What would you like to see change? [Archive] - Reef Central Online Community

Murph72

03/10/2006, 06:44 PM

I agree with Brad that group buys are always a good idea. There are certainly times that you can get free shipping if you would spend X amount of dollars. As a group, we could all benefit by some of these deals if we all went together. In that case, knowing more people in the hobby can benefit everyone.

I like the idea of helping fellow reefers. I can't thank Mo enough for running out to our house when we had some problems a few months back. Btw Mo, you should really see the tank now...it's done a complete 360.

I can say that I too buy from sponsors, but I'm not sure if I'd actually stop buying from SF even if they weren't a sponsor. I just like Todd and his wife's business too much to go cold turkey.

The idea of setting up some discounts for the club members would also look more appealing to new members. I know that membership in other clubs often has those types of benefits.

As for the swaps, I have to disagree with Brad there. I see the swap not as a money making venture. I see it as a service to the members. We get together, we have the opportunity to share what is in our tanks. We save a peice of the ocean because we are buying a coral from another reefer's tank. We get to share information with reefers that are just starting out. I've had the opportunity to learn and to teach at swaps.

As of recently, it has irked me at swaps to see this money oriented drive. I was glad to meet people that were not in it for the money. But, unfortunately, I see people with their wads of cash being stuffed in their pocket. One of the BOD member's wives even told me that they were there to make a profit. I found this to be just despicable. I also have issues with the continual questioning of "Do you want to buy a raffle ticket?" When I'm in the midst of talking to another reefer I really don't appreciate being interrupted continually with the same question. We're big kids, we know there's a raffle going on, we can walk over to a central location and buy a ticket if we're interested. It's that totally being hounded for money that I don't like as of late at our swaps.

I agree that we have to open up communication. I, as a founding member, have no idea most of the times that there are meetings and what was discussed at them. A simple secretary's report in the week following the meeting would be appreciated. I might want to become more involved if you keep me more informed.

rickyfins

03/10/2006, 07:45 PM

Good Point Murph, I like your ideas and thanks for the input. Although the swaps are for meeting fellow hobbyists, it is also a drive for the club to raise funds for the next event or to pay a speaker if there is one. You are right about other clubs offering discounts at LFS and sponsors. In fact, one club I used to belong to hands you a sheet of sponsors who offer discounts when dues are paid.

thanks,

Rick

p.s. keep the information flowing its great so far.

Fizz71

03/10/2006, 08:14 PM

One thing with the group buys...you need to find vendors that will offer a group buy but not require all the money at once or all the items to be shipped to one place. It becomes a orchestration nightmare. A few years ago there was a group buy that NCPARS folks jumped in with another club who was doing it..it was for Calcium Reactors. All the vendor needed was enough "I'll take ones" and gave everybody a discount, but was paid for and shipped to each person separately.

And I too will say that the amount of trading of corals at the last swap was sad. I was very dissapointed, but there is absolutely nothing the board can do about that...we need more people to be willing to frag and trade. If members want demos on how to frag and glue..please let us know..if it's just that you don't have the corals...then well..we can't help you there. :)

--Fizz

Murph72

03/10/2006, 09:07 PM

Fizz,
I do think that fragging demos would be beneficial. I myself know how to frag most of my corals. However, I just recently bought some zoos for the first time and would love to learn how to frag them so that I can share them with others. I'm certain some of the newbies probably don't know how to frag anything. That kind of education would be an asset for our club to offer.

Murph72

03/10/2006, 09:16 PM

Also, on the group buy, I was thinking more along the lines of one person orchestrating it instead of the club persay. More of a "Hey, I'm looking at corals from vendor x, if you want anything let me know and I'll add it to my order. I can keep it in my tank until the weekend when you can get here to pick it up." That kind of thing was moreso what I was thinking of.

Within the club it would be nice if we had the relationships where we could do that with each other. Obviously that takes trust between the members....which is something that some members have with each other and others obviously don't. I just think if we got to know each other better these kinds of exchanges would be possible. But perhaps I'm being an optimist again :)

lawmary

03/11/2006, 07:52 AM

Hi, I am a newbie reefer. I joined the club at the Hegins swap. Since that was my first swap, I thought from attending it that swaps were where people brought things to sell. So, I bought some frags and raffle tickets there. One person gave me a frag when he learned I was a newbie. I didn't bring anything to trade because I didn't have anything to trade (yet). I got there and didn't really know what to do, I just saw a lot of people sitting around, as if they were waiting for something. I think it was the raffle. I could only come for part of it, so I don't know what I missed at the beginning or end, because there wasn't an agenda.

I'm new at this and I'm new to your club so I don't really know anyone or anything about it. So, I'm going to apologize in advance if anyone is offended by any of my suggestions.

I joined the club because I was hoping to meet experienced reefers and learn from them. I was hoping to attend meetings and learn how to do things myself, learning from others. I was especially hoping to learn about corals, because my background is more in fish keeping.

I have since learned from reading posts on this website that this club was essentially formed by a few key people to support Mo's work as well as do other things. Reading some of the recent posts this morning, it looks like the membership has grown well beyond the initial group to want more than that. So, there appears to be a struggle going on about what the club is and what it was formed to do, as well as a lack of volunteerism and clear and consistent communication. Welcome to the world of NPOs!

I support Mo's work and have no problem with part of my dues being used to support his work. That is globally stated in the club's purpose right on the home page. However, if that is an issue keeping some members/losing some members, then have people give private donations right to Mo. If Mo is having events, NCPARS can help Mo by advertising the events to its membership and donating free raffle items.

It looks though from the global purpose statement on the NCPARS home page that the club was formed to do more than just support Mo's work. So, here are my requests.

I would like to know when and where the Board meets so I can "sit in" on meetings, as these meetings should be open to the public. I would like the minutes to be posted on the website. I have served on several NPO Boards and I usually spend the first few meetings listening so I can get a sense for what is going on and who is doing/promoting what. I would like to get email notices of these meetings, and also club meetings and club-sponsored events.

I would like to have monthly educational club meetings to go to with topics announced in advance. I would like the meetings to rotate around in location as PSU is pretty far for me to travel. I am more towards the Reading/Allentown areas. If members bring frags to trade on the side, great. At each meeting there should be materials to advertise and join the club. I would like to see hands-on demonstrations. I would like to bring corals and have people who know what they are doing show me how to frag them. I would like to be able to get to know people in my area who have a similar passion. If people want to do this in their homes, there must be some kind of liability release that people could sign in advance if liability is the issue.

The club should have had a membership table at the Anthony Calfo event last night, since they were giving away free items. I'm glad the club supported the event, but I'm not sure what the purpose was since it was run by Something Fishy. Obviously, SF sold the tickets to cover their expenses of Anthony, food and perhaps some of their store raffle items. I'll bet there were people there who did not know who or what NCPARS was. I would have liked to meet some on you online folks there, but there was no vehicle such as nametags to meet other people. I met Mo because he has his big smiling face on his avatar so I know who to look for!

Personally, I thought that the event last night was great. I learned a lot and might have maybe even overcome my fear of fragging. I am a landscaper after all and I cut plants up all the time. So, it's KIND of the same thing.

