February meeting- I am making my first real Drupal site and want to do it right

I have not been to a meeting for a year or so, my how time flies. I offered to make a discussion and information website for the Washtenaw County rain garden program and now they want it. Mainly, it is for their Master Rain Gardener program for students to interact on a forum, the organizer to make postings (tips, tricks, reminders), and ultimately a plant selection guide. I thought this may be a good project for me to use Drupal on but reading books and forums are not the same as an actual implementation.

I am looking for feedback and advice to make it as user and administrative friendly as possible- I am doing this pro-bono for the experience.

I have the hosting and installation covered (I make a lot of brochureware sites) but I get a little intimidated with all of the options and possible configurations Drupal has.

Any chance on discussing this for a few minutes Monday night?

Thanks,

David