Making the urs more formal

DEEP BLUE SIX said:
I support everything TMZ is saying above. It "makes sense".
It's also too bad that the formal "club" Mark, Puter and others tried- did not work.

I've tried to offer sense to the fact that these things are difficult sometimes.
They have their benefits. But can pose people against- the by laws, and sometimes bureaucratic management style that somewhat unavoidable when you run an organization- "trying to make it work".

I offered the same sentiments to those interested in formalizing more. Knowing that's a common problem of difficulty faced.

It may or may not need to be formalized to certain extents. The main of what we have as it is- I think works and is good. It's just that some other things getting organized a little better (as some people have raised issue with) and improving some things would be GOOD.

For me: I would just love to see a place where we could all come together and work on a tank that belongs to the club. Something where we are sharing the experience together and learning from other peoples on site techniques for various things. Getting to try the techniques ourselves after watching etc..Then getting to stand or sit back and view our progress that all can be proud of as our team project.

I don't know if it will ever be able to come to fruition. But if not eventually, it's too bad. Working and learning together during free time on a project that all are allowed to participation in, is one of the best ways for clubs to become closer together. I hope some people will still consider this idea somtime.

In the meantime, is the Zoo tank still possible for a club tank? Or would another site new tank be a better option? Just think about it - everyone.
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I think the tank would be a good starting block. If we could have a good location for it and if we had the right amount of participation, I think it could lead into other things.

For instance, if we had a place where we could all (if we choose) to chip in and work on a tank, bam we would have a place to meet and talk about whatever we choose to. If the club goes past that step then great, but at the very least we all could meet, work, and share experiences with one another.
 
All of you guys are a bit far away from me,I might be able to make it up to Buffalo from time to time but it would have to be pretty special for me to go to Rochester or Syracuse. The club suits my needs as is, a good place to meet up with "local" people for trading/buying,opinions on local attractions(shops,aquariums,ect.),swaps,and just a friendly place to seek advice.I'm not opposed to more formality(would rather just see more events) but I wouldn't be able to be a big part of it.
 
As it turns out, I guess the zoo tank was originally started by the URS. Left to one person to maintain and they got sick of working on it. I don't know the specifics so I won't act like I do but is anyone interested in approaching the zoo and seeing if we can work on it as a group?

I don't know when it could be worked on and maintained, but the tank is there, the last time I saw it it needed work and it seems like it might be a good option for us.

I'm willing to at least look into the possibility if others are.
 
The creation of the zoo tank was indeed a URS project. Lots of the equipment and supplies were donated by vendors. Tom from TRS donated all the rock and some other stuff as I recall. It was a huge undertaking. The tank was spectacular for the first year or two. I dunno the specifics of what happened with the maintenance, but it'd be great to return it to some of its former glory.
 
FSU3NOLES28 said:
As it turns out, I guess the zoo tank was originally started by the URS. Left to one person to maintain and they got sick of working on it. I don't know the specifics so I won't act like I do but is anyone interested in approaching the zoo and seeing if we can work on it as a group?

I don't know when it could be worked on and maintained, but the tank is there, the last time I saw it it needed work and it seems like it might be a good option for us.

I'm willing to at least look into the possibility if others are.
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There was aloft more to the zoo tank. Putter gave his life to that tank And I think the zoo made it hard on him.

As far as the last attempt I think we need to get passed that. Just because something didn't work at one time doesn't mean we can't learn and try again it would be nice to get someone to share ideas about what went wrong that was involved rather than just saying don't do it
 
JFL, hey man Im sorry for what I posted above it does seem pretty negative.Im not real happy with how that reads.
I wasn't around to see what really played out on the first attempt but judging from what Im reading in overall thread,I suspect it was more that just dispute between members of authority within the group itself.

I think the main focus when anything falls apart should be why as a first restart.Then again ,maybe noone wants to say,I dont know.

-Steve
 
I doubt that I'd be into something more structured than what we've got. I like that the group is really laid back. Swaps and group buys seem to go really well.

I don't want to discourage from what others may be interested in doing. If this is something that a lot of folks want to do and are interested in pursuing, then I wish it the best.
 
Jeff,

Like I said before, anyone is always more than welcome to use the store space, I know I don't have as much space as G, but the offer will always stand.
 
I think one of the obstacles with the last attempt at a formal club was geography. With the officers so spread out, getting together regularly was difficult, even with the live webX that was used. It was also tough to get everyone to agree on things.

Putting decisions to the masses like we did with the Seneca Park Zoo project was even harder to get a consensus. Some of the members that were a part of these past project have negative feelings towards them.

I think what G has been doing with regular meetings are a good start. If people want to organize, then they should start small. The finger lakes guys have been doing it for a while now. A group in Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse may be the answer. Small monthly meetings/get together's. If that can work, then the groups can work together to do larger events. We all have the same general interest and you can choose what you want to be a part of and what you'll pass on. Seeing TMZ's great talk fall on so few ears makes me think the idea of a formal club sounds good on the screen, but will fall short in participation.
 
