Internet group brings local moms together

Between 60 to 70 people gathered at the Dothan fire station on West Main Street. With about half of them being children, things got a little noisy.

There were babies, toddlers and children nearing kindergarten age but not quite there yet. They got to see the inside of the fire truck. They climbed up on the back of fire truck, or they were lifted up. They ran around in excitement. They watched a puppet show.

A few nights later, the group sat around a table at Top Thai. This time, however, the moms got a night to themselves.

The group is called Dothan Moms Meetup, and it gives mothers, grandmothers or even nannies a chance to get together for activities with the children as well as opportunities for moms to socialize without children.

“I get to have adult conversations,” said Gina Mortimer, who started the group about three months ago. “I don’t have to talk about poo all day.”

Mortimer moved to Dothan from Tallahasse, Fla., with her family last fall after her husband received a job promotion and a transfer. With a 4-year-old and an 18-month-old, Mortimer is a stay-at-home mom who quit her career in restaurant management when she had her oldest son.

As a parent, she learned quickly that making friends, especially those with children, is not always easy. So a month after moving to Dothan, Mortimer started the Dothan Moms Meetup group — similar to one she was a member of in Tallahassee. And just a few months later the group has 114 members.

“I didn’t know anyone here,” said Leah Fish, who moved to Dothan from Niceville, Fla., and is a member of the Dothan Moms Meetup group. “It’s a way to meet people, and it gets me out of my house.”

The Dothan Moms group is just one of several local Meetup groups. Meetup.com is an Internet-based network for a variety of groups whose members have common interests and gather together in different communities. It boasts more than 68,000 groups and 6 million members. A quick search by zip code shows at least 10 Meetup groups in the Wiregrass with topics ranging from scrapbooking to meditation. There’s even a Fort Rucker Moms Meetup group.

“It’s definitely for somebody who’s new here,” Dothan Moms member Nikki Kim said. “My biggest gripe about Dothan was I didn’t anybody. I didn’t know where to go.”

Not all the members are stay-at-home moms or women who are new to the area. Some, like Nicole Cotton, grew up in Dothan and have plenty of friends. The problem was many of her friends didn’t have children.

Misty Cornelius has lived in Dothan for four years and had difficulty finding friends who have children the same ages as her own. Cornelius joined another moms group, but it fizzled after a while, she said.

“If you don’t know people, you go crazy sitting at home,” Cornelius said.

Mortimer said it’s also about creating opportunities for their children to interact with others.

Dothan Moms Meetup keeps a booked calendar with an event or play date almost every day. Of course, not all 114 members show up for every event. Typically, outings draw smaller groups of 10 to 20 at a time. They visit local places like Landmark Park, Westgate Park, businesses and even each other’s homes.

Mortimer said while the group gives moms a release, the gatherings teach their children how to interact with the world around them.

“I want them to know this world’s not all about them,” Mortimer said of her sons, Memphis and Sawyer. “I want them to be good people and to have good hearts.”
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Want to know more?
If you’re interested in joining Dothan Moms Meetup, visit the link http://www.meetup.com/Dothan-Moms-Meetup/ or to check out other local groups, visit www.meetup.com.