Richmond Area Club/Society

[MR294]

Some fellow reefers and I have been discussing forming a Richmond area "club". Initial plans aren't for anything really formal like WAMAS (i.e. no speakers, no dues etc.) mainly just tank tours, trading frags, discussing set ups, getting to know some other people in the area, and the like. I'm just trying to get feel for how many people are interested. Questions, comments, concerns?


P.S. Who wants to help move a 120?

 

[cal91666]

I for one would be VERY interested in participating and helping establish.

 

[TankGirl]

I like the idea, but I'm FW..

 

[MR294]

Well TG, set up a SW tank!

cal,

We've already got 6 or 7 people interested so far through personal communication, and a similar thread was just posted on RC so hopefully some more people will chime in. We are looking at having a preliminary meeting at someones place, possibly my apt. after the move is finished, to discuss some of the details and toss around some ideas. I'll let you know when/if a date etc. is finalized.

 

[ConanTheLibraia]

I dunno if I live close enough to really participate but I'd be interested.

 

[fishfreek]

I like the idea, but I'm FW..

I see no reason to segragate the two. Tankgirl if you know some fellow local FW folks then there could be two brantches of such an orginization. One for freshies and one for salties.

 

[hisc1ay]

I might be down with that jive. I almost went salt, but I can't afford it right now, but I've got a couple freshie tanks up.

-j

 

[MR294]

Ok its been a while. We are still interested in doing this, but its been hectic trying to get everyones schedules to cooperate, with jobs, classes, spouses etc. Anyone have any suggestions on public meeting places etc.? We were thinking something along the lines of Knights of Columbus meeting hall, public library conference room etc., possibly a willing LFS. Comments, questions, concerns, ideas? At the very least, we would like this to turn into a frag/information swapping network.

 

[Strictly Marine]

I own a LFS in hopewell and you guys can definitely use my place. I also have a few customers that might be interested. The only problem is that my place is very small and don't have too much room. If you guys dont' mind you can use it.

 

[AbSoluTc]

I have been thinking of doing this for a long time now. I know several LFS that would be happy to support such a group (I would think).

The name I was thinking of is RAMS (Richmond Area Marine Society)

What do you all think? I went to WAMAS once and it was pretty much a joke. Even the speaker looked as tho he was going to passout from talking so much. If I go to one of these things, I want trading, buying, selling and tons of chatting. I don't want dues, fees, admission. Its suppose to be fun, not boring.

Anyone intrested in helping getting this thing off the ground?

 

[TankGirl]

I think this is a great idea, and everyone benefits. You can rent or loan unused equipment, trade fish, frags, whatever. I am really hoping to get a FW club going.

 

[MR294]

Well I've hosted a couple small get togethers so far, and things have gone pretty well. A lot of people expressed interest, a lot fewer actually attended (which is to be expected I suppose ), but overall attendance has been increasing. Its been extremely informal so far with turn outs of 8-10 people, but a lot of good information and frags have been traded. A couple of the attendees expressed interest in hosting something similar, so if anyone is interested in further updates just PM me your email address, and I will try to contact you with info if a date is set. I personally do not have the time or desire right now to work on making this into anything more formal than it currently is (guest speakers, meeting halls, memberships etc.), but if others are interested in doing so, thats excellent. So far things have been SW oriented, with frag trading probably being the biggest draw, but I'm definitely not opposed to FW participation. Comments, questions, concerns?



Kris, haven't heard from you in quite a while. How is the tank doing?

 

[TankGirl]

I am interested in a FW division of the club as long as I am not the onliest one! I know there are FW aquarists in this town, I just need to find them. I am getting ready to move this spring and will probably have quite a few plants and possibly some fry that I will want to unload.

As far as the SW end of it goes, I think it is a great idea to leave it loose and let it develop slowly over time, rather than create a formal meeting schedule. A schedule will naturally develop as the membership increases. I have heard of clubs that meet on a rotating basis at the homes of the members, so that is cool.

 

[MR294]

Meet on sunday at 6pm. PM me for details.

 

[Strictly Marine]

How did the meeting turn out?

 

[MR294]

The meet went very well, had a turn out of around 10 people. We traded/sold some frags and then went to another members house to check out his display tank and prop. setup. Nothing scheduled for the future yet, but a couple people have expressed interest in hosting at their houses.

 

[TankGirl]

I am impressed - 10 people is not a bad turnout.

 

[MR294]

Meeting tenatively scheduled for either the first Thursday or Sunday in August. Hope to have an exact date pinned down by the end of the week. If you're interested in attending either post here or send me a PM. Also, feel free to voice your preference for Thursday or Sunday.


Brandon

 

[fishfreek]

Any one of you willing to drive over to Staunton is more than welcome to our AA meet on Aug 14th.

 

[phases99]

I just joined this regional group and would be interested. I just got started with reef so I would be a frag buyer and not a trader at this point. I've been a fishkeeper for over 20 years. Been frequenting Fishworld and Richmond Aquarium out here in Chesterfield.