jedusor | Things I Learned from the KCYPS

Things I learned from helping organize the first hopefully annual Kansas City Youth Political Summit:

1. People who are completely gung-ho at the initial suggestion of an event don't always stick around once the actual work starts.
2. During the planning stage, if you have a trump card (such as being the only reason the summit is allowed to use Penn Valley space for free), USE IT. Don't waste time trying to talk sense into people who want to vote on every single tiny decision. Just say, in a very civil and polite manner, "If you want free space, we're doing it this way." It works amazingly well.
3. It's character-building to work with people who talk down to me but are stupid enough to tell me to be sure to print out paper arrows that point both directions. (Seriously. She said that. We're talking about the Kansas City Rock the Vote organizer, here.)
4. It's also character-building to work with people I like, get incredibly tired of them, but have to continue working with them anyway.
5. Use the shirt printer that comes recommended, not the cheapest one.
6. Plan ahead. Don't count on being able to do anything the day before the event unless that's the only time it can be done (i.e. buying perishable food).
7. Don't delegate things that MUST get done, because they occasionally won't.
8. I don't get cell phone reception in the Student Activities Office, so when I'm in there for close to five hours straight working on YPS signs, I should probably check my messages once in a while. Otherwise, my mom freaks.
9. Ampersands are extremely difficult to cut out of paper.
10. It's really, really freaking cold at five-thirty in the morning.
11. Rain is a true friend.
12. Put the registration desk right in front of the event, not way out where people can totally miss it. (Not that that was my idea.)
13. Tape, scissors, and paper are absolutely indispensable during an event. Never be without them when planning one.
14. Writing something cute and funny on the donation jar gets people to laugh. It does not, however, get them to donate money.
15. Those big guys in movies, in suits and mirrored sunglasses, that Work For The Government? They really exist, and I'm not intimidated by them in the slightest.
16. Don't ever rely on 96.5 the Buzz. Ever. You contact them months before the event, they say they'll be there at 7:45, you talk to them about it the week before the event, they say they'll be there at 7:45, then it's ten-thirty the day of the event and you've got twenty people trying to get through, and one finally does, yells at them for not being there, and then it turns out she was yelling at them on the air, and they get pissed and don't send anyone out until past noon.
17. Check, double-check and triple-check room reservations, because it really sucks when it's time for the first workshop and there's a class in your workshop room.
18. Carrots function as writing implements on concrete.