Frag Swap Presentations

[cerreta]

Are people interested in having presentations at the frag swaps?

Do you prefer going to another persons home for the event, or would you prefer a more predictable setting like at a restaurant with a meeting room?

If anyone is interested in giving a one hour presentaion, what subject would you like to present?

Any other ideas on what can be done to improve our social gatherings?

[SahuaritaMike]

Are people interested in having presentations at the frag swaps?---Yes I am always eager to learn

Do you prefer going to another persons home for the event, or would you prefer a more predictable setting like at a restaurant with a meeting room?----Reefers homes, it gives you an opportunity to see what others tanks look like and gives ideas. Also could deversify the crowd as some who would skip one frag auction because its too far then when one hits their area they attend and there is always a mix of people.

If anyone is interested in giving a one hour presentaion, what subject would you like to present?---LOL um no. I think an hour is kinda long I think a few 15min presentations would work better.

Any other ideas on what can be done to improve our social gatherings?---Long list... First encourage all reefers alike even the ones who shop with Hector and Petco to attend. Maybe make some flyers and post them at LFS and pet stores around town and myabe even neighboring towns heck if we all donated $5-10 we could get a nice ad in the paper for a week. Find sponsors to cater the bigger events maybe like twice a year (I would be good at getting others $$$ LOL). I could probably go on and on about the different ways we could improve but I really think it needs to start with all of us, maybe being nicer with each other about where we shop and who we hang out with in the reefing scene or why my method of reefing is different from his and why hes wrong and I am right. Bottom line is its up to us weather we take this club to the next level or continue to struggle... I am all for taking it to the next level. My 25 cents worth.

Michael

[cerreta]

Great ideas! Ok, I elect Mike the leader of this evolution. :) :)

[boydx6]

In the Tampa club, we have our meetings at a fellow reefers home. The meeting starts out with the host telling us about their tank. What equip they have and why they chose it. Then the floor is open for questions. Then we have 2-3 topics for education. It is not a convert over to my way of thinking session or a debate. It is facts only. If you get members debating why one way is better than another, it will lead to arguments. It is information only and you decide if it is right for you or not. Some meetings we have a local wholesaler come out and have a small frag auction. (may not be an option in Tucson) Other times the club purchases a colony or two and the members frag it at no cost to the members. Everyone gets a frag if wanted.

It looks like you are heading in the right direction.

[cerreta]

I can do a presentation on Aquascaping and on sump design.

[Satori]

With living so far away, I don't make it to too many of these, but I have made it to a few. I like people's houses because it's friendly and there's a tank to look at. I also like the place where FRAG/PROP meets because, well, I like bars... :lol:

I would rather see them at homes, but that's kind of limiting. Not everyone has a home large enough to host that many people. Scott, could you imagine hosting 30 people at your house? I know my house could hold about 6. So we end up going to the same houses over and over. Not that there is anything wrong with Gary's and Adam's houses, those were perfect!

Frank's presentation was great, but maybe a little long. The raffle was a great idea; everyone likes the lottery. :)

No matter what we do with these things, I think we do need to keep the auction portion. People get to a point where they need to trim corals to keep them from touching and want to pass those frags on in an easy way. Individual sales and trades are labor intensive and difficult to keep track of, especially if you have more than a few frags. Auctions are also perfect for people to pick up new pieces quickly and easily and build or diversify thier tanks.

This means we also need a regular volunteer to run the laptop with the auction software.

If everyone hasn't been to a FRAG/PROP meeting in Phoenix, I highly reccomend it. They have it down to a science, and one meeting can teach volumes.

[McCrary]

Those are some great ideas Mike, you seem to have a knack for this kind of thing, lol. I definitetly think that you should be the guy to take our little club to the next level. Honestly I don't think that bickering will be a problem, hopefully all of us are mature enough to realize that it isn't going to be of benefit to anyone.

P.S. Scott can also give presentations on plumbing and skimmers, lol.

[Satori]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9945292#post9945292 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TurboSnail8898
Honestly I don't think that bickering will be a problem, hopefully all of us are mature enough to realize that it isn't going to be of benefit to anyone.

The "bickering" only happens here where emphasis and intent are hard to express. Get us all together and we're like best friends! :D

[McCrary]

My sentiments exactly, we all seem to get along when we get together.

