are getting the information, and we are working towards our goal.  However, as LSC, the question I must ask is -- what is it that Prep gets that perhaps other schools don't?  What about the HOBY message got them to buy in that they registered so quickly?  We didn't even get a chance to give them a phone call -- that's how much they bought in.  If I could just bottle up that thought and message and distribute it to the 350 schools across the state, my job would be easy.  I know my own love and passion for HOBY, but it's not that.  It's creating that love and passion in our participants so they go back to their schools and make it happen for each new class of sophomores.  It is the challenge we face each and every year.

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The Balance of Information

Late last week I had to participate in one of HOBY's regional conference calls.  As LSC, I'm practically obligated to be on every one of these calls I can.  I know the schedule in advance, and I try to block off the time so that there aren't items that interfere.  I won't say I make them 100%, but I do my best.

The conference calls are one thing though where it makes me question about where the balance of information lies with my volunteers.  It doesn't make sense to ask my entire team to be on these calls -- the agenda isn't relevant for most of them -- but occasionally I've suggested to my Corporate Board or my key volunteer positions, such as the Director of Recruitment per se, that they join in.  They never have.  On the call has typically only been myself and often Carol, our Corporate President.

Similarly, I look at the things I prepare for my volunteers either because I feel they are necessary, or simply because I want others to have the information should they wish, and I am always left to question how much they might be using that information.  Mind you, much of this I do because of my own love of technology as a medium, but the point is still the same -- do people use it?  The conference call is but one example.  I lump Facebook, Twitter, emails, and all the like right in there too.  I can put the information out there, but I cannot force people to use it.

The challenge is always to keep the flow of information interesting and relevant.  Not overwhelm people with too much (which in all likelihood I do), and craft the information in such a way that people want to pay attention to what you say.  The same is true in every facet of my job -- with my volunteers, ambassadors, parents, and schools alike.

However, despite my own recognition that I must strike some kind of a balance, I know in the end, I'll probably tend to lean such as in the direction of this blog.  To burden people potentially with too much information, and let them choose what they feel is most important, than worry that perhaps they have not gotten enough.

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Working with the University: Opportunity Knocks

For about the last 8 years, HOBY Maryland has been having our annual seminar at Mount St. Mary's University.  As any large event would, we sign a contract that makes sure we agree to pay for services that in the broadest sense fall under either usage of facilities or reimbursement for meals.  It's a simple agreement and certainly, every year we've honored it and intend to continue to do so.

However, one of the things that has always struck me, clearly with my own bias towards what HOBY accomplishes, is how the university (and this isn't just necessarily MSM, but any host site) treats us as just another group.  From my perspective, we bring 200 outstanding high school sophomores to their campus from all over the state representing diverse interests and backgrounds.  It seems like a prime opportunity for any university to pitch themselves and recruit freshmen from essentially the cream of the crop.  They have a captive audience.  And yet, as already mentioned, the university has always been content to simply let us go about our business, run our event, and have very little interest in being involved.

Well, that's perhaps about to change.

During the 2010 Career Lunch, by pure chance, the president of the university, Dr. Powell happened to come by and see one part of our program.  All I can imagine is that he saw the enthusiastic young people who were there, the leaders of various industries introducing themselves and engaging these young people, and he realized the opportunity for MSM he had in front of him.  Our Director of Operations happened to be outside and was engaged in a brief conversation with Dr. Powell.  One thing led to another and we now after 8 years have been able to set up a meeting for the near future.  It speaks to the power of the university president versus just Conference and Events coordinator who is paid to help us work with University.  (And with full disclosure, the old C&E director just left for another opportunity, so MSM just got a new one for this year.)

My hope is that in meeting with Dr. Powell we'll be able to truly open his eyes to the phenomenal opportunity the HOBY community presents to his university.  At the same time, I'm hoping he can ensure that the university is helping us feel accommodated, using it's resources to work with us in the most productive ways possible, and I won't lie -- help us get a better deal financially.  HOBY and the university are two entities that truly have an amazing chance to work in mutually beneficial way.  We just need to make sure we are attempting to continually meet each other at least half way.

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Recruitment

Recruitment is arguably one of the two biggest challenges HOBY faces as an organization (next to perhaps only fundraising).  It comes with it's own incentive based goals, and in many ways can set the structure for everything else we do.

For the last two years, and in all likelihood this year, our goal for recruitment has been to get 201 sophomores to the seminar in May.  Two years ago, we met this goal "unofficially" by at least getting that many students to sign up, but were disappointed when about 10 percent of those students didn't actually show.  Last year, the number who signed up was much closer to the number who showed, however, in some ways, this is arguably no better for us.

In every element we plan from dormitories on the campus, to facilitation groups, to busses for transportation the size of the group can have a dramatic impact.  It is no wonder that this is even true in fundraising:  for every student registered, we get a small piece of their registration fee, and there are financial incentives to add to that should we meet our recruitment goal.  Unfortunately however, we do not set our goal all by ourselves. It is determined in conjunction with HOBY International and in large part is actually set for us.

