The 2017-2018 Meetings Committee members were Todd Hillmer (co-chair), Tami Carson (co-chair), Brittany Adams, Sheri Lewis, Carrie Port, and Keely Ward. Joe Mitzenmacher was the Board liaison.
The Committee planned four meetings for the 2017-2018 year. Dates, locations, number of registrants for each meeting are shown in the table below.
| Date | Location | Registrants |
| September 14, 2017 | Nacional 27 325 West Huron St. Chicago, IL 60654 |
81 |
| November 16, 2017 | The Berghoff 17 West Adams Chicago, IL 60603 |
84 |
| February 15, 2018 | Italian Village Vivere
71 West Monroe Chicago, IL 60603 |
84 |
| May 10, 2018 | Wildfire 159 West Erie St. Chicago, IL 60654 |
74 |
| TOTAL | 323 |
Improvements Recommended by the Committee
- Name badge creation continues to be a time-consuming task. The Committee recommends considering permanent name tags which would make the check-in process more efficient and is a more ecologically sustainable solution.
- Pricing and budgetary concerns are areas for concern. The Committee recommends considering raising the meeting fee to $30.00 and possibly implementing a schedule of periodic increases to reflect changing economic realities. Surveying membership to gauge thoughts on such an increase may be in order first.
- Online registration & payment or prepayment via check to the CALL post office box has increased this year and should continue to be encouraged. This speeds up the check-in process and helps with concerns of handling large amounts of cash and checks on the day of the meeting.
- That said, handling of large amounts of cash and checks remains a concern. The Committee recommends investigation by CALL board of commercial bonding for all committee members.
- Members seem interested in returning to Maggiano’s for a meeting. Members also seemed to enjoy the atmosphere of our November meeting at Berghoff, we may want to return again this November. The 2018-2019 Meetings Committee will explore these possibilities.