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For those who are new, here would be my recommended
procedure for planning an AZBurners Phoenix Monthly Dinner: |
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The dinner is always on the 12th of the month. This is not to say you
may not plan another event on another day. In fact, please feel free to do
so! The more the merrier! But, us die-hard monthly dinner goers always keep
our 12th of the month free to hang with our dusty buddies. So, please don't
disappoint us. |
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Check to make sure someone hasn't already planned a dinner for the month
in question. It's a little bit rude to schedule a competing dinner! You can
check the mailing list on Yahoo! and this web site to see if there's already
one advertised. It probably also avoids confusion if there's only one dinner
planned in advance at once. If you've lost track and aren't sure you can
always post "Has anyone planned the Monthly Phoenix dinner yet?" (Did you
like my made-up month?) |
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Pick a place. There really aren't any hard and fast rules as to what
kind of place to pick (nor do we have an AZBurners Dinner Dictator to make
such rules), but "McDonald's" and "Ruth's Chris" are both likely to get a
low turnout. Some things to think about are: |
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Expense -- not everyone has a lot of disposable income.
pick something reasonably priced. |
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Ambiance -- fast food is probably a turn off for
people. it's nice to relax and chat at a big table. Also, in my experience,
restaurants that aren't chains are generally friendlier and more
interesting. alcohol availability is always a plus. |
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Capacity -- we normally have between 5 and 20 people
show up at the monthly dinner. ideally it would be someplace that wouldn't
mind either headcount. |
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Food -- the burner community has a higher incidence of
vegetarianism and veganism than the general populace, so you're likely to
get a better turnout if there are more vegetarian options than "side salad".
also, good food is always better. i myself am a bit on the adventurous side
and prefer interesting and ethnic food, but everyone's tastes are different. |
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Location -- People live throughout the Phoenix metro
area, so anywhere's good! But, if it's in AJ or Avondale, not a lot of
people are going to make the trek. The more centrally located it is the more
people it's going to be convenient for. |
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Post-dinner activities -- occasionally we'll have
something going on after the dinner. |
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Reservations - This isn't always required, but it can
be helpful. If you reserve under the name "black rock" it helps newbies find
our group if they don't happen to know any of us beforehand. Unfortunately
it's tricky to tell how many people to expect. Sometimes we get 5 and
sometimes we get 20. Hopefully you picked a place which won't be too put
off if there are 15 unused seats at the table! |
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Post to the list. Make sure everyone knows about the
dinner! A reminder a couple days in advance doesn't hurt either. Make sure
you include the time of the dinner (traditionally 6:30ish), the address,
directions, and what the reservation is under (traditionally "black rock").
Make sure your subject line is informative ("Novubuary Phoenix Monthly
Dinner") so it's easy to see when wading through the plethora of messages
most people get in their email. Send an email to
Scotto |
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Show up at the designated time and place and make sure everyone gets a
big hug. Actually, you should do this each month even if you're not the one
organizing! |