June 20, 2018 | Lansing, MI
Overview:
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) held a FY 2018 Drug-Free Communities (DFC) and Michigan High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) State Meeting on Wednesday, June 20, 2018 at the Lansing Center in Lansing, Michigan.
The premise for this meeting was to create a forum in which DFC coalitions and law enforcement had an opportunity to discuss local substance abuse issues affecting their communities and learn how they can better support each other’s efforts to end drug use and its consequences on youth.
Over 75 participants attended the meeting along with the ONDCP’s National 
HIDTA Director, Michael Gottlieb; the Michigan HIDTA Executive Director, Craig Summers; and the ONDCP DFC Program Administrator, Helen Hernandez.
The meeting included presentations from current DFC-funded coalitions: Barry County Substance Abuse Task Force, Kalamazoo County, Substance abuse Task Force, Montcalm Prevention, Network 180, and one former DFC-funded coalition, the Substance Abuse Council. Dr. Mahshid Abir, Director of the Acute Care Research Unit at the University of Michigan, delivered a presentation about the System for Opioid Overdose Surveillance (SOS), which was a topic of great interest among attendees.
Services Provided:
- Site Selection and Contract Negotiations
- On-line Registration
- Material Production
- Facility Logistics
- Audio Visual coordination
- Onsite Implementation
- Meeting wrap-up and follow up with attendees
CMP Value Added:
Pre-Meeting Logistics: CMP staff identified a location for the meeting that was convenient to DFC coalitions, HIDTA affiliates, and service providers in Michigan. We also worked to publicize the meeting through the DFC coalitions and the Michigan HIDTA providing them with logistical information and a flyer which allowed them to get the word out to their sector members and affiliates.
Pre-Meeting Setup: CMP staff arrived one day prior to the meeting and were able to address several changes to the room setup and AV, including adding directional signs since attendees would be entering the Lansing Center from several entrances.
Finding Solutions for Our Client: Part of our work as meeting planners is to always check with our clients to see if there are any last-minute requests or changes to the agenda. Fortunately, CMP was involved with agenda development which allowed us to immediately identify any agenda changes that may impact the logistics and timing of the meeting.
The morning agenda included four breakout discussion groups which were split between the general session room and one additional room. Our client was very concerned that having several breakouts in the same room wouldn’t be productive due to the noise level. Rather than spend the money for additional breakout space or lose precious time from the agenda by pulling an airwall, we chose to strategically place three groups in the corners of the room and use the additional room for the session topic that we thought would draw the largest number of attendees. We placed flipcharts in the 3 corners of the room to draw the sound from each discussion toward the flipchart and notetaker, rather than the center of the room.
This solution saved money on room rental, added time to our agenda since we didn’t have to pull any airwalls, and made for a smooth transition to the reporting out session of the agenda.
