Dennis Gallagher- Dennis has been a member of the MASNA Board continuously since 1995, and was its President in 1997-98. He has just completed four years as president of CMAS-Chicago, a society he helped found. He has been keeping reef tanks since 1990 and currently has about 8 of them. Dennis has been MASNA’s Delegate to the Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) and is currently working with MAC to develop criteria to be used in bringing "certified" fish to the hobbyist. His articles on the state of the industry in the Philippines have been run in Marine Scene and in Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Magazine. He was the Conference Chairman for MACNA IX, held in Chicago in 1997 and is currently MASNA's MACNA Coordinator for upcoming MACNAs.

Connie Hannon- My aquarium addiction began in Florida with freshwater in 1980. I kept 3 fw tanks for 5 years: 40 gal, 20 gal, and a 10 gal.. A friend of mine had what was called a “reef tank” at the time, but was constantly struggling to keep his livestock LIVEstock, so I opted against keeping saltwater tanks.

Things have certainly changed since the UGF days! After moving from Florida to the Carolinas, and observing the reef keeping successes of other hobbyists, including many of you on the message boards, I set up my first saltwater tank a year ago. During the process of setting up the UGF, (old habits die hard) I realized the differences in saltwater aquariums, and reef tanks. Now, a good protein skimmer, sump, power compacts, and a deep sand bed later… I’m still learning. And still addicted… we’re currently setting up another 150 gal. glass Oceanic rr.

As the founder of Marine Aquarium Society of the Carolinas, I can speak from personal experience when I say that education, and the sharing of experiences in the hobby not only increase the odds of successful reef keeping, but promotes a sustainable future for the marine environment. If you’re not a member of a club, join one. If there’s not a club in your area, build it, and they will come.

Connie Hannon - How to start a Local Marine Aquarium Club

Hello Everyone. Before I begin our talk about Starting a Club for Marine Aquarists, I’d first like to thank reefs.org for inviting MASNA to the #reefs channel. Sharing information in our hobby is almost a prerequisite for maintaining a successful marine aquarium. MASNA (Marine Aquarium Societies of North America) appreciates the efforts of reefs.org, and supports them wholeheartedly in their goals, and dedication to the hobby. Some of you may be unfamiliar with MASNA, and I’d like to take the opportunity to briefly describe our organization. Comprised of several aquarium societies and individual members, MASNA encourages the ethical growth of the aquarium industry by promoting education, and communication throughout the entire hobby. There’s strength in numbers, and as a unified group, we have a collective voice in national, and international initiatives.

Our M.A.C. rep, John Brandt, just returned last week from a trip to Washington D.C. During that trip he was able to secure Dr. Barbara Best, of the Coral Reef Task Force to speak at MACNA XIII in Baltimore this summer. I should leave all of the MACNA info to Dennis. So, I’ll just say that you will be able to read John’s report on the MASNA website at http://www.masna.org very soon.

What all this means:

MASNA believes in a pro-active stance, which is why we support the formation of higher aquarium industry standards. If we can’t come together and do this ourselves, state and/or federal agencies will do it for us!

The responsible aquarist actually wants to protect the hobby from abuse AND restrictive legislation. One way to accomplish this is through education, and especially the sharing of experience(s). Most of the clubs with which I’m familiar have members ranging from the newbie, to the advanced aquarist who cut his baby teeth on live rock. It’s amazing what you can learn/accomplish as a group! If you’re not in area that already has a reef/marine aquarium club, you might want to do what I did . . . Start one.

So now you’re wondering where to start. First you should remember that there is no one way of doing something. Just because we advise you one way, doesn’t mean that if you don’t do it that way you will automatically fail. You may find a better way, or we might not understand your local situation. Unless you’ve been a member of a club, some of the tasks may seem overwhelming. Don’t let that stop you. Have fun! That is MASNA’s advice, and my personal number one rule with MASC. When all else fails, remember why you’re doing this… see rule #1.

Before you plan your first meeting, assuming there’s 3 or 4 interested parties, things may go smoother if you consider a few questions first:

Your Goals – Are you out to create the largest organization in your state, or do you just want to meet a couple of people who share your interest? Are you a take-charge organizer, or will you be looking for someone else to help with the logistics of running meetings, and raising money? These questions would be best answered if you do a little soul searching, then set your schedule and goals to match.

Reef/Marine Club, or Coral Frag Trading Club? – As you’re well aware, there are all types of aquarium keepers, from the FO marine aquariums, to the coral propagator/breeder. You have to decide who your audience is going to be and how you can best serve them. What are your interests? What kinds of programs will local merchants support? What’s popular in your area?

