National Bahá’í Schools

Ideas from the Committees—Binding Hearts in Fellowship Activities

Tennessee’s “Welcome Garden” Registration

Tennessee Bahá'í School has a vision of creating a welcoming, efficient, on-site registration area which would help guests make the transition from the outside world to the spiritual atmosphere of Bahá'í School.

The lobby of the main building will be transformed into the Tennessee Baha'i School "Welcome Garden". We will have roses and ferns filling the lobby area, with nature music playing softly in the background. TBS committee members and assistants will be there to welcome our guests as they arrive. Committee members and their assistants will be attired in some sort of uniform with prominent name badges displayed.

As guests enter, they will be greeted, offered a cool drink and Hawaiian lei, and invited to leave the material world behind and enter the "Welcome Garden". They will be asked if they have pre-registered. If they have, they may proceed down the hall to the registration area. If not, they will be invited to sit at one of the tables to fill out the registration sheet. However, care will be taken to ensure that the Garden does not become a meeting place. This is simply a place to shake the road dust off your shoes, prepare for registration, and make registration as quick and painless as possible.

As guests enter the registration are, they will be directed to one of three tables. Signs will be placed above and behind the tables. The choices are:

1. Pre-Registered with no changes: guests will check in with the registrar, receive their packets with any materials, meal tickets and room keys, and quickly exit the registration area.
   
2. Pre-Registered with changes: guests will check in at the appropriate desk, make their changes and receive their packet, proceed to the treasurer's desk to settle any outstanding fees, and receive updated meal tickets if required.
   
3. Not Pre-Registered: guests will check in at the appropriate desk with their completed registration form, make any needed changes, proceed to the treasurer's desk to settle any outstanding fees, and receive a packet of information with appropriate meal tickets.

All guests will be directed to the auditorium for a "Community Gathering". The auditorium will be arranged with chairs in 4 to 6 circles, with committee members there to greet newcomers and ensure they are welcomed into a group of friends for informal discussions/conversation. The format is free-flowing, with no mentor or discussion leader. The idea is to have a comfortable place for the friends to gather together and converse. The library next to the auditorium will have snacks and coffee/tea. We will ask a local Bahá'í community to sponsor this event.

At 10pm, the TBS committee will come together in the auditorium for introductions, any announcements and a short prayer session. This will give some closure to the first night at Tennessee Bahá'í School.

Thoughts:

1. Create a couple of large maps of the campus that are TBS specific. Have "You are here" and all the buildings / rooms labeled with their functions. Have these on tripods in the lobby and outside the auditorium.
2. Print schedules on colored paper (red for children, blue for adults, etc) and place in all prominent areas. We can print generic timetables on one sheet for the packets, and have the specifics on the posted schedules. This can save us from printing many copies. The schedules will be in large, easy to read type with minimal information. Who, when and where.
3. We will have large professional signs directing folks to registration, as well as the signs over the functional desks in the registration area.
4. We will have a professional sign over the entranceway to the lobby with the words "Entering the Welcome Garden" to help guests transition from the material world to the spiritual world.
5. All tables will be covered with skirts. Our aim is to make the atmosphere as welcoming and elegant as possible on a budget.
6. There will be no place for guests to sit in the registration area. The goal is to move them as quickly through the area as possible.
   

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