John and Gary make good points. I'll add my $.02, since I've had 2 terms as our VP, a 2-year break, and back on this year. In our club, the VP plans and schedules the meeting programs for the year.
Our board meets at 6:00, before the meeting begins at 7:00; 2nd Monday of each month. Usually we don't have an hours' worth of business to cover, but some months we do when planning a show, sales booth, or coordinating with another group in a festival.
We have a swap & shop each month; members bring things to trade, sell, etc. and that goes on while people are milling around before the meeting. Adds some excitement if people participate.
At 7:00, we do a very quick business briefing, followed by Show & Tell. Members bring trees, line them up on the stage, and tell the club a little about the tree they brought. Good for new members to see more developed trees, and what it takes to get to that level.
By 7:30, we do the evening program. The challenge is to appeal to the newcomer without boring the old timers to death. It's a fine line at times, and the Grand Canyon at others. This year, the unstated theme for the first half of the year has been to get ready for the show, and working to up our game:
Jan: USNBE and International Arboretum travelogue.
Feb: Pots, guest lecturer Ryan Bell.
Mar: Repotting tutorial an demo
Apr: Accent plants
May: Display
June-on we'll return to horticulture and technique.
On Saturday following the monthly club meeting, people gather in the potting shed of the botanical gardens and work on trees all day. That's the fun part. Unfortunately, I'm rarely able to make it, but good bonsai happens there.
We still have a social club element; picnics and Christmas dinner, which is fine, but I usually expend my energy into the bonsai side of the club and leave the party planning committee alone.
After a few years, here are some things I think help boost attendance and participation:
1. Be nice. Think how hard it is to get involved here; it can be very intimidating to be new to the art, and walk into a room of 30 15-year acquaintances.
2. Get newcomers involved quickly. Give them a job, ask for their help.
3. Have well-prepared meetings. If this month was a rambling hour on stands and pot oiling, I'm not coming next month..suddenly the new guy is gone three months. Probably lost their first tree in that time, and they're on to peppers.
4. Have multiple focal points...ours has a sales table, show & tell area, and a program. Easier to mingle, or to move along to something else.
5. Have contests and reoccurring themes. We did a club tree project one year with shimpakus. Bring it back every other month and line them up. Why is mine green and his is brown? Why is one full and one is a plucked chicken? On and on, but people are committed to show up.
6. Share your meeting schedule with other clubs. I stay involved and share meeting schedules with 4 other clubs. It's good to see what others are doing, and see that all clubs struggle with the same issues.
7. If possible, do a member swap. If I presented at my club this month, maybe I can do the same presentation at another club next month. We're fortunate to have 4 clubs in AL, and 3 not far in TN. We should take more advantage of that.
8. Be accessible. Facebook has been the source of all our new members this year. I'm more involved with the page and try to respond to questions within 24 hours, and make a point to invite everyone to the meetings.
9. Take advantage of the buying power of a big group. Buy pallets of akadama, pumice, lava, etc. you'll get a huge break, and up charge by $1.00 a bag to add to the treasury...that way you can afford the really good guest artists.
If anyone is interested, I'm happy to share our meeting schedules and topic lists that I might have laying around. PM me with an email address and I'll see what I can find. I know I have a few years of AL schedules, maybe Huntsville, IA.
All that, and I will say publicly, I far-more appreciate the times when I can get together with a small group of people who know what they're doing and actually work on trees.