Adler Advisory Council Meeting

Location: Eleven City Diner

Date: Thursday, April 23, 2015; 5:30-7:00 pm

Michael had mentioned that our fellow volunteer Bob was the chair of an “Advisory Council” and sent me and another volunteer an invitation to their next meeting.  But it was also the evening when Adler was having a ‘C2E2’ party and I was scheduled to volunteer for that.  So I asked Michael where he wanted me and although he had said ‘C2E2’, that session got cancelled and so I was able to attend this one.  The meeting was at ‘Eleven City Diner’, near my place, and I arrived to see that Bob was already at the restaurant.  Very soon Michael arrived, as did another volunteer Corey and that was it in terms of attendance.

I was now a "Councilman"

This council had been active for over 18 months, though I wasn’t sure what its role was supposed to be.  I learnt that the idea is for this council is to be an advisor for Adler in terms of what’s working and what needs improvements, especially for ‘After Dark’.  Michael said that since I was now a “veteran volunteer”, I would be able to contribute.  Bob had come prepared with some talking points and Corey had pages upon pages of notes.  I wasn’t even carrying a pen.

The main agenda item was creation of a “Concierge Desk”, which would be available to help guests with customer service, such as giving directions, show recommendations etc.  I said directions are something everyone needs and there are some tricky to find places such as ‘Johnson Theatre’.  Location wise, Corey said that currently she was near the entrance but was thinking of an additional desk near ‘Galileo Café’ and one more, possibly in lower level.  I suggested outside ‘Difinity Theatre’ since that was the epicenter of the lower level and a lot of traffic passed outside it.  We talked about having volunteers in pairs, else one person may be there without anything to do.  Corey also suggested an idea about placing “You are here” markers at different places.  This was a great idea and all of us liked it.

Corey said that the concierge folks should have ‘ipads’ so that they can refer to internet for any question that may come up, including scientific inquiries that are the “flavor of the day” i.e. in the news; which I get quite a bit.  Adler has some ‘ipads’ that can be used and Michael said that we could use those as long as they were looked after.  He also mentioned that we should have some critical links bookmarked, like bus schedules etc. in order for people to know their options during closing time.  We talked about having a cab company come pick up guests at the end of ‘After Dark’ event.  Michael said they had tried it, but the cabs don’t want to come since they can get additional business in the theatre district. 

We talked about helping the guests find surrounding attractions should they ask for it and I told them how we had a folder with similar information in the ‘Lincoln Park Zoo’ .  Michael said that people are usually not going anywhere afterwards, so it may be superfluous.  It is true that out-of-towners would probably come to Adler only in the morning and so we do not need to carry directions at our event.  I gave my feedback on some of the things that I had observed as an ‘Education Host’.  I mentioned having a “smartphone app” which people can use as a ticket, instead of paper, and Michael said they were working on it.  We talked about merits of “pocket science”, which is my favorite, as well as the “Bar Tricks” cart with 2 wheels.  Bob said we should just go to ‘Home Depot’ and buy additional wheels!  We concluded the meeting and Bob said that if you get to the end of a meeting with one good idea, it was a success – referring to Corey’s “You are here” idea.  Michael said that the council was ours to run as we pleased and that he wouldn’t interfere.  All ideas and recommendations were welcome.  It was certainly nice to be asked to be a part of this team.