1. Final Field Study Report 1
Rebecca Pearson
HTM 4964—Parsons
Final Report
June 30, 2014
Final Field Study Report
Field Study Description Experience:
I selected an Internship, as an Event Coordinator for my Field Study with the
Fauquier County Fair, Inc. The Fauquier County Fair is a nonprofit organization
with the purpose of conducting a fair whereby the citizens of Fauquier County may
exhibit their projects in competition with each other and participate in related
activities such as contests and demonstrations.
The job description for my position as Event Coordinator revolved around planning
and coordinating the events held by the organization. The job description provided
was as follows:
Event Coordinators have a key role in PR and marketing of businesses –
The Event Coordinator will contribute to the growth of the businesses,
supporting the moving forward of all initiatives for growth by planning and
executing events. As the event Coordinator you will work as project manager
to execute all sorts of events forms and marketing/management programs
such as: field events, advertising, sponsorships, and conference
activities. You will work closely with the President to plan, organize, and
coordinating the annual Fair and other fundraising events. Other duties
include to communicating with key event partners to build effective business
relationships in order to align with the business objectives and goals.
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My responsibilities during the Field Study ended up being very broad and the board
relied on my ability to take initiative to get projects done. Starting in December I
accepted the responsibility to create the organizations Media Print and New Age
scrapbook entries for the Virginia Association of Fairs Annual Conference, attended
by over 600 participants from across the state. The conference was held at The
Homestead in Hot Springs Virginia, January 2nd to January 5th. Once we arrived at
The Homestead I was in charge of setting up and managing the hospitality suite.
Certain times during the day and evening I managed the suite while the board was
attending meetings or educational sessions. The hospitality suite provided
attendees and trade show participants the opportunity to network and exchange
ideas, as well as stories about their individual fairs. I also attended the trade show
and several educational sessions. During the trade show the board put a team in
place to find a mobile app solution for the organizations largest annual event that
could also be used throughout the year. I selected to be on that team, which lead to
a position on the Advertising Committee for the annual fair. The team met with
CVent to review their mobile app solution and decided to set up follow up meetings
after the convention. Fortunately, the CVent representatives were located in
Northern Virginia. On the final evening I attended the annual meeting and awards
banquet where I was presented a plaque for winning first place with the entries I
created showcasing the 2013 Fauquier County Fair.
After returning from the Annual Associations of Fairs Conference I began my
position as Social Media Manager, while continuing the duties as Event Coordinator.
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As the Social Media Manager I managed all their social media. The most time
consuming part was creating a timeline for social media post for Facebook and the
organizations website. I came up with a series of posts for all sponsors called
“Sponsor Sunday”, for events and entertainment called “Who is Coming
Wednesday”, and for past fairs called “Throw Back Thursday”. I used these three
series of posts to reach out to the community mainly through their Facebook page.
It added value for potential Sponsors and fair attendees. After the conference I also
jumped right into my first event, Casino Night their largest fundraising event of the
year. I assisted in managing all aspects of the event and prepared a survey for
attendees to complete to give the organization an in site to where individuals got
information on what was happening in the community. My duties seem to keep
expanding, because I was asked to serve on the Sponsorship and Advertising
Committee. After the Fundraising event I started on Sponsorships for our annual
event, the Fauquier County Fair. I created all the sponsorship materials that would
be sent out to local and Northern Virginia businesses. After the sponsorships
brochures were sent out I was responsible for their responses and billing. While
that was going on I gained access to their Email Account and started managing any
inquiries that came through email. As the annual Fair approached closer I was put
on the advertising committee where I was in charge of different Advertising
accounts web based and print based.
Customer Service Activities
The Customer Service Activities I was most involved in were directly related to
taking on the role of Social Media Manager. By managing the organization’s email
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and social media accounts I was set up to respond to client’s comments, questions,
and concerns. There were quite a few inquiries about business that included
entertainers and vendors trying to sell their services, as well as countless event
questions and volunteer inquiries. Being able to interact directly with people is what
I loved the most. This year for the first time the organization set up a booth at our
local Spring Festival that was very interactional. We spent the day talking with
individuals in the community. We were able to reach out to the community as a
whole, gaining email addresses for the organizations constant contact newsletters
and increasing our volunteer base for events throughout the year.
