South vs North, Only my 2 cents

Flamehawk

Flamehawk

In Memoriam
Just wanted to clarify, we are not asking for EVERY meeting to be held on the weekends or down here in Miami. What we're saying is maybe you should consider having _some_ meetings that are not on Tues and up North so that some of us can attend at least once in a while.

I think a big part of being a board member entails listening to what regular members have to say. When i hear a board member say something like,

" Weekend's for me are for fishing,diving,and doing the occasional Theme Park trip. I can't imagine giving up that for a meeting.50 years ago the members where doing the same minus Theme Parks but where also heavy into collecting there own specimens and most did spearfishing as well.Plus there always the tradition of having the meetings on Tuesdays for over 50 years. "

it upsets me, with all your respect. It comes accross as condesending and it shows the member's inabilty to be flexible and to listen to other people's situations, espcially for a president. I have worked very closely with several past FMAS presidents (people who know me, can vouch for that) and i can tell you very honestly, that with that attitude, the FMAS club would never had made it this far. Just because something has been done the same way for 50 years, it does not mean it cannot/should not be done differently today. 50 years ago, we didnt have the parking lot called I-95. 50 years ago, the hobby was not as widepread.

And if you guys dont want to bring any meetings down here, why get upset when someone mentions they want to start another club that's closer?

Having said that, i;m a long time member of FMAS and truly believe the club is an awesome positive thing. When our club was based down south, however, the board of directors went out of their way to include North members by having fucntions/activities up north. There were many times when we couldnt accomdate everyone (of course) but at least we took the time to listen and to assess the situation and adjusted accordingly.

Just my 2 cents,

JOHNNY
 
Johnny, the board has tried to include Miami in many activities. Last Saturday we had a Miami fish hop. We have many activities on the weekends including picnics, fish hops, and parties. The turnout to these events from the Miami crowd has been very low. Before we found New River Middle School we had decided to do our best to alternate meetings between Miami and Ft.Lauderdale, but the school has just been to great a deal to turn down. I hope you and Morgan can make at least a few meetings this year.
~Chris
 
We have a great club and in reality people wanting to get involved is not a problem it shows that we have a great club with a growing demand, I pledge my loyalty to FAMA always felt welcomed at the meetings I think that we will benefit more from one big club than from many little ones and I am willing to help this club grow after years of just being an observer if anyone thinks that I might be helpful in any way feel free to PM.
Last words, do not make any personal comments or attacks just deal with issues we might not have a solution but at least we know our member's needs.
 
