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I agree that chapter is, by nature, meant to get stuff done, communicate information, make decisions, etc., it can be very dry. And in large chapters, they're crowded and hot and people get antsy quickly. So yes, efficiency is important as is looking for ways to keep things positive and end on a positive. I like the "ending on a pro" thing, and when I was in college my chapter had little weekly "awards" that were given out at the end of each chapter meeting, I honestly can't remember the names or what was given out, but one was a nice, sappy, sisterly one (someone who had a tough week that needed support or did something really great and deserved recognition), and the second was a more sarcastic one, sister's "nominated" each other and the chapter voted on who got it, the stories were usually hilarious and everyone left the chapter room laughing and talking about it.
If the chapter's too big to have discussions like that at the end, you can also try "incentive"-type things to liven things up and make people want to come to meetings. Have a giveaway treat bag they have to be at chapter to be in the drawing to have a chance at getting it; pose a trivia question and whoever comes to chapter and turns in the correct answer gets...something. Have a drawing at chapter for "sister of the week" and she gets some special privilege or a free pass out of a required event or something (if you can spare the people). Sounds like a simple approach, but if you're not doing anything like it currently, just doing SOMEthing different can sometimes spark people's interest and make them want to come again.
Good luck!
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