"Control Freaks Anonymous"

Taking Your Event Virtual

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May 7, 2020
Panelist: Jeff Krebs, Epicenter Productions
Moderator: Jessica Bybee-Dziedzic, Saffire

In these unprecedented times, event organizers are faced with new challenges that can feel impossible at times. As restrictions on crowd size limit our ability to gather in-person, many of us are asking how can we continue to provide the entertainment and feeling of togetherness that our communities have come to depend on.

Postpone? Or Cancel? The Question of the Day

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May 14, 2020
Panelists: Steve Rosenauer, CFEE, Fiesta Oysterbake
Syeira Budd, CFEE, King William Fair
Moderator: David Olivares, CFEE, Kaliff Insurance

Torn about making the biggest decision of the year? Need some extra guidance to help come to a conclusion?
Learn how two event veterans came to different outcomes for their 2020 events, and what were the driving factors surrounding their decisions.
Featuring Steve Rosenauer, CFEE, of Fiesta Oyster Bake, who canceled their 2020 event; and Syeira Budd, CFEE, of the King William Fair, who postponed their 2020 event.

Marketing and Outreach When Your Event is Canceled

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Members can email Kay Wolf to receive the presentation slides.

May 21, 2020
Panelists: Amy Hall, President of The Barber Shop Marketing
and Cece Liekar, The League Lady
Moderator: Dianna Lawrence, CFEE, TFEA Board Member

Many event organizers are wondering how their communication strategies should evolve once a decision has been made to cancel or postpone an event. Cultivating the proper message and engaging your audience is key. Tune in to hear insight from Amy Hall, president of The Barber Shop Marketing, and Cece Liekar, founder of The League Lady on a few recommendations that could help guide your approach to public relations and marketing your event or Festival.

What to do with 4th of July Events?

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May 26, 2020
Group Discussion/Conversation
Moderator: Jessica Bybee-Dziedzic, Saffire, TFEA Secretary/Treasurer

You asked and we listened! Many of our members have reached out wanting to know "What should we do with our 4th of July events?" We felt the urgency of the topic warranted a Special Session Roundtable Discussion, that will allow YOU, the membership to drive the conversation. This session is in addition to our regularly scheduled Thursday session that will still take place on Thursday, May 28. We are not scheduling a speaker, but instead we will have a moderated discussion with an opportunity for questions and answers, for you to hear what other members are doing for their 4th of July events. If you are not sure how to proceed with your own events, this will be a great opportunity to bounce ideas and hear what others are planning.

Communication Strategies with Your Stakeholders

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May 28, 2020

Moderator: Jay Downie, CFEE, Director, Events, Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives, Inc.
Panelists: Gayle Hall, CFEE, Grapevine CVB
Mike Baxter, CFEE, City of Tomball
Carina Jimenez, CFEE, City of McAllen
Jessica Bybee-Dziedzic, Saffire, TFEA Treasurer/Secretary

Hear from industry professionals, representing events in communities throughout Texas, as they share in roundtable format perspectives on maintaining relationships through active communications and outreach, during a time when events are at a low ebb. We will touch on processes working well, and not so well, as we navigate this new world together with the ultimate goal to come out of this on the other side stronger than ever. Volunteers, sponsors, staff, vendors, artists, entertainers will be covered. The session will be moderated - input from attendees will be welcome.

KEEPING STAFF ENGAGED WHILE WORKING REMOTELY

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June 4, 2020

Moderator: Kay Wolf, CFEE, TFEA Executive Director
Panelists: Yajaira Flores Director McAllen Convention Center and McAllen Performing Arts Centerr, Kate Horan Director McAllen Library

How can you remain connected to your remote workers? How can you ensure they are well informed during times of crisis and beyond? Hear from industry professionals how to successfully build and manage remote teams that are critical due to COVID 19.

Beyond Sponsorships! Individual Donors Can Help

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June 11, 2020

Moderator: Jessica Bybee-Dziedzic, Saffire

Speaker: Elizabeth (Regner) Grigsby, Executive Director Lubbock Arts Alliance & CFRE

There is no doubt that corporate sponsorship's are an integral part of the festivals and events industry. We depend upon both small and large businesses to provide the financial backing to make our events a reality.
But what happens when those businesses can’t provide that support anymore?
Unfortunately, that might be a new reality because of COVID-19. Experts are estimating tens of thousands of businesses will permanently close because of the virus and it will take at least three years for the economy to recover.
So what do we do in the meantime? We need to look beyond corporate sponsorships for sources of long term, sustainable funding of our events.
Join Elizabeth (Regner) Grigsby, Executive Director Lubbock Arts Alliance & CFRE, as she discusses how her organization harnessed the power of donations from individuals to diversify fundraising and overcome the cancellation of its marquee event, the annual Lubbock Arts Festival, because of COVID-19. Topics to be covered include identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of donors and a step-by-step plan that can be implemented by any size festival or event.

