maybe
we create a system where Wikimania bidding teams get a grant to hire a
staff person for a year to help with organizing, there are many options
we could explore.
I would be very open to having help with some of the event planning.
Speaking from experience organizing conferences for the government, we did have an event planner working with us to help negotiate with the venue, the caterer, etc., to scope out the venue and handled logistics for travel / scholarships. The help with negotiating costs helps offset the cost of hiring the person.
My role for myself and my colleague were to organize the program (where knowing about the subject matter was important) and we had ultimate authority to make decisions.
If we could hire her (or someone) to help our local team in DC, then I would be much more comfortable with going forward with a bid for Wikimania.
Though, having such help doesn't alleviate the need for a strong local team of volunteers to handle key aspects of organizing.
Cheers,
Katie (@aude)