Managing meeting invitations properly ensures all intended participants are informed and can participate in club activities. This guide outlines best practices for creating and managing meeting invitations for Charles River Wheelers committees and working groups.

Current Challenges

The club has encountered issues with meeting invitations when:

• Group email addresses (like ioc@crw.org) are used for meeting invitations
• Committee membership changes, but invitation lists aren't updated
• New members miss meetings and former members receive unnecessary invitations

Best Practices for Meeting Invitations

1. Direct Individual Invitations

• Send Google Calendar invitations directly to individual email addresses rather than group addresses
• Include each participant's personal CRW email (firstname.lastname@crw.org)
• This ensures each person receives a proper calendar invitation with RSVP functionality

2. Use CC for Group Notification

• CC the relevant group email address (e.g., ioc@crw.org) on the invitation
• This provides a record of the meeting in the group's communication history
• Maintains an archive of meetings for historical reference

3. Meeting Update Protocol

• When committee or working group membership changes, promptly update recurring meeting invitations
• Add new members individually to the invitation list
• Remove former members from the invitation list
• Conduct quarterly reviews of all recurring meeting invitations to verify correct participants

4. Calendar Naming Conventions

Use standardized naming for meetings:

• Committee meetings: "[Committee Name] Meeting - [Frequency if recurring]"
• Working groups: "[Working Group Name] - [Meeting Purpose]"
• Special meetings: "[Topic] - [Type of Meeting]"

Examples:

• "Board Meeting - Monthly"
• "Rides Committee - Quarterly Planning"
• "Technology Working Group - Website Update"