Hi All,
Could you all please consider giving me some advices on this slight issue!
It appears that the squadron I am about to take over, was in the early (very early!) planning stages of organising an annual dinner / dining in night.
Could you possibly assist on where on earth I begin?! :worthy:
[attachment=33]DiningInMessRules.rtf[/attachment]
Here’s some mess rules for a start!
I have just the thing for you:
http://regimentalrogue.com/srsub/mess_dinner_organization.htm
Seems like good advice for these things in general.
As you’re just unit over… I suggest ensuring a suitable PMC has been/is appointed and let them do the donkeywork ;)4
(You don’t have a dog and wag the tail yourself do you?)
Don’t forget, if you are North Region and you are inviting a “Senior Officer” serving or retired as your guest of honour you must get permission to invite them from RHQ.
Really?
Yes. really.
Something to do with “them- RHQ” needing to know who is "on their patch"
I was told it was a HQAC policy but I am not convinced of that
[quote=“Gunner” post=4445][attachment=33]DiningInMessRules.rtf[/attachment]
Here’s some mess rules for a start![/quote]
refering to Paragrah L - does the use of “Mr Vice” indicate Vice President??
in my experience (at ACO dinners) Mr Vice has typically been the youngest/least senior person present, but would seem to be correctly assigned to a "Vice President"
we have a Sqn President but yet to know of any vice!
[quote=“Perry Mason” post=4459]As you’re just unit over… I suggest ensuring a suitable PMC has been/is appointed and let them do the donkeywork ;)4
(You don’t have a dog and wag the tail yourself do you?)[/quote]
I’m not - happy days! :woohoo:
[quote=“steve679” post=4465]does the use of “Mr Vice” indicate Vice President??
in my experience (at ACO dinners) Mr Vice has typically been the youngest/least senior person present, but would seem to be correctly assigned to a "Vice President"
we have a Sqn President but yet to know of any vice![/quote]
Yes. The role of Vice President (or Vice Chairman in the WO’s & Sgt’s mess) is assigned by the PMC/CMC traditionally to the junior member of the mess.
In an ATC environment it’s unrelated to the position of “Honorary Squadron President” and seems to be given (as you say) to the most junior cadet.
[quote=“wdimagineer2b” post=4469][quote=“steve679” post=4465]does the use of “Mr Vice” indicate Vice President??
in my experience (at ACO dinners) Mr Vice has typically been the youngest/least senior person present, but would seem to be correctly assigned to a "Vice President"
we have a Sqn President but yet to know of any vice![/quote]
Yes. The role of Vice President (or Vice Chairman in the WO’s & Sgt’s mess) is assigned by the PMC/CMC traditionally to the junior member of the mess.
In an ATC environment it’s unrelated to the position of “Honorary Squadron President” and seems to be given (as you say) to the most junior cadet.[/quote]
I find the junior Cpl makes a better Mr Vice. They have the balls to do the after dinner entertainment better than a shiny new cdt.
Yeah, I’d agree there.
If it’s just to propose the Loyal Toast then the junior cadet is usually suitable.
But if you want to utilise the full ‘Mr Vice role’ then someone with a bit more confidence is appropriate.
[quote=“Gunner” post=4445][attachment=33]DiningInMessRules.rtf[/attachment]
Here’s some mess rules for a start![/quote]
need to write the ‘middle mess members’ rules now ie all the naughty but uncaught/blame passing problems that they cause :evil:
First of all I’d forget anything about mess rules / Mr Vice / PMC and all the etiquette wonders. This comes later.
Decide where you are going to hold said Dinner. Options may be within Squadron building with outside caterers, or it might be at a local Hotel.
If it’s the local hotel, always wise to gauge how friendly they are to youth parties - when I first did a Dinner, many hotels were very reluctant thanks to the infamy the local comprehensive school proms had become at nearly every hotel in the Town.
Then the fun begins - cost. You need to know from an early stage how much Parents are willing to pay. In all the dinners I’ve done, we have tried to keep the Cadet price around the £15, that is three courses, non alcoholic drink and coffee. How you achieve this is then up to you, for example do you ask the Civ Comm to support the financing, do adult staff have a levy put on their price to contribute to the Cadet price etc?
One thing that is good with a Hotel who is willing to play game is they will have someone responsible for said events who will help you organise.
Once venue / cost and so forth is arranged, now the food. I would agree in advance a menu, often the venue will put together a menu with three options for each course. Get you attendees to choose in advance, and let the venue know in advance. They will like you for this.
Who to invite? Believe it or not, this can be rather awkward, especially where Senior Officers / Local Dignitaries and other ‘blue chip’ guests are concerned. My best advice is keep it simple - you may wish to use the dinner as an excuse to smooze certain people, but remember, the dinner is for the Cadets, it’s their Squadron after all. My best recommendation is you stick to one Senior Officer from within the Corps, and one other distinguished guest, this is easy to manage. If you do end up with more Seniors, politely explain to those who won’t be on the top table the why and wherefore’s, then they can decide if they still want to come, and won’t be offended on the night to find they are not on the top table or the centre of the exec’s attentions.
Entertainment - always difficult, remember it is for the Cadets. Disco’s / DJ’s are expensive, as are Bands, and if you don’t have a big Squadron with a good mix of Cadets, it will be a shameless waste of money. My best recommendation is get hold of an Xbox / PS3 and Dance Hero / Guitar Hero / Sing Star or whatever they are called, plug into a projector and speakers and hey presto. Cadets will enjoy, and Staff can have a laugh after the Cadets have gone home and Dutch courage is becoming prevalent. The venue might be able to help with projector / screen / speakers etc.
Time - it will run away very quickly! Start at a good time, if you want a good meal period, then toasts, speeches and awards, I’d recommend being seated at 1900 sharp. This should then allow the Cadets some entertainment time afterwards before sending them home, giving Staff and guests some time at the Bar without Cadets present.
Then you can think of all the mess rules etc - I won’t go into this though as there is plenty of gen on that available.
Hope this helps. PM me if you want any more info.
[quote=“wdimagineer2b” post=4472]Yeah, I’d agree there.
If it’s just to propose the Loyal Toast then the junior cadet is usually suitable.
But if you want to utilise the full ‘Mr Vice role’ then someone with a bit more confidence is appropriate.[/quote]
If you were to use Mr Vice in the traditional role (to hold the top table and ensure everyone behaves until the top table have got to the bar to get their first drink - “entertainment”/embarrassment should be strictly optional) maybe a more senior Mr Vice would be needed.
For an event were most of the attendees most certainly wouldn’t be “hitting” the bar, to save any potential embarrassment or pressure on one cadet to be a “good” Mr Vice, it could perhaps be more sensibly limited to offering the loyal toast. 
[quote=“alexw” post=4880]First of all I’d forget anything about mess rules / Mr Vice / PMC and all the etiquette wonders. This comes later.
Decide where you are going to hold said Dinner. Options may be within Squadron building with outside caterers, or it might be at a local Hotel.[/quote]On the units I’ve been at recently, we’ve found that golf clubs seem to be a good bet.
We use a rugby club. It should be ideal, but unfortunately it’s their staff that make it less than what it could be.
Golf clubs are certainly the most mess-like places I’ve found. Unfortunately, they tend to be expensive.
Masonic Halls are also very “mess like” and usually much more reasonable in terms of pricing
By “mess-like” do we mean smell funny, full of wood panelling, young hyperactive junior members and old cantankerous men?
