Determination of the Athena Meeting and Activity Schedule
Setting the Meeting Schedule
Athena tries to have monthly meetings.
Sometimes when there are a lot of other events (conventions, other
gatherings, etc.) the crew may decide to skip a month.
Please note that there are some people who joined Athena
primarily to receive the newsletter but pay for a full membership (as
opposed to the newsletter subscription-only membership) because they
want to retain the option to be more active and participate in
ship-wide votes. Many of these people will never attend a meeting.
We are flexible and do not require people to attend a certain number
of meetings or functions within a set period of time. Some groups have
that our requirement, but ours doesn't.
[
Set Meeting Schedule |
Driving Factors |
Plan Meeting |
Schedule Changes |
Event Schedule
]
Scheduling Driving Factors
There are several driving factors behind the meeting schedule
and location:
- Meetings are scheduled so they do not conflict with any
major convention (Shore Leave, Farpoint, Novacon, Vulkon-Baltimore,
etc.)
- Free meeting space in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties is limited.
Many public libraries will not allow booking a room more than 3 months
in advance. We are limited by when there is available space.
- Members are from all over the Northern Virginia area. Meetings
are sometimes
rotated around the area to make the meeting more convenient to some of
the Athena population. This was a decision made by Athena in 1996 and
is reviewed from time to time.
- Due to copyright and similar restrictions, showing taped episodes
or similar
material at a public library is frowned upon. It is better to do the
viewing at a member's house.
- Some meeting activities just aren't suited for a library. The
crew needs a change of pace.
- The crew may elect to combine a meeting with an activity.
[
Set Meeting Schedule |
Driving Factors |
Plan Meeting |
Schedule Changes |
Event Schedule
]
Annual Planning Meeting
We used to have a planning meeting every January. Then we discovered
that the very organizations (Shore Leave, Farpoint, Meetup, etc.) that
we tried to schedule around didn't have their schedules set as far
out, so we kept ending up with schedule conflicts, rescheduling, etc.
Today, we plan a couple of months out for monthly gatherings with the
goal of trying to miss most of the potential scheduling conflicts. We
also have events come up such as a nearby organization asking if we
want to join them for an outing. These are all advertised on our
club's email lists.
[
Set Meeting Schedule |
Driving Factors |
Plan Meeting |
Schedule Changes |
Event Schedule
]
Changes to the Schedule
Changes can and will occur in the schedule. These are due to forces beyond
our control, and the best that can be done is to notify the
crew.
Decisions on snow or rain dates for meetings and events will
be determined by the CO, the available department chiefs, and the
organizer of the event. The department chiefs will be notified of the
final decision by phone, and it will be their responsibility to notify
the people in their department.
Any other changes to the meeting
schedule will be communicated in writing. There is an event schedule
in every published newsletter. The Athena web page is updated
regularly with event information and driving directions. In addition,
if waiting for the next newsletter is too long, a letter will be sent
to the crew notifying them of the change.
If there are any
questions about times, locations, and directions to any Athena event,
contact your department chief, the CO, the organizer for the event, or
the XO.
[
Set Meeting Schedule |
Driving Factors |
Plan Meeting |
Schedule Changes |
Event Schedule
]
Athena Events
The schedule of events is determined by
the crew. Anyone who has an idea for an activity, tour, etc. is
strongly encouraged to express their idea to the crew. If you cannot
make it to a meeting, then contact the CO or XO.
Ideas cannot be
brought to fruition unless there is someone to organize the event.
Remember, you don't have to do it alone. You can recruit other
people to help and delegate responsibility. However, without someone
stepping up to organize an event, it just will not
happen.
Scheduling and changes to schedules for events are subject
to the same driving forces as in the "Meeting
Schedule" sections of this document.
[
Set Meeting Schedule |
Driving Factors |
Plan Meeting |
Schedule Changes |
Event Schedule
]
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