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Board Day, Day Of: A Runbook for the EA Holding the Clipboard

By the Vantly team · Research checked October 2026

It is 7:15 a.m. on board day. The room is set, the coffee is on, and you have a clipboard in your hand. Before the day ends, something will break: a director's flight slips, the dial-in echoes, a revised slide arrives after the packs are printed, or lunch lands in the middle of the CFO's section. None of that has to become a crisis. A calm board day is not one where nothing goes wrong. It is one where every likely problem already has an owner, a phone number and a first move written down. The runbook below covers the ten things that break most often on board and leadership meeting days: the call sheet, the venue contact, AV backup, materials, seating, late arrivals, dietary needs, NDAs, spend authority and medical. Print it, put it on your clipboard and work through it.

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It is 7:15 a.m. on board day. The room is set, the coffee is on, and you have a clipboard in your hand. Before the day ends, something will break: a director's flight slips, the dial-in echoes, a revised slide arrives after the packs are printed, or lunch lands in the middle of the CFO's section.

None of that has to become a crisis. A calm board day is not one where nothing goes wrong. It is one where every likely problem already has an owner, a phone number and a first move written down. The runbook below covers the ten things that break most often on board and leadership meeting days: the call sheet, the venue contact, AV backup, materials, seating, late arrivals, dietary needs, NDAs, spend authority and medical. Print it, put it on your clipboard and work through it.

Still choosing the venue or format? Start with How EAs run board and leadership meeting days that feel calm — /guides/board-meeting-planning-for-executive-assistants. For the night-before confirmations, see The day before your company offsite: a runbook — /guides/company-offsite-day-before-runbook. This guide picks up on the morning itself.

What goes on the clipboard

A few printed pages, in this order: the call sheet, the run-of-show (sessions, breaks, lunch, executive session), the signed-off seating plan, the dietary list by name, the "if this breaks" table (below) and an essentials strip: venue address, room name, WiFi network, dial-in link, nearest urgent care and hospital.

Keep paper even if it is all on your phone. Phones die, and a printed sheet can be handed to a colleague in two seconds.

The board day call sheet

A call sheet is a one-page contact list for the day. On a board day it needs a few roles an offsite call sheet does not, because governance and confidentiality questions come up alongside logistics.

Board day call sheet template

Role | Name | Mobile | Owns on the day | Backup

Clipboard holder (you) | | | Run-of-show, first call for any logistics problem |

Chief of staff / executive sponsor | | | Agenda changes, people decisions, escalations |

Board chair's point of contact | | | Chair's arrival, briefing and any chair requests |

General counsel / corporate secretary | | | Quorum, minutes, confidentiality, NDA questions |

Spend authority | | | Approves unplanned costs up to the agreed limit |

Venue contact on the floor | | | Room, access, temperature, housekeeping, other guests |

AV / IT contact | | | Screen, audio, dial-in, WiFi, router resets |

Kitchen / catering lead | | | Coffee, lunch, dinner, dietary needs |

Car service / transport | | | Director pick-ups, late arrivals, departures |

First-aid lead | | | First point of contact for illness or injury |

Three rules: every role has a backup, including you; every number is a mobile answered today, not a switchboard; and the sheet goes only to the people on it, because it reveals who is attending. Ask the venue contact not to forward it.

One named venue contact, on the floor

The person who sold you the room is rarely the person who can fix the room at 8:40 a.m. Before the day, ask the venue a direct question: who is our contact on the floor today, from setup to close, and what is their mobile?

Then, on arrival:

  • Walk the room together. Agree temperature, blinds, coffee refreshes and where staff wait during sessions.
  • Agree how they reach you without entering the room. A text beats a knock.
  • Ask who else is in the building today. Other groups on the floor change where directors take calls.
  • Confirm the hard times: when the room must be clear and whether you can run late.

If there is a shift change, get the new name and mobile before the first person leaves.

AV backup: decide Plan B before Plan A fails

A frozen screen in front of directors feels much longer than it is. Decide your fallbacks in advance, so that when something fails you are choosing, not inventing.

