Chapter Name:   Des Moines Jaycees

Project Type:   Educational ID Project

Project Name:   “Art Center Tour ‘97”

Chairman:   Kevin J. Rice, Des Moines, Iowa Jaycees

Chairman’s Address:  1515 - 46th Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50311

CPG Category:   Individual Development

Supervising Officer: Dianne Schemmel, Individual Development Vice President, Des Moines Jaycees

Anticipated Project Date/Time:  7:00 pm, Thursday, October 9th, 1997

1.  Primary Purpose (what is the one reason you want to successfully run this project)?

The primary purpose of this project is to enlighten those attending about the fine arts by providing them with a tour of the Des Moines Art Center.

2.  Give a brief description of the proposed project and background information.  Follow this with a listing of the specific and measurable goals to be accomplished by this project.

Background:

One of the primary goals of the Des Moines Jaycees is to provide education to our members.  The Des Moines Art Center is the largest and most comprehensively apportioned art museum in the Des Moines area.  Touring it would certainly provide an enlightening experience on the subject of both art as a subject matter and about Iowa-originated art in particular.

Admission to the Art Center is free on Thursdays, the day of this event.  It is also open until 9 pm, later in the evening than other days.

Project Description:

The general plan for the event is as follows:
 

• Jaycees and guests meet at the Art Center at the appointed time, rendezevous with the guide, and tour the center.  After the tour, attendees would be free to either examine the exhibits more closely or leave, as they wish.
• Ms. Diana Banks, an Education Assistant for the Des Moines Art Center, is acting as liason for this project.  She said a tour would include a “Docent” (a volunteer art expert lecturer and museum guide) who would provide the guided tour of the premises.

• Project is open to all Des Moines Jaycees, their guests, and any persons from the public who would wish to join us.
• This project will probably have 10 to 15 attendees.
• The Docent will meet us at the Art Center.
• The POC (Point of Contact) at the Art Center is Ms. Diana Banks, Education Assistant.  She can be reached by phone or mail at the Art Center during business hours.

• A 1 hour, free guided tour of the Des Moines Art Center.

• 7 pm, Thursday, October 9th, 1997.
• The tour should last for approximately 1 hour.
• The Art Center is open until 9 pm that night, an additional hour after the tour ends.

• Meet in the Lobby of the Des Moines Art Center.
• The address of the Center is 4700 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50312.  Their phone number is (515) 277-4405.

• The “why” of the event is contained in the above background information.

The specific and measurable goals of the project are:

1. To educate attendees about the exhibits of the Des Moines Art Center;

2. To have at least 8 Des Moines Jaycees attending;

3. To have at least 1 non-Jaycee Guest attending;

4. To spend no money on this project.

5. To provide an entertaining or inspirational atmosphere for all attendees;

6. To publicize the Art Center as an available place to view fine art

7. To educate attendees about the other products and services the Des Moines Art Center may provide

8. To demonstrate to what Art Center Staff, volunteers, and others we encounter that the Des Moines Jaycees are a well-behaved, cultured group of young people intent on improving their artisitc appreciations.
 

3.  What are the specific personnel assignments?

A. Project Chairperson:
Mr. Kevin J. Rice
1515 - 46th Street
Des Moines, Iowa 50311
Home: (515) 255-9981
Work: (use home number)

Chairperson’s responsibilities:

• Has primary responsibility for the project’s success;
• Prepares preliminary CPG and presents it to the Des Moines Jaycees Board of Directors;
• Organizes and prepares for event;
• Coordinates efforts of committee members if any;
• Provides assistance to committee (if any) as requested/required;
• Verifies all loose ends are tied up;
• Reports status regularly to supervising program manager;
• After event, prepares and submits final CPG to board of directors.

Supervising Director’s Responsibilities:

• Provide advice and counsel to chairperson;
• Receive status reports from chairperson regularly;
• Provide status reports regularly to Vice President in Charge.

D. President of the Des Moines Junior Chamber of Commerce
Ms. Mary Ann Bender
President
Des Moines Jaycees

The following personnel will be required to run the event:

• Tour Guide (“Docent”)
• Attendees
• Project Chairperson to advertise the event to the members, coordinate with the Art Center staff in case of last minute changes, etc.

4.  What specific materials, supplies, and resources will be required?

Specific physical requirements will be:
The Des Moines Art Center will need to be open to the public the day of the event as it normally is.

