LAST MEETING briefing

[coralreefer]

Originally posted by joyski58
They have electric, and it's not like we are fragging corpse. JKJ

We'd planned to be there but had a date with a new hot water heater instead

IMO it was the holiday and graduations that kept people away. That and not advertising it as much as usual. Not everyone is online so we have to get the word out everywhere.

I agree Lana

[grendl]

Originally posted by 1package
Also the wife had not debriefed me so that I clearly understood where I was going to be each day..

LMAO that is a quote for the ages!

[Salty Bginners]

I liked the local as i could bike to it and even though there waz a low turnout i had fun and would do it agin.

[crabfan]

getting a nonprofit stamp is not that big a deal. we got one for the youth football league that i coach at. and it was like $7 plus you had to fill out a pretty standard form. that was in cabell county, im not sure if it varies from county to county or not, but i would think a phone call to the county clerk could get us all the info we need.

I think that's the way things generally work over here in KY....but since I haven't done it, don't sue me if I'm wrong. :-)

I totally 100% understand where you are coming from Ron. Since the group you preside has grown to a larger number of people, you certainly want to comply with every known law - as you would be the sole party held personally responsible if something went wrong. But always keep in mind it is impossible to cover EVERY imaginable contigency.

The situation is probably similar to filling out your taxes. If you do the standard EZ form and don't take any deductions you generally have no worries. But tax time is a nightmare for any small business - and you certainly find out all you have neglected to consider when until you get audited.

Same with a club. If it is a handful of people (that are good friends) just informally meeting at the local pizza place, no problems at all. You can "just do it" with whatever you want, and there would never be an issue. But when you grow to the point that dozens of people are in the mix it is different. If someone gets their feelings hurt and complains to some agency or gets an attorney (and it is a fact there ARE scamsters that make a good living extracting settlements - and considering the shoplifting incident at the last JoMars meeting there may be some less than wonderful people that show up)....you will soon find out all the things you hadn't considered.

People assume a tremendous amount of risk just going through life in general, and given the per capita representation of attorneys in the US today it is amazing there are any "clubs" at all.

I was surprised that Roger was kind enough to offer his business for a meeting place! I'll say it again, that was totally cool dude.....but you better check your insurance agent and make sure that non-business activity (such as a club meeting) are covered if something were to happen. Just CYA.

When you consider all local, county, state, and even federal laws of organizing a "club" - it would be a complex myriad that would take a team of attorneys years to read through the millions of pages that would apply. Thats why I wouldn't want to do it all on my own.

[firefish2020]

You know technically we are not a true club, that both limits us and protects us at the same time. If you have a huge party of friends over the Gov't has no say in that (unless you are engaged in unlawful activities), you can sell your goods privately as well as long as your not making over a set amount I don't think you will see a problem there, no one is going to get rich at these meetings. It falls under the lines of avon parties and candle sales, etc...

The CVRC is more of a family of core volunteers that believe in a purpose set forth by the founders. These key members and founders make things happen, we are not accountable to treasurers, there is no official body as we do not need one. We don't have to procure funds for this or that as someone always volunteers whatever we need, things are done out kindness and the love of the hobby and the group. Collectively, we have everything we need. Roger donating the Funeral home is a case in point, no rent no fee just someone opening the door because we could not find a place to go. BTW there insurance covers larger crowds than what we had and like he said we were just having a memorial for the reefs that day.

If we invite a newbie to a meet we are not inviting them just so he or she can find a good deal, we are offering much more than money can buy. We are providing a place of education, friendship, and of course the best quality aquacultured coral fragments in our area. We do this collectively not organizationally, and it has worked without many problems.

The only problems we have had were caused by greed and auctions. In fact if you look back over the past 3 years every major problem that reared it's ugly head could be traced back to auctions or the lack of auctions or money in some form or another.

Since the group you preside has grown to a larger number of people, you certainly want to comply with every known law - as you would be the sole party held personally responsible if something went wrong.

That's not really correct, if I were say conducting an auction myself after being made aware of how illegal that act is then yes I would be liable and fined, but wait it doesn't stop there. Anyone who participated in the event or made money off of it would also be fined.

Right now I do nothing except try to hold this group together by pointing it in the right direction, I know right from wrong and all I can do is warn others away from making such costly mistakes. Right now if anyone were to conduct an auction at the event he or she would be 100% responsible not me as we do not have an official status. When you have your name on that official file then yes the President, Founder, Guru, whatever is responsible for everything and that is why I will not sign anything.

I started this group not to make money, make a statement or form a non-profit organization, but because I care about people in this hobby and hate it when they get bad advice from out dated books, and other places. I did it because I care about the reefs and if anyone thinks that this group has not made a difference I invite you to re-think that opinion. What would your reef look like without what you have learned or gained from these people? How did some of you even find Reef Central? Was it because you were pointed this way by me or another member?

WE did this because it was fun and productive, there is no need for it to be complicated or complex as long as it works and it does work. I tell at least one new person about this group weekly and the ranks grow every month higher and higher.

Members will come and go. Some will go off to form there own clubs. Some will want more control, others will want to focus on making money but the CVRC will remain as it is and will be here openly providing services for anyone who needs help or healthy aquacultured coral for his or her dream tank. That's what we do collectively, that's what we are all about.


We need to get ready for the next meeting
Volunteers for demos are always welcome


BTW if we do have an auction at the next event, we will still have some short presentations before any auction will takes place.

Thank you all,
Ron