There has been a lot of talk about this over the past couple of years, but no one has stepped up to "force the issue". When we started SWFMAS, it was the same way. A forum on RC, talk on and off for a couple years and then a group of us just met at a house and said "OK, we are now going to be a real club". A couple thoughts/mistakes from our first year.
1. Our very first "official" meeting as a club was our first Reef Conference (we called it an Open House at the time). A group of us worked behind the scenes for a couple months to make this happen. We were out a couple grand of our own money before we even started. (I don't recommend this approach, but it did work for us. Marco and I were really sweating the morning of the conference hoping we would make enough to reimburse our expenses!)
2. Schedule a meeting every month. Make it happen. Even it is only a meet at someones house to look at their tank.
3. Try to be consistent on your meetings. Our first year, some meetings were the first weekend, some the third weekend, we had one on a Thursday. Some Saturdays, some Sundays. It was a wreck from a planning perspective (both for the meeting planners and the attendees).
4. Expect low turnout at some meetings (Our Thursday meeting had 2 people, including myself). Don't get discouraged, keep moving forward.
5. Our average turnout for the first year (excluding the conference) was 6-8 people. But, we never gave up. After the Thursday meeting, we realized consistency and communications were big problems for us. We decided the third weekend of the month was our weekend. With the exception of large events, we have stuck to this ever since. For the second year, our average turnout doubled. People got used to the idea of a club meeting the third Saturday of the month and attendance started to improve.
6. Communication - this will take some time. It took us about 4-5 years before we really started to get "word of mouth" membership. Meaning, "I heard about the club from John and decided to come check you out".
7. Reach out to your local stores to see if you can put meeting posters and flyers in the stores. Try to support your local stores by holding a meeting at the stores. This is difficult and not all stores will agree. But, in the long run, it can be beneficial to the club and to the store. The club benefits by gaining new membership and marketing. The store benefits by marketing possible new customers.
8. This is probably the most important point I want to make. Believe it or not, a club is a business. To be successful, you have to have a business plan. Points 1-7 are basically the SWFMAS business plan. It doesn't have to be complicated. A simple plan will be the easiest to execute and manage. But, there has to be a plan that the members can see (ie we just wrapped up our April meeting, what's up for May?). ACROS is the "business", the members are your "clients" and the club meetings are the "product". A good product means more clients. More clients means a more successful business.
9. A request - Many of our members live in an area that ACROS would cover. Ditto with TBRC. If you pick a weekend each month to have a meeting. Try to pick a month that does not conflict with other clubs within driving distance of your meeting. It will help with turnout.
10. Many of the clubs in Florida try to work together or keep each other in the loop on issues (FWC at frag swaps, NOAA 66 hearings, etc). If you get a formal club going, let me know and I will add you to the club contact list and share it with your BOD. We also try to share resources (RC Announcements, speaker contacts, vendor contacts, etc.). It's very informal and basically just "buddy" type relationship. Not all clubs actively communicate with each other, but the option is there.
Obviously, as the years moved forward, things have changed in our club and each year we make improvements (or at least try to!)
Good luck. If you need help, holler out to your neighbors down south!
