It takes an hour to get from Worcester to Hartford. That's nothing. I drove over three hours (each way) to go to the New England meetups in the past. It was worth it.
If driving an hour each way is too far for for anyone to go to a meet up with a bunch of great people - it speaks to how they really feel about getting together with their friends, not the length of the drive.
Is anybody gonna get punched in the face. I'd hate to miss that.