There’s a few clubs that have come up with a magic formula that keeps everyone happy, and equally interested. One thing you’ll have to learn is there are three kinds of members: The Doers; who come to every meeting executive or otherwise, and are the most likely to help with organizing, the Regulars; who attend every meeting, and the Specialists; who only come to meetings with agendas that interest them. No club can do well if a large part of its membership only shows up occasionally.

Finding a balance of programs that appeal to all is a great challenge. Remember that keeping the interest of the Regulars is the most important thing that you can do since without them there is no club.

Chore-Splitting – Before you even begin, be sure that there are more “organizers” than just yourself. There’s always something that needs doing, no matter how small your club. We do not suggest getting bogged down with too many details in your first few meetings. Agenda items such as officer’s elections, membership dues, etc. can wait until everyone has had the opportunity to get to know each other. Personally, I can say that MASC’s first order of business was a unanimous vote to join MASNA.

Your Market – If you live in a major metro area, you will have many people and many more ways to reach them. By the same token, in a smaller area your potential members may be more spread out, something to consider when scheduling meetings (work, school nights, etc.) Several MASC members drive two hours to get to the meetings, which are held monthly. I simply asked everyone that I could contact before the first meeting, which time/day would be best for him or her. It worked out great, and we still meet on the same day, same time.

Contacts - Since you’ve decided to do this, you need to start somewhere, right? We suggest that your LFS’s are your best bet for moral support and publicity. You may need to look around for that special merchant who understands how important organizations are to keeping people active in the hobby (and buying more stuff). Personally, I posted a quandary on the reef message boards, and thankfully, I had more responses than I had ever expected. Sometimes it takes a while for the word to spread about your new club, so be patient. Build it, and they will come!

Finding a Meeting Place – For the small startup club you’ll need to use your imagination. You don’t want to spend any money, but you want a nice place to meet that’s convenient and people can find. Well, unless you’re very lucky (like I was () your first meeting will be in your living room. Better hope that you don’t get 50 people at that first meeting! Other places to consider are at a local pet shop, a park, a nature center, public aquariums, schools, libraries, and local or county govt. offices often have meeting rooms.

Initially your meeting schedule may be dictated by the availability of meeting facilities. Don’t worry too much about the exact time, as long as it’s regularly scheduled. Ask your potential members which day suits them best, and take it from there.

Meeting sites can be a real challenge for many rapidly growing clubs. Once you find a good meeting site be sure to take good care of it! Follow all the rules and leave it cleaner than it was when you got there. Losing your facilities on short notice can be a real bummer!

If you’re fortunate enough to have a LFS, or pet shop host your meetings, make certain that your sponsor will not have a problem with other aquaria related sponsors. Your club will need all the donations it can get, so this is one issue that should be brought up in your first communications with any prospective “location sponsors.”

Commercial Relations - Avoid being a “discount” club. Don’t insist on a discount for your members. If a merchant offers, fine… thank him profusely, but don’t ask! At some point you may want to consider commercial sponsors, but their donations should be used for club expenses; books, videos, guest speakers, or other educational tools. This is my personal policy for MASC, and doesn’t necessarily reflect the opinions of MASNA. Although MASNA does suggest not becoming a “discount” club.

Do everything you can to have your members announce themselves as members when they are in the local shops. It goes a long way to convincing your sponsors that your club is for real, with real members, who buy things!

Programs / Speakers – Most people love to talk about their fish, corals, and tanks in general. You can get some top speakers for little more than airfare. If you don’t mind listening to a sales pitch, you can even get some for free.

First rule in acquiring a speaker is don’t be shy! If you read an article, or heard about someone’s research, find their number and call them up and ask them to speak! Just remember there’s a fine line between being persistent, and being annoying. (More than likely, until you get some money you will surely be relying on “local talent.” Don’t worry… almost everybody has something useful to say. I found that roundtable discussions are an invaluable educational tool.)

Agenda - Try to keep it simple. Have a brief welcome, announcements, and then the main speaker or presentation followed by a short break for coffee, refreshments, etc. Then back with auctions, raffles, and any remaining business.

It’s best to leave the organizational meetings to a separate meeting held a week or so in advance of the main meeting. Always invite everyone. One of the best ways to encourage detailed involvement is to issue personal invitations, along with a phone call.

Fundraising: The hardest part! Some ideas that may, or may not work in your particular area are: Raffles- Collect donations from local merchants (they often have samples given to them by their distributors). 50/50- Similar to a raffle, but the prize is cash. Tickets are sold and half the money is given to the holder of the winning ticket, half to the club’s treasury.

