Event Planning Guide

Reserving a date for an event

• As soon as you have planned an event, call Liz in the church office - (314) 725-3840 - with the dates. If your dates are tentative please call to hold calendar space.
• Be sure to include dates for set up & clean up in your planning.
• Know which rooms in the church building you will need for your event.
• Know about how many people will attend your event (all church event, small group, etc.)
• Give Liz the name of a contact person for the planning of this event. This is the person who will be responsible for the event.
• Ask Liz if there is a file on your event available from previous years.

Set up, decorating, preparations

• Turn in a drawing of the room set up to Liz in the office. Please include layout of tables & chairs, as well as if you will need use of microphone, piano, or any other special items. Custodial help is available to do room set up if you have your drawing turned into the office 2 weeks prior to the event.
• Decide who will do the decorating for your event. Is a custodian needed to be present the day before the event while you are decorating & doing final set up?
• If there are any deliveries such as flowers, food, etc. please arrange for yourself or another person from your committee to be present to accept the delivery.
• If there is any set-up needed by an outside group (not done by our custodian) you or a member of your committee will be responsible to be present to greet them and be available during the set up. For example: recitals, photographers, etc.

Use of the kitchen/cooking

• If you are planning on using the kitchen, let Liz know if you will need use of the kitchen only for the day of the event or also for preparations the day before the event?
• You will be responsible for the clean up of the kitchen at the end of the event. Kitchen should be restored to its original condition.
• Contact Sally Dunn if you would like assistance in cooking or menu planning.

Custodial help

• A custodian is available to help you with clean up. Events larger than 50 people will have 2 custodians. Any hours that these custodians are helping you above and beyond their normal work week hours will be billed to your group at time & a half.

Childcare

• If you need childcare for your event, contact the Director of Christian Education 2 weeks prior to the event.
• Think through the type of care needed (strictly babysitting or include an activity) and the different ages that will need childcare (Nursery, Preschool, Pre K 2nd, through 4th grade, etc.)
• If you would like to actively include children in your event, it is suggested that you hold it early enough to be over by 7:30PM.
• If you would like help thinking through how to engage children in your event or need assistance from Janet Chester, please contact her directly.

Music

• If you need assistance from Paul Vasile, Minister of Music, please contact him a month prior to the event.

Finances/checks

• Will you be collecting money at your event? If so, please contact the chair of Corporate Affairs to let them know and also give details like who will collect, count, and be responsible to get the money to the Financial Secretary.
• Will any checks need to be cut? Ex: reimburse for food, advertising, printing, speakers, soloists, etc. If so, please let the Financial Secretary know 2 weeks in advance.
• Expenses may be reimbursed if a receipt is turned in with a check request form. Please have approval of a specific budget line item from which the expense will be taken from.

Pastoral help

• If you need assistance from Pastor, Dan Anderson-Little please contact him directly. (Including prayer before event/meal, thinking through with you the scope of your event, etc.)

Advertising

• Think about who you are advertising to, the format of the advertisement (Trinity News, flyers, email, etc.), and the time line in which you would like the advertisements to reach people.
• Contact Liz in the church office to schedule her availability to assist you with your advertising. She must have a 2 week advance notice to be able to assist you.
• Contact Ann Fischer for deadlines for articles in the extended Trinity News.
• Contact Brian Schroer to have something posted on our website.

Clean up & follow through of your event

• You are responsible to wash and return the table linens if you use them. Please have them returned by the following Friday.
• Unless other arrangements are made, you are responsible to return the room to the condition you found it before you set up (includes stripping tables, taking down decorations, etc.) on the day that your event ends.
• Please write a one paragraph summary of the event and any important information for planning purposes for the next person who plans this event. Include numbers of those attending, room set up, menus, etc. Keep a copy of this file for yourself and also turn a copy into Liz in the office for future events.
• As you leave the building please check all doors of the church building to make sure that they are securely closed. Often people will leave through a door in another part of the building and when you leave you do not realize it is no longer locked.

If you or a member of your group is unable to fulfill your duties, you are responsible to find a substitute and notify the office of who that will be.

Click here for church staff e-mail addresses and phone numbers.