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CONVENTION ATTENDANT INSTRUCTIONS

Table of Contents

Paragraphs

Attendant Meeting

Assignments

Entrances, Exits, and Corridors

Seating

Attendance Count

Handling Distractions

Safety

Emergencies

Escalators and Elevators

Stage

Dealing With Disruptive Individuals

Other Departments

  • 1. Those who serve as attendants should be exemplary spiritual men, known for demonstrating the fruitage of the spirit in their life and in their dealings with others. (Gal. 5:22, 23) They should be helpful, reasonable, and kind in caring for their responsibilities. Attendants should remain alert at all times, not becoming complacent or lackadaisical in fulfilling their responsibilities.

  • 2. Attendant Meeting: There will be a meeting with all attendants before the doors open for general admission on the first day of the convention. At the meeting, the attendant overseer will review the duties of the attendants as well as any safety measures that need to be taken. The meeting will conclude in time for all attendants to be at their assigned positions no later than 15 minutes prior to when the doors are opened. Emergency procedures for the facility will be reviewed so that all attendants will know their duties in the event of an evacuation or other emergency.

  • 3. Assignments: Attendants are to remain in their assignments at all times until they are relieved of their duty or replaced by another attendant. All who serve as attendants should wear the Attendant (CO-19a) badge card.

  • 4. Below is a partial list of attendant duties, which may vary depending on the location of each attendant and the particular needs of the facility being used:

  • Welcoming attendees as they arrive

  • Monitoring all entrances, exits, and corridors

  • Distributing programs and providing department location information

  • Assisting the elderly, the disabled, and those with small children to seating locations and on stairs

  • Helping individuals to locate seats

  • Taking the initiative to kindly remind any who are not seated during the music-video presentations to find their seats and quietly enjoy the presentation

  • Taking a count of those in attendance

  • Providing crowd control inside and immediately outside the facility

  • Monitoring escalators, elevators, stairs, and fire-alarm pull stations

  • Monitoring and controlling access to the stage and other sensitive areas

  • Providing crowd control at the baptism area

  • Handling difficulties

  • Assisting in case of an evacuation or other emergency

  • Contacting First Aid

  • 5. Attendants are organized into groups of sufficient size to care for their assigned areas before, during, and after the program. Larger areas have an assigned captain. (In a multilevel facility, several attendant captains and their attendant groups will be organized under the direction of a level captain.) All captains work under the direction of the attendant overseer and his assistant.

  • 6. Before the doors to the facility open each day, all attendants should be at their assigned locations to monitor and prevent any unsafe actions on the part of those entering. No one should be allowed to run or to move about in an unsafe manner. Attendants should kindly assist all to avoid accidents.

  • 7. Entrances, Exits, and Corridors: It is important not to allow entry before 8:00 a.m. so that the attendants and other departments can get organized before the crowd arrives. Attendants should be familiar with exits and know the appropriate evacuation route in order to assist all attendees to reach safety. Prior to the session, all exit doors should be checked to make sure that they are not locked or obstructed in a way that prevents opening them from the inside. In order to conserve energy, attendants should ensure that exterior doors are not propped open in air-conditioned or heated buildings.

  • 8. Seating: No one, including attendants and other volunteers, should save seats overnight or prior to the time when the doors to the building are opened each day. At all times, attendants should be alert to assist those who need seats or who need to be escorted on stairs and should remain attentive to any potential disturbances. When the doors to the building open at 8:00 a.m., attendants can save seats within their own sections for themselves, those living in their home, those traveling with them in the same vehicle, and their current Bible students. Each attendant should monitor those coming into his assigned area to make sure that this same practice is followed by all, reminding attendees to follow direction provided by the organization on seat saving. Attendants should care for their assignments in a manner that will not distract others. It is helpful if families with small children can be seated where they can enter and exit easily without being a distraction. Attendants should assist disabled, elderly, and infirm ones who wish to be seated in the areas reserved for them, and they should continue to be alert to such individuals, always treating them with dignity, respect, and love.

  • 9. Baby strollers and lawn chairs are not permitted in the regular seating areas of the facility. The attendants should tactfully and lovingly approach attendees who have these items and help them to appreciate that this restriction protects their child and others from injury. The attendants should explain the options of securing a car seat or an infant seat on a seat next to the parents, holding the child in their lap, or asking a friend to assist. Parents may decide to take the stroller back to the car or put it in the checkroom. Strollers and lawn chairs may be used for disabled children and adults, but only in the disabled section.

