Capstone Final
Paper
Comm 4980
Professor Eric
Young
Dixie State
University
Spring 2016
Introduction
When the time came to decide on whether to work on a final
senior project or write a final research paper, the decision was an easy one
for me. Although I believe that research
is important and has its place, I find that I myself learn more from a hands-on
approach, being able to accomplish and carry out objectives rather than reading
and researching and writing a paper. The
decision to conduct and carry out a senior project was shared by my sister
Sarah, and it did not take long for us to decide on her wonderful idea of
creating the first benefit tournament for the women’s golf team at Dixie
State. After talking to Professor Young
about the idea, he agreed that it was a project that we could both work on
together. Thus the idea became a senior
capstone project reality.
Objectives
Our objectives with this project were fairly simple,
although they had the potential to result in some very beneficial and helpful
outcomes in supporting the athletics at Dixie State, and the women’s golf team specifically. The overall objectives were:
1. To increase the awareness of college
athletics within the community.
2. To promote and encourage support of the Dixie
State Women’s Golf Team specifically.
3. To successfully construct, manage and run a
multi-faceted event.
4. To build rapport and connections between
local businesses and the Dixie State athletic community.
5. To hopefully start an annual event in support
of women’s golf at Dixie State that will continue after Sarah and I have
graduated.
I was responsible for coordinating and acquiring silent
auction items, booking the golf course for the tournament and reserving a space
for the luncheon and then maintaining contact and communication with the
various facilities and businesses leading up to our event. My responsibilities for this project carried
their own set of objectives which were as follows:
1. To raise awareness and support for the Dixie
State Women's Golf Team.
2. To incorporate community involvement in
support of the Golf Team while being able to experience event management and
planning in a hands-on manner through planning and running the fundraising
event.
3. To reach out to businesses within the
community and build productive relationships between the community and
university athletics to be able to work together and construct mutually
beneficial arrangements through support and marketing.
All of these objectives involved some combination of
three of the Program Learning Outcomes including: Content Creation, Critical
Thinking and Global Perspective. I was
able to utilize several of these outcomes successfully in talking with businesses
and facilities as we planned our event.
Execution of Objectives
I was able to successfully negotiate prices and a date
for us to be able to host our event at SunRiver Golf Club; the luncheon we held
at the SunRiver Community Center Ballroom and the auction items from various
sources were fairly easy to obtain through communication and generous donations. Some of the Program Learning Outcomes that I successfully
utilized during this process were:
- · Content Creation: I was responsible for reaching out to local businesses and communicating with individuals within the community in an attempt to persuade them to support our event through donations and involvement. I had to be able to create an argument that would encourage and convince businesses that our event was a worthwhile investment that not only benefited us but also benefited them through the marketing and advertising of their products and/or services in our event.
- · Critical Thinking: I had to persuade and sell the idea of being involved in our tournament to some businesses, forcing me to keep our event objectives and goals in mind as I communicated with individuals. I had to think outside of the box from time to time, attempting to be open to various ideas and offers as I sought to successfully coordinate with facilities and obtain auction items from businesses.
- · Global Perspective: With this project we had a big picture outcome in mind, raising support and funds for the benefit of the women’s golf team. In order to accomplish that goal, I had to talk to various people in different venues and capacities which meant that I had to approach each group accordingly. With the golf course I explained what we wanted to do and if they would be willing to host our event; being a golfer myself and having worked at that same golf course, I knew how to go about discussing details and information concerning our event with them as a facility. With the luncheon venue, again I explained what we wanted to do, but focused on pertinent details of how we would utilize the room and the ideas we had for hosting the luncheon and auction and how their space would best benefit us while at the same time helping them bring attention and recognition to their venue. Different approaches with different perspectives were necessary in communicating with various people as I coordinated this event.
Most
of my communication with businesses and individuals was through texts, phone
calls and in-person meetings; first I met with the head pro at the golf course
and booked tee times and discussed tournament details. I then made contact with the community center
through email and then meeting with the event coordinator to talk about prices
and options for renting the ballroom; it took some time to hear back from them
but when I did everything went really smoothly and they were easy to conduct
business with. In the end we were able
to get the room fee for the ballroom waived and they also gave us a discount on
setting up the room and cleaning up afterwards.
I
also knew a lot of the individuals who ran and worked with the businesses that
we wanted to include their services and items in the silent auction so a lot of
the communication with them was via text.
We tried to think about various age ranges, interests and availability
of products when gathering auction items and we wanted them to be items and
products that participants would really be excited about bidding on.
Due
to growing up here in St. George I know a lot of people in the golf community,
as well as businesses that compliment sports and sports medicine. Sarah came up with a great, short and to the
point message to send to people that covered what we were doing and how we
wanted to involve them and their services.
I would just change the name and product that we were looking for them
to donate but this approach with each business worked really well. I would offer to come and pick up products
and items as well as suggesting what we were looking for while still being open
to their suggestions of what they felt comfortable donating for our event. The response overall was encouraging and very
supportive; with several donations we were actually given more than we
requested, giving us a lot of options to work with in assembling a well-rounded
silent auction.
Execution of Objectives
Despite hitting some rough spots
along the way, our event was a success; it was small and we didn’t have a full
field, but we got to meet people within the community and they got to meet the
coaches and players of the Dixie State Women’s Golf Team. We had full cooperation with the golf course
in helping us set up and prepare the morning of the tournament, and the
ballroom staff were extremely helpful in getting the room prepped and ready for
the luncheon afterwards. We successfully
integrated the university athletics department working with us and other local
businesses in order to put together the first ever Dixie State Women’s Golf Classic. We sold almost all of our silent auction
items and provided a delicious lunch that followed a fun round of golf that
included some competition holes such as Beat the Coach’s Shot, Longest Drive,
and others. We were able to provide a
very nice first place prize for the teams, as well as raising some money to
benefit the golf team. At the time of
writing this paper we are still working out details of payment for golf and
food but the amount we raised just with the silent auction items was roughly
between $1,000-$1,500; that is not counting the money we will have made from
tournament fees which means that we did come out on the positive side
financially.
More importantly the participants
had fun, we raised funds, and we got the word out about the Dixie State Women’s
Golf Team. Despite the
small number of participants, it was a successful tournament in its own right;
hopefully it will continue to grow and become a central and integral part in
fundraising for the Dixie State Women’s Golf Team for years to come.
Self-Assessment
This entire process was a learning
experience for me; I have helped with tournaments when I worked at the golf
course but I had never run one. I have
attended luncheons and silent auctions but I have never been responsible for assembling
and coordinating them. It was
enlightening and eye-opening to be able to experience the other side of events,
instead of participating in one we were responsible for constructing one. There are a few things I could have done
differently or better that I will keep in mind for future reference in event
management. They are:
- · Start the process of talking to businesses about donating items sooner to give them more time to consider what they want to do.
- · By starting the process of requesting donations it would also provide plenty of time to see what else is needed as the event gets closer.
- · Staying in regular contact with businesses concerning the event and donating items.
- · Successfully booking the golf course and venue and even getting a discounted price on the ballroom rental.
- · Gathering items and setting up the silent auction in an aesthetically pleasing way and insuring that food was served on time for the luncheon.
I was so happy and satisfied that
our event went as well as it did; it was the first event of its kind so it was
not a well-known tournament nor was it a large event, but for the small number
of participants we still managed to coordinate and successfully launch the
first Dixie State Women’s Golf Classic.
Most of all, we were able to give back to a program we loved and were
part of for four years of our college golf careers; we left the program better
than when we had started and we hope that it is a legacy that will continue
long after we are gone.
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