How to start a "Draft Al Gore" meetup group in your area?

[Jeanette in FL]

I am thinking of starting a meetup Draft Al Gore in my area, Palatka, FL, which is the nearest "big" town by me. It is centrally located in the county (Putnam). My county is split almost 50/50, so I might be able to get some people.

For those of you who have started meetup groups in your area, could you please advise those of us who would like to start one in our areas.

Where do you hold meetings?
How often do hold meetings?
How do you set the agenda of the meetings?
Where do you get handouts, bumperstickers etc. for the meetings?
How do you advertise your meetups?

I think your input would greatly help those of us who would like to do the same.

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. We use evl's house

and I am sure he would lend it to you. :)

We got email lists and covered as many groups as we could. That at least got the word out. Do you have a local moveon person? They have email lists to die for.

Saturday, we met in a restaurant in Lawrence, KS and had 12 show up. So food seems to be a draw here.

[Jeanette in FL]

3. That might be hard for us Floridians

But thanks for offering up Evl's house for the meetings. :rofl:

Don't worry Evl, I'll call first. :hi:

I check with moveon and see if they have a local person in my area.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

2. The best thing, IMO,

is to contact Karen Wunderman (AlGore.org, aka AGO) at:

[e-mail]

She has registered about 100 organizers so far and can get you into the AGO network.

[Jeanette in FL]

4. Okay, will do

Thanks for the contact.

[SharonRB]

5. I agree with the Admiral

Karen is probably the best place to start.

[SharonRB]

14. Jeanette -- I asked at our meeting tonight

and found out that Karen is getting overwhelmed and may not be the best person to contact. I'm going to try to get names of some other people in Florida for you. I just had to check the name of that city near you again so I could get as close as possible.

[Jeanette in FL]

15. Thanks Sharon

Well that is great news that Karen is getting overwhelmed, not for her, but for the cause. The nearest "big" town near me is Palatka. Gainesville, St. Augustine and Jacksonville are the biggest cities near me, but well over an hours drive. I just hate using the fuel and would like to keep it a local grassroots meetup. We are a 50/50 county, so I know there must be people like me. Well maybe not like me, but would like to see Al Gore run. I'll ferret them out somehow.

[SharonRB]

24. Based on the info I posted downthread

it might make sense to hook up with the Jacksonville group for now, try to recruit some folks closer to you, and then break off into your own group once you get more people. It will help you learn how to organize the group.

We're doing kind of the same thing -- starting with a larger area (SE Michigan) and then we'll break off into counties as we get more people.

[evlbstrd]

6. Come on over!

Of course, beer and other refreshments help. And a dog that does tricks.

[Jeanette in FL]

7. Well that is easy enough

Beer and refreshments are easy enough, but my dogs could never outdo your dog's tricks.

[evlbstrd]

8. I don't know about that.

My dogs aren't very bright. One gnaws on her own ass a lot. The other has a brain the size of a walnut.
But there are two liquor stores and a Quik Trip two blocks from my house. And they're open late.

[Jeanette in FL]

11. Yeah, but your dog barks at the word, Republican

My dogs can't do that. But this one has a good trick, you pretend you are going to grab me,

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

well I guess you gotta be there.

[evlbstrd]

13. I can imagine.

The one that gnaws her own butt tore open my nephew's vilsack when he grabbbed a girl in our house.

[Jeanette in FL]

16. Eeeeewwwwww, has he ever lost his fear of dogs?

Okay, now I get the vilsack jokes. Now if I could figure out how to protect my coulter, I'd be in great shape.

[evlbstrd]

17. You need a lock box.

[Mabus]

18. Yeah, I think they used a lot of those during the crusades

There were a lot of lonely coulters in the days of yore.

[evlbstrd]

19. I handcrafted one for evlspwn.

It only chafed for the first few years. One day she'll thank me.

[Jeanette in FL]

20. Now I get it

Glad I didn't ask you to draw me a map :blush:

[evlbstrd]

21. I would have, ya know.

[Jeanette in FL]

22. God, you make me laugh so hard

:spank: I am just so glad I didn't ask too many questions.

[Mabus]

25. And hence my sig line

I think I told you that if you hung on long enough he'd have you laughing pretty hard. Now, if you'd just drink larger quantities of coffee and/or beer you'll get to the incontinence part. ;) :blush:

[Jeanette in FL]

27. Yes, you did, Ms. Mabus, yes you did.

But your post almost took me there. Wasn't expecting that. Actually, everything is very funny today. Had to have some major dental work done this morning and good dentist gave me a script for Percocet, been years since I have done them. So I am happy, happy, happy.

But I will make a note to myself to watch what I read while drinking any fluids. Especially with you guys.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. Evl's dog attacks when she hears "REPUBLICANS!"

It is hilarious.

[Jeanette in FL]

12. Yeah, my dog can't do that

Evl ought to bring his dog on David Letterman. That is an awesome trick.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. Jeanette, we are having an Academy Awards watch party

We are using a restaurant that is a sports bar and they said they would let us turn on the Academy Awards.

That seems like a great way to start a meetup group. Try it.

[evlbstrd]

28. Can I bring my dogs?

I'm pretty sure they won't let my brother in.

[SharonRB]

23. Jeanette -- here are the instructions I got from one of our organizers for you

Hope this helps. It looks like there's one in Jacksonville. I don't know how far that is from you, but it looks like it's the closest one that's already set up.

Has your friend tried going to the Map at http://draftalgore.meetup.com/about/ and clicking so that the map of Florida is enlarged. There are 6-7 Meetups already active. Have her click on the red balloons for the 2-3 that are nearest her.

If she does not like to do that, then have her scroll down the left column list of Fla. meetups, and click on one that is near her. She can ask for info about others near her from the leaders of the larger Meetups.

22. Lakeland

23. Naples

30. S Miami

51. Palm Beach

[Jeanette in FL]

26. I looked at the map

Jacksonville is the closest to me, but it is about 60 -70 miles away and traffic there is worse than NYC. Roads are constantly under construction and would take about 2 hours to get there.

Since my county is split 50/50, I am thinking that I will start one here. There has to be people that are thinking like me. I will find them and organize.

During the Florida 2004 Presidential Primaries, where Kerry was already declared the nomination, 30% of Dems voted for candidates other than Kerry. So there is a market out there that hasn't been tapped.

Thank you for getting me this information, Sharon, I appreciate it.

[SharonRB]

29. You're welcome, Jeanette

Good luck! If you need any help getting started, I think you can still contact Karen or try to track down the leader of the Jacksonville group through meetup.com. AlGore.org may still have coupons available to pay the first 6 months of fees for meetup, but I'm not sure. It's $12 a month.