Just my two cents, but Mississippi Crappie camps have become so popular (mainly due to the hard work of those who plan and run them) that it's become more than one person can handle. I know other states have a committee of sorts that consists of a few people. One person is in charge of reserving a site and setting a date. Another person plans a meal. Yet another person plans different presentations, raffles and door prizes. Someone else is in charge of organizing a clean up crew. Kentucky does it this way and they have one of the most organized and informative shindigs I have ever attended.
Then Missouri has a huge get together twice a year at Truman Lake. Their camps aren't as structured as Kentucky's but it is always a huge hit. They usually get together on Friday night and have a pot luck cook out. They will have several grills going and you just bring what you would like to cook. Then Saturday after a day of fishing, they put on a big fish fry with everyone bringing a dish of help cook. They don't worry about give aways or raffles and everyone still has a blast just visiting and enjoying fellowship.
I guess it can be successful being very structured with enough volunteers to break up the chores or it can be casual and still be a big success.