Agreed, however am in Los Angeles. Would recommend remote but this type of thing might be better in person. Perhaps each city can create their own. Even in LA there'd probably need to be a group in each part of town, like west, downtown, and/or Pasadena.
I'm game location-wise from about Hollywood to DTLA, however not in a hiring position right now. Will be looking for a gig of my own shortly as my current contract finishes.