Are quarterly meetings right for the Minnesota Chapter of ALOA?

The question has been raised whether the membership of MNALOA would be better served by fewer meetings.

The quarterly, weekend meeting has clear merit for members outside the metro area who would prefer not to be driving two, three or more hours home after a Wednesday meeting that routinely gets out at 9 pm.

Neighboring chapter Fox Valley has quarterly, Saturday meetings and Iowa is on a less-set schedule than that, frequently incorporating their meetings into education events. It works well for them: the meetings are longer, often on weekends, and the education programming is generally more substantial than we are able to offer in the monthly, mid-week meeting format.

In favor of the monthly meeting: it's great to have a regular pattern that everyone remembers.  First Wednesday of the month? Synonymous with MN locksmiths (except in July and August). High frequency mid-week meetings offer a natural bookend on a work day and a casual, consistent networking opportunity.

It is also relatively easy to get a variety of free educational speakers for short presentations during the week. The targeted greater substance of Saturday programming would potentially come at a cost which would need to be accounted for.

It will undoubtably be a point of discussion at the next board meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, March 18th, 6pm at the Golden Gate Cafe located in the Midway Shopping Center, 1464 University Avenue West, St Paul, MN 55104. And, of course, at regular monthly meetings which will continue at Grumpy's until further notice (details under "Minnesota Chapter Meetings" tab above).