• Auctions- These are real moneymakers with larger clubs.
• Admission Charge - for special programs, or guest speakers. Never charge your members to come to any meeting. It’s a good reason for them to skip. Remember why you have the money! Spend it on things that interest the members of your club. A word of advice, don’t get your personal money tied up with the clubs money. Don’t loan money to the club and expect it back. If the organization is having trouble with money to the extent that it needs your help to bail it out, it’s unlikely that you’ll get it back any time soon. It should be obvious, but never… NEVER “borrow” money from the club! This is considered theft!
• Newsletters – You need to show up in your members’ mailboxes before the meeting, even if it’s just a postcard. I usually send out gentle email reminders (saves postage) that the meeting is only 3 or 4 days away. Fortunately, all but one member of MASC is online. I also try to send our meeting’s agenda so that our members will have some time to formulate questions, suggestions, etc.
• Publicity – Posters distributed to your local merchants are one of the best sources of new members. Don’t forget your local media either. Newspapers usually have some kind of free community bulletin board where they will print your meeting announcements. Same goes for local radio stations. Some TV stations and newspapers will even do a human-interest story on aquariums, and your club could be featured. Call your local editor or station manager.
• Special Events – No matter where you live, there is probably something close by that would be of interest to your members. Even if it’s only a trip to the LFS, special events play a key role in keeping a club active and interesting. If you’re lucky enough to live within a day’s drive of a public aquarium, try to arrange for a behind-the-scenes tour. Charge the members just enough to pay for the trip if your treasury is small, otherwise give the assignment to someone to organize, and a budget, and then turn them loose. Just don’t try to make money on these kinds of events. They are the reason why you do all of that fundraising work anyway!
• Politics – When you get a group of people together, they will not agree on everything, that’s human nature. The way that they solve their disputes is what will make your organizational meetings enjoyable give and take sessions, or a real pain! Only one rule needs to be applied to solve 90% of all problems that may come up during your club’s life. Revert back to rule #1… Have fun! That’s the reason you started a club, and that is the reason for the club’s existence. When conflicts arise, and they surely will, remind everyone why they are there, and get on with it!

Starting a marine aquarium club is exciting, but at the same time can be overwhelming at first. By preparing in advance for the challenges you, and your club will be richly rewarded. I implore you to take the plunge, join a marine aquarium club in your area, and if there isn’t one already… build it, and they will come.

Dennis Gallagher - MACNA XIII

This year, in Baltimore, we will be holding the 13th annual MACNA, Marine Aquarium Conference of North America, from August 17th to 19th. MACNA is generally considered to be THE conference that hobbyists can attend. The speakers are experts from around the world, many of whom are known from their books, from their columns in hobby magazines, or from their participation in chat rooms like reefs.org and Bulletin Boards.

This year's speakers include:

• Dr. Barbara Best, of the US Coral Reef Task Force
• Rod Bourke, who operates a coral and clam farm in the Marshall Islands, who will talk about "Aquaculturing Clams"
• J. Charles Delbeek, of the Waikiki Aquarium
• Bob Fenner, author of The Conscientious Aquarist", talking about "Sources of Mortality on the World's Reefs"
• Sally Jo and Leroy Headlee, from G.A.R.F, who will speak on "Save a Reef: Grow your Own". They will also hold a workshop on coral propagation.
• Roy Herndon, who will speak on "Pioneering a Commercial Aquacultured Live Rock Operation in Florida"
• Dr. Paul Hough, Head Aquarist at the Great Barrier Reef Park, talking about "Creating Coral Reef Ecosystems"
• Larry Jackson, who we're all familiar with. He hasn't announced a topic yet, but it's usually something aimed at beginners
• Dr. Paul Jokiel, U. of Hawaii and a researcher on coral reef ecology
• Stuart Keefer, Senior Aquarist and collector for the National Aquarium in Baltimore
• Dr. Ed Noga, marine fish veterinarian
• Dr. Gisele Muller-Parker, who works on coral bleaching, will speak on "Algal Symbionts of Aquatic Animals"
• Rob Toonen, a researcher in marine invertebrate population genetics and evolutionary biology
• And Dr. "Charlie" Veron, author of "Corals of the World", who will present a regular talk on "Evolutionary Biodiversity" and he will also be the Banquet Speaker (He wants to keep that topic secret but promises it will be entertaining.). Dr. "Charlie's" plane ticket from Australia is being picked up by MAC.
• Paul Holthus will make a presentation on how MAC is coming along, probably in a Concurrent Session.

We're still working on some other workshops and speakers for Concurrent Sessions. If any of you would like to break into the lecture circuit, here's your chance to put on your resume that you spoke at a MACNA. (Email me later dennis2@mediaone.net and let me know what you would like to speak about, your background, etc.). You may wind up being on against one of the "big guns" and may not have a HUGE percentage of the 600+ people attending, but it's probably better to "cut your teeth" on a smaller group anyway.

Besides having the opportunity to absorb all the technical info, MACNA is also a big social gathering of "fish fanatics". You have an opportunity to meet many of the people you have only communicated with by email and in chat rooms. Try writing your "nick" on your nametag and see how many people come up to you and start conversations. During the conference and especially the Cocktail Reception on Friday evening, you can mix socially with the speakers. There will be at least one "book signing" session as well.