If this fails | Plan B | Plan C

Presenter laptop or deck | Backup laptop with every deck preloaded | Printed pack; presenter talks from paper

Screen or projector | Second screen or a spare display from the venue | Printed slides handed around

Venue WiFi | Wired line for the presenter | Cellular hotspot kept in your kit

Remote director's audio | Dial-in by phone as well as video | Call the director on a mobile on speaker

Room microphones | Swap to a spare or a conference speakerphone | Move remote participants to phone audio

Before the first director arrives:

  • Run a live speed test in the room with other devices connected.
  • Test the dial-in with a real remote participant who can confirm they hear the far end of the table.
  • Load every final deck on the main laptop and a backup drive, and open each once.
  • Keep HDMI and USB-C adapters, a clicker, chargers and a power strip in reach.
  • Confirm who resets the router if the connection drops mid-session.

For a deeper connectivity check, see How to check venue WiFi for corporate offsites — /guides/how-to-check-venue-wifi-for-corporate-offsites.

Board materials on the day

  • Know which version is final. Log deck name, version and time received, so a 7:50 a.m. revision never leaves you guessing what is on screen.
  • Agree a late-change rule with your chief of staff in advance: reprint, screen only, or circulate afterward.
  • Number printed packs if the content is sensitive, and record who has which number.
  • Keep spares under your control, not on a hallway side table.
  • Collect at the end, then shred or return per company policy. Clear the screen, shared laptops and whiteboard before releasing the room.

Seating on the day

The plan is already signed off by your executive or chief of staff. Your job today is to hold it.

  • Place cards out before anyone arrives.
  • Check sightlines to the screen and the camera for remote participants.
  • Give presenters a waiting room between sections, not the hallway.
  • Send swaps upstairs. A director who wants to move, or an unexpected observer, is a decision for the chair's office or chief of staff. "Let me check with [name]" is enough.
  • Executive session. Know who leaves the room, where they wait and who tells them to come back.

Late arrivals and remote directors

Late directors are one of the most predictable board day problems, so treat them as routine.

  • Track arrivals live: name, expected time, how they are traveling, status.
  • Give the car service your mobile and ask drivers to text on pick-up and when close.
  • Send the dial-in to anyone running late so they can join remotely until they arrive.
  • Quorum is not your call. If a delay may affect who is present for a vote, tell the general counsel or corporate secretary immediately. They decide whether the agenda order changes.
  • Update the kitchen if a late arrival will miss a meal, or if a director who was due remotely now appears in person.

Dietary needs and the working lunch

Dietary mistakes are easy to prevent and awkward to fix in front of directors.

  • Names, not totals. Mark severe allergies clearly and ask how the kitchen handles cross-contact.
  • Get a same-morning read-back from the catering lead, and confirm who cooks each meal: venue kitchen, caterer or dinner restaurant.
  • Time service to breaks. Staff wait for your text before entering.
  • Choose quiet food for a working lunch, easy to eat while listening.
  • Label plates or place cards for anyone with an allergy.

NDA and confidentiality on the day

Drivers, caterers, AV technicians and venue staff are all near market-sensitive content today.

  • Know who has signed what. If vendor NDAs are required, keep the signed list on the clipboard. Questions go to counsel, using your company's own form.
  • Keep names generic. Signage, WiFi and the room booking say "leadership meeting," not the board or the topic.
  • Clear the room for sensitive sessions, and agree how to reach AV if something fails while they are out.
  • No photos, no tagging by the venue or vendors.
  • Watch the hallway. Point directors to a private room for calls.

Spend authority: who can say yes today

Something unplanned will cost money: an extra car, a replacement adapter, a reprint, a late dinner change. Agree before the day who can approve spend, up to what limit and on which card. The limit is the budget owner's call, not yours to guess.

Put the name and limit on the call sheet, and log every receipt with a short reason. Without a named approver, small problems wait until someone senior steps out of the boardroom.

Medical and first aid

Leaders can feel unwell on a long day like anyone, and usually want little fuss.

