CHAPTER EVENT PLANNING

1. CHAPTER EVENT PLANNING • There are potential risks before, during and after a chapter event that must be addressed and controlled. • The purpose of this presentation is to help identify and minimize these risks.

2. Leasing a Facility and Equipment • Prior to leasing, renting or using a facility: • Inspect the facility for conditions that could be hazardous to guests and request that they are corrected by the owner. • Be aware of the fire code and the number of guests allowed in the facility. • Do not contract with a 3rd party for the use of an unsafe facility!

3. Contracts • Liability for injuries to members and guests can be transferred to the event sponsor (Phi Sigma Kappa) as a result of “use of” contracts which accepted the property in an “as is” condition. • Review a contract thoroughly before signing.

4. Hold Harmless Agreements • Indicates that the chapter will not transfer any liability for a claim to the owner or vice versa. • Will be contained in many contracts. • Also called an Indemnity Agreement. • Make sure the contract does not allow an owner to transfer his liability to the chapter.

5. Certificates of Insurance • Shows that the chapter has a specified level of liability insurance. • Your chapter can obtain this from HRH/ Kirklin & Co. • Likewise the chapter should require a copy of a certificate of insurance from the property owner to verify that he has the proper liability coverage.

6. Have it reviewed by: An attorney who is an alumnus. A campus legal service. A house corporation officer. You can also always request that the Grand Chapter review the contract. Get Contracts Reviewed Before Signing

7. Events with Alcohol • Follow state and local laws, university policies and Grand Chapter policies. • Review pages 27 and 28 of the Risk Management Manual. • All alcohol events must be BYO or 3rd Party Vendor. • You cannot supply alcohol.

8. No hard liquor Limit to equivalent of one 6-pack of beer No Glass ID and wristband guests of legal age Only one bar area Servers 21+ and sober Don’t serve anyone under 21 Don’t serve anyone who is visibly intoxicated Have sober monitors Have a set ending time No one leaves the party with alcohol - it must be picked up the next day Review the full guidelines on pages 29 and 30 of the manual. BYO - Bring Your Own Guidelines

9. Vendor Must: Be properly licensed Be properly insured (minimum $1 million in liability coverage) Certificate of insurance should name the local chapter and Grand Chapter as additional insureds. Review pages 31 & 32. Use your 3rd party vendor checklist on pg. 7 Always have legal council or the Grand Chapter review a contract before signing. 3rd Party Vendor Guidelines

10. Philanthropic Events • Remember that there also are risks involved with philanthropic or community Service events. • Avoid events where individuals may be injured, see page 34 of the Risk Management Manual. • Follow the same guidelines for these events as any other chapter event.

11. Myths of Off Campus or “Unofficial” Events Myth #1 – We’re not liable for events held at a member’s apartment. Wrong. Courts have held that if a certain percentage of members are gathered anywhere that gathering can be interpreted as a chapter activity.

12. Myth # 2 Individual members can’t be held liable for events they sponsor at their private apartment. Wrong again. Most states have laws that incriminate a social host for serving alcohol to minors. If not, civil remedies are available to a person alleging injury and members’ parents may be held liable as well.

13. Myth # 3 We’ll just have the event at a non-members apartment. Again, if more than just a few chapter members are present, any competent plaintiff’s attorney will try to prove that the event was sponsored by the chapter.

14. Myth # 4 The Grand Chapter cannot discipline a chapter for something that happens at an “unofficial” event. The Grand Chapter will not hesitate to sanction or cease operations of a chapter if there is an incident which violates their risk management policies. A serious incident could be reason enough to close the chapter.

15. The Bottom Line If Phi Sigma Kappa could avoid liability by merely moving events off campus or declaring them “unofficial” it would have instructed chapters to do so years ago and would not have implemented a national liability insurance program.

16. Transportation to and from Events • If you intend to assist in transporting guests to an event use a professional transportation service. • Avoid using personal or rented vehicles driven by your members, even if they are going to be sober drivers. • Consider the following example:

17. A chapter held an off-premise social event. In an effort to provide a safe and fun environment, the chapter rented a 15 passenger van to transport members and guests to and from the location of the event. During one of the return trips, the sober member who was driving the van lost control and struck a telephone pole. The result was one passenger fatally injured and one seriously injured. Litigation soon followed and, ultimately, a substantial settlement was paid out on the claim.

18. What went wrong? • The driver was unfamiliar with the van. Think about the times you drove a friend’s vehicle and had trouble finding the lights or windshield wipers. • While the driver may have been sober, his passengers were not. Dealing with the distraction of these passengers can be difficult. • Let your members enjoy the event and let a professional deal with the driving.

19. Special Event Checklist An event checklist can be found in the appendix of your risk management manual and your insurance and claims manual. Use this checklist while planning an event to make sure you are practicing good risk management.

20. Thank You For questions about this presentation and other risk management questions please contact the International Headquarters. 888-846-6851 Created by: Evan Prostovich January 2007