[SahuaritaMike]

Doh, leader!!!

LOL I am willing to get the ball rolling if you are all interested? I guess it would be good to know what you all can bring to the plate as far as contributing to the club.

I can go first.... I can organize the group functions from the place to the food. I can drink beer (oops a little off track). I can get with vendors and suppliers to maybe start considering our club for group buys and club discounts. I can provide a laptop for the functions. I am sure there is more but I guess this is good start.

Michael

And if there is anymore bickering I can bring a bouncer to the frag auctions :) .

[cerreta]

And if there is anymore bickering I can bring a bouncer to the frag auctions

Can you get Doc Holiday? I bet we have the largest turnout ever.

This is ironic. It seems that interest shown thus far expresses what we have been doing for the past year: People's homes, frag swap, auction format, food, etc.

The only new pieces are presentations, raffles sponsored by LFS donated goods, club member discounts at LFS and group buys. I like the group buy idea. The Phoenix group does it with regularity. That includes livestock and drygoods. Because the Phoenix forums are hobbyist dominated, they do not feel pressures from LFS's when buying fish and coral from the wholesalers.

Mike, these are great ideas. The next step is to find someone, or a small group of people who are willing to organize the events. I do not think it is necessary to form a "club" As long as there is a leader to stay on top of the organized activities, people will follow and attend.

Hey Matt! Didn't you tell me last night that you were bored out of your mind? Pony up brotha, get in on the organizing tasks.

IDEAS FOR DISCUSSION:

In order for this to take off, we need leaders to do the organizing and we must set a regular interval for the event to take place. I think to start; we should try for every third month. If it takes off and becomes organized than bimonthly would be perfect.

The other concern I have is the location. While someone's home is a popular choice, it may not be practical. If we select every third Sunday at 1300, then what if we have no one available to open their house for the event. Cancellations should be avoided in order for the events to be successful. Plus, as the event grows it will be hard to fit 30 people into homes. I think it is best to find a predictable meeting place. If someone volunteers a home, then we go there, if no volunteers than we go to the usual spot.

This works very well in Phoenix. People drive from all over Phoenix to Gar and Brill in Scottsdale. Once you go to the location once, it is easy to find it each and every time after that, which is not the case if we rotate homes. They have a separate event called parade of the reefs, which is popular but has no where near the turnout as the auction events.

One other discussion should be resolved before organizing takes place. Who attends these events? Do we want it to be open attendance, club members only, or hobbyists only with special invitation to professionals? Most of you know my feelings on this issue. I am an advocate for this group to be controlled and ran by hobbyists. I am not opposed to professionals in attendance, but there attendance should be defined and by invitation.

Case in point, Rob has been coming to the last several functions. Sometimes he buys, sometimes buys and sells, sometimes he donates items, and other times he just hangs out. His role is undefined. Frank's visit in January was defined and regulated. He was there to run a raffle and give a presentation. Everyone welcomed and appreciated his attendance. I see the same thing happen in Phoenix where Frank is a very welcome member to the event. I think we should treat all the professionals with the same due regard. Have them at the events with defined roles. Therefore, everyone leaves the event feeling satisfied with its structure. That will bring them back to the next event.

From my understanding, the Phoenix FRAG event is for hobbyists only and has over 40 people in attendance at each event. I have had discussions with Skip from ATR before about his presence not being appreciated at these events. True, even at an event where he was invited to do a fragging demo. In our discussion he brought up a valid point. He is not welcome to sell frags or buy at these events, because the events are reserved for hobbyists. Yet, Frank from LA is invited to attend monthly and does just that. He hosts a raffle and he sells corals by private list to anyone that wishes him to bring stock from his LA store and he also participates in the auctions by buying coral. This is a concern. Frank from CA is welcome but not LFS's. I do not intend for this to be bashing in any sense. And if I am wrong about my recounts of the above statements, I invite the offended parties to puleeze correct me. I bring this up because it is a small glitch to the many successes in the Phoenix group. However, I have had discussions with hobbyists about these concerns, so they are genuine. I wish to avoid them in our group.