I think there should be a mutually beneficial relationship between high quality stores like Something Fishy and others and the club. There must be a way to do this. Can our club learn from other clubs? Has our club looked at what other successful clubs are doing?

If the club wants to put together one or two big events each year, the club should get the businesses who come to advertise and sell their products to sponsor those events. The club could charge a fee to the businesses for their tables, which would pay for the food. Then the businesses could also supply the giveaway freebies. Or, businesses could sell food at the event. The club would advertise the event to its membership and organize the event. The event should be free for NCPARS members.

Or, the club could bring in speakers such as Mr. Calfo and use membership dues to pay speaker fees and hall/location rental fees. If that doesn't cover it, use some dues to pay for it and offer a reduced rate to NCPARS members.

If people are interested in getting discounted items for their tanks, why not work out a discount with a local LFS, I bet they'd love to do something like that. People often join all kinds of clubs to get shopping discounts. And wouldn't the LFS order in special corals or products that club members were looking for? Why couldn't you work this out with all of the major LFS in our club area? Unless there is something in the Bylaws or NPO set up that prevent this.

OK, you asked, so there is my 2 cents.

eastonreef

03/11/2006, 09:06 AM

i agree that more trading between members should be incouraged. many times i see people selling stuff for the same amount i could get it for at the lfs. we should be giving each other a break.

also it seems that the club has been "ruled" from the top down. now that statement was not meant to offend anyone. it is the only way i can think to put it. any organization i have ever been a part of is run by all and implimented by the board. the meetings should be open to everyone not just the board. we should all discuess the issues and come up with solutions together. if we are have access to the meetings then we cant say we dont know what is going on. we can be as informed as we want to be.

Barney121

03/12/2006, 07:28 AM

What I will participate in is 2-3 swaps per year, and things like we've done at TFP. And paying my dues to support educational activities, and perhaps doing some of that in State College with the few other members in this area.

Members are spread out all over, and with my schedule I won't be going to monthly meetings, or probably anything outside of State College, although it's a nice idea if there's a critical mass of a few people in any one place who want to have one. More trading would be nice, perhaps the club can ask Kevin Fizz to allow his fragswapper site to be used for some continuing trading activity. But it's really designed for specific swaps, and it's his private software (that he has allowed clubs to use for free), so that's up to him.

Also, not to offend, but if you want to just push the current BOD to resign, please keep telling us how we've "ruled" and turn how and what we've been doing into a negative. Frankly, that's been the tone of these threads as seen by people who have done a lot of work. We've set up bylaws, we've incorporated and made the organization into an NPO, we've established a budget, we've managed several swaps, we've worked on guidelines for spending on educational activities. We've called for volunteers and not gotten any. It's not all completed yet, but we've been trying to get some things established. We see all that as a positive, not a negative. I wish this had been phrased more positively, as "Now that there is an actual organizational structure, I'd like to see the club have more open meetings to encourage input from members and come up with solutions." We all agree with that.

eastonreef

03/12/2006, 07:49 AM

barney--- it is really a matter of semantics. as you said "we did this" and "we did that". the board should not make all the decisions then hand out assignments. i dont think anyone was saying the board has not done a lot of work. i dont know who does what but i am sure there is a lot of time involved.
there are obviously 2 sides to this. the board sees they are putting in all the time and work and they dont feel appreciated. i can totally understand that. on the other side we see things being decided without our input, then we see a post asking for volunteers to do the work others decided to do. the only time we see several of the boardmembers on the site is at swap time. i haven't seen many since october.
i think if the 2 sides merged and everyone had an equal say this would work out better.

CarlC

03/12/2006, 08:21 AM

Most of my concerns have been covered by previous posts. Some good idea's for change have been suggested.

One addition would be keeping the website updated.

Carl

lawmary

03/12/2006, 08:28 AM

Hi Barney, thank you for posting. I was just wondering, since I am new, where and how you ask for volunteers? And, what type of communication method does the board use to let the membership know of its activities? Web? Mail? Phone? Newsletter? Thanks in advance.

rickyfins

03/12/2006, 03:54 PM

Great input! I do not mean to be negative, and certainly would like to see more communication between the BOD and all members. Just look at it this way, we are finally communicating and hopefully we will work out a few bugs in the current method. Thank you all for your posts and more are always welcome.

rick

EMBRYOGUY

03/12/2006, 04:46 PM

as to what i would like to see change? the president and treasurer.

hope that is direct enough. no hidden sarcasm...

Barney121

03/12/2006, 07:38 PM

Well, if the votes are there, then there can be a new president and treasurer. IMO, they've done more work than anyone in organizing the club in the past year and a half. They've organized the swaps, coordinated bylaws, etc. I'd personally vote for them and hope they agree to run again.

Good comments, eastonreef. Clearly it's much better to move forward! FYI, we never really handed out assignments, certainly that was never the intent. We were trying to request volunteers to do things like help with swap, education, etc. but never had enough response to get rolling with people other than board members working on the swaps. This thread has generated some new ideas that everyone can work together on. I hope that general members will be active in starting some of these going rather than just relying on the BOD.

Lawmary: thanks for the question. The main call for help was in 2 stickied discussion threads, one for board nominations, and one for volunteers for committees. They were taken down a few weeks ago for some reason (part of general cleaning up the NCPARS forum, I think), but they were up there starting a couple of weeks after the October swap. Given some renewed interest, we should get them back up again.

We don't have a regular newsletter - perhaps it would be nice to have some people form a "newsletter committee" or something like that. We've communicated mostly on the web (NCPARS.org and discussion groups here) with occasional email. We are so spread out geographically that we are really more of a "virtual club" than a local group, so web/email has made the most sense.

I think at the next swap (which Kevin should be announcing plans for soon) we will be having a full membership meeting, and hopefully we'll discuss volunteering and ideas for activities there, in person, too. We are really open to people suggesting/working on new ideas. The committees we had suggested were
â€¢ Education and outreach committee (planning how to support reef tanks in schools, teaching the public about reefs and our hobby, teaching reefers new tricks)
â€¢ Swap committee (helping plan and schedule swap events, get speakers, helping swap set up)
â€¢ Program committee (helping to plan new types of events like member picnics)
â€¢ Membership committee (helping to get new members and make our activities even bigger!)
â€¢ Fund raising / public relations committee (spread the word about NCPARS, help get donations from vendors)

rickyfins

03/12/2006, 08:58 PM

Scott, Thanks for elaborating on what the BOD is doing, it is giving insight to whats going on. It is nice to see that opinions and suggestions are being considered and given thought. This is what my intentions were when I started this thread. I was hoping that members would come to this thread and voice their opinions and give suggestions to make NCPARS what it should be. It seems to be working thus far.

On a side note, isn't this something that the BOD should have done awhile back. Maybe they have and it didn't work, I am not sure. Isn't someone who is on the BOD supposed to get input from members? Am I inadvertently doing someone elses job? At this point I don't care if I am, I am getting things done that should have been done months ago. I am getting them done with members help, and it seems like it's working this time. If we all chip in it works out much better! Great team work guys!

