On January 30, four members of our executive committee trekked 1,171 miles from Blacksburg to College Station, Texas where they participated in the One Big Day Conference at Texas A&M University. This annual conference provides an opportunity for schools to come together and discuss how each of their Big Events operate and brainstorm with each other about new ideas on how to improve their “One Big Day.” Not only did VT Big Event get to meet with directors from University of Oklahoma, Towson University, Texas State and more, we were also given the opportunity to present our Big Event process to the entire conference – we even taught them to gobble like a Hokie!
On Day 2, Austin Moon (Co-Director), Steven Vanderloo (Assistant Director), Ellie Helton (Director of Project Evaluation) and Mary D’Amico (Director of Public Relations) separately attended small round tables about topics ranging from Fundraising to Recruitment to Technology and more. We learned about new ways to set up on the day of The Big Event to decrease the size of the line on the Drillfield and allow volunteers to get to their projects quicker. In addition, learned about new ways to attract students through incentive programs. Our wonderful hosts also gave us a taste of Texas culture with real BBQ and line-dancing.
We appreciate Texas A&M for their hospitality and we can’t wait to return for One Big Day Conference 2016!