The point is that we should discuss the vital roles of professionals at our events. Boundaries and roles should be defined and exact. If we permit special invitations by professionals, than we should do it equally. As a suggestion, we should rotate the attendance of pros. Allow SW one month, OTF the next, and Frank after that, and so on. If any other LFS or outside group wishes to participate than they should request so from the leaders to organize a future meeting. I understand Skip's perspective and it is valid. Why Frank is invited regularly and local venues are not. Likewise, we asked Frank to come to our January event. It was a success. He held a raffle, provided a slide show presentation and bought and sold some corals. We should extend these same opportunities to the LFS's, especially if we would like them to offer discounts, provide items for raffle and support future events.

[Satori]

Scott, Honestly, I don't mind WHO comes. Even if Hector came and bid on a coral, I would be fine. Bottom line is that we get together, we talk reef, meet people, and adjust our tank's diversity (plus or minus). I have never minded Rob or Zach buying or selling at our auctions. I remember the one at Gary's when there was some grumbling that Zach was buying all the SPS and making it known that he was going to bid them up. I say: Great for the seller.

( :) )

[Satori]

And anyone who is watching, please know that while Scott and I have differing views, we are not arguing; in fact, we are good friends. :) This is the way of type-written forums.

[cerreta]

That's funny, because Zach would never win the auctions. hehehe. I don't think think he was intending to bid them up, I really think he was trying to win, just kept getting outbid. If he was doing this purposefully, then it should be considered a problem.

I really don't see Zach as a pro, he no longer has or works at a store. He may still have some wholesale drygoods connections, but I think he is just addicted like the rest of us.

Mike, I know we disagree on this issue.
These events should be intended for hobbyist benefits, not pros trying to pedal there goods, unless it is by invitation. That is why they have a store. Must they bring their store to hobbyist events too?

[cerreta]

You're not my freind anymore! Why ain't you on my side :)

I here others make the same arguments I do, but their voices are often not expressed here, just in person at the events. So they are still genuine concerns that should be discussed.

If the majority and group leaders agree that the events should be open format attendance, then that is fine. Then the boundries are established and defined, that is what's important.

[Satori]

Ah, prime example of miscommunication with a post. (on my part) :)
I didn't mean that he was bidding them up to drive up the price, just that he was bidding on all SPS.

[lovelylinda]

I can host an auction, and love to bring food. My corals are small- no frags to contribute. Not much knowledge top contribute, either...

[BigDaddy]

It sounds like this is developing nicely... :D

[boydx6]

If you guys get tired of me butting in let me know!

If this is going to be an OFFICIAL club, how do you plan to raise money? I suggest that you use the frag auctions to raise money. Maybe a portion of each sale goes to the club. We have 75% to the seller and 25% to the club. We also have 20.00 yearly dues. We are considering charging 5.00 to non members to participate in the auction. The reason behind this is that there are people that only show up for the auctions and do not participate in the club functions. Some of the money, 30.00, goes to the host of the auction to pay for refreshments and food.

[cerreta]

You are welcome here.

I like the ideas, but not sure we want an official "club." A non formal group has worked pretty well thus far and our turnouts have been very good at around twenty per event.

It would be nice to add more regularity of event times and defined goals without the dues. There is also interest to offer more education at teh events. However, if it does evolve to collect money, than I like the way Phoenix does it. They take a small percentage 10% from sales at the auctions. All money is subtracted before exchanging hands. Very easy and efficient.

[Satori]

I agree with keeping it non formal. It seems to be working. We could use something more predictable, say the first Sunday of every-other month. Then people could plan more easily.

[tropoasis]

Thanks for the kind words Scott!

I definitely enjoyed coming out to the meeting in January, sorry if the presentation was a little too long... My presentations are setup for events which they want the speaker to talk for an hour or more. I can always shorten it :D

I would love to attend another Tucson event, just let me know when and I'll schedule it in!

Thanks!
Frank

[oddiseus]

Im for the non-formal thing. I think what we need is a calendar. that way we can arrange for days off, not having family functions etc... before the date. we can even do a roll call type of post, similar to the forums in phx. I think with a lot more planning ahead we can keep our attendance high. For instance I had not been online for a bit and almost missed the next frag swap info, had there been a calendar I could have known about a date ahead of time. We could forcast a few future dates at a time.

