Of course, approval from the restaurant needs to be received. In any case, many restaurants have rooms which can be reserved for special groups. Arrangements should also be made with the restaurant on the procedures of ordering and payment of meals. It is suggested that each alumnus order and pay for his own meal. At some point, the Alumni Association President should make general announcements and welcome new attenders.
Committees can also meet together do discuss special projects.
Another idea in substitute of the monthly luncheons is to have lunch or dinner at the chapter house if these conditions are available. The Alumni Association can contribute extra funds to the chapter to provide for the additional meals. In addition to getting the alumni over to the chapter house, this also provides the opportunity to interact with undergraduate members. Regardless, the planning of monthly Alumni Association gatherings will need to take into account a certain amount of trial and error. Although an association may never get to plan an event which is best for everyone, by allowing for some experimentation, an Alumni Association can have regular gatherings which become habit for a large group of alumni members to attend.