Thoughts about the state of the ETRC, all constructive input welcome

[fishdoc11]

Unfortunately I think our disbanding the BOD might be having some bad consequences. It seems lately that no one has had to organize things or get things done so no one is. Scheduling and organizing meetings is the prime example.
This may be explained by the fact that a few members have been busier than usual or are not even here much anymore which may indicate disinterest by some and I know is dictated by "where their life is now" by others. I know the board has been dead for a while now.
I also personally feel guilty for trying to sign up new members at the Coral Reef meeting now only to be letting them down by the club basically not functioning lately.

What do you guys think?

What can we do about it?

thanks, Chris

 

[ct_vol]

I think a lot of the "core" members are at very busy points in their lives right now which is probably mostly to blame... I missed my first meeting in over 2 years last month... And you guys know how much I love to go to the meetings... I purposely took a month or so break from posting just to see how dead the ETRC forum would be... I too feel like things are falling apart... I hate it for the new members... I've tried to help all the newbies that have contacted me outside the forums as much as possible... I'm all for helping out in any way I can, as much as my life allows me to... Maybe we should try putting a board back together??? I know the Chattanooga group is having a lot of the same problems right now... Perhaps a merge with their club??? We host up here one month them down there the next??? I'm all for suggestions...

 

[RevHtree]

We had a great joint effort with the swap here in Chatt, and it seems that after the event both of our clubs have come to a stand still. We are finally starting to see a little life again...

 

[awcurl]

I hate seeing the club fall by the wayside because there isn’t anyone to make decisions.
I agree, let’s reinstitute the BOD; If the old BOD isn’t willing to serve, I think we should just ask for volunteers to fill the positions until the club gets back on track. Let the volunteer officers serve as needed until the club is ready to vote new officers in.

I'm also in favor of combining the two clubs.
:bum:

 

[Lint_Licker]

Why not have a "Board of the Willing". Whoever is interested in being it the BOD should be.

Im not in ETRC, nor MTRC simply because both are too far away for me to attend meetings, and club discounts are worthless to me cause the gas would cost more then the discount.

Im half tempted to try and get something going here, cause there is interest, but not a whole lot and only one close by store worth a crap. I know there are a few people on the east side of Nashville towards my way who would join up possibly if I got something going. I know the local store gave discounts to the old club that was here that is now dead and gone.

 

[knoxtnreef]

I wasn't a member when the club went to Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies but I was aware of the club at that time and saw all the pictures. Those types of activities were what excited me about joining the club. I noticed they let everyone do a "behind the scenes" tour. I think it would be a good idea to arrange another similar outing (i.e. Tennessee Aquarium). Not only could we do this but we could also arrange a swap that same day if time permited. Basically what I'm getting at is if the club is to exist in a healty state we must think outside of the box. I know for one Lemongrass was a great idea and I met new people in just the small amount of time we spent there.

One more thing, the website is very outdated. I will volunteer my time to update it if given the information. I'm no programmer so I can't redo the look and feel per say but I can post new pics, meetings, update the members list etc.

-Adam

 

[EvilMel]

Look...I didn't read all the stuff you guys said, but this is definitely a good bit of my fault.

I was supposed to lead you guys at least a bit...and I've not held up my end of the bargain. It's super hard for me lately and I think everyone knows why. My lack of a tank, due to known issues has really got me down when it comes to reefing.

I'm really thinking of getting a nano; talked to Randy on Sunday about the feasibility of it given how much I'm out of town. I think it's doable.

I'm sorry I didn't keep up my end. I really don't want the club to fall by the wayside either. I was thinking about it this afternoon...that we need to reinvigorate it.

 

[fishdoc11]

We can't expect you to do everything Mel
Especially considering how life has been of late for you.
I think it was somewhat naive to think the club would run itself. It wen't well for a bit but then fell off dramatically. I don't think any of us want to see it go by the wayside.
On another note I don't think you would have a problem stocking a nano
Topup is the only thing I see being a potential problem if your gone for a few days at a time.