Management and Administrative Activities
My first management activity came from setting up and managing the Hospitality
Suite. I designed the layout for the suite. This included where the food would be
placed, where the furniture would be set, where the bar tender would operate from
and where our side games would be held. I also had to make sure we had the
catering dishes placed correctly for safety hazard reasons. I managed the whole set
up of the suite and I helped make sure all aspects of the suite were running
smoothly during peak times of attendance from conference attendees. This in turn
meant replenishing food, alcohol, and non-alcoholic beverages. Keeping the area
clean where food and drinks were served. Along with this, came removing
attendees from the hospitality suite that became a bit too irate from having “too
much” fun. I am happy to say the suite ran smoothly throughout the conference.
There was only one night that we did shut down earlier than some attendees would
have liked, but it was necessary.
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My second management opportunity came with my title as Event Coordinator. The
Fauquier County Fair, Inc. throws a fundraising event every February called Casino
Night. My job was to create all the promotional materials for the event. For this
event I made the Constant Contact Event email as a newsletter/invitation for the
event and sent it out to all the contacts we had on file. I also developed the Event’s
promotional material that was mailed out to those individuals who had participated
in the past, as well as a collaboration of addresses the organization had accumulated
over the years. Then to further promote the event I made the event on Facebook
and set up multiple promotional posts in regards to the event. This was when I
became their Social Media Manager. During Casino Night I wore many hats. I
helped manage the event; once again where food would be placed, where the live
auction and silent auction items would be put and determined the schedule of
events for the evening. I was at the venue when the Casino Company arrived for set
up, so I handled checking them in and making sure things were setup according to
the plan. I also helped in the kitchen with the catering staff refilling the
refreshments prepared for the quest. I enjoyed interacting with the attendees all
night to make sure everyone was satisfied and having a great time. I even
interviewed attendees and took a survey that I would use later for my special
project for Market Research.
After Casino Night, I rolled right into my position as committee member on the
Sponsorship Committee. This committee is key, because the goal is to raise enough
sponsorship money to cover all the entertainment that is lined up for the fair. My
first meeting was with the President of the organization, who is the chairman, to go
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over what my responsibilities would be and they too fit in the Management Category
of the field study. Therefore, my next task was to revamp the Sponsorship program.
After reviewing the sponsorship materials I found their sponsorship materials had
been used for years with no changes. They were old, out dated, and definitely
needed to be redesigned. After a few suggestions I threw in, they decided to go with
my idea of moving away from sponsors for specific entertainment acts, games, or
contest and instead going with different tier levels with themes that related back to
the Fair. Like Grand Champion Sponsor, Best in Show, Blue Ribbon, etc. My next
task was to create all the sponsorship promotional materials. I created a flyer and a
brochure showcasing their sponsorship options and listed what the sponsors would
receive in return for their sponsorship. I designed the promotional material geared
toward the themes I came up with then used the organizations colors to accent the
theme created to spruce up the material design. It is something they can use for
years to come just by adjusting the date. Once that was complete I was put in charge
of managing the administrative task for the project. Therefore, I produced a mail
merge for the sponsorship material and mailed it out to all past sponsors, as well as
new businesses identified as potential sponsors. In conjunction with this I made a
master excel spreadsheet to log the responses and payment of sponsorships that
was updated when information was received back from those businesses who
agreed to be sponsors. This was an area where I used my administrative and
financial management skills. Once we came up with the list of businesses committed
I sent out bills and tracked the process so we knew what our Accounts Receivable
balance was at all times. We did have a few businesses that pledged to sponsor that
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did not honor their pledge. I was given the previous year’s financial information and
knew that we had to have at a minimum $60,000 in sponsorships. This year’s
budget for entertainment was $60,000 to $65,000. This year was a record year!
Sponsorships, including in-kind sponsorships, totaled $95,000 compared to last year
at $65,000.
