Great meeting today.

[OceanGuy]

Great Meeting

For me this was a great meeting and my first. I thank those who put it together. Things went smoothly. I was appreciative of those who donated corals to our school tank. They've already been acclimated and put in the tank.

The speakers were great. I've read their books, but it is always good to see them in person. They complimented each other nicely.

It was also great to see Beacon Aquarium with their great display. They had all of the things that I ordered online ready and waiting. A big thank you to Lourdes and Jose and the others at Beacon Aquarium for bringing that setup all the way from Worcester to be with us and for having our orders ready.

When I teach, I use a Flexcam. It has a camera and a microphone if I choose to use it, but it blows the demonstration up to screen size with great clarity. I use it in my classroom to show items in the tank up on the two tv screens in the room and kids everywhere can see them in great detail. Something like that might have been easier for the folks in the back to see at a distance.

All in all it was a very pleasant day. I got home around 8 having made a trip to school to get everything acclimated and in the tank tonight.

Again, thanks to all who ran the meeting and to those who donated corals that will help educate kids to the beauty and fragility of the coral reef.

Tom
OceanGuy

 

[JohnK]

It was a great meeting, something is always off by a bit, I'm happy to have heard the speakers, a large fresh steak and cheese whould have been great but what should we expect? I had a good time and learned a few things.

It seems like an ongoing issue of running late (based on the few meetings I've attended in the last 18 months), with a club that is relaxed and not struggling with details it makes sense that no one would want to start yelling at everyone to move it along. The appropriate people were trying to move the meeting along at what seemed like the right times, it's just tough to enact crowd control and be nice at the same time. We also had two great speakers that had a lot to say.

My only constructive feedback re: planning, maybe we should just make a habit of scheduling venues with a couple of extra hours tacked onto the end so people can run overtime on presentations or just hang out and frag swap/talk.

great meeting.

jk

 

[Chuck Spyropulos]

Frags

Yes, it is too bad that time ran out....if they did not sign up new members and made a more efficient entry system, perhaps more time could be spent on the presentations rather than all of the logistics coming through the door?

 

[Moe_K]

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

Right.
UMB is supposed to have the big screen that drops down, but it was broken.

BTW that venue costs $600 for 4 hours.
The cop at the show is mandatory. When he says get out, it's time to go.

 

[Chuck Spyropulos]

Time is Money

That is too bad regarding the screen... probably could not be helped.

WOW......A cost of $600.00 for 4 hours is even more reason to streamline entry logistics and food lines. Let's use the time for the presentations not for new member signup or other time consuming procedures and time consuming wrist-bands/food lines. I am not bashing anyone...just suggesting alternatives for future meetings so that all paid members can get the best experience possible at the meetings. Again, the speakers and topics were excellent, and I really do appreciate all the work that went into the meeting as well as the time people donated to setup the meeting.

Right.
UMB is supposed to have the big screen that drops down, but it was broken.

BTW that venue costs $600 for 4 hours.
The cop at the show is mandatory. When he says get out, it's time to go.

 

[Moe_K]

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.

The purpose of the wristband and the food cop was to ensure each paying member got food - not to control costs.
In previous meetings the pizza was done as a free for all / honor system arrangement. Some people were left without, while those who got in early took too much.

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.

You want to mail out all the laminated membership cards?

 

[JohnK]

(to try to take this as constructive thinking)

It wouldn't be too hard to set up a sign in / checkpost on the way in, right at the door, (kind of like at the airport). It's usually close to that, but you sort of need to look for the sign in spot. Also if we have speakers, start the mtg at X time, and plan to have the speaker speak at X + 30 min, then have them start even if people aren't assembled, they will come in quick if they are interested.

When the BOD starts getting paid a salary I'll be willing to criticise them or their work, as volunteers all I can say is great work (not that I would criticise anyway).

jk

 

[scavdog]

The speakers were great and it stuck to schedule pretty closely this time.

Thank you. We try!

In all reality, it takes a lot to plan a meeting. Most of the time it looks great on paper. In this case things went smoothly until we found an issue with the projection screen. At one point we considered having Anthony doing a dry frag workshop to fill in space. In this situation, we lost close to an hour attempting to remedy the situation by finding an alternate screen. Ultimately we were stressed for time. It happens. We attemped to score more time beforehand, and were unsucessful. FWIW, Umass has been notified and we will most likely be reimbursed some of the fee for the inconvenience. I think you might agree, one hour would have made all the difference in the world.

RE: membership dues: Fortunately for us, Joe Fitz has employed membership renewal into the forum. It is a new and rather convenient feature (among many other new features).However, we will always have a membership booth at our meetings. I could get into the details on why I rationalize this, but I think it is self-explanitory.

RE Food:
Yup, we guarded the food. Our main concern was not having enough. Now, I must say, today was the 1st time EVER that we have had food left over. It just doesnt happen! D'Angelo's was a wee bit more generous than was anticipated. A worse scenario would be: "I did'nt get any food! What gives??". Our meetings can fluxuate from 50-110 members depending on venue, location, speaker draw etc etc. Your right Chuck, it can be a logistical headache.

