Speakers for the meetings of 55Plus are the major part of our agenda.  We plan for speakers for each season (early September through early June) from the February before the season begins through the remainder of the year.  We encourage anyone who attends meetings of the group to assist in recruiting speakers, but those who choose to do so should be aware of the following procedures and criteria for speakers. 

1. The two co-directors of 55plus programming, Sanjay Sehgal (sehgal@iname.com) and Richard Meyer (rmeyer211@gmail.com) maintain an extensive List of Potential Speakers compiled from suggestions received and previous speakers, from which they will select potential speakers to be contacted by 55plus members. 
2. Any initial contact with a potential speaker prior to referring him or her to one of the program co-directors should be limited to a determination of whether that potential speaker would be willing to speak to 55plus in the future.  No specific dates to speak should be offered to the speaker unless you are instructed to do so by one of the co-directors. 
3. A person recommending a speaker should:
   1. Have heard the potential speaker address an audience and be comfortable with the speaker's speaking style and delivery. 
   2. Be willing to act as a contact person for the speaker. 
   3. Know that the speaker has expertise in a subject of interest to our audience. 
4. A potential speaker should be aware of and agree to the following conditions:
   1. 55Plus provides no fee for speaking other than reimbursement of reasonable expenses. 
   2. The speaker should be able to deliver a talk in 45 minutes to an hour. 
   3. Should be comfortable speaking to a large audience that averages 150 people without reading from text. 
5. Subject to the above conditions, a potential speaker is referred to one of the co-directors and that person's name is placed on the List of Potential Speakers.  The List of Potential Speakers is frequently reviewed by the co-directors to select the speakers to be approached by the contact person for specific dates that they select.  Note that the speakers are not selected on a first-come-first-serve basis, but to insure a balanced set of quality programs of interest to our audience.  Because of a backlog of potential speakers, there could be a long interval between the referral and the response to approach recommended speaker. 
6. After the co-directors select a potential speaker they will provide a set of available dates for that speaker to a contact person.  Generally, the contact person should be the person who has referred the potential speaker.  If that is not possible, The co-directors will ask one of the Honchos to act as a contact person. 
7. Responsibilities of Contact Person
   1. Communicate with the potential speaker and request him or her to speak on one of the dates provided by one of the co-directors. 
   2. If a speaker commits to speak on a specific date, inform one of the co-directors immediately.  The speaker will be added to the schedule.  It is important that one of the co-directors be informed quickly because several potential speakers may be contending for the same dates, and one of the co-directors should inform other contact people that one of the dates that have been offered is no longer available.  (This procedure has not caused problems in the past!) Those other contact people should then inform their speakers when offered dates are no longer available. 
   3. No less than two months before date of the speaker's talk, contact the speaker and obtain the following information. 
      1. The title of the talk. 
      2. A brief description of the talk (1-2 paragraphs). 
      3. A brief bio of the speaker. 
      4. A photograph of the speaker suitable for posting on our website. 
      5. The A/V needs of the speaker, e.g., computer projector, overhead projector, any special video display, audio amplifier or other needs.  Note: Please determine if the speaker will be using an Apple computer because that may require a special connector for our projector. 
      1. The items I through V of the previous step are to be sent to the webmaster and the A/V needs are to be sent to the Audio/Visual manager.  The webmaster is Boris Katz (55plus@outlook.com) and the Audio/Visual manager is Art Cooper (artcooper56@gmail.com). 
      2. Alternatively, the speaker may be put in direct touch with the Audio/Visual manager to insure that his or her A/V needs are met. 
   4. Provide the speaker with detailed information about the meeting schedule at 55Plus (where, when, how long the talk should be) and that there is a parking space reserved for him or her. 
   5. Arrange to take the speaker to lunch after our meeting, if that is convenient for the speaker.  You can select a party to join you and the speaker for lunch - 55plus will pay for the speaker. 
   6. Confirm within a week of the scheduled date that the speaker plans to appear at 55plus. 
   7. Tell the speaker how to find out about meeting cancellations, e.g., due to inclement weather (snow, hurricane, etc.).  If the Princeton schools are closed, so are we. 
   8. If possible, exchange cell phone numbers with the speaker to be used in case of emergency on the morning of the scheduled date. 
   9. Introduce the speaker at the beginning of the meeting. 
   10. At the 55plus, monitor the Q&A session and bring it to a timely close. 
   11. Determine if the speaker is to be reimbursed for travel to 55plus and, if so, the amount of the reimbursement, and arrange for the money to be sent to the speaker. 
   12. Thank the speaker in writing (e-mail will do) for his/her appearance.  Your job is not over until the speaker is thanked!