  • Know where both first-aid kits are, yours and the venue's, and who is trained.
  • Keep emergency contacts private, shared only when needed.
  • In an emergency, call emergency services first (911 in the US), then your chief of staff. Do not wait for a break.
  • Agree a quiet room with the venue where someone can sit away from the group.

When something breaks: the "if this breaks" table

The point is not to solve everything yourself, but to know your first move and who decides.

What breaks | Your first move | Who decides

Director delayed | Send dial-in, update arrival list, tell counsel if a vote may be affected | Chair's office / general counsel

Deck will not load | Switch to backup laptop or printed pack | You, then tell the presenter

Dial-in fails | Move remote participants to phone audio, call AV contact | You and AV contact

Late slide revision | Log the version, follow the agreed late-change rule | Chief of staff

Unexpected guest or observer | Hold them outside the room politely | Chair's office / chief of staff

Dietary mistake at lunch | Ask the kitchen for a replacement plate | You and catering lead

Unplanned cost | Call the spend authority with the reason and amount | Spend authority

Someone unwell | First-aid lead; emergency services if serious | First-aid lead / emergency services

Confidentiality slip (wrong person in room, visible document) | Quietly remove the person or document, note it | Chief of staff / counsel

When you escalate, bring a two-line note: what happened and the two options. Leaders answer that faster than an open question.

Printable day-of runbook

Before the first director arrives

  • Venue contact met; mobile, hard times and other groups confirmed
  • Room temperature, water and coffee set
  • Speed test in the room; dial-in tested with a real remote participant
  • Every deck loaded on the main and backup laptop; adapters and clicker in reach
  • Place cards out, matching the signed-off seating plan
  • Numbered packs counted; spares under your control
  • Kitchen read-back on the dietary list and service times
  • Car service has your mobile; arrival list ready
  • Spend authority, limit and card on the call sheet
  • First-aid kit located; urgent care on the essentials strip

During the day

  • Arrival list updated; dial-in sent to anyone running late
  • Coffee and lunch timed to breaks
  • Executive session: room cleared, waiting area ready
  • Receipts logged with a reason

At close

  • Numbered packs collected; leftovers shredded or returned
  • Screens, shared laptops and whiteboards cleared
  • Departures confirmed; lost items logged
  • Debrief notes: what broke, what worked

When a local event designer holds part of the clipboard

Many EAs run board days entirely in-house, and with a familiar venue a runbook like this is often enough. It gets harder when the board meets somewhere new, the day runs into a dinner and an overnight, or several vendors each hold a piece of it.

When a local event designer runs the event, the venue, kitchen, AV and car service can move off your clipboard, and you stay the link to the chair's office and your chief of staff. At Vantly, local event designers shape tailor-made board days and leadership meetings and can run them on the day, with one point of contact rather than a chain of separate vendors. You can see sample events, which are examples a designer tailors to your group, not fixed packages.

If you would like a designer to look at your next board day, you can get a custom quote.

FAQ

What goes on a board meeting call sheet?

For each role (you, chief of staff, chair's contact, general counsel or corporate secretary, spend authority, venue, AV, catering, car service, first aid): a name, a mobile answered on the day, what they own and a backup. Share it only with the people on it.

What is a good AV backup plan for a board meeting?

Decide Plan B and C in advance: a backup laptop with every deck, printed packs, a wired line or hotspot, and phone audio for remote directors. Test the dial-in with a real remote participant before directors arrive.

What should you do if a director is running late?

Send the dial-in, update your arrival list and tell the kitchen if they will miss a meal. If a vote may be affected, tell the general counsel or corporate secretary right away; they decide on agenda changes.

How do you keep board materials confidential on the day?

Number packs and record who has each, keep spares under your control, use generic names on signage and WiFi, agree when vendors step out, and collect packs at the end.

Who should approve unplanned spending on board day?

One named person, with a backup, approving up to a limit the budget owner sets in advance, on a specific card. Log every receipt with a short reason.

Sources

Public community threads that informed the questions this runbook answers (URLs only, no quotes):