HNS Chesapeake Bay Area Chapter
Contact: Meg Wessell
Latest plans
– We’re sticking with the DC metro area because it’s still the best midpoint for everyone. The location is going to be rotating between southern Maryland (the Bethesda/Silver Spring/Hyattsville areas), northern Virginia (Alexandra/Arlington and potentially Springfield and Sterling/Reston), and the NPG in DC.
I had a number of people who really like the NPG site for meetings, so we’re going to keep it in the rotation. Rotating the spots means that all members have the best chance of making maybe 2-3 out of 4 meetings. This is likely going to mean some trial-and-error as we try out locations and see what works, so please bear with us.
– The quarterly meetings will still be Saturdays. Of everyone I’ve heard from, there was a decided majority in favour of noon or 1:00 as start times. Easy access to food is going to be a big factor in choosing meeting places, whether we meet somewhere with food for sale or brown-bag it.
– In-between meetings are going to be happening on a more informal basis. I’ve had a few awesome people offer to host, I’m happy to open my place as well, and this is our chance to go a bit further afield.
I got a few really fantastic suggestions from people that fall outside the DC metro area, but will be great for in-between meetings, so this is the best way I can think of to incorporate them. This is also where book festivals will go,. I got a LOT of feedback that it’s been really hard to have formal meetings at the Gaithersburg Festival, but that it makes for a great place to hang out, talk shop, and bond in person.
– Online meetings will also be a thing, most likely by Skype, and the goal is once a month. More details to follow, but this won’t start until March or April as Meg and I may need to recruit someone into running the online meetings.
– Once a year, we’re going to have a more dressy get-together, and again, we’re going to be a bit more far-flung here. We’re looking at wineries, restaurants, and other nice places with adult beverages and food. This will most likely be a late afternoon/evening event. We’re looking at making this a chapter anniversary event and this is where we get to show off our local hotspots! I think with enough notice for travel/childcare purposes, we can manage going farther afield and potentially make these near historical locations.
