Meeting Space - Saint Mary's County Camera Club

[Nupe2]

Hello folks. I'm a member of Saint Mary's County Camera Club (SMCCC) and due to COVID we've been conducting our meetings via ZOOM. We are hoping that sometime later this year or next we could begin meeting in person again. We used to meet at the hangar building that used to be the NAVAIR museum. That option is no longer available so we're searching for a new meeting venue.

Since we're a small club with usually no more than 10 in attendance at the meetings, we'd like to see if the space could be provided free of charge. We meet twice monthly but could do one ZOOM and one in person meeting if that helps. Most of the members are located mid-county with a couple south of the base and a couple up this way in Northern St. Mary's.

Let me know if you have or know of someone who may have space or if you need additional information.

Thanks!

 

[Otter]

Hey Nupe, hope all is well with ya. Good to see you out here

 

[Nupe2]

Hey Nupe, hope all is well with ya. Good to see you out here

Hey Otter! Happy New Year! Still hanging in here..by my fingernails! Good to "see" you too. Hope all is well.

 

[flowerlover]

Hello folks. I'm a member of Saint Mary's County Camera Club (SMCCC) and due to COVID we've been conducting our meetings via ZOOM. We are hoping that sometime later this year or next we could begin meeting in person again. We used to meet at the hangar building that used to be the NAVAIR museum. That option is no longer available so we're searching for a new meeting venue.

Since we're a small club with usually no more than 10 in attendance at the meetings, we'd like to see if the space could be provided free of charge. We meet twice monthly but could do one ZOOM and one in person meeting if that helps. Most of the members are located mid-county with a couple south of the base and a couple up this way in Northern St. Mary's.

Let me know if you have or know of someone who may have space or if you need additional information.

Thanks!

I don't know about St. Mary's County but Charles County Public Libraries provide free meeting space in their buildings. Would be worth looking into it.

 

[sunshine98]

Lexington Park library has several meeting rooms.

 

[Nupe2]

Lexington Park library has several meeting rooms.

We've looked into that but we'd have to be out of the building by 7:30. That won't work for us. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Nupe2]

I don't know about St. Mary's County but Charles County Public Libraries provide free meeting space in their buildings. Would be worth looking into it.

We've reached out to St. Mary's but their schedule restrictions don't work for us. We'd probably run into the same issue in Charles County with the added impact of more travel time for most of our members. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Ken King]

Have you checked with the fire departments, especially if you're meeting during the week, most, if not all, have some form of meeting/event space.

 

[Nupe2]

Have you checked with the fire departments, especially if you're meeting during the week, most, if not all, have some form of meeting/event space.

As far as I know, we have not. However, I'm pretty sure that the cost would be prohibitive for our little group. I will check though. Thanks for the suggestion, Ken!

 

[Ken King]

As far as I know, we have not. However, I'm pretty sure that the cost would be prohibitive for our little group. I will check though. Thanks for the suggestion, Ken!

Maybe a barter, given you guys do photography. Hell, they might not even charge you but might appreciate a donation of sorts.

 

[Scootboot]

Why not get a backroom at Nicoletti's and plan to have dinner with your meeting? They used to not charge for those. We had the kids' sports parties there all the time when they were younger.

 

[Grumpy]

Why not get a backroom at Nicoletti's and plan to have dinner with your meeting?

That would work as long as the people actually have dinner and don't tie up the place for hours. Back in the 70s I was involved with a restaurant/pub and we had a guy approach us to have his 'CB' club meetings on Tuesday evenings once a month. Only happened one time as the participants(30-40) took over the restaurant side of the place and stayed 3 hours ordering only coffee.

 

[RoseRed]

That would work as long as the people actually have dinner and don't tie up the place for hours. Back in the 70s I was involved with a restaurant/pub and we had a guy approach us to have his 'CB' club meetings on Tuesday evenings once a month. Only happened one time as the participants(30-40) took over the restaurant side of the place and stayed 3 hours ordering only coffee.

Reminds me of a trivia group that was held at a bar. They only ordered soft drinks, didn't tip and made it clear no jukebox or loud talking. God forbid a non player shouted out the answer. They got pissed!

 

[spr1975wshs]

Maybe try one of the local Big Box stores, They usually have a meeting room, which is unoccupied much of the time.

 

[my-thyme]

If any of your members are also involved with VFW, Fleet, Moose, church, etc, they could inquire about using a meeting place. This would typically have to be open to the public, and may require a yearly "donation".

 

[flowerlover]

If any of your members are also involved with VFW, Fleet, Moose, church, etc, they could inquire about using a meeting place. This would typically have to be open to the public, and may require a yearly "donation".

Good suggestion, especially if someone is a church member or belongs to social organization like Moose, VFW, American Legion, FOP, etc. Another possibility is someone in the group's employer, especially if a small business, letting you use a small conference room. I know the Bob Evans in Waldorf is used by the Gideons and I think other religious-centered groups regularly. Show up and order breakfast and hold your meeting. The Greene Turtle in California has a separate space that we reserved for a family get together and there was no charge for the room. We had about 30 ppl and pre-ordered from their catering menu but for a smaller group they'd probably do from the regular menu. Worth checking out as would other restaurants in the area. If it's a weekday and people order food/drink, they'll likely welcome the regular business.

 

[Nupe2]

Nice suggestions folks. I'll share them with the Club and hopefully we can find a good meeting space. Also, if you are a photographer, even with a cell phone, we'd be happy to have you check us out and consider joining us. We're always looking for new members at all skill levels and interest in photography.

Here's the link to information on the club: https://smccc.org/

Thanks again for the great suggestions!

 

[RoseRed]

Nice suggestions folks. I'll share them with the Club and hopefully we can find a good meeting space. Also, if you are a photographer, even with a cell phone, we'd be happy to have you check us out and consider joining us. We're always looking for new members at all skill levels and interest in photography.

Here's the link to information on the club: https://smccc.org/

Thanks again for the great suggestions!

Check your messages

 

[jrt_ms1995]

Maybe try one of the local Big Box stores, They usually have a meeting room, which is unoccupied much of the time.

That's right! It's the break room that's occupied all the time!

 

[spr1975wshs]

That's right! It's the break room that's occupied all the time!

Actually, Lowe's does have a Training Room separate from the Break Room.
When I went into the Break Room last night at the end of my shift,
the lights were off because the occupancy sensor detected no activity for 30 minutes.