Nobody is upset on the Board side.We just had a Fish Hop on a Saturday showcasing Miami for the Miami people .Ofcourse outside the board only Juan-Carlos from the Miami area showed up.As far as tanks shown only one was a members tank which was in the NMB area. Same kind of response could be seen on the Fish Hop which was on a weekend last month.Nobody said there wasn't going to be anymore meetings in Dade.Infact we usually have the meetings in the Miami Childrens Musuem and the special trip to the Miami Sea Aquarium.What would be nice would be to see the very people complaining to actually show up to the events that are already happening.Also no one ever got upset when mention of another club being formed for the South Miami area was mentioned.Infact I encouraged it.(Quote)" The club will never have a sub chapter.You could start another club not affiliated with FMAS.Lots of our members and board also attend ORCA and the PBMAS meetings.So I could see FMAS members going South to other meetings.IMO a good location for a new club would be Cutler.It's close to Homestead and the Gables.It could possibly attract people as far as Key Largo and LittleHavana and Miami airport area.As President of the FMAS club I just ask that you dont say your a division or affiliated with FMAS so as a club we dont carry the extra liability.Also once you have started a club with a name I ask that you start your own Forum under RC Reef Clubs so people on the site dont believe we are the same club.Goodluck if anyone actually carries this out and hopefully I can visit one of the meetings."(end Quote)What I did say was we couln't launch another FMAS chapter.Pretty much because the meetings have to be run by the board which is why we are voted in.If a new Board position was to be made to allow a board member to launch a satelite he would have to show up to board meetings.If a member can't make a club meeting on Tuesdays because it's to far how are they going to make board meeting on the following Tuesdays which are held in Board members homes in places like Coral Springs ,Davie,Sunrise.Which by the way the last board meeting we where at Coral Springs till 1am hatching new things out for the betterment of the club.Now I'm sorry you feel that as a President I've fallen short and have a terrible attitude.Infact that pretty much hurts my feelings as I thought I was doing a decent job serving the club.I know the current Board is the best anyone could hope for.As everyone works tremendous hours to make the club better.For instance on Mondays several of the board can be found at the NRMS tanks which are a 360,75, and 2 30gal tanks scrubbing away and doing water changes from 5pm till 10 to 10:30pm. I tell when you leave that place your forearms hurt from all the scrapping and sand siphoning going on.Now this is repeated on Thursdays but usually we are done in 2-3 hours.We also do alot of educational programs with the school as we are now a Educational Partner.We work with the School Aquarium Club as well as teach different aspects of Marine Aquarium keeping to the Marine Magnet students .Dean also works with troubled children in the school sometimes as much as 20 hrs a week.We try to have a diiferent field trip or event every 4 to 6 weeks which are alot of fun.This year we launched are educational series at every other meeting where aqaurist can learn more advanced topics like fragging,ozone,calcium reactors,plumbing 101,and ofcourse there is more to come. I'm also trying to bring more speakers that actually relate to marine aquarium keeping.Then there is the Board meetings where we dream up new ways of doing things which can last a grueling 6 hrs.We are now working on getting the Aqaurium show on the road and starting a Show Commitee whic we will be looking for volunteers.Those meetings will go from Bi Monthly to Bi Weekly and we will require some days off from work and 12 hr days working the show. As you can see the Board has alot on it's plate.My Father always told be to finish the job before I started a new project.One finished job is better that 10 unfinished jobs.My goal as President was to bring back the meetings to not only educate the hobbyist but to have them educated in more advanced topics dealing with marine aquarium keeping.2nd goal was to increase membership which we have already doubled last years memberships and our well on the way of tripiling in the next month or so.3rd goal was to make the club a more friendly place to come to.This still needs some work and I'm hearing everyone that mentions this.When I first joined the club 2 1/2 years ago no one talked to me either.Second meeting I talked to Herman and I jumped into different groups of conversations.The funny thing is no one kicked me out of the groups and within 4 months I was already volunteering and going to Board meetings.We are trying different approaches to bring everyone out of there shell.We have tried name badges with the members tank size and try to say high to everyone that walks in that door.We still have more ways that we are going to implement as work is still in progress.4th goal was to have the club become heavy in helping the community through education. I'm going to toot the club's horn and say we have accomplished this beyond are wildest dreams through the New River Middle School Programs.We have recieved several awards from the school district and our name is in the hat for the "Educational partner of the Year" award.5th goal is to have a Fish Show that really makes a strong showing.Do you know how embarassing it was to give people back money that went to the show because there was hardly any tanks to see.15 members are not enough to set up tanks for a big show even though most averaged 3 tanks each.So I believe by increasing membership with new gung ho members that are hungry to share ,we can then give the Public a fantastic show.
So you see the plate is full but the Board is always looking for volunteers.All I ask is that volunteers conduct themselves in a way that young men and women can look up to. Also be aware that elections are coming up in October and you can vote the terrible,condensending,thoughtless,bad attitude,Mr Popular,President out.Don't forget you have to be a current member to vote so make sure your send your check for membership. :wave: Johnny remember goal#2 and #5.
 
Robert,

I think the entire board is doing a great job :beer:

I wish that I could help more than I do. I will volunteer to be on the show committee in what ever capacity you need.

