So another year rolls by and Meetdraw goes from strength to strength.

We started the year in a period of transition, the founding Butchers were ready to stand down and we needed to pass the running onto a new team of Butchers.

Having worked incredibly hard and been very successful in creating Meetdraw it was time for the guys to stand back and earn a well deserved rest.

So in quarter one we assembled a team of new Butchers from across the digital spectrum to guide Meetdraw forward.

Fantastic Free Events

It has been an exciting year with three regular quarterly Meetdraw evening events, all free and each with a different theme and venue.

First we were the Dorset link for Twestival back in March at 1812 Cocktail Bar.

Then to celebrate summer we went to the Cumberland Hotel for a Beach and Pool Party.

For the end of summer/back to school event we tied in with Silicon Beach Conference and went to Aruba for free beer in the sunshine.

The Fabulous Finalle

Our forth event we took a risk and went big organising The Lonely Christmas Turkey at The Print Room. For this event we took a risk and asked our supporters to pay in return for a more formal evening with drinks, dinner, raffle and entertainment provided.

All events have proved successful with in excess of 100 attendees – our finale at The Print Room attracted over a 120 paying guests – our tweet board, over 330 tweets that went out to an audience of over 12,000 and we generated a large number of hangovers!

We’ve achieved a lot in or 3rd year

For the first time this year we also leant our brand to Silicon Beech and teamed up to hold the first ever digital conference in Bournemouth – which was an amazing success – with some excellent speakers, great venue and lovely cupcakes.

So what have we achieved:-

-        Successfully passed on the running of Meetdraw to a new team of Butchers

-        Ran our four quarterly events very successfully

-        Supported a Digital Conference attracting huge publicity and interest in and out of the Region

-        And hopefully connected and entertained a large number of digital enthusiasts in Dorset

All this is built around our core principles of building, supporting and connecting the digital creative industries in Dorset.

2012 – Better than ever in our 4th year?

So what for 2012 – well probably more of the same with some differences! Last year we have evolved the formula and tried some new things – this coming year we will adopt the best of 2011 and continue to try new things. And we will listen to feedback and criticism and provide you with the sort of organisation you want offering the events and services you enjoy and like.

We also want to help connect members of the herd with jobs at good local agencies, so we’ve launched the #meetjobs page check it out and let us know your thoughts.

As you are no doubt aware Meetdraw is a not for profit organisation and everyone who helps make it happen does it for fun and no material rewards. So a big thank you to the Butchers and everyone who has helped make it possible in 2011 – from you the members, through to the sponsors, venues and companies that have lent time and resource to making it happen.