Howdy all, I’m mlimb’s brother in Oklahoma. Sounds like you would like to organize a group, but based in past experiences and hard feelings it hasn’t happened yet.
Let me talk a bit about Central Oklahoma Marine Aquarium Society (COMAS) based out of Oklahoma City. I’m not sure when it first started, but I’ve been with it for going on 3 years, and love it. We are a mixed group of reefers ranging from tanks of 600+gallons to nanocubes with everything in between. There are over 100 active members and about 35 show up at our monthly meetings. We do pay small dues ($25 yearly) to pay for equipment (light meters, refractometers, glass clamps, etc.) that all members can use free of charge. We also have a very successful donor frag program. Someone donates a frag (any healthy frag is sufficient) to the club which is adopted by a member. The member agrees to provide a healthy environment and grow the coral for the club. When the frag doubles in size, they then cut a new frag and return it to the club for someone else to grow. We also have excellent sponsorship from local and online vendors to promote attendance at the meetings. For example at our January meeting I won a Sequence Snapper pump. We also had MH ballasts, filters, food, frags, rock and much more (I think everyone got something). We also have DIY projects and selling/trading forums, tours, and much more.
If you have questions about our club, I’d be happy to answer them, or pass them along to our president. Good luck with your group.