Thank you for considering hosting an Electoral College Meeting! We hope this document answers all of your questions but if have ones that are not addressed, contact our hospitality coordinator at ec.hospitality@oto-usa.org and they will reply shortly.

Please note that we have not met in person since 2019 e.v. due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, we are trying to schedule in person meetings for 2022 with bodies that were previously queued to host us. All in-person events will be FVP (fully vaccinated person) events until otherwise specified.

Facilities

We need:

• A room that is private, secure, and sound proof.
• A table or tables that 11 people can sit around and face towards each other.
• Additional chairs for Vth+ observers. Head count can vary.
• Access to power outlets or a power strip that is accessible from the table.
• Internet, if possible, but if necessary, we can often make do with hot spots.
• A fire extinguisher if not holding the meeting in a hotel.

 

Room hours are typically Saturday 9-5pm.

Our Spring meetings take place on a Saturday and Sunday and we would need a room for 9-5 for two days. Sundays are more casual and we may be able to use an AirBnB or someone’s living room.

Weekend Events

In addition to conducting the work of the College, we want to get to know you and your local members. To that end, there are many events that you may choose to offer that revolve around food, ritual, or partying. Food will be covered in a separate section, but we hope to be able to break bread with your membership at various times during the weekend!

All of what follows is optional and you may want to do something else that brings a local flavor to our weekend!

Friday night meet and greet can be a chance for road weary travelers and the local body to mix and mingle and to relax. Meet and greets can take place at a quiet bar, someone’s home, or at your temple space. Not everyone will have arrived yet, but those who have made it into town may want to get out to have some fun and relax.

Saturday night typically involves a group dinner. This can be a restaurant, at the temple, or in someone’s home.

Sunday often includes a Gnostic Mass. Please be aware that many travelers will head out earlier in the day and very few will be left by evening. So you may choose to schedule mass earlier than your usual time.

Food and Meals

When possible, we love for meals to be social events. We’d love to:

• Share breakfast and lunch on Saturday (before the meeting and during a break)
• Explore local restaurants (rather than chains we could eat at when we’re home)
• Have a group dinner on Saturday night.
• Other than our Spring meeting when we have College work on Sundays, we don’t always have shared meals on Sundays but they are always welcome.
• We have many electors with low carb dietary needs and one elector with Celiac who cannot have gluten. We have one elector who doesn’t eat identifiable eggs. This can make breakfast a bit tricky. Some things that can work: a bowl of quinoa in a crockpot that can be done sweet or savory, gluten free oatmeal (oatmeal must be labeled as such as many have cross contaminants), fresh fruit, and some will eat donuts or pastries, etc. Additional help or brainstorming is available at luxuria@synchronous-city.com
• Need alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages at all events
• Need coffee and tea in the morning along with dairy and non-dairy creamer for the lactose intolerant

Finances

Electors mostly travel out of their own bank account but we make every effort to be generous with donations to the local body. Please make your donation jar obvious and don’t be shy to mention it loudly and often to both Electors, Members, and other Guests!

Make your Paypal address obvious and don’t be shy about mentioning it loudly and often!

If you want to host us but have financial concerns, please reach out to the hospitality coordinator.

Lodging

We don’t need a hotel block, but recommendations for decent hotels that are near the meeting space are appreciated.

Many electors prefer to stay at Airbnb and neighborhood recommendations that are close by are appreciated.

If locals can offer hospitality, please let us know. Sometimes we like to stay with locals due to finances. Other times, we just want to get to know you better. 🙂

Transportation

Some Electors will rent cars or take public transportation when available. But…

If you can provide assistance getting Electors to and from the airport and to and from the various events, it’s gratefully appreciated.

Coordination

We provide a spreadsheet to coordinate hospitality needs, event locations, addresses, etc. Once we are about 3 months out, you will receive a link to a spreadsheet for the meeting in your Valley.

Getting head count has been challenging as we can’t necessarily tell who will be traveling in for any given meeting but we are working on solutions to at least be able to get a better ball park.

We recommend reaching out to all of your neighboring local bodies to try to get regional headcount.

We are very grateful to our hosts and want to make sure we’re not putting too much strain on your hospitality. If there is anything you would like or that you need from the College, please let us know.