5.  Describe any potential problems and how they can be prevented:
 

• Problem: Insufficient publicity notifying members of the event.
• Solution: Publicize the event in the Jayscene, by announcement at the membership meetings between now and then, and by general word of mouth to all who will listen.
• FINAL NOTE:  This solution was implemented.

• Problem: Not enough room at the Art Center to accomodate attendees.
• Solution: We could go in shifts of 200 or so per shift.  This is not a realistic problem.
• FINAL NOTE:  This solution was not required.

• Problem: Publicity does not inspire members to attend.
• Solution: The Chairperson’s creativity in advertising might assist this.
• Solution: A 100-page glossy brochure (with catchy slogans about what a fun time this tour is going to be) delivered to every household in Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois might assist us.  This may not be feasible.
• FINAL NOTE:  The chairperson's flyer was well received.  The 200-page glossy brochure was not implemented.

• Problem: Publicity does not reach non-Jaycees who might be interested
• Solution: Printed advertisements donated to the event posted strategically around Des Moines might help, contingent on the chairperson’s available time.
• FINAL NOTE:  There was no off-site posting of the flyer publicizing the event.

• Problem: Income is insufficient to cover costs
• Solution: Admission to the Art Center is Free.  The Docent is a volunteer and is not expecting a gratuity or fee.
• FINAL NOTE:  The publicity cost nothing so this was not a problem.

• Problem: Rain on the day of the event
• Solution: The entire event will take place inside.  Rain will not affect the event unless it is quite severe and people don’t want to venture outside.
• FINAL NOTE:  It didn't rain the day of the event anyway.

• Problem: Attendees cannot find the event location.
• Solution: Sufficient attention during publicity should probably be sufficient.  Maps should not be necessary since there is only one Art Center in Des Moines, and it is located on a busy, well-lighted, and well-known street nearby to the Science Center, where we have our haunted house every year.
• FINAL NOTE:  The flyer had specific directions and the street the Art Center is on is well known.

• Problem: No one knows what a great event it was after it occurs
• Solution: Have someone take pictures with a good camera;
• Solution: Have a sign in sheet to prove attendance;
• Solution: Get all attendees tell get out the word that it was a cool place to be and they missed something.
• FINAL NOTE:  The sign-in sheet was implemented.  Publicity after the event was positive.

6.  Complete a proposed budget including all anticipated income and expenses.

Summarization:
Income:
None.  Event is Free.
Expenses
None.  Event is Free.
Net:
Zero budget.

Note:  This is a summary.  See detailed budget, attached, for specific numbers.

7.  List specific steps to bring this project to a successful conclusion:
 

• 9/8/97 Select a chairperson for the project  FINAL NOTE: DONE.
• 9/8/97 Write the draft CPG  FINAL NOTE: DONE
• 9/8/97 Contact Des Moines Art Center, discuss event with their staff member, informing them of the project in all specifics possible and getting as much pertinent information as possible. FINAL NOTE: DONE
• 9/8/97 Present preliminary CPG to Des Moines Jaycees full board meeting, 9/8/97, for approval. FINAL NOTE: DONE
• Between 9/8/97 and 9/15/97:  prepare event information as a blurb to be printed in the 9/15/97 meeting’s “What’s Happening” sheets. FINAL NOTE: DONE
• Between 9/8/97 and 9/15/97:  prepare event information as a blurb to be printed in the October Jayscene. FINAL NOTE: DONE
• 9/15/97: Chairperson stands and announces the event at the General Membership meeting if requested, or briefs the Director or VP who will announce it. FINAL NOTE: DONE
• Between 9/15/97 and 10/6/97:  prepare event information as a blurb to be printed in the 10/6/97 meeting’s “What’s Happening” sheets. FINAL NOTE: DONE
• 10/7/97: retrieve the meeting sign-in interest sheets for the meetings on 9/8/97 and 10/6/97, photocopy them, and call those people who have expressed interest to describe the event, remind them of the event location and time, and answer questions as necessary.  FINAL NOTE: DONE
• Before 10/9/97: Visit the Art Center to anticipate any issues that might arise that might prevent the smooth execution of this event. FINAL NOTE: NOT DONE.
• 10/9/97: Run event.  Chairperson arrives 20 minutes early. FINAL NOTE: DONE PARTIALLY: The event was run.  The chairperson was not in attendance (see below).
• 10/13/97: Prepare and submit for approval the final version of this CPG to the Des Moines Jaycees Full Board of Directors at their 10/13/97 meeting. FINAL NOTE:  Presented at a later board meeting than 10/13/97 for approval.

