Here is a letter that I shared with the SEASL e-mail list earlier this evening. I hope this sheds a little insight on how I feel & how we work.
MY SEASL PERSPECTIVE
SEASL is a great club and got to where it is today in much the same way that a beautiful reef tank gets to where it is. A beautiful reef tank takes careful planning, research, networking with fellow reefers, preparation, diligent husbandry and patience. Corals, invertebrates, & fish all take time to grow & mature into a beautifully stable & aesthetically pleasing system. Only bad things happen quickly like tank crashes, floods, broken heaters, stuck kalk valves, etc. Even adding a beautiful new coral does not happen quickly. You research it, check with your buddies, and look around for just the right specimen. You rush it home from the LFS, go through your very own specialized acclimation process & place it in the tank. Then even more-you move it here, move it there, turn it a little. Ah, just right!
The executive officers of SEASL run the club in much the same manner. Careful planning, research, networking with fellow reefers, preparation, diligent husbandry and patience. With this same approach we have grown our membership to where it is today. The first SEASL meeting I went to years ago did not have anyone show up except me! So I read a reef magazine at the library where the meeting was to be held, learned a little & went home. Look how far we have come! We plan nationally known reef expert speakers coming to town 1 to 2 years in advance. Our by-laws took over a year to develop and implement. Our monthly meetings are planned months in advance. Good things take good time to come to fruition-bad things happen quickly. We do not rush important decisions.
SEASL meetings are held once a month. We meet in person to meet other fellow reefers to share, learn & promote our hobby. Remember-this is just a hobby. We are geared towards this person to person meeting approach intentionally. It is our purpose.
The executive officers meet in person once a month before each public meeting. We communicate via e-mail between meetings. I generally respond to SEASL officer e-mails once a week. We do not make knee jerk, rushed decisions based upon a few outspoken opinions of others. Important issues take weeks or months to discuss & resolve. Please remember that this is a part time volunteer position.
In today's world of instant, immediate internet communication people can interact, share & learn in a fast & convenient manner. This is mostly good; many good ideas are shared. We have several good ideas on our agenda to discuss & implement as a result of recent discussions on RC. It can also facilitate impatience, rudeness & the proliferation of untruths. We have seen an abundance of the latter recently also.
It is unfortunate to read the flaming threads on RC recently. People have their opinions & voice them as they see fit. That is their decision & their opinion. I choose not to participate. I don't have time to participate in unconstructive criticism. It serves no purpose. I do not respond to public personal attacks on me or my actions as a SEASL executive officer. I do read with great interest and concern though. The several good ideas that have surfaced recently are on our agenda and will be addressed. We will address them on our terms and our time schedule.
I welcome e-mails from members. My e-mail address link is on the SEASL web site for you all to use. I respond to all e-mails that are relevant to the hobby and presented in a polite and reasonable manner. Remember that I don't always send an immediate reply. Criticism is fine as long as you present a suggestion of how to improve whatever it is you are criticizing. We are always looking for new and better ideas. However, I feel no obligation to respond to rude, demanding, or impolite emails or posts.
The issue of changing the bylaws before the March meeting is closed. We will not bring this to the table this month. This is an important issue, but not an urgent issue. Please understand the difference. Important but not urgent. The main concern of a few outspoken members is that a person will not be nominated for SEASL office at the March meeting because the person that wants to make the nomination has a personal reason for not attending the meeting. This is not an issue. There have been several offers by members to make nominations on their behalf. This is done every year. I made a nomination on someone's behalf last year. There is always someone that cannot make it to a meeting for one reason or another. Even I will miss the March meeting; I have a business trip in Chicago that day. Please contact another member or one of the executive officers if you wish to have someone nominated in your absence. All members will have the opportunity to cast a personal vote in person at the April meeting. If Zilla III doesn't interest you then show up to vote then leave. The business portion is always held first.
Please remember that we are doing our very best. Can we do better? Sure! Will we do better? Absolutely! We all learn and improve with time & experience (and with help from volunteers). Remember this is a just a hobby. We all have very busy personal & professional lives that take first priority. Being a SEASL executive officer is a rewarding part time volunteer position that I enjoy. Time is very precious to all of us. Please be patient with your executive officers. We are running this club to the best of our ability with the time we have available. SEASL is not just a few officers. It is the membership volunteering & participating to help make this a better club too. And remember to not take life too seriously, nobody gets out alive...
