Me too oldrosebud. This is my guild and girls I quilt with. I do know many of the quilters in the guilds in the community from going so many years to the quilt shows and from kitty who used to live next door to me. She belonged to two of them and had many of the gals over for meetings.
My LAQ is the president of the daytime chapter of the Truckee Meadows Quilter's guild. She is such a nice lady. The evening president lives around the corner from me, but we butt heads and aren't friends. But she is a nice lady too.
The thing about a theme is, there are constant things that happen every year during the each season. Also, certain type animals and insects are more visible during these months. By thinking about those things you can get ahead of the swap. I agree that the theme should be highly flexible to the season. That way people have time to make a nice cushion and not be under the gun.