Workbook and Workbook Supplement

“Frequently Asked Questions”

1.             Who should submit a report for inclusion in the Florida United Methodist Annual Conference Workbook?

Every agency that has a report, resolution or recommendation that requires action of the Florida United Methodist Annual Conference (herein called the “Annual Conference”), should submit it for inclusion in the Florida United Methodist Annual Conference Workbook (herein called the “Workbook”).

2.             What if our report does not require action of the Annual Conference?

All agencies of or related to the Annual Conference are encouraged to submit informational reports for inclusion in the Workbook. We request that informational reports be limited to 1,000 words.  Non-business items (promotional information about an upcoming event, workshop, or about an agency, etc.) can not be included in the Workbook, but can be submitted for inclusion in the Florida United Methodist Annual Conference Workbook Supplement (herein called the “Workbook Supplement”), at the cost of the submitting party.  (See Questions #9-15 for more information).

3.             Will our agency be charged a printing fee if our report is included in the Workbook?

No, your agency will not be charged a printing fee for inclusion in the Workbook.  Printing costs for the Workbook are covered through the annual conference budget.  The Workbook is for official annual conference business only. 

4.             When is the deadline to submit a report for inclusion in the Workbook?

Your report should be in the conference office NO LATER THAN Monday, March 1, 2004.

5.             What if we can’t make this March 1 deadline?

If you are not able to make this March 1 deadline, the Workbook will be printed without your report. Our standing rules state that: “All matters requiring action of the Annual Conference shall be available to all delegates no less than ten days prior to the opening day of Annual Conference.”  In order for us to honor this, we must set and adhere to deadlines.

6.             Is there another option available if we cannot make the March 1, 2004 deadline?

You may submit your report for inclusion in the Workbook Supplement, which has a later print deadline. Please note, however, that the Workbook Supplement is NOT distributed to delegates prior to annual conference and printing costs are billed to the submitting party.

7.             When is the deadline to submit a report for inclusion in the Workbook Supplement and when is it distributed to delegates?

Your report should be in the conference office NO LATER THAN Monday, May 3, 2004 for inclusion in the Workbook Supplement.  The Workbook Supplement is distributed to delegates on-site at the annual conference event at the time of registration.

8.             Are there any special instructions for submitting a report for inclusion in the Workbook and Workbook Supplement?

Yes, there are specific format instructions which are listed below. IMPORTANT: It will be assumed that reports received in the Conference Office have been proofed and edited for content and errors (spelling, grammar, etc.) and that it is ready to be printed in the Workbook or Workbook Supplement as submitted.

 Mandatory Format For Business Reports to be Included
in the Workbook and Workbook Supplement 

▪                Reports must be submitted in electronic format.  Text reports should be done in Microsoft Word and budgets and charts should be done in Microsoft Excel.   

▪                Margins and Fonts: Use 1 inch margins top, bottom, left and right, with a Times New Roman 12-point font. Avoid using bold, italics or indents whenever possible as this creates formatting problems when integrating into one main document (the Workbook and Workbook Supplement). 

▪                Budgets and columns of numbers:  Budgets should be done in Microsoft Excel so that columns and rows of numbers transfer correctly.  If budgets or columns of numbers are done in Microsoft Word, a decimal tab or right tab should be used in the formatting so that columns and rows of numbers transfer correctly. 

▪                Informational Reports: We request that informational reports (reports not requiring action of the annual conference) not exceed 1,000 words. Informational reports may or may not be included in the Conference Journal and will be subject to editing by the Conference Secretary if they exceed 1,000 words. 

▪                Submit report/s:  (1) As an email attachment to dherchig@flumc.org with a hard copy mailed to: Florida United Methodist Conference, ATTN: Diana Herchig, P.O. Box 3767, Lakeland, FL 33802; or (2) On a 3 and ½ inch floppy disk with a hard copy mailed to the same address.  All reports, whether emailed or mailed, must be in the Conference Office no later than Monday, March 1, 2004.  

9.             What if our agency has a non-business item, such as a promotion, announcement, event flyer, brochure, etc., that we would like distributed to annual conference delegates?

Agencies related to the Annual Conference may submit non-business items to be included in the Workbook Supplement at cost to the submitting party. All non-business items are subject to approval by the conference office.  Non-business items printed in the Workbook Supplement are assigned a page number, three-hole punched and shrink-wrapped so they can easily be inserted into the delegate’s three-ring binder that contains all their other annual conference information and reports. Because of the coordination of printed materials involved to accomplish this, you will need to work directly with our printer in Lakeland.

