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Great meeting today.
- Thread starter stevenp
- Start date
JavaJones
Non-member
Couldn't agree more. Truly satisfying meeting. Accessible presentations, generally good venue (despite screen snafu), okay sandwiches, great presence by the folks from Beacon (was really tempted to buy one of the clams...). Of course, my opinion's tainted: my raffle tix purchase amounted to a large oxypora frag!
smcnally
Tankless
Mmmmmm....Coooooookies.delta said:Lets not forget the cookies they were a nice treat
I also thought it was a great meeting. The speakers were great and it stuck to schedule pretty closely this time. Plus, I actually won something at the raffle for once! I won reef plugs which I was going to buy soon. Nice score!
Subdeep
Lucky Guy
My first meeting was Feb 2003 at UMass and the speakers were Anthony Calfo and Eric Borneman. The speakers were great. The members were friendly and helpful. Best of all, I won something from the raffle. Oh, it was cold, very cold.
It has been almost three years since my first meeting.
Today UMass had Anthony Calfo and Frank Marini as speakers. They were great. The members were friendly and helpful. Plus, I won something in the raffle. Really the only thing that changed was the weather.
Here's to three more years of BRS. You guys and gals are only reason I can find to drive from Norwich, Connecticut to Boston on a monthly basis.
It has been almost three years since my first meeting.
Today UMass had Anthony Calfo and Frank Marini as speakers. They were great. The members were friendly and helpful. Plus, I won something in the raffle. Really the only thing that changed was the weather.
Here's to three more years of BRS. You guys and gals are only reason I can find to drive from Norwich, Connecticut to Boston on a monthly basis.
One Eye
former vp of pr
Let's not forget a big Thank You to our sponsors for donating all those raffle prizes!
Thanks to AquaAddicts, Aquarium Gallery, CRA, Reefdom and of course Beacon Aquarium for that great display today!
And also Thanks to Anthony Calfo for that awesome poster set he hand delivered this afternoon!!
Thanks to AquaAddicts, Aquarium Gallery, CRA, Reefdom and of course Beacon Aquarium for that great display today!
And also Thanks to Anthony Calfo for that awesome poster set he hand delivered this afternoon!!
Great meeting,
bummer that calfo was rushed at the end, as he said (more or less) "I could talk forever, how long do I have"
That was isnpiring to see a BTA cut in half with such confidence.
Only problem is now I have been left with a number of new ideas that will cost some $ and no doubt I'll have to try them out.
Thanks to Beacon too, I almost bought the ancor but decided to let my descision be made by weather someone else got it first. Someone did, oh well.
Great meeting, only disappointed that I told my grilfriend I would be home by 5 but that's another story. I went with Zero00 and we both got the "WTF are you" calls while we were browsing skiptons on the way home.
bummer that calfo was rushed at the end, as he said (more or less) "I could talk forever, how long do I have"
That was isnpiring to see a BTA cut in half with such confidence.
Only problem is now I have been left with a number of new ideas that will cost some $ and no doubt I'll have to try them out.
Thanks to Beacon too, I almost bought the ancor but decided to let my descision be made by weather someone else got it first. Someone did, oh well.
Great meeting, only disappointed that I told my grilfriend I would be home by 5 but that's another story. I went with Zero00 and we both got the "WTF are you" calls while we were browsing skiptons on the way home.
Chuck Spyropulos
Non-member
I kinow I will get blasted, but one purpose of a club is to allow members to express their opinions so here goes! First let me congratulate all those who set up the meeting...It really was a good one! However I do have some constructive criticism...
Speakers: FANTASTIC ! Both speakers were vibrant and energetic and I am sure everyone learned something from them.
Venue/Audiovisual Setup: Good, except the screen was so distant that you could not see most of the charts clearly. A tripod for the small video camera should have been used for the Calfo demo.
Beacon Setup: FANTASTIC!
Food Distribution/Planning: Poor. First the food was rationed out like we were on Survivor. The size of the sandwiches was frankly embarassing. Ed was guarding the food and ensuring that each member was allowed only 1 sandwich (or was that a quarter sandwich) per member. In the end, lots of food and money was wasted since there was so much extra food. If the BRS is concerned about $, I would prefer paying dues of $50.00 or more per year and not have to be policed in the food line for every meeting. Plus the beverage was hidden in a cooler such that many people could not find it. A simple sign would have helped everyone find the soft drinks more easily.
T-shirt sales: The product quality looked exellent, but there should have been more people selling these , walking through the crowds perhaps wearing the products. Also, early in the meeting no one could get me a price on the stuff perhaps because I was early. But this is the time to sell the stuff, not while the meeting is in session. Also, not at lunch since people were rushing to grab that quarter sandwich, and not after the meeting since people were ready to leave after a full day of presentation material. I think that the T-shirt selling would have been much more effective if the table was ready well in advance of the start of the meeting.
Membership signup: Don't do it at meetings....do it online and save the hassle of waiting in line to members that are already paid. I would also suggest that the policy of allowing people to attend meetings for free be terminated. This would solve the $ problem and eliminate large lines...only people flashing their membership cards would be allowed in to the meeting. For those of us who forgot their cards at home then looking them up online could be employed as it was at the meeting.
Speakers: FANTASTIC ! Both speakers were vibrant and energetic and I am sure everyone learned something from them.
Venue/Audiovisual Setup: Good, except the screen was so distant that you could not see most of the charts clearly. A tripod for the small video camera should have been used for the Calfo demo.
Beacon Setup: FANTASTIC!
Food Distribution/Planning: Poor. First the food was rationed out like we were on Survivor. The size of the sandwiches was frankly embarassing. Ed was guarding the food and ensuring that each member was allowed only 1 sandwich (or was that a quarter sandwich) per member. In the end, lots of food and money was wasted since there was so much extra food. If the BRS is concerned about $, I would prefer paying dues of $50.00 or more per year and not have to be policed in the food line for every meeting. Plus the beverage was hidden in a cooler such that many people could not find it. A simple sign would have helped everyone find the soft drinks more easily.
T-shirt sales: The product quality looked exellent, but there should have been more people selling these , walking through the crowds perhaps wearing the products. Also, early in the meeting no one could get me a price on the stuff perhaps because I was early. But this is the time to sell the stuff, not while the meeting is in session. Also, not at lunch since people were rushing to grab that quarter sandwich, and not after the meeting since people were ready to leave after a full day of presentation material. I think that the T-shirt selling would have been much more effective if the table was ready well in advance of the start of the meeting.
Membership signup: Don't do it at meetings....do it online and save the hassle of waiting in line to members that are already paid. I would also suggest that the policy of allowing people to attend meetings for free be terminated. This would solve the $ problem and eliminate large lines...only people flashing their membership cards would be allowed in to the meeting. For those of us who forgot their cards at home then looking them up online could be employed as it was at the meeting.
Chuck Spyropulos
Non-member
I see also that many were dissapointed by the time running out. Eliminating signup at the begining of the meeting and eliminating those useless wrist bands would have save alot of time. It may have allowed Mr. Calfo to finish his excellent presentation and demonstration.
nitrofish
reefing again!
Chuck Spyropulos said:
that was terrible, I agree. I could hardly see a thing. but I think there was supposed to be a large screen that would roll down electronicly, but it didn't work. at least that what I overheard.
I blame umass! damn them!
ps I wanted to do some hands on coral fragging, but there was no time
