Tips for starting your own JUB Group Gathering!

[centexfarmer]

I've organized, and help to organize four meets so far; Dallas, Austin and two in San Antonio, and I've discovered a few things that I'd like to share.

For anyone else that has any questions, or tips, this is the thread.

• Start a thread giving a Geographical area that you're willing to meet in, while giving those in that area an opportunity share where they're willing to meet. There may be more members close to you, but not in your immediate area.
• Once you've identified a City, or Town, then decide upon a date that's convenient for everyone else. This is accomplished by asking everyone when they can meet, and then set a time.
• Identify places to stay, for those who might want to stay overnight. Try to make the place near or at where you'll be having your gathering. In my experience this has usually insured that more people might actually make it, or who will be traveling through on that date!
• Identify places where you can gather. A favorite night spot, restaurant, coffee shop, or area attraction.
• Have something there to identify that you're a member of Just Us Boys. This can be done by making a poster, or by wearing a JUB T-Shirt if you have one. Don't forget that, once you have a head count, you can order T-Shirts and have them for your meet. See this thread here: Free Tshirts for JUB Meets - READ ME make sure to allow for plenty of time for Seth to ship them to you!
• Prior to the meet make sure that those who are coming have a way to contact you in case they get lost, or can't find you via PM. Do not share personal information in an Open Forum, this is for your protection. If you're not comfortable, then provide a number to the venue where you'll be having your gathering.
• If you're the organizer, try to arrive half an hour before the meet in case there are any early arrivers. Be on time, and make sure members can find you!
• Have Fun!
• Take Pictures for those who won't mind them being shared.
• Come back to your thread and share how the meeting went for those who weren't able to make it, but were there in spirit!
• Read other posts in this forum to find out how things went, and to help you with ideas about things to do. Learn from other threads and posts.

Safety tips for a Group Gathering:

• Always meet in a public place, never in someone's home.
• Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you're planning on attending a gathering, the person hosting it should be able to answer any and all questions that they you may have.
• Don't share personal contact information in a thread. Conduct all attendees via private correspondence; exchanging of cell phone numbers, email addresses, etc. using our Private Message feature.
• During the event, be aware of your surroundings, and cautious of everyone's safety. Look out for one another.

I hope that these tips are helpful for those who want to organize a gathering, but don't really know how.

If you're the only one who shows up, don't get discouraged. When I helped organize the Austin, Texas meet, nearly a dozen said that they'd attend, but most backed out days before the event. Myself and another member arrived, and we are now good friends both on and off the boards.

The same thing happened when we organized our first gathering in San Antonio. The Second gathering became a "Regional Meet" and we had more than eleven members show up, and some from as far away as South America!

Now eleven people may not seem like a lot, but it's a comfortable size group to accommodate most gathering locations.

In my experience, anyone beyond myself turned out to be a successful meet!

Happy Gathering!

[centexfarmer]

I've opened this thread in case anyone has any questions about putting together a JUB Meet.

Please keep your comments, and posts related to the organization of a JUB Meet, and things that have worked, and things that were a dud, or just how to get things off the ground.

[OrionFyre]

I'd like to chime in about transportation!

I do not drive as many of you may know about me and my biggest worry about the St Louis meet was getting around easily. My absolute biggest worry was getting to the hotel. The organizers did a good job in picking an easily accessible location Union Station which was right off of the Metrolink light rail system.

The planner of the event should take into consideration the travel needs of attendees and select their locations around easy access. Also check if the chosen hotel offers shuttle services to and from the airport, and make this information available on the informational post.

[centexfarmer]

Consideration for your safety, consideration for your guests, and consideration for a successful JUB Meet are always the key.