Induction of the Denver Metro Reef Club

[chadscharf]

With some of the new things going on in the RMRC I felt it would beneficial to all Denver/Metro area reef club participants to extend the RMRC to include a Denver/Metro chapter in addition to the north chapter.

A lot of discussion has taken place in the last week including those revolving around RMRC membership, events, sponsors, etc. RMRC includes the entire Rocky Mountain Region which plays host to all of Colorado. There is currently only a North Colorado chapter encompassing members within and around the Fort Collins, Greeley and Loveland areas. This chapter and its events are typically not easily accessible by RMRC members or guests located in the Denver/Metro area, even as far south as Highlands Ranch and Castle Rock. Because of this, I feel it is important to revive the Denver Metro Reef Club as a chapter of the RMRC to allow fellow Denver area residents (us city folk) the opportunity to host our own events, meetings, etc with the common goal of the North Colorado chapter, to support the RMRC.

This proposed chapter of the RMRC would operate under its bylaws and would provide joint efforts in promoting and funding RMRC events including support for bringing in nationally recognized speakers, renting space for frag swaps, workshops, etc. The Denver Metro Reef Club would also adopt the mission statement of the RMRC and its board of directors would report to the RMRC board under its operating agreement.

I'm sure these details can be worked out in the near future, however I wanted to get this out there so we could begin work on getting this new chapter of the RMRC up and going and have board elections ready to go around the same time as the North Chapter's.

I am hoping to get approval and help from Christina and the current RMRC board of directors in setting up this new chapter and hope as well that the members and guests who use this forum will begin to see value in what the RMRC has to offer and be able to proliferate the number of registered or even premium members in order to facilitate the RMRC mission statement.

I will be posting a copy of this on RMRC's website at http://www.rmrc.info in the members general forum.

Christina, I've sent you a PM asking for a little more information on getting the chapter started and organized, however I wanted to get this out there so everyone knew what my intentions are and that we don't have any duplicate efforts underway.

In the meantime, if anyone has any comments, suggestions, or questions I hope you will use this thread as a way of letting myself, the RMRC, and the general community know what you think and if you have any questions (not to speak for anyone else, but questions are more than welcome). I would like to get the community's support behind this effort as to give us Denver/Metro area members and guests (us city folk) more transparency into the RMRC's processes and operations as well as to benefit all of us in using combined purchasing, negotiating and funding power in further our club and community that we all hold so dear.

Best Regards,
Chad Scharf

[chadscharf]

All in favor of starting the Denver Metro Reef Club say Aye. (or type it). I will gauge interest and will be setting up a meeting time and location to discuss the start of the club.

If anyone has any questions in the meantime please let me know.

Thanks,
Chad

[bmwardo]

Aye, thanks Chad.

[Clown-N-Around]

From the bylaws:
"A local or regional group may join as a Chapter by a 2/3-majority vote of its members and approval of the Board. "

So there are two steps to becoming a chapter:
1) Have a group that wants to uphold the bylaws and join in the mission of the RMRC. Take a vote- your group must agree by 2/3 majority that it wants to be part of RMRC.

2) Apply to the board of RMRC to become a chapter. This can be through email to board@rmrc.info. The board will vote whether or not to accept your application. We may ask you to attend a board meeting and tell us about your group so we can make an informed decision.

For more information:
The bylaws outline the ongoing requirements of chapters. For example, having two chapter officials, recording member attendance, reporting and submitting all funds to the RMRC treasurer, etc. We have tried to streamline administration for the chapters as much as possible while still protecting the club and its members. In return, we hope our chapters benefit from being part of a larger reef community and the types of educational events RMRC provides. Each chapter also gets a voting seat on the main board to help make decisions affecting the club as a whole.

I hope that answers some of your basic questions and helps outline the next steps you can take. Don't hesitate to ask if any more questions come up.

Thanks!

[chadscharf]

Noting Christina's input from above, our inaugural meeting's agenda will contain time for appropriate voting, etc so everyone deciding they want to be a part of the Denver Metro Reef Club (or whatever we vote for the name to be at this first meeting) will have an equal vote towards all of the startup-club type things such as the name, meeting frequencies, etc.

I will try to facilitate this process as best I can to ensure that everyone in the Denver/Metro area has an opportunity to show thier interest, support, or give general guidance and input.

Thanks,
Chad

[Madman133]

I would love a more southern are club. Most of the meetings are too far North for me to attend being that I am down here in Castle Rock. Thanks chad for heading this up!!!
-Taylor

[BumblebeeGoby4]

Aye

[VikeBron]

Big time AYE.....even though I am in the North...great initiative Chad.

