DMBillies
Active member
Hi all,
I'm this year's frag swap coordinator and I just wanted to finally release some of the information about this year's swap (our 5th swap and hopefully our biggest yet). Please send all table requests, questions, swap ideas, offers of help, etc. to my e-mail address. That's BBsReef@gmail.com. My PM inbox will simply meltdown and will be impossible to keep track of if people PM me, so PLEASE e-mail me.
2009 Tennessee Reef Aquarium Expo and Frag Swap
Date: January 17th, 2009 from 12:00 â€"œ 5:00
Setup for Vendors: January 16th from 7:00pm â€"œ 9:00pm and January 17th from 9:00am â€"œ 12:00pm
Location: Kingwood Heights Church of Christ (115 E. MTCS Road, Murfreesboro, TN 37129)
This location is at least 3x the size of our previous venue, is absolutely perfect for a reef event (plenty of outlets and breakers, a great sound system, access to projectors, plenty of parking, easy loading/unloading access) and will be great for allowing our event to continue to grow. It also came at an incredibly great price which allows us to allow free admission and still reasonably expect to cover our costs for the event.
Admission: Free for all attendees. For hobbyists and industry vendors who need space to sell, tables are available for $20 each. Each participating reef club will be furnished one free table for their members. Please contact me by e-mail (see below) to reserve table space. If members of your club are interested in the free table, also please let me know, as I will only be allocating space for clubs that express interest.
Guest Speaker: Sanjay Joshi is giving a talk about reef aquarium lighting. As an engineering professor at Penn State University, a dedicated hobbyist in his own right, and a head of the committee in charge of Penn State's reef aquarium, Sanjay has successfully applied his professional expertise to the study of reef aquarium lighting and has become a foremost expert in the area. Additionally, his focus on disseminating his knowledge to hobbyists has made him an indispensable member of the reef community (e.g., Sanjay's Lighting Guide). We are thrilled to have him in attendance.
Other:
---Door prize tickets will be available with registration at the event.
---Raffle tickets will be $1 per ticket or $20 for 25 tickets (door prizes and raffle items will be announced closer to the swap.)
---There will be an educational fragging demo at the swap. All attendees will be welcome to attend the presentation. Tickets to reserve a frag of the corals will be $5 per coral and will be available up until 15 minutes before the fragging demo begins (which is currently scheduled for 3:30). Frags will be available for pick up just prior to the main raffle at the end of the swap.
---A beginner reef aquarium slide show will be played throughout the swap in the dining area that attendees may view at their leisure.
---Food is being handled by a youth group at the church. As I get details about what exactly will be available I will update everyone, but expect concession stand style food at a fairly reasonable price
And just a couple more things...
Each year our swap has been growing nicely with active trading and plenty to buy for everyone. As a natural extension of including our first expert speaker last year, and in the interest of continuing to attract more aquarists across our region, we are attempting to include more educational opportunities this year. As the swap continues to grow, we feel the two things we can improve on are connecting aquarists and helping folks get a good start in the hobby. In keeping with a focus on improving and growing this event, the committee this year thought it would be appropriate to "officially" rename our swap. I sincerely hope that we can make this the best event yet.
As the swap director I would like to thank the members that have been indispensable in bringing the planning as far along as it has come (Norman, Brandon, Jack Starmer, Jack Behar, Wayne, and Moriah). As the event gets closer I'll be relying on you guys a lot. I also know I'll be seeking out help from the club at large... this is really your event, so any help you can provide in getting this thing across the finish line will be much appreciated.
I'm this year's frag swap coordinator and I just wanted to finally release some of the information about this year's swap (our 5th swap and hopefully our biggest yet). Please send all table requests, questions, swap ideas, offers of help, etc. to my e-mail address. That's BBsReef@gmail.com. My PM inbox will simply meltdown and will be impossible to keep track of if people PM me, so PLEASE e-mail me.
2009 Tennessee Reef Aquarium Expo and Frag Swap
Date: January 17th, 2009 from 12:00 â€"œ 5:00
Setup for Vendors: January 16th from 7:00pm â€"œ 9:00pm and January 17th from 9:00am â€"œ 12:00pm
Location: Kingwood Heights Church of Christ (115 E. MTCS Road, Murfreesboro, TN 37129)
This location is at least 3x the size of our previous venue, is absolutely perfect for a reef event (plenty of outlets and breakers, a great sound system, access to projectors, plenty of parking, easy loading/unloading access) and will be great for allowing our event to continue to grow. It also came at an incredibly great price which allows us to allow free admission and still reasonably expect to cover our costs for the event.
Admission: Free for all attendees. For hobbyists and industry vendors who need space to sell, tables are available for $20 each. Each participating reef club will be furnished one free table for their members. Please contact me by e-mail (see below) to reserve table space. If members of your club are interested in the free table, also please let me know, as I will only be allocating space for clubs that express interest.
Guest Speaker: Sanjay Joshi is giving a talk about reef aquarium lighting. As an engineering professor at Penn State University, a dedicated hobbyist in his own right, and a head of the committee in charge of Penn State's reef aquarium, Sanjay has successfully applied his professional expertise to the study of reef aquarium lighting and has become a foremost expert in the area. Additionally, his focus on disseminating his knowledge to hobbyists has made him an indispensable member of the reef community (e.g., Sanjay's Lighting Guide). We are thrilled to have him in attendance.
Other:
---Door prize tickets will be available with registration at the event.
---Raffle tickets will be $1 per ticket or $20 for 25 tickets (door prizes and raffle items will be announced closer to the swap.)
---There will be an educational fragging demo at the swap. All attendees will be welcome to attend the presentation. Tickets to reserve a frag of the corals will be $5 per coral and will be available up until 15 minutes before the fragging demo begins (which is currently scheduled for 3:30). Frags will be available for pick up just prior to the main raffle at the end of the swap.
---A beginner reef aquarium slide show will be played throughout the swap in the dining area that attendees may view at their leisure.
---Food is being handled by a youth group at the church. As I get details about what exactly will be available I will update everyone, but expect concession stand style food at a fairly reasonable price
And just a couple more things...
Each year our swap has been growing nicely with active trading and plenty to buy for everyone. As a natural extension of including our first expert speaker last year, and in the interest of continuing to attract more aquarists across our region, we are attempting to include more educational opportunities this year. As the swap continues to grow, we feel the two things we can improve on are connecting aquarists and helping folks get a good start in the hobby. In keeping with a focus on improving and growing this event, the committee this year thought it would be appropriate to "officially" rename our swap. I sincerely hope that we can make this the best event yet.
As the swap director I would like to thank the members that have been indispensable in bringing the planning as far along as it has come (Norman, Brandon, Jack Starmer, Jack Behar, Wayne, and Moriah). As the event gets closer I'll be relying on you guys a lot. I also know I'll be seeking out help from the club at large... this is really your event, so any help you can provide in getting this thing across the finish line will be much appreciated.
