[wplug-plan] weeknight meetings

[Beth Lynn]

We are going to add weeknight meetings to our events schedule at the 
frequency of 4 times a year. Weeknight meetings will be purposely 
different that GUMs because we will not discuss club business beyond a
few brief announcements. Also, weeknight meetings will never be just
another installfest since we will not have time.

Since it is a different kind of meeting, we have an opportunity to 
experiement with different formats and venues. We are shooting for 
December as the first weeknight meeting. Wednesdays have been
successful in the past. This meeting will not be held at CMU so we
will need to find a place that has free parking, public transportation, 
and welcomes large groups. Wireless is a plus. I'm considering the 
Waterworks  Panara for a venue. The meeting will last only two hours 
(7-9p.m.) We do not need a huge time committment. Suggestions for date, 
time, and venue are welcome.

We also need a format for the meeting. Hopefully these type of meetings 
will attract newbies and gurus. In lieu of a talk, let's try table topics. 
We sit at one table and a facilitator guides the conversation along to 
make sure that everyone is heard. A discussion topic that everyone can 
talk about will be selected. No one should have stage fright since this is 
a social setting - just a bunch of friends chatting over coffee.

For the first hour we will have table topics. The second hour we will also 
try something new - members helping members. This is a time where anybody 
can ask any question no matter how big or small. If we have more than one 
question, we should restrict the time spent on each question (about 15 
minutes) to make sure we get to everybody.

Lastly, we expect people to comment by responding to this thread. 
Discussion will last about a week. Afterward, the program commitee will 
act by booking the room and plugging the event.

Thanks,
Beth Lynn Eicher