I had also taken on the role as Social Media Manger. This role fit into advertising, so
I was assigned to the Advertising Committee. It was here that I got to use my
creative side, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The chairman of this committee runs her
own Agribusiness and I learned a lot from working with her. As I mentioned above I
conducted some Market Research for ways to better connect with the Fair audience
at Casino Night. After Casino night I expanded the Market Research by posting an
online survey individuals could complete for a chance to win a family four pack of
tickets to the fair. The survey was posted on the organizations Facebook Page. This
research addressed what papers, radio stations, and social media sites customers
were actively engaging in. After evaluating my research the Advertising Committee
made changes to their original plan. As a committee member I help evaluate
advertising opportunities and helped make selections for where advertising dollars
would be spent. Our budget was $20,000. In the past it concentrated on media
print, direct mail and radio advertising. This year direct mail was not used and we
expanded the advertising by adding various social media and internet options. I
also had the chance to manage my own clients’ web and print based. I worked
directly with multiple Virginia Tourism groups to make sure our event was located
on their websites some names, Virginia.org, Virginia Living, NorthernVATimes.com,
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etc. I also worked with the local papers and local tourism websites, such as
visitFauquier.com, to make sure we were represented on their websites. I even
developed an Advertisement for one of our local papers. As we decided on these
various advertising packages I had to make sure we stayed in budget but also that
we maximized what was best for penetrating the market and attracting new
audiences. Other duties I had as a committee member were to review and edit
multiple advertisements that had been developed by local papers and magazines. I
was extremely involved with all aspects of advertising and was given a great deal of
responsibility. As part of the advertising committee, as I mentioned earlier, I helped
work the booth at the town’s annual spring festival, where we reached out to
members of the community to attend the Fair. We also got members of the
community to fill out a survey, so we could get emails for our constant contact files.
Working the spring festival gave me the opportunity to meet with the local Chamber
of Commerce to discuss a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new building that was being
built on the Fair’s property too. The advertising committee wanted to use this as a
way to get some free advertising about the upcoming fair.
Organization, Evaluation and Supervision Activities
During this field study I have received a great deal of exposure into the organization.
I have met with the executive committee, made up of the President, Vice-President,
Treasurer, Secretary and two board members at large, co-chairs of the organization
as a group and one on one. I have helped with multiple aspects of the organization
and have sat on multiple committees in the past 6 months. The committees I have
been on have helped me gain better views in to the organization as a whole. I also
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attended executive meetings, as well as full board meetings multiple times. Through
these meetings I was able to see firsthand how the organization worked, made
decisions, and interacted as a group. I formed my own opinions about what worked
well and what did not work well. My suggestions were always welcomed and the
board made me feel that my opinion was valued and used when making decisions
for the 2014 Fauquier County Fair, one of the top five largest events in the county.
My ideas were implemented on various levels, such as their Social Media,
Sponsorship, and Advertising program. I was given great opportunities to take lead
roles in supervising events, including the hospitality suite and the Casino Night
fundraiser. I will also help supervise and coordinate volunteers during the actual
fair.
Description of the Field Study Site/Operation:
Location, Title, Logo, Type of Operation
The Fauquier County Fair, Inc. is located at:
Fauquier County Fairgrounds
6209 Old Auburn Road
Warrenton, Va 20186
They receive mail at:
P O Box 3115
Warrenton, VA 20188
The official title of the organization is Fauquier County Fair, Incorporated.
Their logo:
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Their customer mix is very broad. They market to all demographics and will rent to
individuals no matter what their age, gender, ethnicity, and/or religious beliefs or
background is. The individuals they rent to have a variety of events including
Church Services, Fundraising Activities, Quinceaneras, Weddings, Birthdays,
Reunions, Proms, etc.
Their customer mix for their Annual Fair is broad as well. Everyone is welcome, but
they do prohibit the use of alcoholic beverages, because they want to focus on an
activity that is good for the whole family. One of their biggest target markets this
year were Suburban and Rural families within a 70 mile radius.
Competitor Mix
Their direct competition is other local fairs within the surrounding counties, as well
as miscellaneous events that may be going on in the area. Typically there is always a
country entertainer preforming at Jiffy Lube live the same night as their country
entertainer, which may affect prospective concert goers. This year Madison County,
which is within 40 miles from Fauquier is having their County Fair the same
weekend, so that was one of the biggest existing competitors, along with Jiffy Lube
Live, who targets a different audience. The Fair is from Thursday until Sunday.
