1. My guild officers meet once a month, separate from the guild meeting, but sometimes will skip a month if there's no pressing business. On rare occasions there may be a brief called meeting before or after the general meeting to take care of some special issue.
2. The guild itself also meets once a month. We have an established day and place, so everyone knows when the meetings are for the entire year.
3. For the first thirty minutes or so of each general meeting, we take care of "business". We make announcements, have committee reports, etc. Then once that part is taken care of, we have Show-N-Tell and then our program. Sometimes the program is a speaker, sometimes a demonstration, sometimes a trunk show. We've had nationally-known quilters as well as local quilters, and sometimes a company representative will come to show new products. At other times we may just utilize local talent to demonstrate new techniques. One month each year is a mini quilt show featuring the results of our yearly challenge, and in December we always have a Christmas party with games, exchanges, and food.
4. My guild annually has about 125 members.
5. The best things about my guild are the sharing, the inspiration, the education, and the fun. I've made some great friends and have learned tremendous amounts of things related to quilting.
I guess the main thing I would change is to do away with "cliques". Some members form small groups and keep to those groups, with little guild interaction. It would be so nice if everyone freely moved about the entire group. I'm sure there are many who could offer much wisdom to others if they would just venture out of their small groups.
I'd probably also change people's ideas about guild leadership. As a past guild president, I've seen how difficult it is to get members to step into officer positions. Sometimes we practically have to beg for someone to take a position. I feel quite disappointed when members complain about guild activities, but refuse to become involved in planning or managing those activities.
I hope this helps you in some way. And I hope your guild can solve its problems to the benefit of everyone.