To avoid last minute panic — or for that matter panic at any time — here are a few things you absolutely must not be caught without:

• Two-sided tape for affixing messages and notices to whatever they need to be attached to. Also Scotch and masking tape.
• Duct tape, the handyperson’s best friend, for fixing almost anything, for taping unsightly and potentially hazardous electric wiring and computer cabling to the floor or podium, and other endless uses.
• Stapler, staples and staple remover.
• A small toolkit. Screwdriver with assorted blades. Small box of screws.  Scissors and pliers, for cutting and tightening. A utility knife.
• Extra name tags—someone is always a last-minute addition, and people, inexplicably, routinely lose their name tags.
• Markers in various colors and pens/pencils.
• Whiteout.
• Your cell phone and/or beeper—and phone charger or extra battery. If you don’t have a cell phone—rent one. Invaluable for checking reservations, and transportation emergencies.
• Parking vouchers for the venue.
• An easy-to-carry notepad or notebook, with several pens.
• Mini first-aid kit.
• Kleenex.
• Breath Mints. Maalox for nervous or dyspeptic keynote speakers.
• Air-bills for shipping materials to and from the office, if it’s out-of-town. Courier slips or cab chits for in-town meetings or conferences.
• Your laptop computer, fully charged, with charger and phone cord for your modem.
• At least one diskette with backup copies of the agenda, and all the signage etc. for last-minute changes or extra copies at Kinko’s.
• An easily accessible printed list of important phone numbers and all contacts for all planned activities, and emergency numbers for computer repair/rental, cab company, etc.
• Rubber bands.
• Note cards to make extra place cards in a pinch. Also for guests who use note cards for last-minute speech changes.
• Cash for tipping.
• Comfortable shoes, an extra jacket, especially in summer, to deal with over-vigorous air-conditioning. Wear something with pockets for quick tipping and easy access to business cards.
  © 2022Yvon Douran