Get 'er done.............what a flippin redneck am I:)

[adams0816]

from the ncas AYE, good job Chad

[Msoar16]

Aye

[waynesworld]

Mad man we are further south you can come to our meetings

Steve it still is better when Amanda says it

[jwhyne]

Aye!

[bmb527]

I thought there was a Denver club. D.A.R.C., was I mistaken? Is this club not affiliated with RMRC? I was just wondering.
Bill

[zombiedust]

Hey bmb527, there is DARC ( Denver Area Reef Club) and it has it's own forum now and some pretty cool discounts for everyone ! Drop by.

[Clown-N-Around]

Hi, Bill,

You back in town, now?

[VikeBron]

Hi Bill,
darc is not affiliated with RMRC at all. They are a completely different club.

[denverhoss]

Will having two Denver reef clubs be a good thing or a bad thing? Would the two groups persue different agendas? Are there enough active reefers to fully support more than one group (or the opposite, are there too many to manage in one group). Is there any interest or benefit in merging the DARC group into a Denver RMRC chapter? Just some things to think about.
Hoss

[bmwardo]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9483336#post9483336 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by denverhoss
Will having two Denver reef clubs be a good thing or a bad thing? Would the two groups persue different agendas? Are there enough active reefers to fully support more than one group (or the opposite, are there too many to manage in one group). Is there any interest or benefit in merging the DARC group into a Denver RMRC chapter? Just some things to think about.
Hoss

We will have to wait and see if having two Denver reef clubs is a good or bad thing. RMRC needs a Denver area Chapter as it only had a northern chapter before, so that is a good thing. The two groups have indeed decided to purue different agendas.

There are over 300 registered members on the RMRC website, it is up to them to support the RMRC and it's chapters if they wish. So far from what I can see RMRC has done a fantastic job with managing that many reefers, for example: the mini conference that was recently held with several fantastic speakers, I don't know if anyone had something bad to say about the conference.

The conversation in the past few weeks has sorted out that there is a benefitfor a Denver RMRC chapter and DARC has decided they will not be that chapter.

It seems as the goal of this thread is to determine the amount of Denver area hobbyists that want a Chapter here in the area. I for one fully support it.

[zombiedust]

Eh! ...Just join the one that makes you the most comfortable. Thats what the clubs are for. I will haunt all the forums anyway no matter how many are formed....Cheers

[chadscharf]

This is definately an opportunity to take an already large and well organized group (RMRC that is) and expand its chapter portfolio to include the Denver/Metro area.

By doing this we allow a more diverse membership and participation in RMRC events and support for the club as well as provide more clout and bartering power to negotiate better benefits for RMRC's members, whichever chapter people may be affiliated.

I myself look forward to getting a Denver club together for something more than occasional get togethers or small events but rather use the organizational facilities provided by RMRC to provide so much more to our club members. This also gives a great opportunity to interested parties in the Denver/Metro area who want to be a part of this club and hopefully future chapter of the RMRC to structure the club, name it, choose its leadership, etc and have a lot of fun creating something that is in everyone's best interests and something everyone can feel comfortable with.

[larryl]

Count me in for the Denver Metro club.

[cirujano]

I want to become a Denver Metro club member.

[fishfanatic06]

Aye

[bmb527]

Hey all, I am down for a Denver chapter. I am back in town,...kind of. I commute to JFK for work and come back here on my days off to be w/ my family. It's great to be home!!! Sorry for the OT post.
Bill

[chadscharf]

It looks like we'll have plenty of support for starting a Denver Metro club chapter.

Next Step is to come up with a time and place for our first meeting. I don't mind hosting the first meeting at my place, however I would like as large of a turn-out as possible and seeing as I live in Westminster and a lot of folks live in the Highlands Ranch, Aurora, Centennial and Castle Rock area I figured I would ask if everyone was willing to travel a little north for the first meeting or if someone else wants to volunteer a meeting space. We would then need to set up a date and time that works for most folks (near impossible, I know, but we can at least try).

After the first meeting we will have a better idea of our geographic outline and where the majority of the members in the club live or where it is most convenient for them to meet. This will also give new members or people interested in gauging a possible Denver Metro and South Denver club, but we'll see.

When we do come up with a meeting place, date and time, for any people that can not make it to the meeting, I will post detailed meeting minutes on RMRC's web site after the meeting and leave all voting, decisions and discussions open for a few days following to give you the opportunity to participate.

OK, before I type too much further and start babeling, again, I leave my home completely open for our first meeting, I am on 120th and Zuni (5 blocks west of I-25 on 120th Ave). If anyone else wants to volunteer a spot or thier home where we can all meet for our inaugural meeting where most people will be able to attend (location-wise), please feel free. Once we have a place, then we'll come up with a date. Anyone wanting to volunteer privately pending a date and remain anonymous for now may PM me instead.

