I'm the president of our local guild in a rather small community, I'm new to the area (about 3 years)and new to quilting so was surprised when asked to be the president. Then realized they couldn't get anyone else to accept the position. We have about 40 members. We try to keep our meetings informative with some sort of quilting related demonstration. When you get 40 women together there are usually cliques and at least one or two negative people. To break into the cliques I showed interest in the work these women were doing and asked them lots of specific questions. As for the negative people we've actually had a few people leave our group (you can't be all things to all people) but we've also had some who have become involved in some of our service projects (quilts of valor and comfort quilts for the community) and some of there negativity has diminished. Most of our members are really good about greeting visitors. Our monthly newsletters with meeting minutes and upcoming events help us all to keep in touch. At a recent meeting we asked each member to bring their favorite tool, tip or trick for quilting. These will be published this summer and shared with guild members. A fun way to recognize each persons special talent and share our knowledge. We also have monthly exchanges, last year was pin wheels this year it is 6" batik blocks. We (14 of us) are also finishing a round robin this month. We have another member who is going to start a mystery quilt group this fall. Tap into your members and you'd be surprised how positive the group becomes.