Coordinating the needs of more than 72,000 people for a 10-day convention requires countless hours of planning, which is why Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders and managers were in St. Louis, Missouri, last week to walk through the America's Center and
Coordinating the needs of more than 72,000 people for a 10-day convention requires countless hours of planning, which is why Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders and managers were in St. Louis, Missouri, last week to walk through the America’s Center and Edward Jones Dome, joint venues for the 2005 General Conference Session.
“No one has a real concept of what goes into a session, all the minute details,” says Sheri Clemmer, an associate meeting planner of the church who is involved with coordinating session planning. “On this trip, we made progress.”
Clemmer says that along with seeing the vast area to be used by the church in about 25 months’ time, the delegation was able to meet with convention center officials, as well as leaders of the local convention and visitor’s bureau. The two sides were able to address issues of signage—how the event will be noted in the city—as well as communicate the need for downtown restaurants to know they’ll likely have late-night customers after weekday business sessions. She added that discussions about vegetarian menus will take place closer to the event.
The estimate of 72,000 people attending the GC Session—the first held in the United States since Indianapolis in 1990—remains just that, an estimate. Clemmer says this is because attendees are not required to register—only delegates who vote on official church business must register in advance. The central location of St. Louis in the United States—it’s a five-hour drive from Andrews University, for example, and a two-hour (or less) flight from most major cities on the east and west coasts of the country—makes it likely that many people will visit the event for one of two Sabbath weekends.
While the estimated attendance will surpass numbers for most periodic religious conventions in St. Louis, a turnout of 72,000 will not break the all-time record for indoor attendance at a religious event. That record, 110,000 people, was set in January of 1999 when Roman Catholic Pope John Paul II visited the city.
However, Clemmer says, “we could break our own record” of 70,000 set in Toronto, Canada, in 2000, if all goes well. Concerns about terrorism or an epidemic such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (or SARS) could change attendance figures in an instant. Immigration regulations by the United States made in recent months may mean that overcoming requirements for visas for delegates from abroad will add to the concerns of organizers before the world session opens.
Among the details already worked out is what hotels will house delegates and other visitors to the session. The St. Louis area boasts a large number of rooms, but those hotels closest to the convention center are being reserved for delegates and key staff.
“It’s extremely important that you get all the delegates within walking distance of the session, and you don’t have to shuttle them,” says Linda de Leon, a certified meeting planner who has worked on several GC Sessions for the church. By putting the delegates near the America’s Center, they’ll be able to walk back to their rooms during slack times, while still being available for their work.
Overall, de Leon says, “planning is on target” for the St. Louis event. “We’re getting toward our first major announcements, and will have hotel reservations available the beginning of 2004,” she adds.