ROAD RACE MANAGEMENT
RACE DIRECTOR'S MEETING

The Schedule of Events  for the 2012 RRM Race Directors' Meeting and Trade Exhibit will be posted here when it becomes available in July 2012.

Schedule of Events for the 2011 RRM Race Directors' Meeting and Trade Exhibit

THURSDAY, November 10

3:30 P.M. - 6:00 P.M. Packet Pickup

3:30 P.M. - 6:00 P.M. Trade Exhibit

6:15 P.M. - 7:30 P.M. MarathonGuide.com/World's Best 10K Welcome Reception - Poolside. Includes MarathonFoto/Road Race Management
“Race Director of the Year” Award, presented by Electric City Printing.

FRIDAY, November 11

8:00 A.M. - 9:00 A.M. Atlanta Track Club Continental Breakfast

8:00 A.M. - 6:30 P.M. Trade Exhibit

8:15 A.M. - 9:00 A.M. Packet Pickup

9:00 A.M. - 9:10 A.M. Welcome

9:10 A.M. - 10:10 A.M. Leadership Transition
How do you prepare for succession and groom new leadership? If you have nurtured an event for years, you want to assure continuity and stability after you move on. Whether a paid or volunteer director, transition planning is often at the bottom of your “to do” list. What are the Best Practices for succession planning? Succession can be both planned and unplanned (death, termination, unexpected resignation) but in most cases it can be prepared for in an orderly fashion. As events mature so should their personnel policies.
Faculty: Sean Ryan
Moderators: Jeff Darman

10:10 A.M. - 10:30 A.M. Publix Super Markets Gasparilla Distance Classic Coffee Break

10:30 A.M. - 11:30 A.M. New TV and Web-Based Media Platforms
We will analyze the new TV/visual media options utilized by events like ING New York Marathon, Credit Union Cherry Blossom and the USATF Championship series. How do they work? Who are the vendors, areas in need of improvement, cost and ways to make them more affordable and what are the options for smaller events? While the emphasis will be on “new TV options” the session will address how this can also be ancillary to “old TV”.
Faculty: Jill Geer
Moderator: Phil Stewart

11:30 A.M. - 11:50 A.M. Gatorade Break

11:50 A.M. - 12:50 P.M. Insurance Risk Management: Protecting Your Event, Property, Staff and Volunteers
While not the most exciting topic, insurance and risk management are a necessity for well-managed events. Some areas we will look into include cancellation and weather insurance (including loopholes to be wary of, pros and cons, costs, exceptions like terrorism), insurance for host liability (liquor), D & O, extra limits, volunteers including medical, rental vehicles, general liability, record insurance and certificates of insurance. We will also give you some basic risk management guidelines.
Faculty: Bee McLeod
Moderator: Jeff Darman

12:50 P.M. - 2:30 P.M. Pool/Lunch Break and Trade Exhibit Visits

2:30 P.M. - 3:35 P.M. Race Anatomy
The session will dissect the Chevron Houston Marathon, and the integration of the separate 2012 Olympic Trials marathon events. Director Brant Kotch will talk about the good times and any bad, ups and downs, race growth, sponsor gains and losses, volunteers and the basics of how they do things and how he manages his team, from registration to awards. The Chevron Houston Marathon is a long-time community-oriented event which continues to flourish and tackle new challenges, and next year hosts the men’s and women’s trials. How do they continue to build their brand in a crowded marketplace?
Faculty: Brant Kotch
Moderator: Phil Stewart

3:35 P.M. - 4:05 P.M. Trade Exhibit Break

4:05 P.M. - 5:10 P.M. Volunteers
Our presenter in the course of a year utilizes thousands of volunteers. As a Director of multiple events, Dave will explain how he recruits, trains, motivates, evaluates, rewards and, when needed, fires volunteers. What does he do for the special ones? We will look at the basics as well as new ideas about how to keep this precious “cargo” happy. What are the new ways to communicate (web, Facebook, etc.) with volunteers not contemplated years ago and how can these be utilized to the maximum benefit?
Faculty: Dave McGillivray
Moderator: Phil Stewart

5:15 P.M. - 6:30 P.M. Ashworth Awards Race Directors’ Reception in
Conjunction with Trade Exhibit
Talk with exhibitors of awards, competitor numbers, banners, computer and timing products, apparel, running organizations, online registration and other web services, and more. Another opportunity to meet fellow race directors, the faculty and exhibitors in a relaxed atmosphere.

6:30 P.M. - 9:30 P.M. MarathonGuide.com Keynote Dinner
We are moving the keynote from lunch to dinner and we are pleased to welcome Steve Miller, CEO of the Andre Agassi Foundation as our first dinner speaker. Steve will speak about his unique experience from his various positions in the sport of road running, track and field and in several other sports. He has been a high school and college coach, a Nike track and field executive and also its US and Global Sports Marketing Director, President of ill-fated Devine Sports, and President of the Professional Bowling Association. He currently serves as CEO of Agassi holdings and the Foundation, and as a member of the USATF Board. Steve will articulate how the sports marketing, and event promotions world has changed. He will talk about the ups and downs of USATF and provide an entertaining talk filled with anecdotes from his experiences around the sports world.

SATURDAY, November 12

8:45 A.M. - 9:15 A.M.  Publix Super Markets Gasparilla Distance Classic Coffee Break

8:45 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. Trade Exhibit

9:15 A.M. - 10:15 A.M. The Changing Local Political Landscape for Events
For many, if not all events the days of free city services and a municipal welcome mat are changing. For both high visibility events like the ING New York City Marathon and small local festival events, there are new challenges. Out of town for-profit events are more and more inserting themselves in the local calendar and competing for local resources. Some events watch enviously as local CVB’s give their tax dollars to out of town conglomerates. Have we gotten complacent? Do we do enough to build relationships with local officials before we need something? Do we impact local economies significantly enough and, if so, do we tell that story well? Do we utilize our political “muscle” or even understand how to do that? Learn the art of lobbying and advocating for your event from a Pro.
Faculty: Bill La Forge
Moderator: Phil Stewart and Jeff Darman 

10:15 A.M. - 10:50 A.M. Gatorade Break/Trade Exhibit Break

10:50 A.M. - 11:30 A.M. Open Forum
Discussion about the most current and pressing topics facing event directors.

11:30 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. Final Trade Exhibit Break

12:00 P.M. Trade Exhibit closes