- Socialization
- Program
- Business
- Mini Auction
Socialization
The doors open at 6:30 PM. A half hour before our meeting is set aside for visiting and is completely informal. It's your chance to meet fellow hobbyists to talk about fish, aquariums, or whatever. This is the free-for-all segment of our meeting, with people milling around talking. Sometimes small groups form. Sometimes the whole room breaks out into a single group discussion. You never know what the topic(s) will be. It's also the time we try to introduce ourselves to new visitors.
Program
The program and official meeting start at 7:00 PM. Don't be late! We start the programs promptly at 7:00. Every meeting, except for our December Christmas party, has a planned program with a guest speaker to entertain and educate you. Sometimes local club members present the program. Sometimes outside experts come in to fascinate us. Speakers usually have slides or video to illustrate their talks. Or there may be live demonstrations. Topics range widely, discussing fish, plants, other aquatic critters, and all aspects of aquarium keeping. A typical program lasts about an hour or less. We usually take a few minutes for a refreshment break after the program.
Business
Next is the business portion of our meeting. Here, we discuss club projects and the other necessities that come with running an aquarium society. Don't worry. We won't bore you with every detail of the club's business. (We have a special Club Business section on this forum where you can go for that.) Rather, this is mostly for discussing the items that need input from the membership, such as taking votes and suggestions for future field trips. We try to limit this section to under 15 minutes, and it's usually much less than that. The formal part of the meeting adjourns after this segment.
Mini Auction
Finally, we close out the meeting with a mini auction. Members and visitors can bring items to donate for auctioning off. Usually, these are fish or plants that have been home bred, but sometimes we have new aquarium supplies donated by manufacturers, or used dry goods, too. Guest speakers often bring samples of items discussed in their talks or fish they have bred. This is a great opportunity to bid and win some items at (usually) ridiculously low prices. Note that all proceeds from mini auctions go to the club. This is different from our major auctions (held in spring and fall), where the seller keeps 70% of the proceeds.
So come join us at a monthly meeting! We'll try hard to show you a good time and send you home knowing more about fish and aquariums-- and having made some new friends who share your interest. Admission to meetings is always free, but we hope you will also join our club. Dues are VERY cheap! Click HERE for the dues schedule or to join online.