AEG Chapter Chair Helpful Hints Getting Started and the First Meeting

Getting Started Find a core group of other interested people in your area(2-4) It is helpful if at least one of your core group has lived in the area for a while and knows the history of geo-groups and/or participates in other meetings Find out the schedule of meetings for other geo-related groups in the area. Develop this into a Geo-Calendar for distribution Poll a small group of people to see what time and type of meeting best suits their schedule Ask the section chair what types of meetings have worked well in the past

Getting Started (cont’d) Get volunteers for officers as soon as possible (look for active volunteers and not someone who must be ‘talked into’ an officer position) Possible officer roles and duties: –VP: organize speakers and meeting topics, help out with meeting prep by arriving early –Treasurer: takes care of financial account, coordinates with section treasurer, collects dues at meetings –Student Liaison: gets in touch with local students and encourages attendance at meetings, organizes annual student night –Field Trip Coordinator: organizes field trips, also is a fill-in for other officers that cannot attend a meeting

Getting Started (cont’d) Develop list for chapter. Include existing AEG Members and, to the extent possible, local members of NGWA, GSA, ASCE Geo-Institute, and others Ask other geo-organizations in the area to forward the meeting announcement for your startup meeting to their listserves. Return the favor by forwarding their meeting announcements to your listserve.

Meeting Ideas Beer or meeting sponsor – local company that donates $100 (or similar) to help fund a free happy hour prior to the meeting, a company rep is invited to give a quick sales pitch of their products and/or services during the announcement part of the meeting Try to pick meeting topics that are pertinent to local geo-practitioners and/or bring in a big name speaker (AEG President or Jahns Lecturer)

Meeting Setup Choose central meeting location For meetings where a meal is served, try and get a 30% markup on dues as compared to per head costs to account for no-shows and to make a small profit Profits will go to future scholarships, help pay for future meetings that may have upfront costs (i.e. student night caterer), and help offset reduced student rates Test the meeting market in your area and charge a reasonable fee (for example, less than $25 for dinner) Charge a low meeting fee for students ($5) to encourage their participation Consider a meeting location close to nearby campuses and one that has adequate parking available

At the meeting Meeting minglers- have an outgoing person (usually an officer) make a special effort to circulate in the entire meeting room and…. –Introduce students to professionals to avoid the student ‘clusters’ –Introduce new professionals or first-time attendees in the area to others

At the meeting Stick to the time schedule for the meeting, generally people do not like meetings to run over the allotted time Example of PHX Chapter meetings: –6-7pm Happy Hour –7-7:45pm Dinner –7:45-8:30pm Announcements and Speaker

After the Meeting Pay the restaurant with any cash that you collected during the meeting (less risk of loss) Add all meeting attendees to the listserve Recruit Chapter Sponsors (this can stabilize the finances a great deal) Consider organizing a seminar