The challenges of the recruitment task can be many.  First, making phone calls, and to some degree even sending emails during the day is difficult.  Most of our volunteers have serious day jobs that prevent them from participating in such a task.  How are we to get a hold of the schools if we cannot call them during their working hours?  Second, it is surprising every year as we face either new school staffs, or simply existing ones, who have not yet latched onto the HOBY message and still are not enthusiastic about sending a student.  They complain about how no student is interested in signing up or that they are unsure what they are getting for their investment.  What they fail to realize is that in all likelihood, those members of the sophomore class have never heard of HOBY, and so they have no incentive to sign up, or write an essay, or attempt to get involved.  If the school plays no role in promoting HOBY as something positive for a student's future, what student would sign up blindly?  Every year I must convince schools to do this hard work as I cannot be in the school to do it myself.  These challenges speak nothing to the students and then families who then do sign up, only for us to make sure the registered participant completes their forms and does show up in May.

This year, we are currently without an official Director of Registration, and are certainly looking.  However, as much as anything, what is needed is a  few bodies to make just a few phone calls.  If every volunteer we work with during the year took on just 5 schools to call, this would mean we'd be working on calling around 300 schools.  It doesn't take much -- just a bit of commitment.

I'd love to have a few more people to help me with recruitment.   Imagine the difference you'd be making to get that one student to attend in May and the "life-changing" experience they would encounter.

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Call for Volunteers

As we begin each seminar year, one of the first challenges that is faced is the "Call for Volunteers."  It is not that there aren't a lot of people out there who aren't willing to help HOBY, its a matter of getting them to recognize they can contribute, and helping them find the best opportunity for their skill set combined with their interest.

Often, our young, particularly first-year, alumni are the most enthusiastic about helping out the seminar.  Unfortunately, their interest is counter-balanced by their lack of understanding about just how challenging a seminar is to put together.  On the other side, our veteran staff have a deep seated love for the organization, but are often hesitant to get overly involved because of their other commitments in their lives.  I understand this, and even sympathize, but I always hope they will recognize there are many small tasks they can contribute to.

Currently, we have three significant volunteer opportunities:  Recruitment, Career Lunch, and Treasurer.  It would be great to find individuals who are willing to take these on as the "Director" role.  But, I'm realistic.  Most people don't want that title, and frankly, I'm not asking anyone to take it on -- at least yet. :)  The reality is, I'd just like to find a few more people to contribute to these areas.  You don't have to the Director of Recruitment, you just have to be willing to make a handful of phone calls.  You don't have to be the Director of the Career Lunch -- you just have to recruit a few tables.  You don't have to... oh wait; you do have to be the Treasurer or not at all. :)

I'll be posting about these opportunities in the future but in the meantime, ask yourself how you might contribute.  Taking on one small task, and believe me, there are many, helps our organization out enormously. No matter what you are good at, or interested in, I promise you, we have a place for you.

You can sign up to help volunteer at:  https://reg.hoby.org/HOBYVolunteerApplication/

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Why a blog?

I've tried personal blogs before.  I never have found them extremely successful because the personal things I might want to write down were exactly that:  personal.  At the same time, you want people to read and give you feedback.  This is a difficult line to tow between both agendas.  I also have attempted at such times to write because it felt relevant and necessary, but this state of emotion only lasts for so long.  Continuing a blog beyond that often falls out of habit.

Instead, I look at what HOBY represents as an organization and within my own life, and I see this as an opportunity for insight and transparency.  There is nothing that I would necessarily hide, and yet, even long time volunteers with our organization are not necessarily aware of all the details that go into making the HOBY seminar happen each year.  It is time consuming and requires lots of energy.  Some years it feels like a miracle the event happens at all.  I hope to give people insight into the magic and hard work that is the Maryland Leadership Seminar.

Lastly, in a topic I'm sure I'll discuss more in future entries, this year I'm participating on HOBY International's Strategic Planning Committee.  In part, I was asked to this committee to look at technology and social networking.  I figure that I'll be better able to represent and discuss these issues if I'm using the technologies myself.  A blog is one more opportunity to explore.

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Welcome

Recently, a number of things have been happening in the HOBY world that represent change and progress for our organization. At the same time, we are seeing new challenges that are as strong as the old. I am beginning this blog to be a speaking point to the things our organization is dealing with. I will attempt to make updates as frequently as I can during the year, while also giving insights in to the process of putting together a successful seminar and what is happening with HOBY at an international level. You can hopefully expect a number of brief entries in the next few days, and then regular, periodic updates.

I do also want to give some credit to HOBY Washington in this first entry. They started their own blog recently by the LSC, and while I had been playing with the idea for a number of reasons I may discuss later, their blog was certainly inspiration to make sure I had one too.

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