Event Organisation

General

Every year as a result of the IBM Retirees Committee Planning Meeting, a Diary of Events will be published in the Newsletter . Each event will have a Committee member assigned as organiser and this member will be responsible for the overall management of the event. It should be noted that any member of the Retirees Club may organise an event but in these instances a Committee member will be responsible for overseeing the event.

Not all events planned for a year will have dates set against them and of course planned events may be cancelled or substituted by other events.  This can happen for a variety of reasons but members will be kept informed through the Newsletter.  

Organiser Responsibilities

  1. Liase as appropriate with the agent or with the personnel at the location of the event for date, times, parking for coaches and cars, meal arrangements, numbers attending.
  2. Reasonable expenses for travel, telephone and stamps may be claimed, to set against the cost of the event.
  3. Liase with the Committee as necessary about costs and prices.
  4. Check suitability of event for members with disabilities.
  5. Provide Newsletter Editor with all required information for announcement and booking form.
  6. Maintain a list of all attendees with the amount each has paid. Note that a member will not be deemed to be an "attendee" until their payment (in most cases a cheque) has been received by the organiser.
  7. Have a list of attendees available at all times, including emergency contact details for each attendee.
  8. Organising tips and gratuities.
  9. Note, and if possible resolve, any issues which occur during or after the event.

The following sections explain these responsibilities further.

Announcement

After the initial Diary of Events entry, the main announcement about the event will be made in the Newsletter. This is normally two months before the event takes place and organisers should liase with the Newsletter Editor to ensure the entry is made on time. If the uptake is a little slow, then the organiser can ask the Newsletter Editor to issue a "nudge" one month before the event. There is no standard format for announcements but whatever means which are appropriate may be used which can include such things as pointers to relevant web sites, directions to the event and so on. It may also be felt appropriate to "pre-announce" an event several months in advance - this will normally be an abbreviated version of the main announcement and will act as a vehicle to get the date of the event into members' diaries.

Booking Forms

Booking forms are normally issued at the time of the main announcement. They are not part of the main body of the Newsletter but linked from it.

Booking forms must include a reference to the information regarding cancellation and refunds - see "Refunds" section.

Acknowledgement of booking will be sent to the member's email address.  If acknowledgement by normal mail is preferred a SSAE should be enclosed with the booking form.

A standard booking form has been developed to assist organisers.  It requests the following information:-

  1. Names of member and first guest, together with any second guests.  Note that some events will be restricted to member and first guest only.
  2. Member's contact information, i.e. telephone number and email address.
  3. Organiser's address, telephone number and email address.
  4. Cost of event. Note that this will be either a request for the full amount or for a deposit followed up at a later date by a request for the remaining amount.
  5. Organiser's mobile telephone number to allow members a contact point in case of problems on the day.

The following information may be required, depending on the event:-

  1. Details of current travel insurance if you are not going to use the agent’s insurance, i.e. name of company, policy number and their emergency contact number.
  2. Car registration number.  This is required by Security for cars parked at IBM Warwick.
  3. Menu choices (for events which include a meal).
  4. Membership of National Trust, Yes/No. 

Obviously, a form cannot cover all eventualities and the organiser should check with the Newsletter Editor to ensure that everything that is relevant is included.

 

European Health Insurance Card - EHIC

This card superceded the Form E111 "Certificate of Entitlement to Benefits In Kind During a Stay in another Member State" and is the only valid document since 31st December 2005.  It is recommended that all members have the EHIC card.    

Car Parking At IBM Warwick

Many of our events start from IBM Warwick and members will see words such as "coach will depart from the top car park at........".  Just to clarify this for newer members, "top car park" refers to the first car park on the left when you enter the site from the Birmingham Road entrance.  You may be asked on the booking form for your car registration number - this is sometimes required by Security and will be indicated on booking forms as necessary. 

Travel Insurance

All participants in IBM Retirees Club events are advised that they should have appropriate travel insurance and it is very likely to be a condition of booking laid down by the company providing the travel package. Because insurance policies vary widely in the cover that they offer, it is important to check a policy carefully to ensure that it will meet all requirements.

Refunds

If a member is unable or does not wish to attend an event for any reason then the following guidelines will apply:-

1. Where a meal has been booked but the establishment only charges for those who actually attend, then a refund may be made. If a specific choice of menu has been made it will usually charged. If transport is involved, see paragraph 2.

2. Where a block booking has been made for a coach or other transport, then a refund will not be made.

3. If a block booking has been made for events where tickets have been purchased, such as theatre or other similar event then no refund will be made.

Note that in the case of block bookings, to make a refund would increase the cost per head of the event.

Notwithstanding the above, a refund will be made if the booking can be re-sold to another member, although any reasonable expenses may be deducted by the Club. If the Club does not make any refunds, then the member should approach their insurance company with an appropriate claim.

Tipping and Gratuities

The organiser may, at his/her discretion, give a gratuity to an establishment or individual which will be considered as part of the expenses of running the event. Examples would include a hotel, restaurant or an individual such as a tour guide or coach driver. This does not preclude any individual member from tipping and this may happen particularly with tour guides and coach drivers. However, it is important that the organiser informs all attendees of what he/she plans to do, e.g. the announcement in the Newsletter may state that "gratuities are included" or "the hat will be passed round the coach at the end of the journey".

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