Documents from the chapters meeting

On a basic level I see the chapters as another way for people to connect with each other and they provide alternative methods of communication for users. So, I see it as a way to address some issues related to community health. It also could be a vehicle for WMF volunteers in various wikis to organize in order to better collaborate across wiki or with outside organizations.

I agree with this. I think outreach in general -- both internally and externally -- is a great role for Chapters to play. The German Wikimedia Chapter gave birth to the idea of Wikipedia Academies, and they could play a great role in distributing swag as well.

I guess I'm still not clear on what it is that Chapters do. My understanding is that they were just meet-ups for active volunteers. I wasn't aware that they had more/different responsibilities than the rest of us online folks.

My understanding is that there has been growing interest in better utilizing chapters. This would be maximizing on the areas where they have been successful already, and looking for other ways that they would enhance WMF.

I suggest reading the Chapter reports for a snapshot of their activities.