Brad Witte
MY SEASL PERSPECTIVE
SEASL is a great club and got to where it is today in much the same way that a beautiful reef tank gets to where it is. A beautiful reef tank takes careful planning, research, networking with fellow reefers, preparation, diligent husbandry and patience. Corals, invertebrates, & fish all take time to grow & mature into a beautifully stable & aesthetically pleasing system. Only bad things happen quickly like tank crashes, floods, broken heaters, stuck kalk valves, etc. Even adding a beautiful new coral does not happen quickly. You research it, check with your buddies, and look around for just the right specimen. You rush it home from the LFS, go through your very own specialized acclimation process & place it in the tank. Then even more-you move it here, move it there, turn it a little. Ah, just right!
The executive officers of SEASL run the club in much the same manner. Careful planning, research, networking with fellow reefers, preparation, diligent husbandry and patience. With this same approach we have grown our membership to where it is today. The first SEASL meeting I went to years ago did not have anyone show up except me! So I read a reef magazine at the library where the meeting was to be held, learned a little & went home. Look how far we have come! We plan nationally known reef expert speakers coming to town 1 to 2 years in advance. Our by-laws took over a year to develop and implement. Our monthly meetings are planned months in advance. Good things take good time to come to fruition-bad things happen quickly. We do not rush important decisions.
SEASL meetings are held once a month. We meet in person to meet other fellow reefers to share, learn & promote our hobby. Remember-this is just a hobby. We are geared towards this person to person meeting approach intentionally. It is our purpose.
The executive officers meet in person once a month before each public meeting. We communicate via e-mail between meetings. I generally respond to SEASL officer e-mails once a week. We do not make knee jerk, rushed decisions based upon a few outspoken opinions of others. Important issues take weeks or months to discuss & resolve. Please remember that this is a part time volunteer position.
In today's world of instant, immediate internet communication people can interact, share & learn in a fast & convenient manner. This is mostly good; many good ideas are shared. We have several good ideas on our agenda to discuss & implement as a result of recent discussions on RC. It can also facilitate impatience, rudeness & the proliferation of untruths. We have seen an abundance of the latter recently also.
It is unfortunate to read the flaming threads on RC recently. People have their opinions & voice them as they see fit. That is their decision & their opinion. I choose not to participate. I don't have time to participate in unconstructive criticism. It serves no purpose. I do not respond to public personal attacks on me or my actions as a SEASL executive officer. I do read with great interest and concern though. The several good ideas that have surfaced recently are on our agenda and will be addressed. We will address them on our terms and our time schedule.
I welcome e-mails from members. My e-mail address link is on the SEASL web site for you all to use. I respond to all e-mails that are relevant to the hobby and presented in a polite and reasonable manner. Remember that I don't always send an immediate reply. Criticism is fine as long as you present a suggestion of how to improve whatever it is you are criticizing. We are always looking for new and better ideas. However, I feel no obligation to respond to rude, demanding, or impolite emails or posts.
The issue of changing the bylaws before the March meeting is closed. We will not bring this to the table this month. This is an important issue, but not an urgent issue. Please understand the difference. Important but not urgent. The main concern of a few outspoken members is that a person will not be nominated for SEASL office at the March meeting because the person that wants to make the nomination has a personal reason for not attending the meeting. This is not an issue. There have been several offers by members to make nominations on their behalf. This is done every year. I made a nomination on someone's behalf last year. There is always someone that cannot make it to a meeting for one reason or another. Even I will miss the March meeting; I have a business trip in Chicago that day. Please contact another member or one of the executive officers if you wish to have someone nominated in your absence. All members will have the opportunity to cast a personal vote in person at the April meeting. If Zilla III doesn't interest you then show up to vote then leave. The business portion is always held first.
Please remember that we are doing our very best. Can we do better? Sure! Will we do better? Absolutely! We all learn and improve with time & experience (and with help from volunteers). Remember this is a just a hobby. We all have very busy personal & professional lives that take first priority. Being a SEASL executive officer is a rewarding part time volunteer position that I enjoy. Time is very precious to all of us. Please be patient with your executive officers. We are running this club to the best of our ability with the time we have available. SEASL is not just a few officers. It is the membership volunteering & participating to help make this a better club too. And remember to not take life too seriously, nobody gets out alive...
Brad Witte
