When the UNLV Public Lands Institute (PLI) and the Southern Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program started making plans for an annual volunteer recognition event, talks soon led to involving students from UNLV’s William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration in the event planning. A key component of PLI’s mission is to provide opportunities for faculty and students to contribute professional expertise to the institute’s programs. In PLI’s view, the College of Hotel Administration was a great resource to draw upon, since it has a well deserved reputation for providing its students with quality education in the classroom as well as real-life opportunities for practical experience.
The federal volunteer recognition event was created by the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Forest Service to recognize community residents who have dedicated hundreds of volunteer hours to such efforts as repairing trails and picnic areas, removing litter, staffing visitor centers, and hosting campgrounds. The agencies also present special awards to selected individuals and groups.
In August 2006, at the suggestion of Tourism and Convention Administration Department Chair Patti Shock, PLI Director Nancy Flagg and Interagency Volunteer Program Manager Donna Grady met with Gael Hancock, a member of the college’s adjunct faculty. “Gael was immediately enthusiastic about using this event as a team exercise in her senior capstone course,” said Flagg. “We quickly realized the partnership would benefit both entities, with students being able to practice their event-planning skills while providing us with additional staffing.”
As the fall semester got underway, 15 undergraduate students in TCA 490 – Festival and Event Management began planning the Southern Nevada Interagency Volunteer Recognition Breakfast. The initial assignment called for the students to form two teams to develop competing proposals for the event, which was to be held Saturday, November 4, 2006. Each team was required to prepare and present a professional package using the theme “Our Volunteers are Gems.”
Team proposals were reviewed by the interagency team and PLI staff on September 15, 2006. “We were impressed with the students’ knowledge, creativity, and attention to detail,” said Interagency Volunteer Program Manager Donna Grady. “The ideal would have been to weave elements of both proposals into one, but we had committed to honoring each team’s concept as presented.” Grady explained that the second assignment called for all 15 students to work together to implement the winning team’s proposal. Over the next six weeks, the students held several planning meetings, finalized the invitations and program, and created decorations for the event.
On the morning of the event, the students moved into implementation mode at the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel – arranging signage, checking the room set-up, making sure the audio/visual equipment was operational, decorating the room, and greeting guests. Tables were decorated with jewel-toned centerpieces containing photograph holders highlighting volunteers in action. When the doors opened, more than 200 community volunteers felt truly treasured as they joined federal land managers, volunteer coordinators, and invited guests to celebrate their contributions to Southern Nevada’s public lands.
“The student teams did a fantastic job, and we valued their assistance,” said Grady. As their final assignment in the course, the students provided a summary of the event along with suggestions for improvement. In particular, the class will provide recommendations on ways to improve the experience for students designing the 2007 program.
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Senior capstone students work on table decorations for the event. | |
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UNLV event planning students pose after staging a successful volunteer recognition breakfast. Joining them are IVP Program Manager Donna Grady (front left), Instructor Gael Hancock (front center), and PLI Graduate Assistant Tyra Jenkins (front right). | |
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