Sounds scary, doesn't it? But believe it or not, Costume-Cons are corporate entities. They have a limited life-span, but nonetheless, they act like businesses.
Your Costume-Con committee may have its own structure, but two positions are required for functioning. They are the Chair and the Treasurer.
These two positions are key because it's ultimately the Chair's responsibility to manage the entire event, and to make final decisions. Chairs usually rely on a core staff to help with the overall management of the conference. The list of potential titles and responsibilities for these assistants can be found below, or by searching through the different committee lists to be found in the Timeline. We'll discuss the main positions in brief shortly.
The Treasurer is the other key position, requiring meticulous devotion to the tasks required. All money, incoming or outgoing, will filter through this individual over the life of the conference. This can amount (over a potential five-year committment) to amounts in excess of $20k. It is imperative that the individual responsible for the funds of the conference have a grasp of the basics of money management, as well as an understanding of how the budget process works.
By definition, these two positions may not be held by the same individual at the same time. It's just too much work for one person.
And these individuals need to be prepared to commit themselves to the conference from at least six months prior to the submission of the bid until all bills have been paid and all funds distributed (typically up to a year after the conclusion of the conference).
How the time stacks up:
six months from prep to bid filing
six months from bid filing to Site Selection
approximately three years from Site Selection to start of the conference
six months to a year to complete payment of hotel bills, refund of membership fees (should a refund be possible), and distribution of excess profit to future CCs or other recipients as determined by the con com.
Defining these positions in terms of a five year committment may make them sound like too much work, but much of the real effort concentrates itself into defined spurts of activity. It's just a good idea to know what you're getting yourself into as the title holder of either of these positions.
The good news is, you can help lighten the load by choosing to Co-chair with one or more individuals, breaking up the responsibilities. The key to a successful Co-chair situation is to find someone(s) who shares your particular vision of what your Costume-Con should offer. It's helpful, but not obligatory, to be married or in a long term relationship with your Co-chair, since you already know how the other person works with you. Since the whole process is all about teamwork, going with a team you know helps a lot. And you have the added bonus of keeping your SO involved, so that neither one of you is left out when the going gets tough.
Other positions you may need need to fill are listed below, and are dependent on the types of events/competitions/additional activities you plan to provide during the weekend. Some of these roles may be doubled up, especially if the bulk of the work required to perform the duties ends before the start of the conference (such as Publicity). Those which ideally should not be doubled up are noted with a *:
Corporate:
Secretary
Registrar (Pre-Registration and On-site)*
Hotel Liaison*
Operations*
Publications (Progress Reports, Program Book, Fashion Folio, Memory Book - if there is one)
Printing & Graphic Design
Publicity/Advertising/Press Relations
Programming*
Corporate Sponsors & Promotions
Guests
Con/Hospitality Suite*
Audio-Visual (slide projectors, video players, etc.)
Volunteers/Gophers*
Security*
Exhibit Room
Dealer's Room*
Information Table
Fan Tables
Tours & Excursions
Signage
Transportation Coordinator
Web Site
At-Con Newsletter Editor
Events and Static Competitions (Some of which are optional):
Friday Night Social
Saturday Afternoon Social (optional)
Fashion Folio (also doubles as a publication)
Doll Contest
Hall Costume (theme competition)
$1.98 Competition
Swap Meet/Flea Market
Video Masquerade
Iron Costumer
Masquerades/Stage (Note that if you do decide to double up on more than one of these events, you should have assistants or an overall Events Coordinator to manage continuity between the main tent events):
Science Fiction & Fantasy Masquerade
Historical Masquerade
Fashion Show
Single Pattern Contest
Tech (Lighting/Audio/Video/Backstage/Front of House) Manager/Coordinator
Masquerade Registration
Green Room
Repair Table
Official Photography
Fan Photography
Helpful (but optional) positions include:
Liaisons:
Geographic (for keeping areas that aren't close to your conference up to date on activity)
Convention (in case your conference is competing with other events scheduled for the same weekend)
Advisor(s) (Legal/Operations/Corporate - these are frequently people who've been there before)
Children's Programming (only one CC ever provided this feature, but that doesn't preclude it from happening again!)
This is an exhaustive list of all the positions you might choose to fill for your conference. It is by no means a required list of events. Each year, we've seen some competitions come and go. New things are tried all the time, and some of them (like the Doll Contest) have become de facto traditions. This is simply a starting point for discussion, and a laundry list for you to think about as you decide who will do what.