  • 10. The attendants should take the initiative to seat latecomers. This can be accomplished by good communication between the attendants at entry points and those in seating areas. The attendant should ask attendees as they enter whether they are looking for seats and how many they need. If seats are needed, he will keep the attendees at his side and signal to a seating attendant the number of seats that are desired. The attendant in the seating area will signal how many he has available. Each seating attendant should regularly examine his section and check with those sitting next to seats with items placed on them to see if they are occupied. If a section is full, the attendant at the entry point can check with attendants in other sections to see where seats are available and direct attendees accordingly.

  • 11. Attendance Count: Attendants will be informed of the times to take a count of those in their assigned section. The count should be taken without causing unnecessary distraction to those attending. All adults should be counted, as should young children who are listening and benefiting, even to a limited extent.

  • 12. Handling Distractions: Audiences could be disturbed by such things as attendees talking, latecomers looking for seats, noise from cell phones or other electronic devices, and disruptive children. Attendants should be alert to handle distractions in a loving, kind manner. They should closely monitor people congregating by themselves in remote areas. It may become necessary to suggest in a kindly way that such individuals return to their seats. The Quiet Please (CO-132) sign can be used judiciously if someone is disturbing others by talking, making noise, or causing a commotion.

  • 13. Safety: Attendants should be alert at all times to any potentially dangerous or unsafe situations. These could be due to building defects, faulty or unsafe use of chairs, or objects of any kind being left in the aisles. Uneven floors, irregular stairs, seating riser joints, and loose handrails are especially hazardous. When wet floors are encountered, the attendant should direct attendees around the wet area and have it reported to the Cleaning Department. If there are large openings in guard rails where children could fall through and be injured, the attendant should report these to the attendant overseer or his assistant. Children should not be allowed to sit in rows next to railings where they could fall through and injure themselves. In multilevel facilities, attendants should remind individuals not to lean over the railings or place any items on the ledge(s) of the upper level(s). If the attendant cannot correct a situation, he should alert the attendant overseer or his assistant.

  • 14. Emergencies: If a nonmedical emergency arises, attendants should immediately contact the attendant overseer or his assistant for direction. In case of a medical emergency, attendants should immediately notify the First Aid Department so that first-aid personnel can render assistance and call emergency services if necessary. Each attendant should have a flashlight with him in the event of a power failure. He should also be familiar with the location of the First Aid Department and be able to contact it immediately in case of an emergency.

  • 15. Escalators and Elevators: Escalators and elevators should never be left unattended. If possible, elevators should be operated by an attendant. Escalators should have an attendant stationed at the top and at the bottom. These attendants should know how to stop the escalator quickly in case of an emergency. Attendants assigned to escalators and elevators should be alert to how these are being used and should especially assist elderly and young ones to be careful when using them.

  • 16. Stage: Attendants should control access to the stage at all times that the building is open to the public. This should be done in a way that is not distracting to the audience. No one should be allowed on, in front of, or behind the stage in order to take pictures or video at any time during the program. The attendants should also make sure that no one blocks the view of any section of the audience while taking pictures or video.

  • 17. Dealing With Disruptive Individuals: Attendants should be alert to individuals who may enter the premises with ulterior motives. If there is a cause for concern, an attendant should first approach the person and greet him, which may lead to his motives becoming clear. In some cases, it may be necessary to monitor the individual’s activity. If a person begins to act in a disorderly manner, especially if he approaches the stage, the attendant should intervene. If order cannot be restored, he and other attendants should kindly ask the person to leave the premises and should immediately inform the attendant overseer or his assistant. At no time should an attendant initiate physical contact of any kind with the individual.

  • 18. Other Departments: Attendants should be familiar with the location of the Chairman’s Office, the Convention Committee Office, and various departments, such as First Aid and Lost & Found and Checkroom. This will enable them to assist when individuals inquire. Persons inquiring about any accounts-related matters should be directed to the Convention Committee Office.

  • 19. Attendants must always conduct themselves in harmony with the admonition: “Follow the course of hospitality.”—Rom. 12:13; 1 Pet. 2:12.

CO-23-E 5/17

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