For Classes and Workshops
Please arrive on time. If your class is at a shop and you need extra time choosing supplies, come early.
Come with a positive attitude and be prepared to have fun!
Please allow time for eating before coming to class. Water may be fine at your table (check with the instructor), but no other liquids that could spill and stain.
No children will be permitted in the classroom during class.
Please turn off cell phones or at least put them on vibrate during the instruction portion of the class. If you must take a phone call, take it out of the classroom.
Come to class with clean hands.
Bring extra lighting if needed, but set it up before the meeting begins. Be sure to get permission from your instructor before running extension chords. Safety first! Don't run your chord across an access path.
Be aware of the amount of room your "stuff" takes up on the table. Don't spread your items out so much that you impede the space of other students.
Please don't chatter with your neighbors while the instructor is teaching the lesson. It distracts the other students who are there to learn.
Please do not wear perfume or other fragrances to class. You may enjoy it, but with so many folks sitting in close quarters, the mingling of scents can cause headaches for folks that are sensitive to odors.
For Regular Guild Meetings
Wear a name tag. If you forgot to bring your stitched name tag, check to see if the chapter provides adhesive-backed name tags. It's easier to get acquainted if all stitcher's names are easily visible.
No talking at the tables while business is being conducted.
If you have something to share with the group, let the president or VP know before the business meeting begins so your item can be added to the agenda.
If you're giving a committee report, come prepared. Consider writing your information down on a note card before the meeting. That way you won't forget any important points, and you can give the report concisely and not waste time. Also, you can give these notes to the newsletter editor so they can be included in the next issue for members who were not able to attend the meeting.
If you are a member responding to a report from the dais, raise your hand high if you wish to speak and wait to be called on.
During Show & Tell, if you can't say anything nice, keep your comments to yourself. People's feelings get hurt if they overhear whispering of negative comments to other members about their stitched piece.
Don't touch other people's stitching unless you have the owner's express permission. This includes stitching that is in progress or stitching that is finished, mounted or framed. This advice applies even if you just washed your hands. You may consider bringing some white cotton gloves with you so that those wishing to handle your stitchery can wear them, keeping skin oils off the stitchery.
Notes for Leaders and Instructors
Have the attendance sheet at the door for folks to sign instead of passing around a tablet during the meeting. The passing can be very distracting and causes people to chatter at the tables while the business meeting is being conducted. The attendance sheet can be a form with member's names on it in alphabetical order so all members need to do is check a box instead of having to sign a name. It's easier for the Membership chair to read, and doesn't cause a back-up line while people wait to sign in. Leave spaces at the bottom of the list for visitors.
Have enough agendas available for everyone. Don't expect each table to share one agenda or financial statement. You may feel it's a waste of paper, but if it's not needed by the members, it can be recycled. Having to share papers during a meeting causes chatting and commotion at the tables during business meetings. Better yet, project a single agenda/report on the wall during the business meeting. This way everyone is looking at the same information at the same time ... and it saves printing costs. Members who want a print copy can receive one by e-mail or snail mail after the meeting.
Do follow your meeting agenda so that everyone has a chance to participate fully and no one is skipped or left out. Contact each person on the agenda the day before the meeting to remind them to have their reports ready.
If you must use a microphone at a meeting, have speakers PRACTICE with it before the meeting. Also have someone test the sound system from the audience side before the meeting to make sure it can be heard from all parts of the classroom. As a member or student it is awful when you cannot hear the speaker, even though a microphone and sound system are available simply because the speaker did not practice using this tool. It's also awful to waste valuable meeting time asking, "Can you hear me now?"
If you are using an overhead projector or other media player, be sure to test it before the meeting so that members don't have to wait for you to figure out how to use the equipment once the meeting has started.
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