I'm so tired of people saying stuff like " I'm gonna be praying for you". I'd rather them say "I'm gonna be paying for you". ...Because Entergy isn't cheap!
I remember when I visited the VA hospital in New Orleans (pre-Katrina) and the girl at the check in desk asked me "What religion?" I replied "none" and she sized me up, curled her lip, sighed and rolled her eyes. Before I left the hospital I noticed that in the info she typed up for me she put "Religion: Christian"
I just started a Freethought group at Louisiana Tech in March. You aren't the only one in North Louisiana, though I am originally from the South. We have 43 members on our Facebook page! Granted not all of them are atheist.
It wasn't that hard to get going, but it helps if you have connections.
The Secular Student Alliance will send you a free starter package with fliers, stickers, bracelets, and, most importantly, a group running guide.
They will also set up a facebook page for you. I use the page to invite people, announce meetings, and have discussions.
I do spend time creating fliers and posting them, but usually you can get help doing this, so its not so bad. If I am working alone, I simply post in the high traffic areas such as around the cafeteria.
It does help tremendously if you have friends or acquaintances who are also freethinkers who can help you form your group.
As to how much time it consumes, it is hard to estimate. Meetings are biweekly and require some planning, but not too much as I try to leave the much of the content up to the members.
Nice to meet you. We're actually in Tulsa right now, but trying to get home. We have a 4 year old kid, so until the school situation gets better in New Orleans, we'll have to wait. We've discussed Lafayette as a segue. We made Festival Acadiennes every year - other than that, it's still better than Tulsa...