A special "Thank you,"  to all those who submitted our form to be one of the volunteers at DS2016.  As you can guess, we are getting lots of inquiries and applications.   This is wonderful!

As we are still over a year away, a lot of planning is still going on.  And everything will be done in stages with various committes starting now, others in the fall and still others, not starting until January of 2016.  Please   know that no committee will begin until we have a chairperson in place. 

A few of the committees already have Chairpersons in place, even though their work will not truly begin this fall.  They are just starting to get organized and others will not truly start work until some after Christmas.  Convention planning will slow down quite a bit in November and December as we will all have lots of other "Santa" work to do. 

The Vendor, Sponsor and Advertising committees are already very active as much of their work has to be done more than a year in advance. 

In mid September, a few of the key committee Chairpersons, The Steering Committee,  will be visiting Branson to check out all of our hotels and venues and to get a good orientation on where everything is.  It is called a Pre-Con visit.  We will also go over all convention activities and events and make sure all of the details are being considered and addressed.   

Having the Steering Committee  visit Branson and their knowing where everything is, will help them in planning our convention.  A second Pre-Con will be held in the Spring as part of our final preparations. 

If you wish to volunteer for any committee or if you would like to be considered for a chairmanship, please visit the web site for details and to submit an application.  http://www.discoversanta2016.com/committee/

Many of those who volunteer, do so just because they want to be involved and part of the convention.  However, it is also great when you can get a little stipend or compensation for your efforts.  

To that end, DS2016 will present stipends to all volunteers.  Depending on how many hours, or possibly days, you work there will be compensation.  And for those who do not want any compensation, we would be pleased to give your stipend to the charity of your choice.

There will be over 100 DS2016 Volunteers, Workshop Presenters and Chairpersons, on over two dozen committees, working on the Convention, Parade, SNO-lympics, and many other events and project areas.  Assignments will be made and each volunteer job will have a job description of what work the volunteer will be doing. 

All volunteers will have special recognition on their registration badges and will receive a minimum $50 stipend or compensation in exchange for their contribution or services to the convention and their fellow Santas. 

Individuals who volunteer on a larger scale, Chairpersons or those who handle special tasks, will receive additional compensation as agreed upon, prior to their volunteer work. Some volunteer work may occur on days before or after the convention. 

More details on Compensation can be found on the DS2016 Web site at: 

www.discoversanta2016.com/compensations/ 

If someone volunteers for multiple tasks, for example both a workshop presenter and a volunteer in another area, they will be eligible for two or more stipends.  If both the wife and husband volunteer and work, they each receive stipends.

No one should assume they have any credit, compensation or rebate due, unless they have a written agreement, in writing from the Convention General Chairman. 

Should you have any questions after reading this and reviewing the website, please contact the Convention General Chairman.

As the convention planning progresses, the agenda and the overall schedule will pretty much stay as it is now.  But it will also constantly be in flux with minor changes.

Currently we are looking at ways to increase the hours for the vendors.   We also have some workshop presenters wanting to know if they can offer multiple workshops or possibly a two hour session for a more complicated subject.

In addition to the regular agenda, which you all see, we have a more detailed "Operational TimeLine."  This timeline is very detailed and covers everything for the convention, both beginning now, today, and with follow-up after the convention.  Each of the committees will have an area within the Timeline. And some committees will cross over each other as they support each other. 

For example the transportation committee will be coordinating with all of the hotels and venues.  They will also work with the ADA chairperson to make sure that ADA buses arrive at those hotels that need them.

The Logistics Chairperson will be coordinateing with the program and workshop Chairpersons making sure all audio visual equipment is in place for each workshop or event. 

The Timeline will include every event and activity, with start and stop time, pre-planning times, names of those responsible, equipemnt needed, number of expected attedees and any details that are important to the success of the event.   

Running the convention, coordinating all of the events and the attendees takes lots of organization and planning.  The operational timeline helps to keep track of everything. 

Currently there are lots of activities going on in the planning of the convention.  Much of the actual operations will not begin until the middle of June, 2016.   But we are already building a calendar for those days with details on tasks and activities that will be going on in the weelks and months before the convention. 

We currently have over 330 registrations and are quiclky consuming all of the rooms we have held at the Chateau on the Lake.  When that occurs, any requests will need to be for the other three hotels.   We still have over 500 rooms available.

We are in talks with the Chateau to obtain additional rooms in the Lake View side of the hotel, but these do cost more and they have not committed anything to us yet.

In the meantime, please continue making your registration, We will keep everyone posted on the hotel bookings.  When and if we do get the new rooms we will contact those already registered to give them the options to upgrade to the lake view rooms. 

Click here to register Now!