I also think merging the clubs is a good idea but I just wonder how feasable it is to expect people to drive 1.5 to 2 hours to meetings every other month. I don't make many during the school year as it is and I don't see any but the hardcore making those.
If that's what we need to do to keep the BOD intact and keep things rolling that may be our only choice.

Thanks for all the comments everyone

Chris

 

[salt newbie01]

I hate to see the ETRC having the same trouble as our club. The ETRC helped me a lot when I first started my reef tank 2 years ago. I hope both of our clubs will be able to regain some strength and activity. The main thing is that both clubs have good people involved that don't want to see the clubs "fail."

As Randy and Dave stated our club in Chattanooga has had almost no activity since the swap. It stinks because I am the President and I have not been able to put forth as much effort as I should have. Family and work have really been demanding a lot of my time. But I am trying to reallocate some time to help get things going again.

At first thought joining or merging the clubs sounds like a great idea. But I think it would make somethings more complicated. Chris is right - it would be hard to every other month travel 1 1/2 -2 1/2 hours away for a club meeting. With having a young family and working a lot during the week that would be VERY hard for me. I think we could better pool our joint resources by having our clubs be more active with each other. Having a recipricating membership that shares benefits. Maybe try to have 2-3 meetings a year together. Try to do a couple things together - like get a behind the scenes tour of the TN aquarium and/or Ripley's aquarium. Maybe do a group dry goods or live goods order and let both clubs cover shipping. Place orders with online coral vendors hopefully getting a discount because of the large order ( and letting the clubs cover the shipping to sweeten the deal). I am sure others could come up with a lot more original ideas but I hope you get the idea.

I think if we could act together we could really get some cool things going while keeping our independant clubs and seperate officers. I hope both our clubs will be able to find new life and get going again.

Patrick

 

[ironman2]

I would have to agree with patrick, I dont think making a single club would help, i think it would finish off what little is left of the clubs. However working together and increaseing our numbers for group buys and activities would probly spur some activity. I also think that we should plan to have a joint meeting Every third month. We basically have 4 people who seem to always be hosting the meetings, so other than the fact that us four add alot to our tanks to keep it different, it kinda gets old, and people dont make as much of an effort to continue to go to the meetings.
Yall should really give it some thought, it would be nice I know to come see all yalls tanks to. Everyone around here already has all the same stuff cause weve had to trade with eachother for so long! :lol:

Just to throw this out there, I am hosting a fall meeting at my house on October 22nd. Its a Sunday afternoon. The plan is to have hayrides for the kids, big yard for adults to pass football or soccer. Campfire for hotdogs and smores, or plenty of other games and activities. plus my tank. And im gonna work on getting some Donations from 5th day creations for door prizes. We would love for yall to come join us. maybe we can plan the meeting around discussing the future of our clubs?

 

[imsqueak]

I've been fishing for the past week. (no hooks lodged into my skin past the barb, thankfully) Like Randy, I purposefully cut back on posts to see what would happen... I checked the board daily, then went on to other things. Board activity was definitely lacking but I didn't realize Randy and I had the same thought at the same time and we are regular posters.

I like a quarterly mtg w/ Chatt idea. That would be 2 trips per year for each of us. Not so bad. We could try to time group buys around this to get more participation.

I'll take VP ETRC position back (or Pres if need be) until we're ready for new elections. I think a BOD of the willing is also a good idea. I really didn't want another term on BOD but that was before the down-turn we've seen. I dont want the club to fail because it did so much for me when I started out. I want to ensure others have the same advantage. Hopefully before they buy $11/lb LR!

I think we've depended on Mel far more than a club should. She's been the mortar that's held the bricks together for several years. No one person should make up the mortar. The members should be the mortar and the BOD should be the bricks.

OK, gotta read the other posts I haven't read since I've been gone a week.

