Mike H. met up with me at my house. We had an hour or so to kill before time to leave for the event. We're both authors, so we spent the time talking about aquarium book publishing, and writing for aquarium magazines. Mike H. browsed my aquarium book collection a bit, though it sounds like he's actually got more books than me! Let me tell you-- these two fish nerds hit it off. The spare time before the dinner and meeting went way too fast.
NOTE: Clicking on the small images below will bring up a large image. The large images 640 x 480 pixels and are around 150K each.
Mike Hellweg and Mike Wickham chat in Mike W.'s office before the event.
The author autographs Mike W.'s copy of his book.
Next was the pre-meeting dinner. We met up with more of the gang at the Hibachi Grill Supreme Buffet in Rogers.
Sharon took on the photographer's duties at the dinner.
Seats repeatedly emptied and filled as people made multiple trips to the delicious buffet.
Our guest fit right into our little group. It was like he was part of the gang.
Kyle and Monica made it all the way from Oklahoma.
Jack and Laura (left) represented the Kansas City crew.
Evan brought an even larger entourage than usual! Mother Penny was familiar. His sister and dad (not shown) were new.
After stuffing ourselves to the gills, it was off to the meeting! Turnout was good.
Mike Hellweg gave an excellent talk on live foods. Did you know that mosquito larvae survive freezing? Here, he discusses some the various tiny worms that we feed to baby fishes. Elsewhere, he introduced us to Phil the paramecium.
Like many speakers in the hobby, Mike offered his services to our club for next to nothing. Do him a favor in return by buying one of his books! I can tell you first hand that Culturing Live Foods is excellent. Very informative! You can even buy them directly from him to get a signed and numbered copy.
We had a good selection of livestock for the mini auction, including some rare livebearers. One species is even extinct in the wild.
Our auctioneer extraordinaire, Michael, charms someone into spending just a little more money.
The meeting wrapped up and everyone went home happy. We even raised a few bucks for the club. Mike H. stayed overnight with Denny and Gail. Kyle and I rejoined them in the morning at the Short Stop in Garfield. The place didn't look like much, but the breakfast was wonderful. Denny gave everyone a fish room tour. We drooled over his daphnia culture in a tub out back. I took home a few tadpoles for Sharon.
All in all, it was a great event! I know that I made a new friend and I'm sure others did, too. Next time Mike H. is in town, I call dibs on him staying overnight at our house!