Session Slides

The A, B, C's of Coping with COVID - 19

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June 18, 2020

Moderator: Jessica Bybee-Dziedzic, Saffire

Speaker: Speaker, Joseph LaBeau, M. ED., Licensed Professional Counselor

Our world has changed with COVID-19. We have all been deeply affected and many have suffered losses, including financial loss, job loss, even loss of loved ones. We are all uncertain of what lies ahead - of how difficult our future challenges will be.

This presentation will focus on how events like COVID upset us and how, unless we check ourselves, we tend to allow ourselves to create exaggerated negative expectations about what is happening to us and how hard it will be to cope.

The goal of the session will be to use the COVID crises as an example of ABC analysis-- a tool that Mr LaBeau uses to help his clients refrain from becoming unnecessarily disturbed about the things that happen to them

The session will close with a pretty good argument for confidence that we can indeed cope with COVID, and any other challenge we encounter in our life journey.

"IS THIS THE NEW NORM"

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June 25, 2020

Moderator: Jessica Bybee-Dziedzic, Saffire

Speaker: Geoffrey Fairchild, CFEE, City of Farmers Branch

Almost every aspect of your event will be impacted by COVID - 19, from messaging to operations to attendee interaction. And with a goal to provide the safest possible attendee experience, as well as for our staff, volunteers, vendors and entertainers, what are reasonable and expected measures event planners should take? Join us as we dive into steps to consider and possible strategies to implement as we begin to plan our event re-openings.

"IS THIS THE NEW NORM"

"WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM JULY 4TH EVENTS"

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July 9, 2020

Moderator: Jessica Bybee-Dziedzic, Saffire

Speakers:
Carina Jimenez, CFEE, City of McAllen
Mike Baxter, CFEE, City of TomballGayle
Gayle Hall, CFEE, Grapevine CVB
Joe Vera, CFEE, City of McAllen

Panelists discussed why and how decisions were made to go forward with July 4th events or to cancel. They will share their insights on making the decisions and the justification for both.
• What worked and what did not work
• What would they do differently?
• New ideas that were tried.
• New ideas that they will try next year or for other event opportunities.

"CONTROL FREAKS ANONYMOUS"

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July 23, 2020

Moderator: Kay Wolf, CFEE, TFEA Executive Director

Speaker: : Penny McBride, CFEE, President, Fredericksburg, Chamber of Commerce

Hi...my name is Festival Planner and I'm a control freak. To be a success in the event world, one has to be a detail-oriented professional who makes sure hundreds of other people get everything done in time to open the gates. But the Control Freak style of management can quickly lead to burn out, lack of engagement, trust issues and stagnant growth. This 8-Step Program can help curb those tendencies to create dynamic teams inspired by a visionary leader, versus managed by box-checker. Learn to delegate authority over tasks, build peer accountability, provide meaningful feedback, reward big-picture thinking and create the next generation of leaders that will sustain your event.

Control Freaks Anonymous

"BEST PRACTICES DEALING WITH THE COVID WORLD"

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August 6, 2020

Moderator: Kay Wolf, CFEE, TFEA Executive Director and Jessica Bybee-Dziedzic, Saffire

TFEA COVID-19 Task Force Webinar Series -"Best Practices for Festivals, Fairs & Events Dealing with the COVID World"

Panelists: Joe Vera, CFEE, Assistant City Manager City of McAllen, IFEA World Board Member, TFEA Chairman of the Board; Yajaira Flores, CVE, Director, City of McAllen Convention Center and McAllen Performing Arts Center, Carina Jimenez, CFEE, Parks and Recreation, McAllen, and Jessica Bybee-Dziedzic, Director of Client Operations, Saffire, IFEA Association Partner, TFEA Secretary/Treasurer

The future of the Festivals, Fairs, and Events industry is still plagued with uncertainty for event producers as we try to predict what the new world will look like when we become able to get back to the business of producing festivals, fairs, and events. As Governor Abbott’s Opening Guidelines change and we must adhere to state policies, event coordinators are faced with the challenge of instilling a level of confidence in attendees to feel it is safe to return to our community celebrations. A discussion on guidelines, expectations, and technology that festivals, fairs, and event planners are preparing for the Post COVID World.

Best Practices Dealing with the COVID World