 

[waynesworld]

Hay Chris sorry you guys are having issues there. I know all too well how life can get in the way of our clubs. For those who don't know me I am the treasurer in MTRC got the job and then found out my daughter had a relapse of her brain cancer. So that put a lot of work on the other two BOD. I don't know what the solution is to get more people involved in the planning of things but I know the group in CO has one main club and then has chapters of that club. I always wondered if that would work her in TN if we could combine all of the are for some of these things and then also have some small meetings for the local area. I know if we did we could have more things like speakers and Demos from some of the bigger vendors. Also if we work together we may be able to maybe get a national event to TN.

 

[Runner]

My posting has fallen off over the last few months as my interest in the hobby has waned a little. I am starting up a 10G saltwater tank on my desk at work, so that should jump-start me a little bit with posting material. I also started out with a complete re-vamp of our web-boards that stalled a little along the way. I even have a functioning web-board over there for which I have yet to share the link. Too many things incomplete as I am guilty of apathy as of late. But if you guys are interested, it will interest me -- especially when members start sending me pics and descriptions of their tanks so I can update a "Tank of the Month" type article. Or DIY articles. Or technical reef content.

As for combining clubs with Chattanooga, I don't think we should do that. Much of the membership wouldn't travel every other month. Once or twice a year for group meetings and frag swaps are okay, but regular travelling meeting might hurt things.

As for the Constitution and Bylaws, I am willing to do one of two things: re-post the old ones as the reigning rules (we will need to vote on this somehow -- at the next meeting or by having all members log on to our new web board and vote) or re-write the old laws to combine the BOD into a single club dictator. Personally, I think the old one was just fine. If we can drum up support from the new blood over the next year, I think the old members can safely hand off a functioning club to a new group.

I suppose that is all that is on my mind for now. I am sure I'll think of something else soon.

 

[goreefer]

I am one of the 'New Members' that joined at the Coral Reef meeting.
Hobby clubs are very difficult to keep going and usually there is a core of people that have the drive and motivation to keep them going. Before I moved to Knoxville in 1990 I was very active in Tulsoar, a club of model sailplane enthusiasts. Our system of officers was to yearly elect a new secretary/treasure and then the other officers would move up a position. It was a four year commitment and you could not just keep recycling the same officers. This system worked for over thirty years until the club lost their flying field and the club ended up disbanding.
I would be interested in giving more to ETRC, except that I travel for business about 20-30 weeks a year and don't think that I can meet the commitment.
I have not been able to attend any of the meetings since joining but I would like to and like some of the other new members I am hesitant to go to someone's house that I don't know, even though we all enjoy the same hobby. Having a meeting at my home is out of the question.
I have been in the aquarium hobby for over forty years and into reefs since about 1974.
What would I like to see?
1, More meetings in public places such as a public aquarium, etc.
2, Have a regular date for the meetings such as the 3rd week of the month.
3, some how make new members feel more welcome and not present the appearance if this is a click rather than a club.

Thank you all for letting me express my thoughts,
Garry

 

[seased]

I have been in the club for several years. I was attracted to the reef club because it would give me a good way to acquire frags (at a lower cost than stores) and to learn from experienced hobbyiest. For the first several years, our meetings would typically have a frag raffle/door prize, the members would discuss club business (dues, new members, events, etc..), then we would have some type of presentation. The meetings would last 1-2 hours - I would come home with a frag and have learned something new.

Lately, the meetings have had less structure and sometimes no structure at all. I would like to see us return to a meeting where it begins relatively on time. Also, I would like for the structure to return. Also, I think the food aspect of the meeting should happen after the meeting for those who wish to participate.

It would be nice to develop a list of corals, etc.. that members have that they would be willing to frag/trade. Maybe post some pictures of what is available. Sometimes I don't know what people have until one of the bi-annual frag swaps come around.

I have learned a great deal from the members in this club. There are a lot of people with a wide range of experience in all aspects of the hobby. I do agree that meetings should be held in a variety of places. It would be nice if we could meet at the CR every other month. I don't know if that is possible? That meeting seemed very successful. Also, by returning to a more structured meeting, we could recognize the new members and help them feel more welcome.

