[Happy Camper]

There are many members who've not had the opportunity to go to a meet because of distance, cost, etc. We have mini meets often but the big meets are usually in the big cities.

I'd like to open a discussion on how to organize a meet so that more people can share the fun and education of our hobby. There are many issues concerning a meet that will dictate the location, services, schedule, etc.

So to help those considering such an effort, how do you go about organizing a meet? How do you find members in your general location to submit invitations to? What kind of notice time is necessary for a good turnout, etc.....

I've thrown a couple of (mini-meets) gatherings but were in the 20 or less size before the format change here. One could type in a city and find the members listed there. So I have little to offer but hope others that have organized and managed meets could chime in and give some advice and perhaps a structure for planning a successful meet.

 

[fatcat28037]

Start planning 6 months prior to a when you'd like the meet to occur.

Finding local Head-Fiers for the first meet can be a challenge. If you're interested in organizing a meet you've probably been on Head-Fi for a while and aware of a few others in your area (100 mile radius), I'd suggest:

1) contact them and ask if they're interested and if they can add names to a list. use these names to create a PM mailing list.

2) post in the local meetings thread giving a town where the meet would occur and a meet month. don't be more specific about place or date, it's too early in the planning stage.

3) add an Advertisement to your signature, a lot of people will see that.

4) as you gather names ask them for head-fiers they know. add everyone to the PM list.

5) allow 2 to 3 month to put together a list of possible attendees before selecting a venue and date.