Delegates from the Campus Activities Board will attend a National Association of Campus Actvities conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Saturday to search for talent to bring to MSU students next year.
Universities use the NACA to book national acts on campuses. Over 400 delegates from schools across the nation will be attending the conference to see what acts will be available for next year.
NACA is the nation’s largest collegiate organization for campus activities. The group works with talent agencies and colleges, helping provide entertainment to campuses across the country.
“We are the link between education and entertainment,” said NACA member service assistant Carly Roberts.
Brynn Burns, a junior marketing major who will serve as CAB student director next year, and CAB adviser Kelly Nesbit will represent the university at the conference.
While at the NACA conference, MSU’s delegates will have the opportunity to hear speakers such as Nancy Cartwright, the voice behind Bart Simpson and bands like Blessid Union of Souls.
The purpose of the conference is to get schools in the same geographical area together and book acts to come to their schools, Nesbit said. When schools close to each other book acts in the same time period, everyone saves money on artists’ fees.
“This conference gives us the opportunity to see many of the new acts and artists that will be available for the upcoming school year,” Nesbit said.
Attending the conference gives CAB delegates a chance to create ideas and actually see the performers they would like to bring to campus, Raymond Brooks, associate director of The Colvard Union.
Brooks, who has attended NACA conferences before, said the event also gets CAB members energized for the next school year.
“It’s almost like going to cheerleading camp,” Brooks said.
Besides entertainment, the conference will also include educational sessions on subjects like publicity and time management, to help campus activities groups plan events better.
“The conference is a balance of education and activities,” Nesbit said. “There are educational sessions offered on a range of helpful topics and there are great roundtable discussions throughout the conference.”
Though the conference falls on Valentine’s Day this year, Nesbit said she does not mind.
“No big deal,” Nesbit said. “I’ll just celebrate a day early.”