38 Open Meetings and Town Halls Many Chapters will incorporate open meetings or town hall-style events into their calendar. Town hall style meetings typically address one topic, though the topic may be broad. For example, new Chapter Officers may host a town-hall style event in the fall aimed to introduce themselves and their plans for the Chapter to members, student veterans and other students, or to solicit feedback and ideas. Town hall meetings may also be called in response to an emergent national, local or campus issue—such as new policies for military students or an on-campus incident—when the Chapter believes student veterans would benefit from group discussion. Veteran Resource Center personnel and administrators involved in veteran or military affairs may occasionally offer to give a presentation about educational resources and benefits. This may be effectively done in a town hall style format when and if Chapter Officers are convening and the session is designed around feedback and interaction, otherwise it might be considered a separate kind of event. A sample meeting agenda and meeting announcement can be found in Appendix D. Event Planning In the lifecycle of a student veteran, many create a charted a path from their admissions letter to the graduation stage. In some cases, this path neglects the importance of genuine engagement in the campus community. These students are successful in their classes, and with a higher graduation rate than their traditional peers, but often miss out on experiencing college and the value associated with building a peer network. Often student veterans avoid engagement with their peers on campus because they are often older and carry more responsibilities. Student veterans are more likely to be married, have children, and hold a full- or part-time job while in school. It is up to Chapter Leaders to build the college experience for student veterans through programming that is accessible to them and that meets their needs. Sections above have already discussed programming as an overarching construct, explaining how to root programming in the Chapter’s strategic plan and how to design programming around the Chapter and campus culture. This guide outlines a wide variety of opportunities for programming that can be tailored to nearly any audience, no matter how diverse. However, it is important to understand the process of developing and executing these events. The four phases of this process include: Goals, Logistics, Communications, and After-Action. Each of these elements are critical and happen in this logical order. Goals Every event has a purpose, which is communicated by the event goals, which include the who, what, why, when, and where. The Who. The “who” of an event is the event’s audience. Generally, this will be the Chapter’s members, but can sometimes include partners, donors, university administration, other students or student leaders, and more. For example, the goal of the audience may be to bring together a diverse student population to learn about minority roles in the history of conflict at an academic panel. The What. The “what” of an event is the event itself. Whether the event is a general body meeting, an officer meeting, a panel discussion, a memorial ceremony, or a joint-service student veteran ball, the event type, a goal for event type is important. For example, the goal of the type of a networking event may be to connect student veterans with industry professionals for career placement. The Why. The “why” of an event is its purpose, and even a purpose should have a goal. If the purpose of the event is to increase Chapter brand, the goal may be to have an increase in non-member/new member turnout.
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