 

[Lint_Licker]

The whole statewide organization is a very good idea in theory. However, the local chapters will have presidents or whatever and BOD and if the chapter doesnt like what the main club is doing or vice versa, its going to wind up as cluster fudge and have too many chiefs and not enough indians.

However, have a statewide meet and greet would be a good idea. There is atleast 6 clubs in TN that I know of, and Im sure there could be a lot of different frags out there haha

 

[fishdoc11]

Some great ideas everyone, thanks for all the input
I'm glad so many people want the club to continue like myself. I know the MTRC and now the ETRC have been invaluable to me for both info and just having fish nerds to converse and commiserate with
Looks like getting things more organized again is going to be the way to go. I am also in favor of reinstituting the old BOD and the original bylaws until we can have a new vote and figure out how we want to tweak things from there.

Chris

 

[dww]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10976022#post10976022 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by goreefer
I am one of the 'New Members' that joined at the Coral Reef meeting.
Hobby clubs are very difficult to keep going and usually there is a core of people that have the drive and motivation to keep them going. Before I moved to Knoxville in 1990 I was very active in Tulsoar, a club of model sailplane enthusiasts. Our system of officers was to yearly elect a new secretary/treasure and then the other officers would move up a position. It was a four year commitment and you could not just keep recycling the same officers. This system worked for over thirty years until the club lost their flying field and the club ended up disbanding.
I would be interested in giving more to ETRC, except that I travel for business about 20-30 weeks a year and don't think that I can meet the commitment.
I have not been able to attend any of the meetings since joining but I would like to and like some of the other new members I am hesitant to go to someone's house that I don't know, even though we all enjoy the same hobby. Having a meeting at my home is out of the question.
I have been in the aquarium hobby for over forty years and into reefs since about 1974.
What would I like to see?
1, More meetings in public places such as a public aquarium, etc.
2, Have a regular date for the meetings such as the 3rd week of the month.
3, some how make new members feel more welcome and not present the appearance if this is a click rather than a club.

Thank you all for letting me express my thoughts,
Garry

I feel the same way and have the same thoughts.

Donna

 

[fishdoc11]

1, More meetings in public places such as a public aquarium, etc.

I think this is a great idea as well. We have 2 public aquariums relatively close...Ripleys and the Chattanooga aquarium. Maybe we can set as a goal to schedule a behind the scenes tour of one within the next year or so. I think several people have expressed interest in having a few meetings at restaurants as well......which is definately doable

2, Have a regular date for the meetings such as the 3rd week of the month.

We already have this. It's supossed to be the third Saturday of every month. It has also been suggested that an adendum be made to possibly change it to Sundays during the fall because a lot of people in Knoxville go to or watch the UT games.....myself included. I'll just mention something that I would like to see is more meetings during the evening.

I personally don't like meetings in the afternoon because it seems to split my day in half and I can't get nearly as much done as I could if the meetings were in the evening. Time is usually left up to the host from what I have seen however.

3, some how make new members feel more welcome and not present the appearance if this is a click rather than a club.

I personally try to introduce myself to people I don't know and I know some others do as well.....some probably don't. I will continue to do that. In the end though it's up to the individual to walk up, extend your hand, and say "Hi I'm so and so". It's amazing what can happen when you do that. 9 times out of 10 when you say hi to someone, no matter who it is is, they will say hi back (I'm sure that would be 10 times out of 10 in the club ). I know it works, I used to be a very shy person and I think you can all tell I'm not now
I can see how the club might appear as a click due to the fact that all of the core members have known each other for years. In any situation where that is the case one will feel a bit like an "outsider" for a while, that's inevitable. It's up to us to help ease that feeling and up to new members to help us do that



Chris

 

[dww]

I have yet to visit Ripleys or Chattanooga aquarium and would love to do so.
As for feeling welcome, I don't really think, not being welcome was ever an issue for me. I think they are all great guys the club just needs some leaders.

Donna