AAR (after action review)

[botmfedr1]

I was just thinking that we should have some sort of review of our last meeting and see what suggestions, comments, gripes or complaints people may have.

the object is to make our meets more worthwhile.

As far as the snack bar is concerned. I think we did ok, but could probably come up with some signs advertising the sale, and of course that may spark interests to the hobby.
Equipment was lacking, but that is a simple fix. We could use:

More Tents, or shade of some kind.
BBQing equipment
tie down equipment (rope sandbags)
etc...

Clinics! we could definitely use some "how to" at our store. Especially for the new guys to the hobby. I am sure some people have questions on how to do the simplest things, such as mixing salt, testing parameters, things like that. i know that the STARS website has that, but some people learn best by demo.

Finally ( soap box is crumbling due to my weight), Games or contests would be cool. The other day the KLAQ radio station was having a dodgeball competition, and i thought it would have been great to compete, but i am not a part of any team. i think that events like that have a great ability to advertise our club, and spark interest in the hobby. If we all got shirts, it would be free advertisement for the hosting store. Just some thoughts...

 

[ryan_paskadi]

good ideas.... Lets go team STARS...

 

[psuedopimp]

dodge ball sounds fun. i used to play softball with some friends that was cool, but then the kids come along and 9 pm games get really late. but i would like to get together for other things as a club

 

[ryan_paskadi]

Paintball Death Squad

 

[mistaflicksta]

One up for softball instead.

 

[psuedopimp]

my wife would kill me to get into paintball, as if my other hobby's aren't all ready expensive! but it does sound cool

 

[nmnative]

This is a great thread, we should all be thinking about making the next meetings better. Most meetings are pretty small, so we usually just ask ppl to sign up to bring food and drinks instead of a snack bar. I came up with the snack bar idea due to the expectation of a large group of ppl who may not be aware of the sign up sheet nor STARS. We may try the snack bar again for our larger meetings, but the sign up sheet has worked well for previous meets. I have to agree with the suggestions for additional equipment needed for upcoming snack bar attempts or any time a grill is involved in the future.

Clinics and demonstrations are always welcome for any meeting. Everybody is invited to come up with ideas for future meetings and all are welcome to be in charge of a demo/clinic.

I am all for mixing fun with the meetings. We have talked about having car washes (the season is over) and dodgeball sounds good to me. This is a good start, please keep the ideas flowing

 

[botmfedr1]

I am all for dodgeball, or even Kickball!! yeah!! I remember being a kid and playing kickball, with those red rubber balls that made a cool arse sound when you kicked the hell outta them...damn i'm old.

 

[psuedopimp]

you are old! lol but did you know they didn't even have balls when john was in school. rocks were the cool new thing back then.

all this talk of kickball and dodgeball make me want to kick back and watch an episode of The Fall Guy or the Dukes of Hazard.

 

[strayvoltage]

oh come on justin, I am so old they didn't even have school when I was a kid. Get it right !

 

[jmait769]

I am all for dodgeball, or even Kickball!! yeah!! I remember being a kid and playing kickball, with those red rubber balls that made a cool arse sound when you kicked the hell outta them...damn i'm old.

I'm thinking that sitting in a chair watching you guys play with a cold one in hand :beer: sounds pretty cool!! You have to have some armchair coaching, refereeing and a cheering squad also!!

On the serious side I think the number one request from people attending the meetings are the demos/clinics. Setting up or demonstrating some type of equipment from ATO's to skimmers, drilling tanks or explaining a certain bit of technology to help us maintain our tanks seems to be the favorites. I liked the fish food we made!! Also some info about fish and the mixing of different species was discussed once and I thought that was pretty good.

I think we discuss having the meeting a lot on here but now we need to include subject matter and get that ironed out before the meeting starts. Maybe a backup in case the person with the demo does not show up which could then be presented the following meeting.

Also, when you host a meeting you feel responsible for everything from the meeting content, agenda, drinks, seating and so forth. You have to be involved a little more than just showing up. I would like to put out here or articulate that if you state on here that you are showing up for the meeting, remember that the host is counting you as a show and providing for you. I have been to more than a few meetings that looked like they were going to be large meetings due to the number of responses on RC and turns out very few attend. Things come up and it is understandable but believe me it is disappointing to the host and to the people who do show up when there are only a handful of people.

Well like Mondo said "“ time to get off my soap box!!

Jay