For all of you who have posted, thanks, I can not change these things, well at least not without help! I am glad communication between members and BOD has begun to get answers. We are not at the end of this road however, and a lot of work still needs to be done to get where the club wants to be. We as a group can do that, we can do what we as a group agree on and put it into motion. This is not my club, nor any one persons, it is every member who pays dues. Even those not yet members should have a say in what they need/want to see in a reef club. It will help NCPARS become versitile in the long run and benefit all. I only hope that we can continue this journey together.

With permission of the BOD, I would like to start the newsletter program. I would need to know how many members we have and addresses for the mailing. I would also need information from the BOD to put into the newsletter as well as what is going on with members around PA so that we can keep up to date on what is working for some.

Any volunteers want to help me with this venture?

Lawmary- you have some interesting stories don't you? We can put some of your experiences as a newbie in the first newsletter.

CarlC- How about you? Got anything you would like put into a newsletter? Current setup, experiences, or anything.

thanks,

Rick

bmkindig

03/12/2006, 09:08 PM

hey all
honestly the bod doesn't actually "meet" it's more like organize things to do for swaps it's rare we can actually meet without an agenda.

bmkindig

03/12/2006, 11:33 PM

"One of the BOD member's wives even told me that they were there to make a profit"

after rereading this i'm baffled bye this one?my wife was the only bod related one there and she would have never said that....

don't get me wrong i live for swaps and there are plently of reefers that are there to make a profit,but as a club giving away $2-3000 worth of stuff in a raffle,well tickets need to be pushed.

foe example 3 years ago in may when we were starting out i put about $1500-$2000 for a swap and the raffle only bought in about $480-$500 and this was all an out of pocket expense for me.

"
i dont think anyone was saying the board has not done a lot of work. i dont know who does what but i am sure there is a lot of time involved.
there are obviously 2 sides to this. the board sees they are putting in all the time and work and they dont feel appreciated. i can totally understand that. on the other side we see things being decided without our input, then we see a post asking for volunteers to do the work others decided to do. "

bod meeting consist of who is taking care of food. who is going to do this that or the other there are no real secrets our bod meeting are on ncpars.org maybe kevin can open them up for public viewing?

"One addition would be keeping the website updated"

for the most part r/c is our website

like i said i can step down.i don't hold any real position or title other then a bod member.and i know i feel these statements are agianist me so if you think my statements are unrealistic like me know

i take ncpars very seriuoslly and i can't say enough about the club and wish everyone would support our causes.

zooqi

03/13/2006, 12:26 AM

If you read the other thread ,"Next Meeting " you will see that what really made me mad is when my personal life was brough up in a chat. I would've let everything go but that's not a way to test somebody's somebody's temper. Personal life should not be discussed here please. We need to leave families, personal life out of club discussion guys. We are not here to get family involved. Please don't discuss anybody's family or bring them to this discussions. Brad, you don't need to hear this kind words and ignore it since it does not have anything to do with what we are here. You have done alot to this club and all said should be ignored. Lets not open this subject again and instead how about we talk about something else and my suggestion is we talk about, " What would you like to see change? "

CarlC

03/13/2006, 07:49 AM

Brad I brought up the website because if it is costing the club to keep it up it should be updated. Just a check and balances on out going money.

Could a note be posted on the home page about the need for the nomination committee.

Carl

zooqi

03/13/2006, 08:59 AM

It takes alot of time to update websites and Fizz have done a great job updating it and I'm sure he is busy. I tried to get into updating it but it looks like is not in a simple format to do so and it was too complicated for my brain. If anybody who knows how to work that format and wants to help I'm sure Fizz won't mind. I tried but too much for me to understand (age is the cause). :)

Barney121

03/13/2006, 09:28 AM

Re: meetings. Monthly meetings would be good, but everyone is so spread out geographically that you might need to think about a rotation through locations, or something. It was always a challenge to figure out how to have an in person meeting with more than 5 people. We used AOL instant messenger for board meetings, but it might be too unwieldy for general membership meetings and doesn't let you do speakers, etc.

Ricky: As I said, we had stickied threads up for months IN THIS GROUP that no one responded to. I guess you missed them while they were up? As an organization, we proposed pretty broad committees to help the organization that were intended to allow a lot of directions and hoped that specific activities would be undertaken by committee members. If we'd had responses or a suggestion thread a long time ago and then this all would not have been necessary. My experience is that it's a challenge to get people to volunteer. I hope that the next BOD will be conscious of not letting the club falls apart with personal matters after many people worked for the past 2 years to get the club on a formal and solid footing while trying to do new things.

Since Brad mentioned that making money comment, we've never been here to make money in the long term, but our thinking has always been that you can't run an organization in the red, either. A positive balance is needed to pay for swap costs, speakers, and anything else the club wants. So the initial meetings did try to do more than break even to accumulate a base for the club. The budget and balance was posted on NCPARS.org in November (under Forums - General NCPARS Business - Financial Report). It will be up to the next board to decide how much to charge in dues/swap admission and what to spend it on (education, speakers, swap food, raffle items, other things that you come up with). I think the web site updating is free courtesy of Kevin. One of the things he contributed is time on the website, so that hasn't been an expense.

Fizz71

03/13/2006, 10:30 AM

Our website hosting fees are free as they are donated to us (by Jon Ludwig). The name "ncpars.org" we own, but that fee is minimal. As for the confusing format Mo mentioned....Mo likes to be right in the meat of the code for producing a site..and I'm the same way in my trade by day...but to make a site with the features that our site has is too much programming work and would cost A LOT of money or a dreadful amount of time for somebody to write.

So the site is actually a free program called PHP Nuke. We don't actually write the code for the site (like Mo does with HTML and I do with HTML and ASP)...we USE the site somebody else wrote in PHP since they have an admin interface rather than hand changing code. I actually purchased one of the versions in our name (you can pay for the latest, or get an older version free). I never expensed it though, it was out of my pocket since it wasn't much. The program was new for me at first too and I still don't understand everything it can do (we don't need it all). They keep evolving it and the instructions are vague. But it is a very popular tool and I do have a good foundation laid out for all kinds of useful features. We just didn't get the support we had hoped for on some of them so the site is floundering and I didn't bother to go through with everything else.

I will however add the nomination request..and a few other things I'll announce officially tonight when I'm not at my regular job. :)

--Fizz

CarlC

03/13/2006, 10:44 AM

Cool. Thanks for the explanation.

Carl

Murph72

03/13/2006, 10:57 AM

Brad: Just so you know, it wasn't your wife, nor was it this past swap.
My point being that I disagree with the idea that the swap is just meant to make money. I think it serves the club well for us to get together, share what is in our tanks, and help those that need knowledge. Are the swaps really running in the red without pushing us to give, give, give? Do we really need to be pushing the raffles?
Also, I can't believe the NCPARS board would want you to upfront the costs. I always thought the items on the tables were donated, not paid for by BOD members. If we can't get these items donated, are we really bringing in any profit for the club with them? You have me scratching my head now Brad. I always thought you got the items through donations.