10.         What costs are involved to print a non-business item in the Workbook Supplement?

The cost will vary depending on the print job. We request that you work directly with our printer, John Lusby, and his assistant, Lois Harrell, of Custom Print Shop, Inc., 1017 South Combee Rd. Lakeland, FL 33801, (863) 668-5692; cprint@gate.net. Your agency will be billed directly by Custom Print Shop, Inc. for actual printing costs. It will be a business transaction between your agency and Custom Print Shop.

11.         How will Custom Print Shop, Inc. know that our agency is related to the Florida Annual Conference? 

You will need to identify yourself as an agency who wishes to participate in the Florida United Methodist Workbook Supplement. Custom Print Shop will work with us, the conference office, for approval of items before they are printed.  If for some reason we cannot include your item in the Workbook Supplement, the conference office will contact you directly.

12.         What is the deadline to include a non-business item in the Workbook Supplement?

The print deadline will depend on the individual job, but May 3, 2004 is a standard deadline for most camera-ready print jobs. Please contact the printer directly to determine the time needed to complete your specific job.

13.         What if our agency already has a printed brochure or flyer that we would like distributed to annual conference delegates or we want to do our own printing?

Agencies related to the Annual Conference may submit a printed brochure to be inserted as a “loose” item in the Annual Conference Delegates Packet (herein called the “Packet”).  Since all items are subject to approval by the conference office for submission in the Packet, it is suggested you get pre-approval of your item before you have it printed and shipped to us.  You can do this by faxing a sample copy of the proposed item to Marlene McCollum at 863-680-1912 or mailing it to:  Florida United Methodist Conference, ATTN:  Marlene McCollum, P.O. Box 3767, Lakeland, FL 33802.

14.     Is there a cost to insert a loose item in the Packet?

There is a $75 insert fee for each loose item inserted in the Packet. 

15.         Why is there a $75 insert fee to include a non-business item in the Packet if our agency provides the item?

There are several reasons for the insert fee:

a.     To recoup the expense of paying outside personnel to transport materials from the conference office to the location where the packet stuffing takes place, usually the campus of Florida Southern College.  In addition, we pay outside personnel to help with the stuffing of the packets, since the packets must be put together within one to two days and each additional item to be inserted adds time to the packet stuffing.

b.    To encourage agencies to use the other avenues provided whenever possible (Workbook and Workbook Supplement) to cut down on the individual items that need to be stuffed.

c.     Some agencies use the Packet as a means of advertising or promoting their event.  The $75 insert fee breaks down to approximately 3.5 cents per item to distribute to approximately 2,200 persons, which is a relatively inexpensive means of promotion.

d.    Monies received from the insert fee are deposited back into the annual conference budget.  This helps defray the administrative costs of annual conference by charging the persons/groups that are using the service. 

16.     When and where should we send our brochures, etc., if we plan to have them inserted as a loose item in the Packet?

We need to receive your materials in the conference office between Monday, May 3, 2004 and no later than Monday, May 17, 2004.  Please do not ship them to us before May 3; we do not have a place to store them prior to this date.  Items should be mailed in quantities of 2,200 to:  Florida United Methodist Conference Office, ATTN:  Marlene McCollum, 1140 East McDonald Street, Lakeland, FL 33801.  Since all items are subject to approval by the conference office for submission in the Packet, it is suggested you get pre-approval on your item before you have it printed and shipped to us.  You can do this by faxing a sample copy of the proposed item to Marlene McCollum at 863-680-1912.

17.     What if our agency is not directly related to the Annual Conference but we would like to participate in the Annual Conference Event? 

          It is possible for your agency to participate by becoming an Annual Conference Event sponsor.  For more information about becoming a sponsor, please contact: Cindy Aplin, Advertising Associate, Florida United Methodist Conference; telephone 1-800-282-8011, Ext. 118; or email her at caplin@flumc.org.  There are also a limited number of spaces for display tables in our Ministry Expo. For information about the Ministry Expo, contact Annual Conference Event Coordinator, Marilyn Swanson, at mswanson@flumc.org . 

18.     Still have questions?

Please email Diana Herchig at AC2004@flumc.org  or dherchig@flumc.org  with your specific question/s.