Matt
 
Re: South vs North, Only my 2 cents

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7168291#post7168291 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Flamehawk
Just wanted to clarify, we are not asking for EVERY meeting to be held on the weekends or down here in Miami. What we're saying is maybe you should consider having _some_ meetings that are not on Tues and up North so that some of us can attend at least once in a while.

I think a big part of being a board member entails listening to what regular members have to say. When i hear a board member say something like,

" Weekend's for me are for fishing,diving,and doing the occasional Theme Park trip. I can't imagine giving up that for a meeting.50 years ago the members where doing the same minus Theme Parks but where also heavy into collecting there own specimens and most did spearfishing as well.Plus there always the tradition of having the meetings on Tuesdays for over 50 years. "

it upsets me, with all your respect. It comes accross as condesending and it shows the member's inabilty to be flexible and to listen to other people's situations, espcially for a president. I have worked very closely with several past FMAS presidents (people who know me, can vouch for that) and i can tell you very honestly, that with that attitude, the FMAS club would never had made it this far. Just because something has been done the same way for 50 years, it does not mean it cannot/should not be done differently today. 50 years ago, we didnt have the parking lot called I-95. 50 years ago, the hobby was not as widepread.

And if you guys dont want to bring any meetings down here, why get upset when someone mentions they want to start another club that's closer?

Having said that, i;m a long time member of FMAS and truly believe the club is an awesome positive thing. When our club was based down south, however, the board of directors went out of their way to include North members by having fucntions/activities up north. There were many times when we couldnt accomdate everyone (of course) but at least we took the time to listen and to assess the situation and adjusted accordingly.

Just my 2 cents,

JOHNNY
Click to expand...

IS JUST SO NICE THAT I WANT U GUYS RAED IT AGAIN :lol2:
 
Bullredchaser, thank you for all that info, for all your time and effort I see something good coming out of all this, communication, at least for those of us that can only make it to two or three meeting a year without any contact is very easy to feel distant or left out.
I hope that all that have submitted a post are feeling the same as me. motivated to help out and to get involved just keep us informed because I had no idea of the many things that go on and found out about the fish hop the night before.
 
It's sad that things are being taken personally in regards to the club.
I don't think Johnny intended his post as a personal attack (bullred), but more he was showing his dissappointment at the complete indifference that your statement expressed. Several people down south including myself have expressed their desire for either different mtg times, additional mtgs, or options so that we all could participate in the club since we couldn't make it to the regular meetings.

I feel that the main members of the board have shut us off instead of being willing to discuss what could be done to include those of us that can't make it to regular meetings. I don't understand why creating a sub-chapter would be so difficult.
Couldn't you just forward the FMAS minutes to us and we could discuss at a different meeting what you all are planning then convene during different events as one club?
I don't think most of us down here want a new board, we just want to have something we can make it to w/o sitting in traffic for 2+ hrs.
When the club used to be closer Johnny and I were very involved attended nearly every meeting and helped out during events. If people up North felt left out back then and wanted to start a new part of FMAS, I think that would have been fine with me.

Our desire is not to tear FMAS down, but actually build upon it by creating a southern part or something. Then if we had our own meetings we could all work hard to come together every few months. I think the amount of people involved would actually increase.

Citing that we haven't paid our dues is very petty and childish. We haven't paid because we haven't been able to attend a meeting since the aquarium show. If I had time to attend meetings I would pay that day. Would you like for me to pay now in order to show that we're members?

Last year I entered a tank into the aquarium show for no other reason than to support the club. I didn't have time to volunteer like I would like to have, but at least I put a tank in hoping that it would help a little. I even won prizes, but didn't have time to attend the raffle because of my business. I didn't claim my prizes because I wanted the money to stay in the club. I think the prizes should be donated and don't like that the club spends it's own money on the prizes.

We wanted to participate in the March frag swap, I don't know if it ever took place. I e-mailed the president, vice president, and another club member in January trying to get information about it. No one ever responded. I would have been interested in donating corals and helping out.