8.  List recommendations for future chairpeople in case the event is run again.

• Publicity was adequate for goal-level turnout.   There were 17 people in attendance.
• A future repitition of this project should be publicized to more guests to encourage people to meet the organization in a non-threatening atmosphere (as if we're threatening to begin with).  Publicity in a flyer form that people can hand to friends might be a good idea.
• The project apparently went off without a hitch.

9.  List any revisions that were made to the original plan.

• The original plan called for a zero budget.  It was revised to include duplicating costs, which were donated by the project chairperson.
• The plan called for those indicating interest on the sign-in sheets to be called.  The chairperson did call all of them 4 days ahead of time with specifics.
• The plan called for a publicity flyer.  The chairperson created it and it was well received for its humor.  Bright pastel/dayglow colored paper was the medium, and it worked pretty well for attracting attention.
• Mainly, the biggest issues was that the plan called for the chairperson to be at the Art Center 20 minutes ahead of time to greet those attending, find the volunteer guide, and generally coordinate things.  The chairperson was called out of town on an extended business trip 3 days before the event (and was/is out of town for over 3 months).  During the time the chairperson called those who indicated interest in the event, he mentioned that he had just been called out of town, so those going knew why he wasn't there and weren't concerned.  The chairman also called the director and vice president in charge of this area and, since they were going to be (and were) in attendance, they assisted where necessary.
• In asking afterwards, the event went very smoothly, without incident and with a positive response from those attending.
• The event was seen positively even by some not attending, in that many stated that although they had prior commitments or interests, they did indeed regret not being able to attend since it looked fun.

10.  List the specific goals achieved and those that were not achieved. The primary purpose of this project was achieved on October 9th, 1997.

Primary Purpose:  The purpose was to enlighten those attending about the fine arts by providing them with a tour of the Des Moines Art Center.  This goal was met.  Those in attendance were given a guided tour of the Des Moines Art Center and hopefully some enlightenment about its contents and character.

Specifically, the goals were:

• Goal 1:  To educate attendees about the exhibits of the Des Moines Art Center.  This goal was met.  Those attending were provided an educational tour of the Art Center.  Since the tour was through a visual medium, the building and its contents, merely attending provided an education.  The tour was guided by a volunteer art expert and therefore was additionally educational.
• Goal 2:  To have at least 8 Des Moines Jaycees attending.  This goal was met.  A total of 17 people attended the event, and 15 were Des Moines Jaycees.
• Goal 3:  To have at least 1 non-Jaycee Guest attending.  This goal was met.  Of the 17 people at the project, 2 were guests.
• Goal 4:  To spend no money on this project.  This goal was met.  No duplicating costs for the 100 flyers were incurred due to the project chairperson obtaining them free of charge from his employer.

• Goal 5:  To provide an entertaining or inspirational atmosphere for all attendees.   This goal was met.  The project chairman asked various attendees following the event what their opinion was and the responses were uniformly positive.
• Goal 6:  To publicize the Art Center as an available place to view fine art.  This goal was met.  Even those who did not attend found out that the Art Center is open Free to the Public on Thursday nights due to that information being in the project's promotional flyer.
• Goal 7:  To educate attendees about the other products and services the Des Moines Art Center may provide.  This goal was met.  Attendees learned about these during the tour in that they saw and used the gift shop located on the Art Center premises.  They also learned that the Art Center provides free volunteer guides for tours of the center, as well as the hours it is open and costs involved.
• Goal 8:  To demonstrate to what Art Center Staff, volunteers, and others we encounter that the Des Moines Jaycees are a well-behaved, cultured group of young people intent on improving their artisitc appreciations.  This goal was met.  The project resulted in no arrests, seizures, attempts de coup d'etat, terrorist activities, harrassment by or of employees of the institution, high-speed motor vehicle pursuits, or elopements (that we know of)(grin).

Additional note: This project is probably one of the most widely-publicized in Des Moines Jaycees history, having been published to the World Wide Web to the location Http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanavaral/Hangar/6155/jclinks.html
People browsing the web from all over the world can find out about what a fine event this art tour really was!

The project was a success!

Duplicating costs for flyers: $0.00
Total: $0.00

Duplicating Costs for flyers: $0.00
Total: $0.00

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