This initial burst of friendliness can be contagious and can make people feel comfortable with their attendance at the meeting. Besides giving the Steering Committee a record of who attended, it also gives the Committee a list of people to contact for other meetings and to work on issues. The Committee will probably want to designate a person who will record what happens at the meeting. The Committee might want to have refreshments available. What kind of refreshments and when they will be served should be discussed.
Several groups have refreshments available at the conclusion of the business meeting.
This encourages people to stay and informally chat with their neighbors, afterwards. From the point of view of setting up the organization, the next important and final step, is the adoption of by-laws by the group. It sets the size, shape and dimensions, and shows how the parts fit into the whole package. Probably near the conclusion of the first public meeting, the idea of drafting a set of by-laws will emerge. This job will either be given to the Steering Committee or a separate committee will be designated to work on it.