By Sharon Cherubin, Executive Director, UNITEPA

There are so many reasons to host a town hall forum, especially in today's political climate. The American people are awake and are willing to engage in the conversation on levels never seen before. One of the biggest reasons to host a town hall is to enlighten, educate and well arm your community with useful information. The topic of your town hall should come naturally. It is usually the issue that your organization is most passionate about. Now that you have the interest, the passion and the subject, it is time to bring it all together with the assistance of your organization.

Delegate: Organizing your group is probably the hardest part. It is "like herding cats." However, assigning an "Event Coordinator" is always wise. They will be in charge of overseeing the entire event while the Organizational Leader oversees their efforts. Remember, you can always delegate authority but you can never delegate responsibility. In other words, pick someone you trust or someone that already holds that position. As a grassroots organizer, you many be in the infantile stage of your organization so be patient. Most people have no clue what it means to be "grassroots." This is a new endeavor to over half of the American population. So as an experienced leader, lead but give your Committee Leader room to grow and learn also.

Logistics: As the Events Coordinator, his/her job is now to find a location for your venue, pick a date and time (two hours is usually sufficient for the length of the forum). There are many churches, fire halls, libraries, schools and businesses that rent rooms for a small fee. You want the town hall to be in a facility where people are comfortable and a place that has access to microphones, overhead system or drop down screen, depending on the needs of your speakers. Borrow or rent a podium so that the speaker has a place to review his/her notes. The date may depend on the availability, so be flexible, but give yourself at least six weeks to plan.

Speakers: While you are trying to secure a facility, you can also be researching appropriate speaker(s) for the forum. Many larger political organizations will have a "Speakers Bureau" or know of speakers that meet your needs. i.e. The Commonwealth Foundation is a terrific resource for speakers. Another great resource is the other grassroots groups. There are hundreds of grassroots organizations across Pennsylvania that may have already hosted a similar forum, so no need to reinvent the wheel. Legislators, of course, are also available to speak at your town hall depending on their crazy schedules. They will have a person assigned to handling his/her schedule so you will have a contact person.

Marketing: Two to three days prior to your event send out a press release to all of the local papers, TV stations and radio stations. You may also want to contact them a week in advance to inquire about media coverage and give them a heads up on the event. I would not expect much of a response unless it is a really hot topic and it is newsworthy. Also, contact all of the grassroots groups in your email listing and social networking groups to let them know about the town hall. You can also place an ad in the paper or have a local radio station announce the event. Some radio and TV stations will also let you submit your event information on their event calendar online. You will be amazed at how the word will get spread if your topic is on point with the issue of the day.

Day of the Event: The day of your event, ensure that your organization is dressed appropriately in their group t-shirts or wearing badges for identification. You may also provide badges for the speakers so when the audience engages them, they know who they are speaking to. This is an easy task, but it makes things much more professional. Have a "mailing list sign up sheet" for the attendees. Adding to your mailing list is key. Part of the town hall is also about marketing your group. Only your group is going to advertise who you are and what you stand for, so take advantage of the situation. I recommend about 10-12 volunteers to assist with signing up for the mailing list, handing out brochures, assisting folks with questions and helping them find a seat. One or two volunteers will also be needed to pass around the microphone for questions. Holding the questions to the end has worked best for our organization.

At the end of the town hall, it is good business practice to present a gift to your speakers that are not legislators or elected officials. This is done subtly as a token of appreciation. Some folks may have driven 3-4 hours to speak at an event and would certainly appreciate a special thank you. And of course, take lots of photos and if you can, videotape the event. Post this on your website, Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites.