Hosting an EAA chapter meeting at a Bar

I won't be specific as to chapter or location but is hosting a regular chapter meeting at a Bar sound like a bad idea to anyone else out there? I see it as a bad idea for a lot of reasons, none of which revolve around being for or against alcohol use. That's a matter of "right place, right time". Any ideas on how the EAA would view this idea? I'm looking for input from others here before I talk to other chapter members about this situation. Needless to say, I don't think this is a good idea for a chapter that is dwindling in numbers anyway.
Thanks,
Marty

I guess it depends on the class of people who belong to the club. If the club it full of upstanding men and woman who act like grown adults when around the spirits, why not. But if the club is full of loose cannon types I would avoid the bar.

At one time I belonged to an AMA club and we met at a bar. Never was a problem but then again we had a lot of police in the club. Everyone acted as adults. I would think as long as its 12 hour from bottle to throttle why not.

Tony

This kinda reminds me of the chat I had with an EAA chapter president about bringing in a band for the annual fly-in. He said quote " we don't want those types around here". That had to be the stupidest comment I ever heard. I was talking blue grass band or something, with his comment you would think I mentioned to have a bunch of thugs swarm upon the place.

This was just a couple short years ago we had this conversation. The other day I learn this club after 21 years doubts it will hold a fly-in this year. The club president has taken up go-kart racing and has turned his airstrip into a racetrack. The race track over the winter has been expanded from what I understand onto the runway.

My point, one must be willing to think outside the box sometimes when what one is doing does not work. What better way to get others involved in aviation but to see an aviation group, out as a club in public holding a meeting. I say go for it, who says anyone has to drink alcohol, but I would not ban it.

All I know in aviation, what has been going on for the last 100 years evidently has not been working, the numbers show it in back and white. To just keep doing business as usual is kinda like shooting ones own foot.

Tony

We almost always have a couple of teenagers attend our meetings and we sometimes have a couple of sons and daughters attend who are in the 8-12 year old age group. One of our regular teenagers just soloed and often brings a friend from school. If there are younger kids, we put them to work with some small task like selling and drawing the winning 50-50 ticket. They all feel welcome and look forward to coming back. We're a very active, thriving and growing chapter. For our chapter, a bar location would not be appropriate. One of our neighboring chapters has been the same group of about 25 grumpy old men who are stuck in their ways, don't care about growing, welcoming newcomers, or doing anything different. It would be fine for them.

Some bars have kitchens or a grill and serve food. Those let under age kids in them. We must define the term Bar. A bar could be in a strip joint, or in a restaurant type of setting that serves food to young and old. The old days of a saloon are over.

My point just because some place serves alcohol does not mean its over 21 only.

I think it depends on both the atmosphere of the "bar" and the chapter members. The restaurant at our airport has a bar and many groups (including church groups) reserve a room for meetings. The flying club I was in used to have social events at local bars that also served food & had areas you could reserve for groups. In some small towns the only space available for group meetings is a pub.

Good comments and great food for thought, thanks. We aren't growing and nothing much related to building or flying going on near as I can tell. No one, other than me, is building and no involvement related to growth. If there is a minimum number of members I suspect we don't have that at all. EAA membership is not required to be a member of the chapter so I'm not real sure how things work or are set up. We move from location to location monthly and nothing available to the public to find out where we are meeting or when. I'm afraid we are likely not going to make following this track. Suggestions? Thanks.

The Fox copywrite monster would probably get me if I put up a 3 second clip, but there's a quote by Brian Griffin in Family Guy.
Season 2, Episode 13, Road to Rhode Island

Look! There's a plane.
And where there's a plane, there must be a pilot.
And where there's a pilot, there must be a bar.
I can finally get a drink!

Our chapter has gone downhill also. We are down to so few members that we had to triple our dues just to pay EAA's insurance that covers them at our meeting place. We meet at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant and they have insurance, so really our insurance premium is just a donation to headquarters. We maybe have 8 to 10 members at the most show up. Sometimes there are only 5 or 6 of us. Several guys are building or restoring, but otherwise really nothing goes on with our chapter. We have had several members drop out because of the hefty dues increase. There has been suggestions that we just forget the chapter and meet as a "good ole' boys club" instead, since there really isn't a good reason for us to have a chapter anymore. Part of the problem, as I see it, is a suitable place at the airport for us to meet. The National Guard and Customs have kind of taken over the airport and there is no place suitable out there anymore to have as a meeting place.