re: meeting strategies
From: fassnach (fassnachssc.wisc.edu)
Date: Tue, 17 May 94 13:06 CDT
   Rob asked about other group's meeting strategies.  The strategies used
 at the meetings I attend work for the groups as they are today, but are far 
 from perfect, and will, I expect, change as the groups grow and evolve.
   Although I am a member of the Porchlight group, I attend the general
 meetings of both Porchlight and the Village group.  Both groups have lost
 membership lately, so both are rather small (around 6 to 9 households).
 This means that the meeting structure is a bit less formal than it would
 be if the groups were larger.
   Porchlight has well-defined roles of leader, facilitator and recorder.
 These rotate on a monthly basis among the active participants.  Village
 seems to have one person who always leads the meetings, with the role of
 recorder going to whomever volunteers for a given meeting.  Porchlight 
 sets meeting agendas at the steering committee meeting that precedes
 the general meeting.  Both groups try to mail information about upcoming
 decisions/proposals to members before the meeting at which the proposal 
 will be presented.  Members who can't make the meeting generally call 
 someone ahead of time to let them know they can't make it, and to voice 
 their opinion about items they know will be discussed.  Both groups also 
 call absent members, either during a general meeting, or a day on either 
 side of the general meeting, to solicit the absent member's opinion on 
 important decisions that the group is trying to reach.  With the small size, 
 it is relatively easy to sound out all members.
 
   Since both groups are so small now, there has been some talk of the
 possibility of merging.  Both groups have been in existence for 2 to
 2.5 years, and have spent a lot of time working out their respective
 group visions, and bonding with each other.  I can see both advantages
 and potential problems in trying to merge.  Does anyone have any
 experience with this?
 
 Thanks,
   
 Stephanie Fassnacht
 Porchlight Cohousing
 Madison, Wisconsin

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