Dude, setup a gotomeeting.com room. I was doing online collaboration like 10 years ago. LOL. It's pretty easy. I think most of these types of teleconferences can be recorded and played back for those who cannot call in and attend.
IT MUST BE ACCESSIBLE TO THOSE WHO CANNOT ATTEND LIVE!!
I think I've used WebEx and CitRix. I am just throwing out some name brands... but please pick one of the major providers. You should be able to get some with screen support, so you (or the designated leader) can broadcast their screen.
Do not try to set it up in-house, please. We should use a decentralized provider which can take tons of call-ins, share screens, and collaborate with a record. A lot of the major features are free. You might need to foot the bill for some features, pro bono. :)
You have my email address as I have talked to you before this idea started.
Again, here is the one I used starting around 2005 or so, but not lately. Hopefully someone around may have more advice, but at least start here: http://www.gotomeeting.com/
I do request that you offer a system that is accessible with a phone line and not just VOIP. I have a slow Internet connection. You used to be able to install a program on your Windows PC and call in separately for the audio. The video screen could sometimes be slow to update, but since you are phoned in, the audio and important part would be clear and keep everyone connected.
I recommend an evening time in Central Standard Time, US.
There are other collaboration providers and apps out there. There are web-based ones, and of course even Google offers sharing. My "Audit" is a Google Sheets document which is publicly shared. These things are out there. I would really research ways to do Internet collaboration and see what comes up.
If we could simplify and use something prebuilt... Google apps and gotomeeting.com, I think we will find that we can meet up and share stuff.
My advice to you is this:
You will need to double your efforts on collaboration... Meaning that you will likely need to attend and lead all meetings, while most folks will be missing every other one due to scheduling. So plan on repeating yourself a lot.
Also, test the collaboration system.
If you pick something, do a trial with a small 3 to 5 group of people. Then and only then announce it for everyone.
I am speaking from experience. I used to lead a subgroup for weekly meetings. I had 5 to 10 subordinates. I, in turn, was one of 10 or 20 leaders who would meet online to hear from the CEO and the top echelon.
Also, as long as everything is recorded, you can tell stragglers to go listen to the online record of the meeting. Otherwise, they miss out on things, and you do not want someone falling behind.
I think that's a perfect idea. Can you email me your number so we can talk?
I just did. It is also looking like you will need to set a date or time or no one will know the best time to get on the chat or whatever. When I used meeting software/teleconferencing, it was setup on a definite schedule. Early folks would log in 5 minutes ahead, and by about 5 minutes after the hour, most people were there. But if someone was unable to attend, they could log in and listen to the whole conversation.
So what's the status on this?