1. Arrange for AIAA co-sponsorship as soon as possible; there is an AIAA form that must be completed. For a nominal fee (~$250), a one-half page ad should appear in Aerospace America, and the meeting should be listed in the AIAA Bulletin, both in Aerospace America and on the AIAA web site.

2. It may be necessary to negotiate with the hotel for payment of meeting room charges in return for a lower room rate.

3. Discuss the cost of audiovisual equipment with the hotel. Make sure the hotel contract states whether or not the cost of audiovisual equipment is included in the meeting room rental fees. This can be a very expensive item.

4. Try to get the authors to notify the conference organizers of any special audiovisual needs in a timely manner. Establish a deadline for this.

5. Ask the committee chairs if audiovisual equipment will be required at any of the committee meetings. Additional equipment may have to be rented to meet these needs, or it may be possible to temporarily move equipment from a meeting room.

6. Be certain you understand the items for which the hotel and the banquet site will levy a service charge and/or a state sales tax. This should be clearly spelled out in the contract. Food and beverage costs are usually subject to both a service charge and a sales tax. Meeting room rental fees may or may not be subject to a service charge; this is negotiable.

7. Be aware of hidden beverage costs for example, beverages (other than hot coffee and tea) ordered at committee luncheons. Decide whether you want the conference or the individuals to pay for this.

8. After putting together the conference program, the technical chairs should check for papers with the same primary and/or secondary authors that are scheduled at the same time. This situation should be avoided.

9. In the author acceptance mailing, the preliminary schedule for all the sessions should be included, not just the session containing the author's paper.