Day by day within the county there are a few events that coincide. Thursday, in
town there are free movies for families at the library. Friday, in town there are a
few concerts, and Friday on the Farm. Saturday, in town there is the Summer
Concert Series. Sunday, in town there is the Flying circus. None of these last all day
or for an extended period of days, which is great for the Fauquier County Fair.
Overview of the Company:
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Sponsorship availability when the economy is uncertain can also be a problem. This
year sponsorships rose tremendously but in the past years there have been times
where the Fair is not so lucky to have the level of sponsors needed to get things
accomplished. This makes it hard to judge what entertainment you can book and
budget for. If they could get the sponsorships committed earlier this would help
with selecting entertainment. Another extreme challenge is the Weather. It is
uncontrollable and the success of the event is directly correlated with the weather.
If it is so hot outside that News Broadcasters are telling you not to come outside the
attendance is going to be down. If there is a day or evening of rain your attendance
is going to be down, let alone bad weather the entire weekend. This is why getting
sponsors is so important. If the total sponsorships equal or exceed the
entertainment budget your financial worries are minimal, because you are almost
ensured that you will at least break even, but you know that you may not have funds
for capital improvements.
Evaluation of Field Study Experience:
What worked well?
I will say having experience with the organization helped me a ton. I knew just about
every single person’s name before going into it. The group of individuals that help
with the fair are great. They are willing to teach you how things work, if you are
struggling and they set you on your own path within the organization. They have a
lot of trust in the help they receive. They are very open-minded and they would
listen to any ideas I brought to the table. They were always very appreciative of the
work I was doing as well. One of the Co-Chairs would recognize me at every board
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meeting and it really helped motivate me to do a good job. It was a great place to do
the Field Study because they were willing to let you manage whatever you wanted
to manage. Since it is all volunteer it was pretty easy to find things they really
needed help with whether it was sought out or just showed up on its own.
What didn’t work well?
What didn’t work well is the flip side to my last point in what did work well. It is all
volunteer based. It is very difficult to have an organization at this magnitude that
literally has no paid employees. Although the organization is full of great people,
they are great people with full time careers and families. You could go sometimes
days without responses. Before I took over the Social Media and Email accounts
absolutely no customers/potential clients were being answered, which is horrible
business. Also not always but sometimes it was quite difficult to find a time to meet.
There were times where members would delegate a piece of business and no one
would follow through with it. Board members would also commit to doing
something and they just wouldn’t do it. It could be something small or something
big. It is just hard when you are trying to get a field study done and you have to rely
on your own efforts and work. In most cases I was the supervisor of myself. It was
pretty much whatever I wanted to do, which can be intimidating. There were times
where board meetings sometimes got a little out of hand. There were lots of
discussion and side conversations. Some points would seem like a battle. In the end
there really isn’t anything you can do because all of these people are volunteers so
as long as they are putting forth effort whether it be a lot or a little no one was
getting fired. Like I said before I know these people very well so it was easy for me
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to reach out but I don’t know how well it would have been for someone who didn’t
know the personality of the board members or didn’t know the board members in
general.
What I wish was different?
Sometimes I wish I had been in a more organized, systematic organization. This was
the 64th year the County Fair has taken place but it still seems a little chaotic, which
is expected because it is all volunteer work. Of course, as any unpaid intern would
say…I wish I had gotten paid.
How could I have been better prepared from a classroom/learning perspective and in
setting expectations regarding the Field Study requirements?
I think I was very well prepared from a classroom/learning perspective and in
setting expectations regarding the Field Study requirements. I had a great grasp on
what I needed to accomplish to fulfill the requirements of the Field Study. I know
that this might take a lot of work because I can’t imagine very many students
choosing a Non-Profit company to work with but it would have been pleasant to
have a Final Report guideline for Non-Profit companies. Especially, since they don’t
really have all the same aspects For-Profit companies have. Other than a little
confusion of what to put I felt very well prepared!