CarlC

03/13/2006, 11:04 AM

CarlC- How about you? Got anything you would like put into a newsletter? Current setup, experiences, or anything. [/B]

I am still pretty new to reefs. My current tank has only been up for about 8 month's.
I would have no problem doing a write up of my current setup though.
Maybe I could do something about a trip I took to Madagascar. It could go into what to prepare for if visiting a country that is lower than 3rd world.

Carl

Fizz71

03/13/2006, 11:30 AM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6943886#post6943886 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Murph72
Brad: Just so you know, it wasn't your wife, nor was it this past swap.
My point being that I disagree with the idea that the swap is just meant to make money. I think it serves the club well for us to get together, share what is in our tanks, and help those that need knowledge. Are the swaps really running in the red without pushing us to give, give, give? Do we really need to be pushing the raffles?
Also, I can't believe the NCPARS board would want you to upfront the costs. I always thought the items on the tables were donated, not paid for by BOD members. If we can't get these items donated, are we really bringing in any profit for the club with them? You have me scratching my head now Brad. I always thought you got the items through donations.

More misread communication here....so let me try to explain...

The items at the last 2 (3?) swaps were all donated. Mostly from people Brad had called, but also from contacts of other board members (Tim did a lot for us, Sanjay donated the corals etc.).

The only time Brad put out money (to my knowledge) was for the swap at his house before we were completely formed....and that is one of the reasons we try to keep some money in the bank..so that that doesn't happen again. We still put out our own money to be reimbursed for some items..the club actually owes me $100 for the books and Jon for the tickets....but big costs we try to pay in advance or get donated when we can. All money going out currently requires too signatures, so nobody can buy anything on their own even if it is approved..it does slow things down, but it's the only way to properly track the money.

--Fizz

bmkindig

03/13/2006, 12:06 PM

hey carl
yes kevin put it well.i'm turning back the wheels of time it was 2 years ago as of this upcoming may. becuase it was my sons 2nd birthday that week, he'll be 4 in may

costs of swaps are pretty high also i think we spent over $300 on food even after getting over $100 in grocery stores donations and things like printing flyers for advertizing name tags....... it all adds up but yes small swaps can be cheap order a few pizzas and the chips drinks but then theres no real perks (vendors, door prizes, raffles...)

sassyfishy

03/13/2006, 01:56 PM

I would like to become involved, and become a member of NCPARS - but I haven't got a clue where to begin.

I'm actually a bit shy - and very much a "newbie" to the reef experience. Although I've had many years' experience in the freshwater aquaria hobby - I've only had my reef set up for about five months now....and I'm still learning. I've only lived in the area for the past year (having moved from Canada), so I don't really know many people.

I held the position of "secretary" years ago in the freshwater club I belonged to - so if anyone here needs help with typing up newsletters or any other clerical hobby-related work, I've got plenty of time to volunteer those services.

rickyfins

03/13/2006, 03:02 PM

Great Sassyfishy, you are an ideal candidate depending on the bylaws. Most members don't have a copy of the bylaws as of yet. We have heard that they are done and we are waiting for them to either be posted or mailed to members. I am glad you are interested in this club and as a new member and a newbie reefer it will be nice to hear opinions from an outsider who has a fresh mind without all the hype that has been going on. Keep it up, I like your attitude.

Thanks,

Rick

Barney121

03/14/2006, 10:40 AM

Great, sassyfish, secretary is often one of the least appreciated but most important positions a club can have, particularly for communication. I think the key thing that we all will want in board members is people willing to invest some time for the benefit of all.

Rick, Kevin just emailed me and I sent him the final bylaws that we had drafted in September. I didn't realize it wasn't already posted (he's converting to pdf and posting), I think we were waiting to be sure they were all OK from the lawyer with the NPO and incorporation. That all was finally approved a few weeks ago, so now it's all good to go. There really aren't fancy procedures or requirements for elections, our bylaws are really based on those of other clubs (I think we used the Atlanta and Washington clubs as models). The one thing that applies differently to you (and I think you aluded to this before) is that if someone is a commercial vendor (like you or Mal or Kelly) then they have to be elected by 60% instead of 51% to be on the board, that's basically to allow someone to be removed a little bit more easily if they abuse their club position to advance their own company/product at the expense of the club. All BOD members are also club members and pay dues, and so you'll pay commercial member dues, just like before. There's also a bunch of different sponsorship categories we developed and used with getting company donations/sponsorships at the last swap, those are not part of the bylaws but should be posted as well (I think they are).

Tampico

03/15/2006, 09:58 AM

About 6 months ago, I decided to venture from my Freshwater tanks to a set up a 75 gal marine tank. I did not run out and buy everything and set it up one weekend. I have super patience and really wanted this adventure to be mostly DIY and Budget driven (if that is even possible). There has been great help for me thus far from this group. Much more help offered in fact, that my super slow pace can not utilize it all @ the moment. I would love to join a club, and preferably one that contains the friends that I have made here already. I do have a few concerns that I'd like to offer.

North central is a hike for me. I live in Lancaster county, actually only a few miles from "That Fish Place". I'd be more than willing to the trip a few times a year, but monthly meetings would be impossible for me to attend. I also think monthly meetings are important, so there is the catch 22. What would be the feasability of smaller groups all part of a bigger whole. Lets see if I can communicate this how I see it in my mind.

Several small groups ( say one down here for Lancaster/Dauphin/york counties, one in say Reading, another State college and so on.) These groups could still be part of NCPARS, with local meetings in person, 1 monthly whole NCPARS meeting online via AIM or netmeeting or something similar, and a yearly swap or 2. The Monthly Online meeting could be nothing more than a group of BOD available for a few hours to hear concerns and answer questions. A newsletter could fill in the happenings of the month for people that could not attent the live chat. (believe me, I know how plans can change, I am on call 24/7 with work. another reason why 2.5 hour trip is so hard for me)

That is just the main things that I ( as a clubless soon to be reef keeper) am looking for.

1. A few folks local enough that could stop in @ my place and scold me for "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING WHEN YOU DID THAT":eek2: or help out with a hands on demo, fragging, coral placement. That sort of thing

2. Information....... readily available via website, newletter, forum and meetings. Just one or a few just does not seem enough.

Just my thoughts, it may or may not be useful to hear what a non member thinks and wants out of a club.

Carto

03/15/2006, 05:03 PM

I must first apologize. Iâ€™m a founding NCPARS member and a long-time lurker. Unlike most of you, I check the website only on occasion. With that being said, I have a few comments. These comments are not directed at anyone in particular, but, from the recent increase in communication made me begin to analyze the situation.

A common thread in many of the posts on this forum are those being unable to drive distances to attend meetings. I think most are missing a small oversight here. The name of the organization is North Central PennsylvaniA Reef Society. Thatâ€™s right, North Central PA. From a detailed history lesson given by Mo last Thursday (3/9/06) pertaining to the history of NCPARS, he mentioned that Sanjay, Larry, Joe, and Mo wanted to get together and trade corals and talk reef tanks. Naturally, that blossomed into what NCPARS is today. So, I think that some people are missing the point that this grassroots of an organization began in the State College-Lock Haven-Williamsport area.

