Update!

["James Purchase" <jpurch@interlog.com>]

OK, the list seems to be working again, thanks Erik!

Just to bring everyone up to speed....

UNLESS someone has some major issues which haven't reached me over the
weekend (and this is quite possible, due to the problems I have seen with
bouncing messages), the Proposal is READY to GO!

I have contacted Bob Cashin, AGA Chair, and asked for a list of Management
Committee members together with their individual snail-mail addresses. He
has told me that it will take him a few days to get everyone's address but
I'm expecting the information within a few days. Once I have the complete
list, I will be sending out bound copies of the proposal to each AGA MC
member.

[As an aside, Erik, I ran a "who" query on the aga-mcm and afa-mcm-digest
lists and came up with what I ASSUME are the people I will be sending these
things out to. By comparing the results with info on the AGA web-site, I can
identify most of the people but two e-mail addresses stump me - there are no
real names associated with them that I can find.]

Now, the FINAL Proposal is (as expected) a slight revision of the last one
which I send out in PDF format. Most of the changes are grammatical and
spelling corrections but I have added a few things:

------------------------

Judges can enter the showcase but NOT the contest. We never really discussed
this but I don't think it would be very fair to allow a judge to enter the
Contest.

------------------------

Any entry without an entry fee gets bounced. (In so many words...)

-----------------------

On the question you had regarding the "Aquascape Information" (pg 15 of the
PDF file) - the major categories (reads on the page
Freshwater/Brackish/Paludarium, while the Contest Guidelines list four
categories - Aquatic Gardens; Natural/Biotope Aquariums; Artificial
Aquascapes; Paludariums) - this is a TOTAL oversight on MY part. We had
decided that the issue of whether the water was 100% fresh or brackish had
no real effect on the category a tank should be placed in, but I forgot to
make the change to the "Aquascape Information" page. I have made the change
so that they BOTH now read as follows:

Aquatic Garden
Natural/Biotope Aquarium
Artificial Aquascape
Paludarium

I have also corrected Robert Paul Hudson's name on the Contributor's List.

----------

OTHER CHANGES I HAVE MADE TO THE MASTER:

Summary

ADD the following text:

While initially conceived as a single event, during the planning stages it
became evident that it has the potential to become an annual occurrence,
promoting both aquascaping and the AGA. Should the Management Committee of
the AGA agree to adopt and sponsor this event, the organizing committee
undertakes to implement and carry through with the execution of the project.

My comments: Hopefully, this addresses the issue which was raised regarding
the "repeatability" of this event. It also lets the AGA know that we will do
the work necessary to actually carry off the event, should they approve it.
This was never stated explicitly before, but SHOULD be made 100% clear so
that the MC doesn't get the idea that THEY will have to do the work.

--------------

Background

CHANGE

Change section name to Introduction

My comments: This section WILL be re-written..... it's purpose is to put the
project into context and to let the AGA MC understand WHY the project was
undertaken in the first place and why it should be approved. I'm not happy
with how this is currently "reading" - it needs to more of a "sales pitch"
than it currently is.

NOTE: This HAS been totally re-written.

---------------

Program - All Sections

Change "This document....." to "This section...."

My comments: These sections were originally conceived as appendixes and
intended to stand pretty much on their own. But to do so would have meant
that I would be saying the same thing in too many places (there is already a
fair bit of duplication in info in the various areas).
---------------

Section 12 - Timing

ADD

As previously stated, following approval of the project as an official AGA
event, the organizing committee undertakes to implement and conduct the
event on behalf of the AGA.

My comments: See above.

----------------

I have also added a secion called "Distribution" at the end of the Proposal,
listing everyone who has been provided with a copy of the document.

-----------------

Again, most of the changes are cosmetic in nature and involve me "polishing"
it up and making it look and read a bit better.

Hopefully, depending upon how quickly Bob Cashin gets the addresses of the
MC members to me, this thing can be put in the bag this week....

Of course, then the REAL work begins.....

James Purchase
Toronto

  ------------------
  To unsubscribe from this list, e-mail majordomo@aquatic-gardeners.org
  with "unsubscribe aga-contest" in the body of the message.
  To subscribe to the digest version, add "subscribe aga-contest-digest"
  in the same message.
  Old messages are available at http://lists.thekrib.com/aga-contest