'da blurb.....

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

Ken had asked if I intended to make any further changes to the notice we can
send to Clubs. Gosh, you think he'd have learned by now that given even half
a chance, I'd continue making changes until the cows come home....<g>.

However, I've got to draw the line somewhere, and I guess this is as good a
place as any. Karen's suggestions were excellent and to the point - I have
pulled the "blurb" into MS Word, and it "fits" onto one page, with a bit of
room to spare. I have also added the names of the confirmed judges, listing
their affiliations and slightly edited my comments about the remaining
judges so that we are not limited in who we can approach should our other
"first choices" not be able to take part. I have also slightly edited the
comments about pdf files - I merely state that there will be "a variety" of
pdf documents available - this will allow us to have short and long versions
of the Guidelines, an Entry Form package and a Poster (any or all). As far
as "contact" information, I list the URL of the web site, the e-mail address
for contact and give the "official" mailing address for the contest together
with Erik's voice and FAX telephone numbers. I have not said what we won't
or can't do, as that would be negative and this should be a positive
communication.

I have the notice available in MS Word 6 format as well as plain text -
anyone who is going to be contacting clubs might wish to send one or both as
e-mail attachments to the club contacts. I suggest that the body of the
e-mail consist of the exact same text as is contained in the plain text
version of the file - when something is "cut and pasted" from an e-mail
program, it sometimes has line fees in strange places (at least MS Outlook
has this problem). So, by attaching a plain text copy to the e-mail, we can
save the recipient some editing time. The only differences between the two
files are that I have had to replace the "em dashes" with two hyphens (which
is correct usage, according to the Chicago Manual of Style)(note that this
doesn't show up in the text which follows), and the bullets in the .doc file
are different from those in the .txt file.

I will provide anyone who wants one with the "master files" of both of these
documents. I think that we can begin contacting the clubs as soon as you
have the files. Just remember to keep track of who you send them to and make
sure that only one contact is made with each club (I recently received 18
(!!!!) separate e-mails from the same source - each message was identical).

Here is the "copy":
_________________________________

AGA International Aquascaping Showcase & Contest

The Aquatic Gardeners Association has announced the AGA International
Aquascaping Showcase & Contest. Taking place entirely on the Internet, this
event promises to be a unique opportunity for hobbyists to display and share
their aquascaping efforts with others around the world.

The event has two complementary aspects?a friendly, non-competitive
Showcase, in which all submitted entries are displayed on the Internet, and
a judged Contest, where hobbyists may display their tanks and compete to win
valuable prizes.

Hobbyists of all age and experience levels are welcome to take part?you do
not have to be an expert to enter. All types of freshwater, brackish water
and paludarium aquascapes are welcome?planted tanks, biotope and habitat
tanks, rock-scapes, artificial plants, all have their place in the hobby and
all are eligible.

Judging of the Contest portion of the event will fall to a panel of
experienced aquascapers, including:
· Karen Randall, past Chair of the AGA;
· Neil Frank, Editor Emeritus of TAG, the official publication of the AGA;
· Claus Christensen, of Tropica in Denmark.

Joining them will be other experts from around the world to provide a truly
international perspective to the judging.

Entries to the AGA International Aquascaping Showcase & Contest should
consist of the following:
· 2 to 5 photographs of the aquascape (prints, slides or digital images are
acceptable);
· a diagram or planting plan of the aquascape (a hand-drawn diagram is
fine);
· details of the set-up and maintenance of the tank;
· a completed and signed entry form (available on the web site);
· an entry fee of $5.00 US per entry.

The web site contains a full array of information to help potential
entrants, including event guidelines, aquascaping resources and full details
of how to register and enter. Also available from the web site are a variety
of documents in Adobe® PDF format which clubs may view or print locally for
distribution to their membership.

The closing date for submission of entries is September 30, 2000. Winners of
the Contest portion of the event will be announced by November 30, 2000. A
CD-ROM containing all submitted entries will be available from the AGA as a
permanent record of the event.

For further details about the AGA International Aquascaping Showcase &
Contest, please visit the web site at http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org
or send e-mail to showcase@aquatic-gardeners.org.; mail may be sent to:

AGA International Aquascaping Showcase & Contest
C/O Erik Olson
NW 82nd Street
Seattle, WA 98117

Telephone: Erik Olson at Voice (206) 789-5840; FAX (206) 217-5036
______________________


James Purchase
Toronto

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