In most of my statewide professional organizations that Iâ€™m associated with, North Central is referred to as the following counties: Clinton, Lycoming, Sullivan, Union, Potter, Tioga, Bradford. Of course, Centre is not including in that list (where State College is located), however, it isnâ€™t too much of a stretch to have it included. Nevertheless, I think this begs the question: why are members and potential members upset about meetings of NCPARS being held in the Central portion of the state when that is part of the formal organizationsâ€™ title?

I for one saw this problem arising long ago. We have plenty of members in the southern and eastern part of the state. What would have remedied the situation was the formation of a PA Reef Society with multiple chapters â€“ a SW group, NW group, South Central & North Central group, SE group, NE group, and even possibly a East-Central group. The logic behind this is exactly what everyone has been complaining/arguing about: the difficulty of getting many people from varied distances together. It would be much easier to have local meetings with your fellow reefers on a monthly basis that are easily accessible (i.e. you donâ€™t have to drive three hours or more to get there â€“ remember Mo, Joe, Sanjay and Larry??). The PA Reef Society could then convene annually (or bi-annually) to conduct statewide swaps and host more formal education opportunities (such has inviting Anthony Calfo (as Something Fishy did), Julian Sprung, etc, etc) in addition to hands-on workshops from DIY construction to fragging corals. Personally, I feel weâ€™re missing out on the corals from the western part of the state! We seem to get only a handful of reef enthusiasts from the west, but, because of the structure (and focus, naturally) it limits their participation.

Is it possible to migrate NCPARS to a PA Reef Society including regional chapters? I know this is merely a matter of semantics but it appears to be impacting the organizational and logistical components of the organization. This may have been an oversight upon the creation of this organization: a very focused geographical name of the organization having members from across the state without thought to the potential ramifications. From the onset, people just wanted to get their hands on the newest, coolest coral possible. It has grown into something much more than that at this point.

bmkindig

03/15/2006, 07:29 PM

hey
we had people from all local STATES!!!!! attend meetings and all thou pa.
trust in vote me in as president and i'll get some meetings setup closer to the lehigh valley

ByTor

03/15/2006, 10:24 PM

Carto,

we were more than willing to try and go the route of having chapters of NCPARS but a certain few thought we were acting like the "Hells Angels" riding into town... (I've been searching for the threads. I will post them when I find them...)

IMO it's the way to go... I think it would definately make the club better at achieving some of our goals, plus give the members who want and can do the monthly meeting thing... Since members of this club are spread out... I think more projects can be moved along further and faster with small core groups working towards the same goal...

OK members lets go! Speak your peace!!! You all have a say!

lawmary

03/16/2006, 04:35 AM

Hi Carto, thank you for posting. Your post was very helpful. I agree with you and ByTor about having one central organization with smaller subgroups that can meet regularly, if they wish. Out of respect for the other founding members, I would like to also hear their thoughts on NCPARS going in that direction.

shimmy_yaz

03/16/2006, 07:11 AM

Yes I think the smaller more centralized groups may be a good idea as well. It really is hard for a lot of people to travel or even make plans to travel as something always seems to come up. Plus the bad part about having only 1 or 2 big swaps a year is that if for some reason someone can't make it on that particular date they are screwed out of a swap for another 6 months or so. If we had smaller groups and say a monthly frag swap or so there might be a better chance at making it to a few swaps a year. It doesn't really bother me that much I am willing to travel around if need be just more of a thought. Also maybe we could keep the same format as we currently use and try and get a better plan for some of the people that live close to each other to meet up somewhere and carpool to the events.

Sanjay

03/16/2006, 09:00 AM

One of the reasons for having a club was to be able to get people from all parts of PA together at least for a few events in a year.

This would basically provide you to meet with others in the area, and in your immediate area. Once you have developed the connections and made friends there is nothing stopping people from regionally meeting among themselves. It does not have to be a club sponsored meeting. People can locally get together, trade frags, sip a beer or two. NCPARS provides you with the networking needed to do this. After a few of these, you will find that you all have each others corals.... and will need other people from other regions to trade with. This is something that NCPARS has the capability to do. Create an event that attracts large number of people - even from neighboring states, giving them a chance to trade with people outside thier region. This becomes very clear once you start looking at declining rate of trading going on when the same people attend every frag swap.

If the members want local NCPARS sponsored meetings, I guess it could be done. The club could allocate X amount of $s (may be as a function of the number of people attending) to cover some meeting expenses - eg. snacks and drinks, and regionally people can meet monthly if they like. But really, I personally do not see why you need NCPARS to do this. NCPARS provides the infrastructure, what and how you use it up to you. I have made enough friends and contacts through NCPARS that in fact now I do not even need to go to a frag swap to trade corals. I can do it directly with people I know, and the corals they trade with me you won't even see at the frag swap :D

NCPARS should really be doing things that go beyond what small individual groups can do. In my mind that should be the function of NCPARS. Everyone wants to see - "What is in it for me ?" But really the question is "What is in it for us collectively. ? "

With this objective, here are some of the things that I see NCPARS doing

- Building network of hobbyists in PA
- Education and spreading the knowledge of reefs. Examples of which are
1) putting up aquariums in schools so the young can have easy access to knowledge,
2) bringing in Speakers,
3) Demonstrations and workshops

- Activities of direct benefit to members - like group buys. These done through the local vendors that support the club

As far as I know, the BOD has at every event tried to promote and work towards this. While the frequency of activities and long response times can certainly be questioned and improved on, there has been a lot of effort done to put into place an organization that is structured, ethical and responsible, and operate within the US laws and reporting requirements.

Fizz, Mal, Scott, Brad, Mo, Bytor, Jon have put in a lot of work to build a strong foundation, which is now in place, and will allow the new BOD (whoever is on it) to further advance the club.

I have to admit that I have been the least active BOD member, and am embarassed to admit it.

In the end its all a hobby and you have to enjoy it. Everyone has other jobs, work and family that takes precedence.
I do not think I have the time or energy to contribute to the BOD anymore. I am just glad to see that there is finally some interest from members who want to contribute.

sanjay.

zooqi

03/16/2006, 09:58 AM

Well said again Sanjay.
Sanjay you have been good support and active as everybody else if not more. You have given the club a speech at no expense. You have given corals, money, time, your house to make this club start. You have helped with sponsors. You have helped with speaker and hosting him at your place. You have and you have and you have.. and I can go on and on. Many people from other clubs, surounding areas come to our meetings even if it says North Central PA. The name PA REEF CLUB was not an option as a respect to other clubs who I did not want them to feel we are taking over the whole state. We have good communications with other clubs and we all share members.

shimmy_yaz

03/16/2006, 10:50 AM

Yeah I can definitly see your point there sanjay. Like I said I dont care either way.

ByTor

03/16/2006, 04:00 PM

Well said Sanjay... My thoughts totally!!! I'm just not so great at putting them to text....

Barney121

03/16/2006, 08:35 PM

I think there can be both a lot of centralized stuff, and some local meetings, as Sanjay put well. The overall club should easily be able to provide a membership list and place for people to meet 2 or 3 times each year for swaps etc. Then, if there are enough people in some area that want to do local meetings, then great. We provide the info, and the "locals" run from there. So there's no conflict there. I think my only earlier point was it might be hard to have a huge, full club meeting monthly. But when I think about it, we probably don't need to.