Although there is alott of negativity I think this thread is actually going somewhere. It is really nice to see you post Randy as it seems like lately everything falls on G and its nice to know we have support from arc and salty dog as well. what does everyone think about doing small sub groups too much confusion? How would we implement something like this without actually splitting the group up?
 
jfl14609 said:
Although there is alott of negativity I think this thread is actually going somewhere. It is really nice to see you post Randy as it seems like lately everything falls on G and its nice to know we have support from arc and salty dog as well. what does everyone think about doing small sub groups too much confusion? How would we implement something like this without actually splitting the group up?
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Everyone can still post here as we all do. Anyone interested in specific meetings can setup them with their specific regional group kind of what I mentioned yesterday.

Once every 3-4 months we can then have a large meeting in a different specific area alternating between Buffalo, Syracuse, and Rochester. That certainly cuts down on the travel knowing that anyone who wants to participate would only travel out of the area up to 2 times a year.

Perhaps we can set up a yearly thing and have a speaker come to that meeting/swap or whatever we decided to have.

Little meetings could consist of LED builds, Aquascapes, fragging Techniques, dosing, etc.

I know myself those are all things I'm interested in learning more about...
 
jfl14609 said:
There was aloft more to the zoo tank. Putter gave his life to that tank And I think the zoo made it hard on him.
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huh? Sorry. What about Playfair? That guy almost got divorced because he spent so much time and dedication on the SPZ reef aquarium!
puter (as in comPUTER) Mark took over from Playfair. These are guys that don't just talk the talk- they walk the walk!
Don't blame the zoo for anything.
There was a contract signed with the zoo when URS proposed that aquarium. The zoo's rules stink but it's not like the zoo made it hard for anyone... we (meaning those that were involved) knew the rules going in.
After seeing both sides of the game I know that an informal club works best here. Ask the guys that were involved last time we tried to formalize things.
Dr. Klier, puter, Randy, Keith Magyar, Ray and Dan (and some others) know the real score. Talk is cheap.
And consider WHY one would attempt to formalize URS. We had REAL goals last time around- like bringing in nationally recognized speakers. (Remember the gathering at the zoo with Sanjay and Calfo? That was pretty good except Borneman japped.)
The SPZ reef aquarium is an entirely different issue than formalizing URS.
(How many people here are even aware there's another website for that zoo aquarium?)

And just because someone opposes formalizing the URS doesn't mean theyr'e negative... especially if THEY were one of the ones that tried it before.

Especially with the price of gas... this URS forum is more invaluable now than ever. It will always be. Information goes down on the record and it's retrievable with a search.

Wanna get formal? G's recent event was great! Have some buddies over some beers and talk reef aquariums! That's about as formal as I wanna get with URS.

I don't want no dues, no workshops, no backstabbing, no egos.

If something ain't broke don't fix it.
 
Gary Majchrzak said:
The SPZ reef aquarium is an entirely different issue than formalizing URS.
(How many people here are even aware there's another website for that zoo aquarium?)
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I was not aware of this, and have been a zoo season pass holder for a few years. I won a couple seasons passes for getting a photo published in the Zoo calendar and actually bought seasons passes the next year.

Could you either link the forum or PM it to me?
 
Easy for you to say Gary.

Not all of us have the knowledge that you have. Speaking for workshops, they would certainly go a long way for guys like me who have only been around for a year. I think my tank looks pretty good but if I want to take it to the next step, I need to learn. Workshops are a good way to learn.
 
FSU3NOLES28 said:
Easy for you to say Gary.

Not all of us have the knowledge that you have. Speaking for workshops, they would certainly go a long way for guys like me who have only been around for a year. I think my tank looks pretty good but if I want to take it to the next step, I need to learn. Workshops are a good way to learn.
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easy for me to say what?

It would be easier for me to unsubscribe to this thread.
It's easier to sleep in than set an alarm clock.
Workshops are great. Set the alarm clock and volunteer to help put one on.
Talk is cheap.
 
Gary not sure whats going on there but it seems like everyone wants more for the club. Just because things are the way you want them doesnt mean it works for everyone. I dont think we need people from all over the country to come and speak I think the urs has some of the most intelligent people in the reef community. If we had some type of a group that was willing to help organize and tap into the wealth of knowledge we have right here. I dont see charging people or anything just a group of people trying to organize things a little. G's meeting was a perfect example of that all local people all knowledgeable
 
I agree with that but wouldn't it be nice to have a club that did things rather than letting everyone else do it for us. you were part of a huuuuge undertaking to try to make the club better and unfortunately it just didn't work out. I think what you guys wanted was great. I dont see a need for tax stuff thats why am against the urs tank idea I would just like to see a few volunteers to help set some meetings up
 
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