Mission
The Sponsorship Coordinator works with Executive Director and the Board to maintain and secure funding sources for SEALS Annual Meeting . The goal of the coordinator is to match the interests of the vendor with the needs of the organization. To that end, the coordinator assists in identifying ways for the vendor to sponsor events, including luncheons, workshop, receptions, breaks, golf tournaments, tennis tournaments, and others. Additionally, the coordinator considers whether the sponsor and organization might benefit from exhibit tables, luncheons, or other opportunities showcasing the vendor products.
Members
- Scott Bauries (Kentucky)
Messages
Interested vendor representatives may contact Scott Bauries at scott.bauries@uky.edu.
Reports
2023 Annual Report
As Sponsorship Coordinator, Scott Bauries seeks to create institutional memory for our sponsorship relationships that Russ Weaver has fostered for years. We have an ongoing roster of sponsors: West Academic, Aspen Publishing, Carolina Academic Press, iLaw, iDesign, BarBri, the American Bar Association, the Federalist Society, Fast Case, AllCampus, and ETS. These sponsors hosted receptions, conducted sessions, held lunches, and other events. In the coming year, Russ and Tom will continue to foster existing relationships, and Scott will continue to offer suggestions for new relationships and potential sponsor opportunities.
2021 Annual Report
In 2020-21, SEALS continued to receive support from its past sponsors, including West Academic, Wolters-Kluwer, Carolina Academic Press, iLaw, iDesign, BarBri, the American Bar Association, the Federalist Society, Fast Case, and MF Digital Marketing, along with adding some new sponsors, such as Pacific Legal Foundation and ETS.
Several existing and new sponsors hosted receptions and other events this year. The University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and the University of New Hampshire, our newest members, sponsored the New Member Reception; the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenburg College of Law and St. Mary’s University of San Antonio School of Law sponsored the President’s Reception; individual faculty Maybell Romero (Tulane) and Brian Frye (Kentucky) jointly sponsored a cocktail reception for those interested in Legal Philology; and West Academic, Carolina Academic Press, and the Federalist Society each sponsored general receptions. Carolina Academic Press, ETS, Wolters Kluwer, West Academic, and BarBri each sponsored a luncheon. In addition, West Academic sponsored the Golf Tournament, and Wolters Kluwer sponsored the Tennis Tournament.
In my new role as Sponsorship Coordinator (Scott Bauries, Kentucky), I assisted with questions from prospective sponsors and sought out new funding sources. I have also constructed a new spreadsheet of contact information, donor preferences, and recent giving to assist with our efforts going forward, and to assist whoever takes on this role in the future with coming up to speed.
2020 Annual Report
In 2019-2020, SEALS continued to receive support from its sponsors, including West, Wolters-Kluwer, CAP, iLaw, iDesign, BARBRI, ABA, Fast Case, and MF Digital Marketing. Although there was no in-person meeting for SEALS2020, our sponsors remained dedicated to SEALS and committed to support SEALS2021. Scott Bauries agreed to lead our Sponsorship Committee. Upcoming goals for 2020-2021 include seeking to develop additional sponsorship relationships.
2017 Annual Report
SEALS continued to receive support and scholarship from its sponsors including Carolina Academic Press, Edward Elgar, Federalist Society, iLaw, Thomson Reuters, West, and Wolters-Kluwer.
Contacts were made to three other vendors. I often make efforts to connect new vendors to Russ right away because no one can “sell” SEALS quite like Russ. Some of the vendors are much smaller than our regulars are and do not have “marketing”/conference personnel to support a booth for the full conference. I have also offered “newbies” to send marketing material so we can share with attendees. The “technology” type vendors are usually interested in hosting a breakfast/lunch type event so they can share their product, provide a meal, and leave but numbers are often difficult to determine.
I suggest we continue to contact vendors participating in CALI, AALL, and AALS. From my personal experience with two other organizations in the past year, sponsorships are becoming much more difficult. We have routinely depended on support from two vendors, which have really cut back.
This “committee” is more than “lean.” It would be great to expand the members. New or fresh blood could have different contacts and ideas going forward.
2016 Annual Report
Regular sponsorships seem to occur without much on-going work or prodding. Although some potential sponsors indicate they will sponsor, but do not ultimately finalize an agreement, we continue to add new sponsors each year.
There have been many mergers and partnerships that have lessened the numbers of opportunities. Many companies are seeing their “sponsorship” and marketing dollars dwindle.
SEALS members tend to stop at book related tables and attended BAR/BRI and CaseBook Plus presentations in healthy numbers, so some vendors appear to want “access” to attendees in a manner other than “stopping” by the table. I almost always get requests for “attendees” to demonstrate the “need” and numbers to their respective bosses.
Vendor location can be a problem when the venue does not have sufficient space in the registration area. Split exhibit areas complicate networking opportunities.
We may make sponsorship opportunities more formal; I have given Board members information about how AALS recognizes sponsors. The formal public thank-yous are particularly well received.