Carto, we discussed at great length whether to change or keep the NCPARS name, for all the reasons you mention. Because of some suggestions we would be "imperialistic" to claim the name "PA Reef society," (as Mo said) and because NCPARS had some name recognition, we decided to stick with NCPARS.

But, if someone wants to formalize a smaller group or a different regional group, we did put in the bylaws a clause that specifically allows for affiliate clubs to be formed with a link to NCPARS, which would give them nonprofit status. It's totally an OPTION and is voluntary for other groups, it's a benefit NCPARS can provide to anyone who wants it. We added that clause because we thought, since we have taken the time to become incorporated and non-profit, others might not need to go through what turned out to be a long, slow process. So even though it might seem odd for "SE PA Reefers" to be an affiliate of the "NC PA Reefers", it's now easily done to get the organizational benefits. We left the details of affiliate membership to be worked out by the board of directors, so the exact procedures don't have to go through a long process and be approved as amendments to the bylaws.

Bill King

03/17/2006, 08:33 AM

I'm agreeing with Sanjay here.

I've been a member of the PMAS club for 10 years. We meet every month. Every member has every coral grown in that 40 mile, in my case 90 mile area. If you want something different, you have to travel, or hold a large regional frag swap. The all Ohio swap is coming up. Swappers come from Ky. In. Mi. Pa. lots of new stuff, once a year. To do that more often, you would just increase the area of reefers with the same animals.

There is nothing stopping groups of guys getting together & swapping frags. If that is what this is all about.
But to put on more than 1 big/well done/ well attended show a year is too much work for the effort for a small spread out club like ours

I attended the Long Island Reef club's annual shindig..do they use
that word in Long Island?, last weekend. It was a great meeting, well planned , well attended, educational & fun.

It was also a lot of work to produce for I'm guessing a small group of people.

People traveled from Mass., Conn. Pa. Upstate NY. & probably many more. Crazy reefers will travel long distances for a quality show, but there is a limit to how many times.

As a founding member of NCPARS, I joined the club to do my small part ie. $24 dues to help spread the hobby. I think we as a club should be putting more effort in this direction. The Part Mo is playing with the kids is way more important to the welfare of our hobby than more meetings/frag swaps a year.

Just my rambling thoughts. I'm only here for the beer. But I'm in for the duration.

Bill

E-A-G-L-E-S

03/18/2006, 01:14 PM

the problem i see is that there are MORE reefers in just lehigh valley(and that # is growing rapidly lately) interested in ncpars than there are in the previously mentioned central pa towns.....i realize the club doesn't HAVE to ablige us easterners, but it seems it would benefit the club, and isn't that what its all about??

Seems one swapo at PSU and one in Lehigh Valley wouldn't be too hard to arrange?

bmkindig

03/18/2006, 04:37 PM

hey matt,
trust me i will try to get a meeting close to our area and i am presently working of a organizing things with a couple of people but is to early to do anything yet

Murph72

03/18/2006, 05:43 PM

OK gentlemen, I do travel to the Lehigh Valley for Something Fishy. I have family there due to marrying a Lehigh Valley native. However....and here's the big However....I'm getting a little perturbed by reading all the "we're going to bring it to the Lehigh Valley" posts. I, too, have a long way to travel to go to PSU. However, many people traveled much further than that to get to swaps. Are we going to tally the crowd, average the mileage and find a central point to meet now? Or are we stuck with the "We have more members so we win" mentality?
Brad, if you're trying to gain votes by telling us your plans to move the club to the Lehigh Valley, it's not working with me. The point was that it was "NC"PARS...it doesn't take a geography major to figure out the Lehigh Valley isn't exactly living up to that "NC." Just because the location is close for some members, does that mean the "original" founding members that are from NC are SOL? I'm not even one of them and I have a problem with that line of thinking.

E-A-G-L-E-S

03/18/2006, 05:54 PM

NO ONE EVER SAID - MOVE NCPARS TO LEHIGH VALLEY!
READ carefully and you'll see that Brad said he was trying to organize "a event" as in one, in the lehigh valley.
All anyone around here is trying to say is, "there are alot of reefers in the area that have joined ncpars and since we count just the same as anyone in central PA, we are hoping for a little consideration....is that so much? Seriously, relax.

E-A-G-L-E-S

03/18/2006, 06:00 PM

Sanjay.....on a side note i just want to thank you for all the work you put into the spectral plots! Awsesome job!!
I know its been out for awhile, but never thanked you :)

Murph72

03/18/2006, 06:02 PM

Seeing as though you're the one using all CAPS, I'd say you're the one fired up. What I'm saying is that I've now read several posts, mostly by Brad, that have said that he intends to bring the swap to the Lehigh Valley which is where he resides. This, to me, sounds more like a plan to get things handier for himself. I'd just like to know what he's going to do for the organization. I'm sure moving things to the Lehigh Valley might get him votes in the LV, but that certainly isn't all of us. I haven't heard his other plans for the organization as of yet. Since this was all that he was boasting, I'm hoping there's a bigger plan.
Your post about having more reefers in the Lehigh Valley ignores the fact that two of our most knowledgeable and original members would then have to travel farther. To me, those two members, are the biggest asset we possess in NCPARS. The knowledge of Mo and Sanjay combined would attract new reefers looking to acquire new information. Why move the event further from them and closer to the new people that need their knowledge?

E-A-G-L-E-S

03/18/2006, 06:26 PM

just one event...have the others @ PSU or Leesport.
brad has been around a long time helping reefers out, so i would give him a chance....you'll find he is a good guy with good intentions. You're acting as if he's saying, "i am trying to move the whole club to the Lehigh Valley for all events."

Obviously Sanjay and Mo are GREAT resources of info and experience and they have personally helped me before.
They are a super asset that we are all lucky enough to enjoy :)

I just think that with as many reefers as there are in the valley that they would be considered an asset as well, but i guess i am wrong in your mind?

**i just capitalized because i felt you were not understanding what was actually being said.

Murph72

03/18/2006, 07:08 PM

Brad may be a good guy, but I've only seen his posts reflecting this "bring it to our backyard" mentality. I'd like to see his other ideas.

How about instead of just saying, "We'll meet in State College this swap and in the Lehigh Valley the next" we look more towards moving the swaps around the entire area. We should look at where our members are located and try to move swaps around that geographic area instead of sticking to one or two areas. For example, I've seen posts from people in the Wilkes Barre/Scranton area. I would imagine that the New York and New Jersey reefers might be more inclined to come if we had a swap there, for example.

It's not that reefers in the Lehigh Valley are not appreciated. I, for one, think Todd from SF would be a great person to have at an event. However, I don't think that those are the only important members. I also don't think that because a location has more members they should have the events closer to them. I find this especially true since it is more inconvenient for the original cluster whose idea NCPARS was.

Also, I do understand what you're saying, but I just don't agree with your logic. Btw, caps is seen as a way of screaming at a person in writing. It's seen as a form of aggression. You may not want to use it unless you truly mean it. I didn't really think from my end that communication had broken down and that we had to result to yelling.

