The nearest one to me is about an hour and a half away--IF traffic isn't bad. There's no way I could've gotten to meetings these past year with my job and family. I really wanted that fellowship since I'd enjoyed the 3 clubs I was in so I wrote the National Office about 3 years ago to start an alum chapter.
Unfortunately, there was all this work to do that I knew I'd end up doing alone and some money I would've had to front--for letters and phone calls and such--so I let it alone.
Your situation would be different since you're surrounded by alums!