I've not been part of the club since 07 when we moved to Montgomery, but you are my peeps. I have fond memories of my time in Nashville and the early days of the MTRC, so I only wish the best for the club. I helped clean the diapers, so I want to see it graduate med school, too
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Jack pretty well put it as well as it could have been put. The bylaws were the only real form of structure we had in the first few years. If we wanted to do something outside the bylaws, we'd have a vote and change them. As the group size increases, you have to be careful how many controls you pull, but if the majority of people agreed, it got changed. When I was P, VP, treasurer, and secretary, I probably let a lot of things slide, but those were the dark, early years. I was too lazy to try to hold rules, so I got lax. I was just enamored at the fact that people actually seemed to read something I wrote
(work evals tell me to stop using email for communication unless I'm sending something-apparently, no one reads them... bubble popped...).
For the club to last, the club has to be what the club wants to be. As it grows, thought, it develops a responsibility to the members who have paid in to the club to make sure it lasts. We didn't have a growing sum in the account and were just getting started, so growing pains forced and allowed adjustment. We could buy a few colonies for fragging and bring the account down until the next swap pretty easily
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Only one of the BOD from the original cast was really serious about making the club a powerhouse. He didn't stay on the BOD very long, but his push helped get us moving and rolling. Most decided they didn't want anything as 'serious', but he pushed the bylaws. I believe it was one of, if not the first vote of the club. He had a hand in the early days or foundation of several clubs, so he knew where to start.
Communication is one of the keys to keeping things moving. When we started, just about everyone was on RC, so getting the word out was relatively easy. So many had wanted an actual club for so long that meetings for the first year or so always had a good number of people without even trying (then dropped off to the usual 10-12 people). Every meeting was a frag swap. The host might frag from his/her tank. People would share pictures of thier tanks and arrange swaps and purchases for the next meeting.
Getting emails out to club members and prospective members gave another avenue for communication. We may have even done a vote at some point via email (or we may have just talked about it, I know ETRC did their first voting via email back in 04 or 05). We had both LFS' working pretty hard for us, too. Emerald Bay led the push initially, then the Critter stepped in as a heavy hitter for the club. Getting the word out was easy because it was new and everyone was drooling about someplace to talk about their addiction on a monthly basis with other crack heads.
Once communication is made, though, it is up to the club to make things happen. We had a pretty regular group of hosts. With fishdoc, myself, Mimi, coralreefing, reewik, and foggy, we had the calendar covered. (December meetings were held in Clarksville-John drove down to every meeting we had, it was only fair to give him one month off
). Add in at least one LFS meeting per LFS a year, and once a month passed too quickly. The LFS' saw the largest attendances. Any time we had a meeting at a LFS, we brought in pizza or some other fare, drinks, and offered coral frags to new members. We'd offer to purchase larger corals to frag at the meeting (a softie and a SPS), and all current members would get at least one frag (as well as new members). The LFS' usually made us very good deals (or gave) on the corals we cut, then they'd stay open and turn a nice dime that night (helps having a group of niche audience at hand). New members would save their membership fees that night because of the corals stocked and the discounts. We'd do a talk on cutting and demonstrate, letting people cut their own if they wished. These always saw in excess of 20 people (usually over 30). New membership would increase, and people who normally didn't come to meetings would come and reconnect with everyone (usually bringing them out more often, further strengthening the club). The club is only as strong as the members make it
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If no one is willing to host, though, it is difficult to offer variety (which is largely what held us together). Seeing so many different set ups and the same coral in 15 different tanks (looking 15 different ways-Mike Paletta blue from fishdoc coming to mind) kept people coming.
Frag swaps are somewhat analogous in clubs in the beginning. We were all so ripe for something like that, the first swap in Chattanooga was a blow out success for all involved (buyers, sellers, and the club). It was easy to have success in the early days because everyone was so hungry for cheap coral and had no other outlets. As the swap grew (and as MTRC grew), groups split out and formed their own. Then there is more opportunity for others to experience the crack habit formed and enforced by a frag swap, so numbers begin to diminish at similar events (and clubs). (What's it say that I resort to comparisons to crack with every mention of the 'hobby'?)
Sorry for rambling, but been thinking about the good ole days. Got some things on my mind (bad news today), so rambling is good therapy. With the number of people with strong ideas, it should be no problem keeping the club moving up. If an entire office of like minded people made it into the BOD, it becomes a one sided club. The only way to prevent that is to put your name in the hat and stand up for what you want. If you don't want the formal side of it to get more formal, make amendments. Getting a representative sample response from a larger club can be problematic (we have a hard time in Montgomery with a much smaller club via email), but majority rules. Until then, bylaws and elected officials try to run by the rules
. Anything fun becomes work as it grows (think of children for a good example
). I try to help out on another forum, and as it's grown, the same problems present elsewhere begin to appear. Friendly everyday banter can't be as friendly. The community grows, which benefits all, but always comes at a cost. The catch 22's of life...
Ramble on. My ramble is now off
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