Schedule that potluck and make it a real event, not just another meeting. Pick a theme each month, like slow cooker meals or everyone's favorite childhood comfort food. Have a sign up sheet so you get a good mix of mains, sides, and desserts instead of six bags of chips. Those shared meals let senior guys pass on shop tips to the new kids in a way the manual never could. It builds a real team feeling that just makes the long nights easier to handle.

Argue that if your spread's a mess, you won't even want to use it.