Prom Spot - Prom Committee: All Hail the King and Queen!

How could we overlook the prom committee's crowning responsibility? Our timeline will make selecting your prom royalty a snap!

9 Weeks Before the Prom
Get down to business. If you haven't already, now's the time to start sorting out the nitty-gritty details. Prom court committee members will need to set firm dates for nominations and voting, plus create a schedule for overseeing it all.

8 Weeks Before the Prom
It's time to get creative. Recruit your promotions peeps to make stellar posters or flyers that'll let students know that nominations are just around the corner. Be sure to include the dates, times, and locations where students can submit nominatees. And, of course, don't forget your ballots!

7 Weeks Before the Prom
Start getting the word out! Hit the halls to put up your posters and flyers, make announcements in homerooms or assemblies, hang a banner in the school lobby -- in short, do whatever it takes to make sure students know that nominations are coming up!

6 Weeks Before the Prom
It's time to get the ball rolling. For one or two days during your lunch period, first thing in the morning as everyone is coming in, or near the end of the day when students are hanging out, staff your voting table with committee members to get the nominations in. In addition to your posters and ballot box, don't forget to bring plenty of extra pens and pencils. If possible, there should always be more than one person at the table: one to keep track of who's already filling out ballots and another to keep grabbing people and getting them over to your table.

Once nominations have ended, count them up! Since you're probably working with a lot of names during nominations, this might be a lengthy process. (Pizza should you get through it!) You should arrange to have a faculty member or administrator sit in on the tallying so there are no questions about the legitimacy of your count. Once you've figured out who your three frontrunners are for each title, you've got your nominees.

5 Weeks Before the Prom
The results are in! Announce the nominees to the student body during a school assembly, homeroom announcements, or lunch period. Since students are going to be excited by all the prom buzz, now is also a great time to remind them to buy their tickets!

4 Weeks Before the Prom
Get your supplies. Prom court committee members should decide on what to give the prom king and queen. We know it's traditional to give out a crown and tiara, and maybe even sashes, but why not break the mold by giving gifts that fit your theme? For example, if you're having a tiki or tropical theme, have leis made for the prom king and queen. No matter what your theme is, use your imaginations to come up with something original.

3 Weeks Before the Prom
Prepare for voting. The final vote will basically be the nomination process all over again -- you may even be able to reuse some of your promo stuff. You'll want to create new ballots that include the nominees' names, updated posters or flyers that give students the scoop on voting, and a schedule of who's taking care of the tabling.

2 Weeks Before the Prom
Election time! Get out your ballot box and prepare to man the tables. The nominations process will have shown you how this is done, so getting all the votes in should be a breeze. When it's time to count them up, you should again recruit a teacher to help out and supervise, since this vote is critical.

1 Week Before the Prom
Finalize your plans. The committee members in charge of prom court need to get together to run through every last detail of the coronation and assign tasks to each person. You should also decide on an exact prom night schedule and let the whole prom committee know what's up. Decide who will be briefing the MC on what needs to be said (it's a good idea to write something up that you can hand to him or her), who'll be presenting your prom royalty with the gifts, and all the other last-minute responsibilities.

The Day of the Prom
Your preparation will pay off -- as long as you remember to take care of all the last-minute details. Committee members who are in charge of picking up and/or bringing all your supplies to the prom need to run their errands. Don't forget to take at least a minute to sit back and relax! Everything's going according to plan.

The Night of the Prom
It's crown time! But before the party starts, make sure that everything is ready. A committee member will need to talk with the MC, DJ, or faculty member who will be announcing the prom king and queen. Hand over any wording you've prepared, and confirm the timing. Committee members should all gather together one last time to ensure that everyone knows their places. All set? Now sit back and get ready to meet your school's new prom king and queen!

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-- Kate Wood