Interested in becoming an event organizer for SOA meetup?

PLEASE ANSWER THE TWO QUESTIONS, WHEN PROMPTED, WHEN YOU RSVP. THIS MEETUP IS OPEN TO PARTICIPANTS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN BECOMING MEETUP ORGANIZERS FOR SOA. ANY CURRENT ORGANIZER OR PARTICIPANT THAT WANTS TO ASSIST WITH THE TRAINING IS ALSO WELCOME TO JOIN. YOUR HELP WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

This is an opportunity for those who want to become an event organizer for SOA. As many of you know, we have almost 30,000 members, and we need to build more organizer capacity.

This meetup will focus on skills for being an effective event organizer, including:
· What is outdoor adventure.
· Preparation and research for your meetup.
· Setting up and editing a meetup. What to communicate and how to effectively communicate it in your posting.
· Vetting and adding participants.
· How to follow up with communications, preparation, and other logistics for the meetup.
· What to pack or bring on your adventure. We will discuss gear, specifically for a hike, but we can discuss gear other activities.
· Expectations of the organizer and the participants.
· Group dynamics. How to manage the event safely. We will be doing a hike and discussing how to handle possible scenarios that could arise on the meetup.
· Any other questions you may have.

Schedule:

7:45 AM Meet at Issaquah Transit Center (by the Northeast entrance of the parking garage). For people who want to carpool.

8 AM Meet at Issaquah Coffee Company. People are welcome to meet us at the coffee company instead of the Transit Center, but please communicate if you intend to do so. We will go over how to set up a meetup, and other logistics. I plan to bring my laptop for this. We will also discuss gear to bring for a meetup if we have time and space to do so.

11 AM (approximately) We will travel to Squak Mountain Access Trailhead to for a moderately strenuous hike. (6-8 miles with about 1,500 feet of elevation gain.) We will go over various scenarios that organizers may encounter, and how to handle those scenarios. Be prepared for possible rain, snow, and hiking in the dark. If all goes well, we should be back by 5 to 6 PM at the latest.

Once we return to the trailhead we will plan to do a debrief, answer questions, and conclude the meetup. People who carpool will need to return to the transit center on their own.
We can do a follow-up gathering for food and drink if people are interested. This is optional, of course.

Upon completion of this meetup, attendees should be qualified to start organizing events for Seattle Outdoor Adventurers meetup. I will promote all interested attendees to event organizers

What to bring for the morning:

A notepad and writing utensil if you plan to take notes

Money for food and drink at the café.
A laptop computer is optional, but unnecessary. Keep in mind that we will likely have to store our laptops in our vehicles for several hours while we hike. You can also access meetup from your smartphone.

What to bring for the hike:

Hiking clothes (hiking pants, clothing layers (t-shirt, mid-layer, outer layer such as a sweater and/or puffy jacket, sturdy boots or hiking shoes). Avoid any clothing made of cotton, as cotton absorbs moisture and can remove body heat when wet. Waterproof rain gear, including rain jacket, and rain pants if you have them. Gloves and gaiters encouraged.

Hiking Pack to fit all your belongings.

Food and Water Snacks, water, lunch. Have enough food and water for a 5 to 6 hour hike.

10 Essentials This includes a headlamp, a form of navigation (GPS, and/or map & compass), First aid Kit, a fire starter (matches or lighter) Sun Protection (sunscreen, hat, sunglasses). Other items such as emergency shelter, knife, extra food, water, and clothes are optional for the hike, but encouraged. A link to the 10 essentials can be found at: https://www.mountaineers.org/blog/what-are-the-ten-essentials

Optional: Trekking poles, camera,

You are welcome to bring other gear for mountaineering such as helmets, crampons, snowshoes, ice axe, etc. Or gear for other activities. These will not be necessary for the hike, but you are welcome to bring them for gear discussion.

If you have follow up questions, please let me know.