I do really think we need to think about what the original members had intended. I also know that Mo is too sweet to say that moving the swaps further away from him is a hassle. I just think we need to keep their best interests at heart since I guess I still see this club as originally their baby. I also don't want to take the chance that we will alienate them and lose them from the club. That would be a travesty.

E-A-G-L-E-S

03/18/2006, 07:14 PM

no one yelling...just typing

things do change and people and businesses and clubs react and change with it.....which is what i think has started recently on these boards.

and i still don't think you got what i was saying....because i never made reference that the reefers in the lehigh valley were any more important than anyone else, just "as" important.
So why not extend an olive branch?
-people in the poconos are 45 min. from lehigh valley, so that is not much of a drive at all, or we could hold it between areas. Either way much nicer for all of the easterners to not have to drive 2-3 hours. And like i said, just one event this year...didn't think that was asking a whole lot?

Happy Reefin:smokin:

bmkindig

03/18/2006, 07:17 PM

hey guys settle down,

i said closer to the lehigh valley for 1.

also i have had ncpars events in the area and it has been about 2 years since there was a swap around here.

i'don't intead on buying votes i think all the work i have done for the club should speak for it's self. between group buys organizing swaps, getting donations..........

i have been saying for a while i want another event in this area and i have meet serveral people that are really close to where i live and i would be happy to go to the reading area to.the bod has talked about holding events in the lessport area.
i personally think the whole idea of ncpars is to be a traveling club.
i have not had much time to finalize my plans since alot of my time and effort has been into remodeling my house and this is nothing new.for anyone that knows me well this has been a plan of mine for about a year now.it's just mentioned more..

i have support of good people (mo for 1) and i just resently decided that it was time to step up and run for president.i'm always willing to listen to people with ideas and i'm always throwing out ideas(some good some bad)if you search my posts you will find that i usually try to "really"the troops about 2 monthes before a swap.and try to start organizing things.if you don't think i'm the best person for the job don't vote for me.i wouldn't be sour but i think the club needs what i have to offer.you are more then welcome to run agianist me but how many people have the time and energy to spend on running a club.i'm a restaurant manager for a living so i have knowledge of deligation and i can see the stress that is caused,wears people down.

bmkindig

03/18/2006, 07:26 PM

"I do really think we need to think about what the original members had intended. I also know that Mo is too sweet to say that moving the swaps further away from him is a hassle. I just think we need to keep their best interests at heart since I guess I still see this club as originally their baby. I also don't want to take the chance that we will alienate them and lose them from the club. That would be a travesty."

fyi,
I am one of those members as a matterr of fact mo was the 1st person to reply to my 1st post and we have grown to become great friends mo and i exchange phone calls just about weekly.i have always supported mo's projects and i have even traveled to pick things up for mo till he could get to pick them up.

Murph72

03/18/2006, 07:28 PM

EAGLES,
I responded to your original statement which said:

"the problem i see is that there are MORE reefers in just lehigh valley(and that # is growing rapidly lately) interested in ncpars than there are in the previously mentioned central pa towns.....i realize the club doesn't HAVE to ablige us easterners, but it seems it would benefit the club, and isn't that what its all about??

Seems one swapo at PSU and one in Lehigh Valley wouldn't be too hard to arrange?"

The part where you are pointing out that there are more reefers in the Lehigh Valley than other central pa towns and that we would benefit by obliging your desires is what I responded to. The second statement about PSU and LV lead me to believe that these would be the two locations of swaps. Since our organization has already been more apt to pick locations and stick to them, it seemed more than likely that we would be heading in the direction of then being in these two every year.

I do understand what you are saying, but if you will look back it was my suggestion that the location should then be moved about the NCPARS area and not just to the LV and PSU. These two locations are probably pretty far for some people that are close to neither. The idea of moving the swap location goes back to Sanjay's suggestion. If we move the location we may appeal to reefers closer to our state boundaries. Since we want people with different corals to attend, this seems like the logical way to go.

Sorry Brad if you took offense, but I'd truly like to hear what you want to see happen with the club. I was a bit upset that the only offer you've given so far was to move the swap to your area. Perhaps I misconstrued this, but it's all that I've seen since you decided to run for election. I would have thought with your involvement in the club that you would have a whole long list of things you'd do if you got the chance to take the reigns. I do know what you've done for the club, but I'd like to know how your capacity as President would benefit the club, in your opinion. I guess I just want to hear your vision...as well as the vision of other applicants. You certainly are not expected to spit that out now without much thought, but I would certainly look forward to hearing it.

Murph72

03/18/2006, 07:31 PM

Brad,
I was not refering to founding members, as I'd fit in that title too. I was looking at the original four as I remember it. Sanjay and Mo being at the top of the list since they are the two that were originally the most involved, to my recollection, with the idea of formally starting a club.

bmkindig

03/18/2006, 07:50 PM

hey murph,
1)i'll answer any questions
2) for starters see my 1st post in this thread.
3)i truely support mo's work although i can't do the work he does.but i have driven out of my way to pick up corals for mo and donated thing to his cause.i have 3 kids and because of the love mo has for this hobby my oldest son has some nice corals in his tank.
4)i personal organize all the donations for raffles that have gotten us this far and everyone that has ever been to a ncpars swap can tell you that much. sincei was getting small donations for swaps prior to the officail ncpars days. (bye the way thank you for those gifts todd(from something fishy))

and i was a member prior to the"founding members" push to get people to become members.
there were 2 swaps at mo's house before ncpars had a name. and i was at both the 1st was in may of 2003 and the 2nd was oct 2003 then when we went from a gruop of 20 to a group of 80 we decided this was going to work.

i'm sure more will come as time goes by.
thank you for the q/a

Murph72

03/18/2006, 08:03 PM

Brad,
I too was at Mo's early swaps when his home would not hold any more people. I was talking about the original members as the original four Mo prefaced in a previous post. I also remember his posts on RC about wanting to setup a club. It was mainly Sanjay and Mo that got the ball rolling. I would certainly not count myself as one of those original members because I was lucky enough to know Mo back then and get invited to the swap, IMO.

Thank you for your post answering what you've done...though I actually knew what you did and am mostly looking for what other candidates have done (not just in NCPARS, but in reefing in general.) To be honest, I'm more interested in your goals for the future. Where do you see NCPARS going? How are you planning on leading us there? What changes do you want to implement? What things do you figure aren't broke so you don't need to fix them? Obviously the job that you had is different from the job that Kevin will be vacating.
I think that it would be nice to know the goals of all the candidates since we've been debating changes within the organization. I know not everyone agreed on the needed changes. Therefore, it's pretty important that voters know where the candidates stand on these topics.

Btw, do you have a current list of the present officers and BOD? I couldn't find one on the NCPARS website. I know some of the people that served, but I think I'm missing a position or two.
Thanks

bmkindig

03/18/2006, 08:59 PM

"Btw, do you have a current list of the present officers and BOD? I couldn't find one on the NCPARS website. I know some of the people that served, but I think I'm missing a position or two.
Thanks"

kevin,tim,jon,mo,sanjay,scott, bill s,mal,brad

eastonreef

03/18/2006, 09:38 PM

if it comes to mileage the philly club is closer............. we here in the lehigh vally can drive 1 hour to philly or 2.5 hours to the ncpars swaps.............humm.............

