If you are a member of MARSH or any club located in the great state of TX, you absolutely have to positively attend MACNA. Go all three days. Make it happen. Figure out what you have to do, and commit to the event.
Look, I'm just a hobbyist like the rest of you. And my first MACNA was the Ft Worth one, and the only reason I even found out about it was during a phone call or email with Jeff's Exotic Fish in California. Jeff told me "It's in your own back yard! How can you possibly miss this?!" So that led me to a thread on RC that asked "Who's going to MACNA?" I read some posts, but still didn't understand what was going to take place, plus it was going to cost me $150. Well, $150 then was "a lot of Live Rock", so why waste it going to a trade show / conference? Duane, a BOD of DFWMAS took me under his wing and answered all of my questions. I also called the president of MASNA (Nancy Swart) to see just why she thought MACNA was so amazing. Between the two of them, plus the thought Jeff had planted in my brain, I decided I'd go. Still, I hated to have to pay the $150. Duane told me that volunteers would get $50 off the price, but you had to be a DFWMAS member to volunteer.
So the first day of MACNA, I showed up knowing hardly a thing, paid to become a member of DFWMAS and paid the $100 entry fee, and asked what they needed me to do as a volunteer. They told me they'd let me know, and to just go on in and listen to the speaker.
When I entered the meeting room, there were tables and chairs, all facing forward similar to a classroom. Every spot had a thin tablet of paper and a pen, for note taking. The speakers used slides, video, or power point to get their information across. A camera man trained the lens on the speaker, so his face would be projected on both large screens bracketing the stage. The room was cool, relatively dark, and comfortable.
And I just soaked up information, speaker after speaker. A ton of it went right over my head, because I knew so little. Yet, tidbits stuck with me. Each speaker always ended with a 15 minute Q&A, and I must have raised my hand a thousand times that weekend. They answered my questions, even when they were the most basic (and even stupid at that) of queries. Often you'd see the rest of the audience nodding in agreement as if I'd just asked the same question they had in their mind. I do remember one guy asking advanced questions, and it almost felt like he was arguing with the expert rather than accepting the information as it was presented. It felt a little rude, honestly, but I learned more about the personalities of the presenters at the same time.
The gala dinner was included in my discounted entry fee. I hung around in the hotel waiting for it to start, looking at the vendors booths and drooling over the clams that everyone was buying. I had PC lighting, it it was killing me that my tank wouldn't be a suitable home for them.
As the Gala was about to begin, the vice president of DFWMAS lead me to a table at the front of the room. "You sit here," he said, and I gratefully accepted. Then one of the speakers, Steve Tyree, sat down at the same table. Next to him, Julian Sprung sat down. And then two more speakers sat down. Finally a guy with a beard walked up, and was going to take the last two spots for himself and his wife. Sheepishly, I told him that there were two walky-talkies sitting in the dinner plates, so they must be reserved. He said okay, and moved on. The other speakers looked at me and ask "Do you know who you just told to move?" Of course, I didn't have a clue. "That was Walt Smith, the keynote speaker for tonight." OMG!!! Then they asked "And who are you, btw?" "I'm nobody! I don't even know how I ended up at the table with all the speakers. LOL" We had a great meal; they were very nice and I listened to whatever they decided to chatter about, and then Walt did a nice presentation about aqua-cultured rock and corals in the Fiji islands.
On Sunday, I finally had to do my 'volunteer' job, and that was to help set up the raffle items in the room so that the winners could put their tickets in the appropriate bins. I think it took me 10 or 20 minutes to complete my only assignment for the entire 3 days of attending.
Each night, I drove home rather than stay at the hotel. The drive was about 45 minutes. I ate at the hotel for lunch, as DFWMAS had arranged a $10 Box Lunch for attendees. It was a nice buffet like set up where you could get a plate of food and a drink, and it was sufficient.
At the end of the day's events, others went out to the pool area where some snacks were provided as well as a cash bar. I really didn't have money to blow, so I ate some cheese and crackers, and got to meet Martin Moe and his wonderful wife. I never heard of Martin, which made his wife chuckle. Btw, the next day he gave a very interesting presentation with a 7 tidal zone system that used a surge tank. It was amazing.
I didn't win anything in the raffle on Sunday, but I did end up coming home with a clam and 3 SPS, which lived in my 29g for 2 years under those same Power Compacts.
I think I used some of my utilities money to buy the corals, but I couldn't resist and knew I'd earn more money to pay my bills anyway.
So, why this long post? Because it would be a real shame that all of MARSH not attend their own conference. You've got some great leadership that has spent a solid year working on getting this conference organized. That is an enormous task, and you simply have no idea how tough it is, especially if the last MACNA left a bad taste with some vendors or speakers. That type of backlash can really hurt the next year's conference. If you feel any of your BOD members are getting a snippy, it could be because they are frustrated by the fact that all their hard work for YOU MEMBERS is being taken for granted. This opportunity is rare. There are people all over the nation whining, "if only it was closer to my home, I'd go in a heart beat!"
Going to MACNA is not about getting a free bag of salt or a tee-shirt. It is about education. And yes, you can buy books, read online articles and discussion threads, but having it presented to you in person either via demonstration or with a/v gear is not to be missed.
DFWMAS has a very large group coming down. Do you know why? Because I've spent time every meeting for the past 11 months telling them to go. Why do I do that? Because I know personally that MACNA isn't to be missed. Your tank will benefit from what you learn. Your members will benefit from the information you'll be able to share with them when they post a question on a topic you just absorbed. You've got 21 experts coming to Houston next weekend, and your club is paying for their time, their flight, their room, their food, their parking, their dog boarding, etc... If anything, you need to recoup that money and listen to the knowledge they have brought to share.
MACNA is for
hobbyists. MACNA helps brand new hobbyists; it helps more experienced hobbyists. And it helps me. A lot of people come to me for help on a regular basis. I know when I attend next weekend, I'll come home with a few nuggets of gold that will help others as well as my own reeflings. And my fellow club members.
If you have kids, bring them. If you are concerned what it will cost to bring your kids, talk to your BOD. I'm sure you can work out what is equitable and not break the bank. If you're broke, break out your credit card, and pay it off over the next few months. Your kids will enjoy the conference. There is plenty to look at, to touch, to laugh at, and more. They can bring along their favorite toy, blanket, crayons and coloring book, etc... You can always take a break, walk your kids to a different area or visit some of the mall to break the monotony they may be experiencing. Buy them a soda or a candy bar, get some sunlight, then come back in.
MACNA is not boring, that is to be sure. If you don't like a particular talk, the vendors area will keep your attention for sure. New products, unique applications, new releases, and just the abundance of hobby-related goodies will keep your interest up. Hobbyists are coming from all over to hang out and talk about reefkeeping and everything that entails. You'll meet people you've probably been talking to on ReefCentral for years. How cool is that, to finally put a smiling face to that name, and to shake their hand after all the help they've given you online?
So that's it. You've read my post. Now, make the decision to attend. Call a friend, family member, ask for whatever help you need to allow you to go. Tell your boss why it is so important that you attend. Trade a shift with a fellow worker, or perhaps ask if you can work the night shift so you can attend during the day time. You'll miss some sleep, but I bet you'll recover and make up for it after MACNA has ended.
Don't let this opportunity slip through your fingers. Are you really going to wait for next year's MACNA, and fly to Pittsburg, PA and pay for hotel accomodations, taxi service, etc? This is the cheapest MACNA MARSH will ever be able to attend. Carpool to save gas, brown bag your lunch, don't buy a PPV movie this week so you have some coral money next weekend.
I'll be there. Will you? Melev says "Go!"
