This sample shows how IDCI prepares a meeting and an event so that the time goes to conversation. It presents the materials prepared for a committee meeting and a networking breakfast at a national transit conference.
These materials come from committee service, not from a client engagement. Debra A. Hunter, President and CEO of IDCI, chairs the Small Business Committee of the American Public Transportation Association’s Business Members Board of Governors. She prepared the Committee’s meeting agenda, the orientation video, the Partnership Passport, and the breakfast operations guide for TRANSform & Expo 2026 in Chicago. We removed the names of other individuals and organizations from the agenda and the run of show.
1 · Our approach
Time, lead, and purpose
Every agenda item carries a time, a lead, and a purpose, so the meeting ends on schedule with its decisions made.
The agenda does the pre-reading
The committee objectives, the leadership introductions, and the discussion questions travel with the agenda, so meeting time goes to conversation.
Decisions as questions
A pending decision reaches the room as a short set of questions, which lets members decide in minutes.
Structure that serves conversation
At the breakfast, timed rounds, a prepared floor team, and a passport for each attendee turn introductions into follow-up.
Ambassadors, not labor
Volunteers serve as ambassadors who greet guests and make introductions. The venue handles setup and logistics.
2 · The work product — excerpt
The committee met for forty-five minutes on the first afternoon of the conference. The next morning, transit agencies, prime contractors, and small firms shared twenty tables for seventy-five minutes.
1. Welcome. Introductions of the Chair, the Vice Chair, and the staff liaison; the committee objectives (page 2).
Chair
1:20 – 1:25
2. Sharing insight: the value small businesses bring to the industry (page 3).
Vice Chair
1:25 – 1:45
3. Attendee introductions. About one minute each: name, role, company, and a fun fact.
All
1:45 – 1:48
4. Announcement: the Business to Business Networking Breakfast. Every attendee views the video and prepares a passport; the Committee calls for ambassadors (page 3).
Chair
1:48 – 1:50
5. Town hall scheduling. Should the Committee hold a series? In which format: a webinar, an open forum, or office hours? How often?
Chair
1:50 – 1:52
6. Call for volunteers: subcommittee sign-up under the four objectives: Enhanced Visibility and Recognition, Strategic Resource Development, Business Growth Facilitation, and Advocacy and Support.
Chair
1:52 – 2:00
7. Open discussion and next steps.
All
Three supporting pages travel with the agenda: the leadership introductions and committee objectives, a one-page insight on the value small businesses bring to the industry, and the questions for the town hall decision.
Orientation video
Every breakfast attendee received this ten-minute orientation before the conference. It explains why a short list of prepared conversations outperforms a stack of business cards, how to use the passport, and how to follow up within 48 hours.
Breakfast run of show
Business to Business Networking Breakfast
Coordinator timeline and six-round cadence
Monday, October 5, 2026 6:30 AM – 7:45 AM CDT Twenty tables
Time
Event
Ambassador focus
6:15 – 6:30
Team briefing
The coordinator gathers the ambassadors, distributes clipboards, table directories, and identity buttons, and tests the chime.
6:30 – 6:40
Doors open
Ambassadors greet guests at the entrance and encourage them to fill a plate and choose a first table.
6:40 – 6:50
Round 1; warning chime at 6:47
Icebreakers and card trading; the warning chime prompts tables to record notes in their passports.
6:50 – 7:00
Round 2; warning chime at 6:57
Traffic flows between rows, and guests change sectors to find complementary firms.
7:00 – 7:10
Round 3; warning chime at 7:07
Ambassadors watch the transit agency table and redirect waiting guests to nearby subconsultant tables.
7:10 – 7:20
Round 4; warning chime at 7:17
Ambassadors help late arrivals find open seats at active tables.
7:20 – 7:30
Round 5; warning chime at 7:27
Guests sort contacts as direct opportunities or referrals.
7:30 – 7:40
Round 6; warning chime at 7:37
The final round keeps momentum high as breakfast winds down.
7:40 – 7:45
Closing chime
The coordinator thanks the attendees, reminds them of the 48-hour follow-up, and directs them to the general sessions.
Three approaches for the floor
A guest sitting alone
An ambassador steps in, asks which part of the industry the guest wants to reach, and makes an introduction at an active table.
A long line at a popular table
An ambassador asks the line to keep conversations brief and points waiting guests to subconsultants who pursue the same agency contracts.
A group that misses the rotation
An ambassador breaks the huddle at the chime and reminds the group to trade cards and mark their passports before the next round.
Three floor zones give each ambassador a set of tables, so the whole room has coverage from the entrance to the buffet line.
Each attendee carried a passport with a page for every connection: who the person is, how the two connected, the contact type, and the follow-up actions with a date.
Partnership Passport
View only. Use the arrows, the thumbnails, or your arrow keys to turn the pages; on a phone, swipe.
The excerpt pages are available for viewing at idcinc.net/worksamples/meeting-facilitation.html and are not reproduced in print.
3 · What the sponsor gains
✓
Decisions and volunteers. A short meeting produces decisions and volunteers rather than announcements alone.
✓
Prepared participants. Every participant arrives prepared and leaves with named contacts and a plan for follow-up.
✓
More meetings that matter. Agencies and prime contractors meet more small firms in one hour than an unstructured reception allows.
✓
A repeatable format. The committee can repeat the format at its next conference.
4 · How we work, and what we will not do
Timed agenda
Every item with its time block, lead, and supporting page.
Participant preparation
A short orientation video and a passport for recording connections and planning follow-up within 48 hours.
Run of show and ambassador guide
A minute-by-minute timeline, floor zones, and approaches for common situations on the floor.
What we will not do
We do not fill an agenda with reports members could read in advance, and we do not script conversations. The structure exists to give people room to talk.
Questions about any of this?
If you are planning a meeting or an event that has to produce results, the fastest way through is a conversation. Bring the agenda, the audience, or the part of this sample you want tested. Thirty minutes is usually enough to establish whether we are the right fit for the work.