Some people dread it. Some people look forward to it.

It is that fateful day when your regional director comes up to you and asks “Would you like to host next year’s regional conference?” Before getting worried or feeling overwhelmed by the thought of it, keep these tips in mind:

Begin planning early
At the national conference in the fall, most regions finalize their plans for the regional in the spring. If your chapter chooses, or is chosen, to host the regional, begin planning ASAP. You have no idea how much work goes into one until you are put in charge of planning. Start pricing hotels and brain-storming for session ideas. Don’t be afraid to go after the large fancy hotels because sometimes the ones that you think are out of your price range are the ones that will be able to work with you the easiest.

Try to show off local flair
In Lafayette, we are working on getting a Cajun/zydeco band to play at our opening night reception to go along with dance instructors to teach attendees the local dance moves. If your city or state is known for specialties, do not be afraid to show them off. Journalists as a whole are curious folk and they will want to try new and different things.

Don’t be afraid to think big
When trying to decide on speakers, don’t be afraid to think big. Go after the big fish, like a national news anchor from your area or a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter. The worst thing that can happen is they say no. But, as in all facets of life, you’ll never know until you ask.

Keep working
Eventually, you will hit a wall and you think that everything will just fall into place. Keep dreaming. You have to continue to work and try to get one thing accomplished every day, whether it be sending some emails to potential speakers or agreeing on room prices with a hotel.

Ryan Broussard is currently on his M.S. in Mass Communication with a concentration in Journalism at UL Lafayette. He graduated from UL Lafayetter in Spring of 2009 with his B.A. in Mass Communication. He currently works as a freelancer covering high school sports for The Opelousas Daily World.

By: Ryan Broussard

A few weeks ago, I was covering a high school football game in Opelousas, La., between two Catholic schools, the Opelousas Catholic Vikings and the Catholic High at Pointe Coupee Hornets. The teams were opening up district play against each other. Opelousas Catholic lost the game 38-35, but it was the manner in which they lost that gives me a reason to write about that game.

The Vikings surrendered three touchdowns in the final 7:29 after seemingly running away with the game.

Now this is not unheard of, especially in high school and college football. What gave me pause was the dilemma of “How do I frame my story in a way that does not place undue blame on the players on the losing team?”

In today’s society, people are always looking to assign blame when something goes wrong. I had to remember that I was writing about kids. Ethically, writing about children can be a touchy subject. Sure some of the players may be old enough to vote and to drive, but they were still kids in a sense of the word. And kids make mistakes; they are still learning the intricacies of American football. As journalists covering high school and college athletics, we need to remember that.
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