How Des Moines Golf & Country Club made a good case—literally—for organized AV equipment.
For all club facilities, paying attention to the behind-the-scenes details is a key to successfully hosting banquets, meetings and events. One of the most common, and critical, concerns is to make sure all needed audio-visual (AV) equipment is hooked up and working properly before any event begins. Having microphones that don’t work or the wrong (or no) image show up on the slide screen can be the quickest way to turn an otherwise flawless event into a great source of aggravation for sponsors, and a poor reflection on the club.
Such was the case for the Des Moines Golf & Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa. While business was good and the club’s AV equipment was up to date, the staff knew it had to find a better way to alleviate the continued stress of trying to locate and make sure all of the right cords and connectors were in place and in working order before any event began. “We had a cabinet behind the front desk filled with the accessories needed for all of the different rooms,” says Russ Lowther, Assistant Clubhouse Manager. “But it was far from organized, and it wasn’t the only location where a [needed] cord or connector might be.”
Lowther, who is unofficially in charge of the AV equipment due to his familiarity with what the club has on hand, recalls that the turning point occurred early last summer, when he was returning from vacation: “I was driving home from the airport and a fellow manager called and asked me, ‘What all do I need to hook up this computer?’ ” he says.
THE GOAL: Create an easy way to locate and transport necessary AV hookup equipment to the appropriate ballroom or conference room at Des Moines Golf & Country Club. THE PLAN: Outfit five briefcases with labeled items for quick and convenient access. THE PAYOFF: No more questions over what equipment goes where, or what may or may not be missing after an event takes place. Most importantly, the simple but effective approach to organization also ensures the team has everything needed for members and guests to hold and run a successful meeting. |
A short time later, Lowther sat down with General Manager Jim Cutter, Clubhouse Manager Lori Ross and Director of Maintenance Jim Divis to brainstorm how to best address the AV equipment issue. “We decided that first, everything needed to be in one central place, so there were no more frantic calls to six people looking for one item,” he says. The solution was simple and easy enough: The cabinet that was intended to house all of the AV odds and ends would now officially be deemed Equipment Central. Then the team decided to take it one step further.
“Initially, we had in mind something similar to a fishing tackle box, a container that would keep each of the pieces in separate compartments,” Lowther says. Divis was sent out to find something suitable. He ended up purchasing five individual briefcases that the team padded and outfitted exactly alike for each of the conference rooms, save one. The fifth briefcase was outfitted with more wiring and designated for the ballroom, because it is the club’s largest venue.
Each briefcase now contains a laser pointer, a wireless microphone, a corded microphone, several extension cords and any extension or hookup needed to go into the club’s sound system from a computer or DVD player that will also work with an LCD projector. The briefcases are large enough to ensure there is “room to grow” as needed, Lowther says.
Each briefcase is labeled for a specific room, and each item is labeled appropriately with information such as “sound system to wall” or “sound system to laptop.” Next on his to-do list, Lowther says, is to keep an inventory list for each case, to ensure that as technology changes and/or items are added, lost or broken, the contents are kept up to date.
The briefcases reside in the cabinet behind the front desk, ready to be taken out as needed. Once one goes out, it usually is stashed under a banquet table or other inconspicuous area in a room until the event is over and breakdown occurs, after which it can be repacked and returned to the cabinet.
After the briefcases were assembled, the management team showed everyone on the staff what was in them and how to pack them after an event. Impressed by how the briefcases now hold everything needed to run AV for an event, the staff has taken care to put them back in the cabinet exactly the same way, Lowther says. “It’s been an adventure, getting everything organized,” he laughs. “But our system has worked very well.”
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