Murph72

03/19/2006, 08:15 AM

Brad,
Can you give the title for those positions? Like Kevin is president, etc.
Thanks

shimmy_yaz

03/19/2006, 09:15 AM

Yeah after all the changes go down there definitly needs to be a list of who is what on the website so that we know who holds what position. Also another factor is that most of you guys know each other on a firly good level and often refer to each other by your real name. This is great that the club has given people an oppurtunity to create a friendship as well. However these becomes very difficult when someone refers to another reefer by their first name and others have no clue who these people are. Maybe a list of peoples real first names and RC nicks as well is in order.

shimmy_yaz

03/19/2006, 09:26 AM

Actually I just remembered there is a list on the site of everyones name and RC nick so that isnt as much of an issue but rather a confusion this rememberign who is who.

Fizz71

03/19/2006, 12:03 PM

The formation of the original Board was PRIOR to the formation of the official bylaws that didn't get ratified until 3 or 4 months ago. This will be the first election that we will actually follow them to the letter. When we filed for the incorporation we only needed to use names, not positions. The positions we picked way back when this first started were:
President: Me
VP: Tim (Bytor)
Treasurer: Mal
Secretary: I believe it's officially JonK..don't quote me.
Then you have Sanjay, Mo, Scott, Brad and BillS

Those are the 9 signatures on the incorporation papers.

Brad has pretty much assumed the role of VP of PR, however we didn't have the position at the time so really Brad's job has been just as much PR Committee as the VP of PR. There are additional roles that the VP of PR will need to fulfill that nobody has done yet because the bylaws came AFTER the the original group of "BOD" was formed. Same with some of the other positions. Up until a few months ago were all pretty much just acting as one quorum to make decisions with only a small level of structure (the essentials).

I hope this makes sense. Bottom line it means that there isn't currently an official direct match between all the current BOD responsibilities and the members of the BOD. Only the ones that were important at the time of forming NCPARS were filled. And it was all voluntary. Now we need to do it officially.

--Fizz

bmkindig

03/19/2006, 05:24 PM

hey shimmy
as far as learning peoples r/c names try adding your own name to the signature line for your posts that's how i learned who is who

hey kevin,
well put this club could go so much faster with more people helping the core.

Barney121

03/19/2006, 08:12 PM

However we get there, I think the idea of moving swaps around is a good one. The fall swap has been in Hegins because we have a good location there (cheap, and the right size) and because several members are pretty close. State College had several local people who could set up the swap, but is farther from the SE. We talked about Williamsport at one point before, but something fell through with it.

During the past 2 years we have intentionally kept the swaps at 2 per year because we weren't sure how many people would come if they were much more frequent (takes time to grow out the corals), because summer scheduling is hard, and because winter travel is iffy, and because it's hard to keep up a steady supply of raffle/donation items. But if we do schedule more, then there will be more opportunities to simply move around. If they are more frequent, perhaps they will become a bit more localized rather than the bigger ones that draw more widely, but we'll see. If we get back into the habit of having a full meeting at the biggest swap or two each year, then we can regularly solicit people to check their local towns for meeting sites, then it won't be hard to do more rotation.

Mal3

03/20/2006, 12:23 AM

Due to events in my personal life and the demands on me in my professional life, I have not been on these boards for several months. It is only tonight that I read what is going on and the many things said in many posts. There have been some good comments, but there are way too many negative ones.

It is clear to me, that most of you have absolutely no idea of the work and effort put into NCPARS by the acting board and some members. For those of you who think any board member is getting something personal from this, you are just dead wrong. I know that NCPARS has cost me greatly, as it has all of the board members who have devoted great amounts of their time and money. Everyone on the board has been very devoted to making this group, which was started by Zooqi and others, into an organization for the betterment of everyone. No board member is looking for a pat on the back, including me. However, it would be nice not to have to remove the arrows from our backs either.

This board has never done anything without informing the members. Granted it may have taken us and me too long to get some things done. However, that is how it goes with volunteers. We do not have the money to pay someone to do the work; therefore that is how it is.

Members were asked for swap locations and other decisions on RC or our site when things were needed to be done. The posts are there, just go look. I remember being at a picnic with only 10 people. I remember a TFP event with only 10 to 12 members that showed. And they were the same core bunch that helped out always. My hat is off to those of you who helped out. Thank you.

As far as the complaints about money, you can't please everyone. Some people are willing to contribute, and some want a free ride. An organization needs money in the operation to be successful. People always argue about the money. The money is in our account. No one used it for personal use or gain.
The board was very careful not to spend it foolishly. That is part of why we still have some. It is to be used for this organization designated purpose, as this organization will decide in 2006 and beyond. Therefore, don't complain. Place your votes when needed. That is the time to give your opinion.

I am glad to see all of the positive input from people. This is good, and it means that more good things will happen.

For those of you that are unhappy with me as treasurer, you can run or vote for someone to do a better job. I just hope you have a clue what needs to be done in this position. There IS work involved.

Swaps location have always been difficult. We are so spread out that there is no good place that is close to everyone. Higgins is the most central to the group, so that is why we use that location. We had PSU because we have a strong core group there. Remember, if you want to have a swap in your area, then you do the work. Don't just say have it here and sit back and let others do the work.

I just wanted to give my thoughts, since I have been absent. Most likely, I will be absent once again for another month or so. Good luck and keep the dialogue going in a positive way.

shimmy_yaz

03/20/2006, 05:56 AM

Yeah that is a good idea now we just have to have everyone do that in order for it to work. LOL

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6992446#post6992446 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bmkindig
hey shimmy
as far as learning peoples r/c names try adding your own name to the signature line for your posts that's how i learned who is who

hey kevin,
well put this club could go so much faster with more people helping the core.

E-A-G-L-E-S

03/20/2006, 09:00 AM

well....please inform me how to go about getting meeting in or near lehigh valley.....i have brought it up as othershave as well, but when i do people just get upset for me or someone else even asking instead of telling me what i, or they, can do to help organize it? PSU is just too far most of the time for me personally :( (3 hours)

Sanjay

03/20/2006, 09:14 AM

Well, its not that difficult. One of the plans infact for this upcomming meeting was to hold it in Leesport. But due to planning delays it was decieded to merge with Reefnest's swap.

All it needs is a group of people willing to volunteer to run the swap, organize it, propose a budget and get approval. The past locations were chosen primarily because there were people at the locations willing to do the work, it was relatively cheap, and other reasons such as attracting larger number of people, etc. For example, the swap at PSU was the biggest one we have ever had. We had people comming all the way from Ohio... the PSU tank tour was an added attraction. The cost of the rooms was free. This swap we are being asked to spend $500 for the room.. $500 that could be better spent in my opinion.

I personally see no one on the BOD having problems holding a swap anywhere in the state, as long as it is successful swap and meeting. The key to a successful swap is being able to attract large numbers of people from a large region. Take a look at the ALL Ohio swap in Cleveland as an example.

People need to step up and be active and contribute.

sanjay.