Our Current Guidelines These guidelines have been designed to show consideration and respect to all members of the group, and to make the discussion more enjoyable. 1. No Smoking | Smokers should excuse themselves from the discussion and go outside to smoke. Do not smoke directly in front of the house; bring a container with you to put your cigarette butts in and dispose of them yourself -- do not leave them. 2. No children* (minors under age 18) Mature themes will be discussed. *We have a few mother and daughter members -- as long as the children are not minors, it is OK. Minors will be allowed on a case-by-case, meeting-by-meeting basis, only by invitation of the group. The discussion will begin promptly at 10 minutes after the official start time. There will not be a repeat of discussion for late-comers. The discussion will be allotted a full hour, followed by a 15 minute break. The new and old club business will be discussed during the second-half of the meeting, and should not take any longer than 35 minutes. The meeting shall last no longer than two hours so that hostesses and members are able to plan their schedules accordingly. Place pets in a different room of the house, and note when signing up to hostess whether or not you own cats, dogs, etc., so that members who are allergic may choose to attend that month's meeting or not, or to take an antihistamine.TOP Turn off the following items: vacuum cleaners, showers, music, and radios in other parts of the house. TOP Hostesses should turn on the answering machine, and Members are requested to set hand-held phones to voicemail and pagers to vibrate. If you choose to take calls, please leave the room to talk.TOP Do not engage in activities such as handiwork during the discussion, because space may be limited, and some people may be distracted by others who knit, crochet, grade papers, cross-stitch, etc.TOP 9. Limit movement and private discussions. Getting up, moving around, or refreshing drinks is allowed. Moving to the refreshment area entirely and/or begin a private discussion, is not allowed.TOP 10. Polite interruptions are allowed. We will endeavor to allow each person to speak at least once concerning the question under discussion (the members will be given speaking preferences over guests if we have too large a group). Polite interruptions are allowed. It will be up to the discretion of the Facilitator as to how long each person has to speak, and will be responsible for stopping any unruly behavior by guests or members.TOP 11. Make the atmosphere conducive to discussion. The hostess provides a comfortable, well-lit area where everyone can see each other from where they are seated.TOP Please come to the meetings whether or not you have finished the book, but be prepared to hear a discussion of how the book ends.TOP 13. RSVP to the hostess in a timely manner. Please RSVP only if you will NOT attend a meeting, or if you are going to bring a guest. Notify the hostess at least three days prior to the meeting so she has enough refreshments and room for everyone. Please limit one guest per member per session (special requests for larger number of guests should be approved by the Secretary and Hostess). Please tell the hostess of any allergies to pets or food items when you RSVP, so the two of you may be able to make any adjustments to menus, etc. as needed.TOP 14. Maintain member's privacy. The club strives to keep members informed of meeting locations, etc. in the easiest way that also maintains our members’ privacy. To that end:
The maximum number of active members is 15. (At present no males and no minors will be admitted to this group without a vote of a two-thirds majority.)
16. How elections/organizational meetings are run. The group will have an organizational meeting in October of each year to nominate
and elect club officers for the upcoming year and any other topics placed on the ballot.
All topics and nominees will be made known to the members prior to the annual meeting. At
this meeting we will choose at least the first three books, and decide on time/date of
upcoming meetings. A facilitator who is already a member, will be selected by the group to
run the organizational meeting.TOP
18. Selecting books for discussion.
Books will be chosen at the annual meeting. Each active member will send the web master
their nomination for two books prior to the annual meeting for inclusion on the ballot.
Ideally, the member should include one sentence per nomination as to why they chose that
book. TOP |
If you have comments or suggestions, email me at
rdfrost@appledippers.com