This is the largest meeting we have held in a some time. The membership has changed dramatically since our meeting here in 2003. Sorry if it came across as hard-nosed. We wanted things to run on-time and in an orderly fashion.

Ultimately, today was a great drill in preparation and organization. Things will only improve from here-on-in.

Moreover, thanks for the kind words everyone!

-Joe

 

[Moe_K]

Just to assure readers - I'm not angry with Chuck (or anyone else) for suggestions. It's hard to get tone in email or on the boards. So please read my above responses as calm off the cuff thinking.

 

[scavdog]

Man, how the heck did it get to be 12:30.. WTH!? I have to sleep!

 

[willray]

It was my first meeting and dissapointed that I had to leave so early.But I was really impressed with everything about the meeting location,speakers,setup,food......My hats off to all involved who made this happen.

 

[stevenp]

Personally I thought the food was great; much better than the same old greasy pizza.

Steve

 

[delta]

yes it is easy to say do this do that but i think its a matter of resourses. Volunteers being the resourses it not like anyone is on the payroll they are donating their time. so although there are alot of things you could do it takes more people willing to do them.
I don't think i could dedicate the time i see people here dedicating at this time in my life so to those who can and have Thank you for your time and effort.

 

[rtc_reefer]

It was my first meeting and found it to be very interesting. Great job to all who had their hand in organizing it. I'm sure it took many of their personal hours away from their families and I appreciate all of your efforts.

 

[JustDavidP]

I know I RSVPd, and I'm sorry I missed such a great meeting...

I slept in, with nothing planned for the day except the meeting, and saying hello to some new folks on the board.

Fortunately/unfortunately, I woke to find this:

A bucket of fun...that kept me busy siphoning baby ponies out of the display and into the Kreisel .. AGAIN!

See you at the next meeting...I think

Dave

 

[clamm]

Running long and all, and having to rush out really wasn't anyone's fault, as the the leadership of the club stated they tried to score extra time and failed. With a cop there, I think dragging him into OT would have been very costly, besides that he wouldn't have any of it, I was out in the hall where he was and he was pacing back and forth watching the time, and kept reminding people (members) to wrap it up and leave.

AREN'T ANY COPS REEFERS?

GOOD MEETING, #HIT HAPPENS, YOU MADE THE BEST OUT OF IT AND IT WAS ENJOYABLE.

It was my first meeting and disappointed that I had to leave so early.But I was really impressed with everything about the meeting location,speakers,setup,food......My hats off to all involved who made this happen.

 

[Skinpuppi]

It was a very enjoyable meeting. I thought the food was well handled for as many people that were there. The line died down really quick after everyone got their first sandwich, so I don't see the complaint that people are making. You guys put together some nice events.

Thank you to all that donate (time, money, effort, FRAGS!) to make this such a great club. That always adds to the greatness of the meeting.

P.S.
Scott,
"Any idea who wound up with the second one? Would love to see some pics under different lighting. enjoy!"

I won it. I will take pics tonight. That is a beautiful piece. Thank you for your generosity.

 

[~Flighty~]

The sandwich thing was unfortunate, but really just an accident. We got 108 sandwiches which we thought would be just enough and didn't realise that 2 pieces was one sandwich until everyone had gotten one. We tried to let everyone know that they could have more. As someone else said, it is really hard to plan when you don't know how many people will be at the meeting. I would almost rather just tell people to eat before the meeting and not worry about getting everyone fed, but the food is a nice break.

Things like signs for the soda are little things that make a big difference, but are easy to overlook in the shuffle. If you ever notice something like that, grab a pen and a piece of paper and put up a sign. We do are best getting there really early and trying to set up in a way that will make the meeting flow well, but things sure look different when everyone gets there.

I think the meeting went really well. Everyone I talked to seemed pretty happy with things and I had a good time. I will have to start telling Eliot to expect me to be gone 11 hours for a 4 hour meeting though.

 

[clamm]

Yup, me too. Told Sarah we could go out to dinner afterwards at about 6:30 or so, I got home at 9:00...had a few stops to make on the way...so life goes on.

The sandwich thing was unfortunate, but really just an accident. We got 108 sandwiches which we thought would be just enough and didn't realise that 2 pieces was one sandwich until everyone had gotten one. We tried to let everyone know that they could have more. As someone else said, it is really hard to plan when you don't know how many people will be at the meeting. I would almost rather just tell people to eat before the meeting and not worry about getting everyone fed, but the food is a nice break.

Things like signs for the soda are little things that make a big difference, but are easy to overlook in the shuffle. If you ever notice something like that, grab a pen and a piece of paper and put up a sign. We do are best getting there really early and trying to set up in a way that will make the meeting flow well, but things sure look different when everyone gets there.

I think the meeting went really well. Everyone I talked to seemed pretty happy with things and I had a good time. I will have to start telling Eliot to expect me to be gone 11 hours for a 4 hour meeting though.

 

[PenMan]

The lack of RSVP makes food count very difficult. Actual head count was more than 20% higher than the number of people that had responded. We usally figure that the count between people not being able to make the meeting and those coming at the last minute average out.

We had the best new member/member renewal day that we have had in the two years that I have been helping Moe with the membership. Many people do not like or do not have Paypal accounts.