We also expect about 60 Exhibitors, from manufacturers, livestock dealers, distributors and even some LFS's. You can usually get deals on livestock since the dealers would rather not take the corals back home. And, you'll usually find some species you never see in shops. Other manufacturers will sell their show models for a big discount.

We also hit them up for donations for the raffle. Some people have gone home with ETS skimmers, other big-ticket items and fully equipped and stocked tanks (Larry Jackson won a beautiful, showplace 70-gallon last year, including the fish and rocks. I still don't know how he got it home! ) If you belong to a MASNA club, we will have our Annual Meeting on Friday morning, before the conference. If you belong, even as an individual, you can attend, vote and even run for office. AMDA will also have their Annual Meeting then too.

MAC will probably have a special meeting sometime over the conference. We're still working on the National Aquarium (about 1 block away from the hotel) to see if we can hold something there or at least get all attendees free admission. You can register for MACNA at MASNA's site www.masna.org where you can also get more info. I'd like to thank reefs.org for asking me here and all of you for time and, if you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer them.

Questions and Answers

Is it your opinion that a successful club must charge dues or raise funds?

Connie Hannon - In my opinion... yes. Unless you want to take money out of pocket you have to have operating expenses. Might also depend on the "type" club.

Does a club need to obtain non-profit status and how would it go about doing so?

Connie Hannon - To claim tax-exempt status, you can start by following the hints on the MASNA website, but many areas differ so you might want to check with your local govt. We haven't filed for MASC as of yet.

Connie, I happen to have an existing club here in Western NY. It has been around for a very long time. It has dwindled into about 4 members that pretty much just meet at the same house on a monthly basis. I got bored and stopped going. I wish there was something I could do to help. Every time I offered some help, it was sort of ignored. What would you suggest?

Connie Hannon - Wow, I would suggest first contacting any of the members that you can reach ask them what it is that THEY want and when might be a more convenient time to meet. Suggest a field trip, keep it light, simple. Often clubs get bogged down with politics, and members find reasons to avoid the meetings. email me, I'd like to help you with this.

Any suggestions on how to start a club when you have absolutely know no one personally in the hobby except the LFS!. And yes there are lots of aquarist locally. I just don't know any of them.

Dennis Gallagher - You could run for president and try to spark it up.

Connie Hannon - That's a great idea, new blood usually creates interest as far as not knowing anyone in your area...I didn't either. I posted to all of the bb's and was amazed at the response, put something in your local newspaper. I feel sure that there are others that feel the same way you do… and just don't know how/where to start. Get together, meet and talk about your tanks, maybe for the first few "meetings" no business!

What can you do to avoid gaining 'cliques' in clubs/societies?

Connie Hannon - Nothing. Sorry to be so short but again, it's human nature. Maybe you could appoint members of the 'clique" to head up a committee and appoint some of the others to work with that person/people.

Our problem is getting into the lower quality LFS's with our signage, how do we present ourselves as not being a threat to them? (these are stores that I would not shop at due to bad advise, poor conditions, etc)

Connie Hannon - I'm not sure that I understand the question. How can a club be a threat? I might say this...A club can only help to strengthen local businesses not compete.

Dennis Gallagher - LFS's are afraid that people will learn through the club, that their advice was...

Connie Hannon - ahhhhhhh

Dennis Gallagher - Bad. Or they will fear that the club...will spend a lot of money with mail order.

Will take away business by swapping?

Connie Hannon - That's a good question. Our location sponsor is behind us 100% on our propagation tanks so evidently he's not worried. I really hadn't considered that.

How can you attract specific members, most of the reef keepers in my locale are plenum/UGF junkies?

Connie Hannon - Simply announce what type of club it's going to be/is. Although... you'll be surprised at what ALL of your members can contribute.

Are there any clubs in the Chicago area?

Connie Hannon - oh yes!

Dennis Gallagher - I'll take that one...CMAS meets monthly, usually in the Schaumburg area. Check www.cmas.net

jameso has an excellent fundraiser called "mystery prize" at his local club, would you like to elaborate jameso?

James Wiseman aka jameso - The club puts together a "mystery prize" which is something in a "plain brown wrapper". People bid on the prize, NOT KNOWING what it is....it's obviously something fish related. People who are the UNSUCCESSFUL bidders are allowed to see the mystery prize, BUT they have to pay the successful bidder $1 so...the successful bidder doesn't usually lose money, and the club makes money. The prizes are usually pretty funny. I think it's actually called the "mystery fish"

Connie Hannon - Wow, and I've been GIVING stuff away! What a wonderful idea!

That's the end of the Q&A session, thanks Connie and Dennis.

See you all in Baltimore at MACNA!