The person most likely to be selected is someone that many people recommend. This also works for you to find help with your projects. Do not go to a meeting alone. The topics could be the problems in putting one of these meetings together, no-shows, or what books sell best. Ask them questions about what interests them.
People love to complain and then talk about ways of solving their problems.
You need to be anchored to the meeting in some way. Somebody there has to recognize you. Go back to the same people later and ask how things are going. I got bored once at a fair handing out brochures and talking about archaeology. I switched jobs with a woman from the Egg Council making omelets.