Now we are asking for consideration of a new sub-chapter, different time, or something so that more of us can participate. So far, nothing has been truly responded to and it has been met with indifference by the board president.

So frag club anyone?

Morgan Mok
 
Morgan, Just out of curiosity, when you say "different time" (I assume to beat the traffic coming from the south) what time do you suggest the meeting should be held at? Also, how many more people coming from the south would you say could come to the meeting if this time was change?
The only reason why I ask, is because until recently I had a business in Miami Beach and I live in Weston, so, I not only know the traffic issue but have felted many times, however, I also know that this traffic starts mostly from 4:00pm and dies out at around 7:00pm with certain exceptions like the weekend and holidays.
I guess the point I am trying to make is that, it is possible that you guys might just need 15 to 20 minutes extra to get to the meeting and it is something that possibly could be arrange, personally, I will have no problems waiting an extra 20 minutes for a good cause, as long as there is in fact such cause.
IMO I suggest you to find out how many more people will join FMAS if this adjustment of time would occur and then present it to the board as a request, instead of arguing back and forward in this forum. I think this could be a solution.
I have followed this thread from the root and it is my belief that everyone here has had good intentions and mostly there has been no harm intended but instead a lack of understanding and possibly a lost in translation issue.
 
Excellent point Rogger,there is so much going on in the meetings that they are lasting till 10:15. One could arrive late at say,8pm and still get over 2 hrs of fun,latest information in the hobby, and of course participation in South Floridas largest coral and fish auction.We are now getting the boot by 10:30. Which beats having to be gone by 9 at the IGFA.
 
I'd say 8pm or 8:30 start might be better. Maybe good to put a poll up, within the forum to find out what everyone else thinks. Just trying to get some consensus here, not trying to step on anyone's toes. I know you all work very hard to make the club what it is. ;]
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7176176#post7176176 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefRatz
I've to say Robert is the first person to say Hi to me at the club. You are doing a good job Mr. President. :)
Click to expand...

I agree....Robert was the first one to talk to me at the Frag swap back in Oct and talked me in to joining the club...and he was the first one to say Good to see you again when I went to my first meeting. At the meetings, I've talked to a lot of great people, expecially on the tank hop. I've Meet so many nice people and had a lots of great conversations...all in all, its a great group of people! Just say hello to someone! I don't think anyone will ignore you! if so...come sit by me...I'm more then willing to meet someone else in the hobby! after all...it is why we all are here right!

See everyone at the meeting!
 
Morgan, a later start time might be a good idea, but it would be very hard with the school's schedule. We have been asked to be done by 10:30, and we are already pushing that as it is.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7176176#post7176176 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefRatz
I've to say Robert is the first person to say Hi to me at the club. You are doing a good job Mr. President. :)
Click to expand...


I only know chris and matt they bouth are really nice guys ....
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7176176#post7176176 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefRatz
I've to say Robert is the first person to say Hi to me at the club. You are doing a good job Mr. President. :)
Click to expand...


I only know chris and matt they bouth are really nice guys ....
 
I am driving up to the next meeting leaving from Coral Gables if anyone wants to car pool I have rom for five, I will even play "Finding Nemo" for those in the back it would be a great chance to talk while we are in traffic.

Just let me know.

cubano2480, FishAffair, Reefanatic67, flex13, thesaent14 or anyone interested.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

DRThompson
FMAS Holiday Party Dec 7th, 2024 @2pm
Replies
0
Views
58
DRThompson
DRThompson
DRThompson
FMAS July 20, 2024 Turtle Hatchlings Release
Replies
1
Views
249
Reefing102
Reefing102
DRThompson
FMAS July 15th, 2023 Seine event and Family Picnic
Replies
0
Views
332
DRThompson
DRThompson
Reefing102
No MACNA 2024
2
Replies
24
Views
1K
SantaMonica
S
ClownBubbaJoe
Prices Of Corals & Fish May Keep Me From Returning ?
2 3
Replies
44
Views
2K
shred5
shred5
Back
Top