[mlimb]

I'd like to participate. I'm trying to get some info on DIY night lights. When I get the stuff and figure it out, I'd be willing to share the knowledge. Let me know. Also, if no one is against it, Saturday's are much better for me. -Mark

[Kentanner11]

Yes definately get a callender together, Maby every so ofen a meeting can be held at a LFS, everyone benifits, the club pays no money and has a place for the meeting, the LFS gets good bussiness and might build a reputation. I dont know about the speekers, it would be cool to have a part of the meeting where people can go talk about different things happing in their tank, new products, rants and raves about their tank. What we could do or I could do would be getting a website together, I have the pub. tools and it could be hosted for free and we could put anything we wanted on it, calenders, donating members. etc. I really like the idea of a club. PM me please.

[Bifferwine]

I've lived in Tucson for many years but have friends in Chattanooga, TN who have a local reefers club and hold monthly meetings. I've been lucky to have been able to attend several of these meetings, joining the club costs $25 annually, and each member is issued an "official" ID card that gives them 15% off at participating LFS... About 20 people show up for each monthly meeting, which is pretty impressive considering Chatt. has a population of around 150,000.

I haven't gotten involved in the Tucson reefing scene (probably because I go back to TN so often anyways lately) but am interested in helping to get something started up here so I can start saving money on plane tickets ;) Let me know what I can do.

Sarah

[cerreta]

What we need is some one or two people that are willing to lead this and make it what they want. Others will follow suit once the organization begins to form.

There still seems to be a mix of those who want an official club and those who want it as a non-formal group. What ever the leaders decide to organize will be fine for me. I am willing to assist, but do not want a lead role.

Who is willing to take the lead? There are plenty of ideas here to get things organized.

[Tangman1218]

I will help to get this thing off the ground and running with a couple people to help with certain ideas as we go along. Im fairly connected and have a flexible schedule for planning. I think a mixture of formal/less formal is what a Tucson group seems to need. The planning stages will have to be the most strategic, but could be done in a timely manner.

Just remember, not everyone may be happy at first with schedules, etc, but if everyone can do their best to help overcome the small obstacles, Tucson can have a very successful group. LMK, and I can start formulating a plan and start contacting Tucson people via email and PM's.

[cerreta]

Cool, who are you? Have you been to any of the previous events?

[Tangman1218]

Im just a guy who likes Tangs :) Well, actually, I just love reefkeeping in general. I do travel quite a bit, but that will be changing to once or twice a month. If anyone is interested, just PM me to let me know you are expressing an interest so an easy roll call can be established.

If I dont get any PM's, no sweat. I dont read the boards much and PMs would be much easier for me to get in touch instead of rummaging through thread(s)

[McCrary]

I think the discount thing might be a good idea if the LFS in the area would be willing to participate. It would probably get me to buy more locally rather than online or in Phoenix.

Tangman- Great, You and SahuaritaMike should get together and start talking some ideas. It would be great to have some good leadership that would organize the reefers in Tucson.

[Kentanner11]

hey heres a link to some info http://www.masna.org/members/Start%20a%20Club.PDF
I would be able to get a group started but would need full input! I am a take charge person and would really appreciate having a club. One thing I am 14! I hope this is Not a problem. I have the resources to do this as I know the owner of Sw , well she is my scence teacher lol! Please PM me!

[Kentanner11]

hey here is the website Im working on www.geocities.com/tucsonaqua

[oddiseus]

The page has a good start, I know how to program html if you need a hand, and I also have a few good codes. I can either put in for you or just send them to you.

[Kentanner11]

Cool Thanks!

[Fitchguy]

i am all for the formal club! I am part of two formal clubs here in hampton Roads VA. One is Tidewater-Reefers Society and the other is Hampton Roads Reef Club. They both have their own web pages that is set up very nicely to include all threads like Reef Central. It has been very easy to sell and buy things locally. Also we have a $25 dollar annual dues to raise money for the club. Other ways we have raised money is since we are a formal club, LFS have donated frags, gift certificates, and small items to be used in our monthly club raffles. Also we have held garage sales and things like that. We have a President, VICE, Treasurer and Secretary appointed by club members. We do receive discounts on all the LFS in the area and they also have their own sections on the website to post their specials or sales. All meetings are held in members homes and as expressed earlier in this thread, people will talk about their tank setups and a topic of their liking. With club money we bought a 1" diamond hole saw and now anyone in the club can drill their tank for free and it is $10 for non-members. I will be moving to Tucson in July and am all for helping this get off the ground!!