New Club Guidelines [revised]

Here are the guidelines we've adopted to help strengthen and grow our club:

1. Choosing Books – This will remain the same; everyone agreed that the way we’ve been doing it recently is fair and makes a lot of sense
2. Planning/Running Meetings – If the book you nominate is chosen, you will be the host for that meeting. This does NOT mean you have to host at your home, just that you will be in charge of planning. You will need to do the evite or email, pick a food theme, prepare discussion questions and additional info if desired, and lead the discussion.
3. Locations – To cut down on housecleaning stress we will meet at one of three churches during the winter months (and Chevy’s during the summer, plus our pool party). If you are hosting a meeting (see #2) you need to choose which church location works for you. Of course, if you would LIKE to have us at your house, that is still an option – feel free to volunteer whenever you like.
4. Meetings – Each meeting will begin with socialization. This will give us time to catch up with each other before discussing the book. It will be the host’s job to get the meeting started after we socialize, and everyone should avoid side conversations during the discussion.
5. New Members – We are again welcoming new members into the club. As before, you are welcome to bring a friend to one meeting. If the group agrees that the new person is a good fit then she will be invited to join the club. This “one-meeting-trial” will hopefully prevent any problems with overbearing or otherwise problematic new members.
6. Help – I’m willing to help any of you with planning a meeting, especially those who have never done it before. Please don’t hesitate to ask for suggestions or assistance if you need/want it.
   

These decisions were based on the emails I received when I asked for suggestions, the discussion at our January meeting, and input from all our current members. Hopefully these guidelines will give everyone more ownership of the club and spread the responsibilities more evenly.