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Special Meetings


Guidelines for Planning and Conducting of any Special Meetings/Seminars Outside the Schedule of Normal Monthly Meetings


Special Meeting Request Form

  1. When the need arises for a Special Meeting, locally or regionally (i.e. a Section All-Day Meeting) the request should come from the Section Chair to the Sections Vice President. The Sections Vice President should review and insure the request meets the criteria (described later), and the, along with a recommendation, present this proposal to the Conference Committee. It is recommended that a nine month lead time be allowed to insure proper financial and technical paper planning. It is desirable that Special Meetings have a Luncheon scheduled as part of the event. It will be the responsibility of the Sections Vice President to advise the Section Chair of approval or disapproval for the Special Meeting.
  2. To help insure the success of Special Meetings and provide a continuing source of papers for the Journal, the need for the technical subject matter should be established. It is recommended that Special Meetings be held in locations with a demand for the topic as well as sufficient local support before and during the meeting.
  3. To further the educational goals of the Society it may be desirable for these Special Meetings to include specific items to meet educational needs. These educational items should be included in the request and budget for the Special Meeting from the Section Chair.
  4. Funds relating to Special Meetings held within the United States should be separated from Section funds by use of a special account at Society Headquarters. Due to currency exchanges in Sections outside the United States, it may be appropriate to have the local Section open a temporary, special SMPTE Meeting account separate from the Section's operating funds.
  5. Registration fees should cover all expenses in connection with holding the Meeting, notwithstanding sponsorships. Any surplus from registration fees or sponsorships shall be returned to Society Headquarters.
  6. Social events such as meals, entertainment, etc., should be self- supporting.
  7. It is desirable to take advantage of the Society's purchasing power when negotiating hotel and other supplier contracts. It is therefore recommended to the organizers of Special Meetings, when negotiating for hotels and other services that they confer with Society Headquarters. Such contracts are subject to final approval by Society Headquarters.
  8. Sponsorship of Special Meeting activities is acceptable. However, organizers should be sensitive to the fact that Society Sustaining Members do support the Society through their membership. Proper credit should always be given to a sponsor.
  9. The Chair of the Section organizing a Special Meeting is responsible to insure that the following information is submitted to the Sections Vice President at least nine months prior to the proposed Meeting date. This information should be supplied addressing the following:
  • Theme of the special meeting.
  • Section requesting meeting.
  • Date and location of meeting.
  • Is the Section Board of Managers unanimously in favor of this proposal? If not, what negative arguments have been offered?
  • Reason for meeting.
  • Is there a primary discipline group (such as students) to which this meeting will be directed?
  • Estimate of attendance.
  • Person in charge of meeting/prior experience.
  • Person in charge of program/prior experience.
  • Person in charge of overall arrangements/prior experience.
  • Requirement of facility guarantees.
  • Suggested registration fees.
  • Social functions planned, where, and estimated cost involved.
  • Define the purpose for any request for specific funds for special education needs.
  • Prepare budget indicating expected income and expenses.
  • Are exhibits planned that relate to papers presentation? If so, is an exhibitor's fee proposed?
  • List any tie-ins, co-sponsorships, or affiliations with other approved groups, and give details.
  • Is sponsorship of any of the meeting's events anticipated? If so, please explain.
Because of the geographic diversity of the Off Shore Activities, the Society's Headquarters Staff (e.g. Executive Director and/or Director of Engineering) should attempt to attend where schedule and the Societies fiscal conditions permit.

Offshore Special Conferences

  1. All Offshore Special Conference activities must be approved in advance as defined in the previous section.
  2. In the case of a "new" activity, Headquarters may provide "seed" money for the Offshore Special Conference.
    • After all appropriate Offshore Special Conference Activities have been paid by the revenue of the Offshore Special Conference, 50% of the remaining balance should be returned to the Society's General Fund. Its use will be directed by the Board of Governors with emphasis in support of other Offshore Section activities.
    • Where multiple sections exist in a country or area, a portion of the funds that would be normally repatriated to Society's General Fund may be used to directly fund ongoing expenses of another section in the same country or area. Any transfer of funds may only occur after the normal section budgeting/approval procedure has been completed (the intent of this section is to minimize currency conversions).
    • It is not the intent nor the desire of the Offshore sections to become "self funding" by use of conferences, nor is it the desire or intent for one section's activities to serve as, or be directly demanded by another. As with any duly constituted section, it is the Society's intent to provide sufficient direct support for all Section activities through the normal Society funding and approval processes.
  3. The remaining 50% will remain in the Offshore Section's account to provide for the following:
    • Offshore Sections operations. 
    • Seed money funding (nominally $5,000) for the next special conference. 
    • Additional Section activities such as tutorials or workshops.
    • Support of Section Chair or designee attendance at the Society's Annual Conference, as allowed elsewhere in these administrative practices.
    • In the event the Offshore approved requested monies exceed the retained special conference funds, care should be taken not to remit funds to the General Fund that would be transferred back to the country; the funds should not be remitted to H.Q., but remain with the Section to minimize conversions. The Offshore Section(s) will be required to submit budgets for approval outlining the use of the "surplus" funds and provide reports, on a quarterly basis, on the expenditure of these funds to the Sections Vice President and the Financial Vice President of the Society.
  5. All expenditures from the Offshore Sections Funds must be reviewed and approved by the Section Board of Managers and must be made according to the existing guidelines for Section activities and expenditures, as defined in this Sec. VIII. Emphasis is placed upon the local Board of Managers to provide activities that meet local needs and interests.
  6. It is not the intent of this practice to cause the local Offshore Section activities to be funded by the local Offshore Special Conference activities. This guideline is meant to serve as the basis for the use of any "surplus" funds from these Offshore Special Conference activities. Offshore Sections, as in any Section, should not hesitate to request support from Headquarters to their ongoing Section activities.
  7. All membership dues shall continue to be paid in US funds, as described in the Society's Constitution and Bylaws.
  8. Any existing International Special Conference surpluses will be used in accordance with this guideline.