Thanks again,
Chad

[Clown-N-Around]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9492428#post9492428 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bmb527
Hey all, I am down for a Denver chapter. I am back in town,...kind of. I commute to JFK for work and come back here on my days off to be w/ my family. It's great to be home!!! Sorry for the OT post.
Bill

OK- so now for my OT reply :) Welcome back! Wow- and I thought commuting to downtown Denver from Ft Collins was a long trip!

[spleify]

AYE- I am relativly new to Denver (2 years) and think this would be a great idea. I also just recently found RMRC and registered. I am excited to get a Denver chapter going and would be willing to do anything I could to help out. Thanks in advance and make it a great day!!

[miwoodar]

AYE!

I support the RMRC 'greater-good' approach to clubbing and will be happy to lend some time to get the metro chapter under way.

My doors are also open to hold a metro club meeting. I'm on the south side though - in Highlands Ranch.

[chadscharf]

OK, let's get the ball rolling! YAY!

I am planning on hosting the first Denver/Metro club meeting at my place. If this is too far for most, I would like to determine that within the next couple of weeks so we can work on any other volunteers for a location on this date:

Date: Saturday, April 7th, 2007
Time: 2:00 PM MST
Where: Chad's House, 11880 Bryant Cir, Westminster, CO 80234

My number is (303) 550-4490 if you need to contact me for anything. I will furnish drinks, snacks, etc for the meeting (or at least my wife Joey will).

Once the meeting place and time is concrete I will post a new thread containing the full meeting details, agenda, etc.

Thanks,
Chad

[Zooid]

Westminster is perfect for me since I live in Arvada lol

[jwhyne]

Perfect for me. Google maps says you are 3.3 miles from my house (roughly 134th and Zuni)!

[Clown-N-Around]

I'll be there :)

[chadscharf]

^^ bump ^^

Please let me know if anyone else is interested or has a difference of opinion on location.

[adams0816]

yeay, Great job guys. I'll look at my scedule to see if I can make it, any ideas on the subject for the meeting?

[chadscharf]

Topics, let's see.... How about, "What has Chad screwed up with his tank?", Just kidding, LOL.

Perhaps transpertation, prolonged storage and tank/specimen transfer. I know we all have to move things in and out of the tank at one time or another it might be helpful to discuss sucesses, failures, etc. Perhaps what species need what accomodations or considerations during a tank move/transfer.

I also know we have a few new folks to the Denver area as well as to the hobby, perhaps some discussion on starting a new tank. I'm sure those of us thinking of or in the middle of a tank upgrade/change might benefit from a discussion on this topic as well.

Any other ideas for a main topic of discussion (other than the club business) feel free to chime in.

My step-daughter can even give a lecture on how badly she's wanted to touch the green brain in the tank to see what it feels like ever since we broght it home ;-).

[adams0816]

Sounds good, Even the newbies can gain a lot of info from this one. Time to start getting a list of people who are going to show up for this one. Clown-n-Around just recently done a move & I know her & her husband has done a couple of tank moves since I've known them. I personally haven't done a tank move in 3 years but I remember the headaches.

[jwhyne]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9555914#post9555914 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chadscharf

My step-daughter can even give a lecture on how badly she's wanted to touch the green brain in the tank to see what it feels like ever since we broght it home ;-).

Now that sounds like a good story.

[Clown-N-Around]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9558524#post9558524 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by adams0816
Sounds good, Even the newbies can gain a lot of info from this one. Time to start getting a list of people who are going to show up for this one. Clown-n-Around just recently done a move & I know her & her husband has done a couple of tank moves since I've known them. I personally haven't done a tank move in 3 years but I remember the headaches.

I would be happy to speak on tank moves if people are interested. We did 8 tank moves in the last 18 months - 4 due to upgrades of various tanks, moving our 125 off of and back on to the hardwood when it was refinished and moving two tanks from Ft Collins to Denver! I have learned a lot about what works and what doesn't.

[chadscharf]

That sounds awesome. I think we have our topic. Thanks!

[chadscharf]

OK, now you know I'm bored today...
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m199/chadscharf/DMRC-logo.gif

[miwoodar]

I'll be there on the 7th. Thanks Chad for hosting and for the presentation ideas.

Christina - I want to hear stories of the tank moves. I did one in October and hope to never have to do it again.

If anyone has interest in seeing a DIY battery backup I could bring mine to one of the meetings. It would help if we could have someone with true electrical skills to help discuss it (anyone? - please chime in). It sounds like this meeting has a full agenda but maybe for the next? The unit cost ~$150 in parts and only took a few hours to assemble. When the power goes out it kicks on automatically and can power my circulation pumps for ~24 hours.

[jwhyne]

I would love to hear about that.