Re: I'm Baaaaack...........

["Anthony Baker" <bakera506@earthlink.net>]

As a newcomer to the AGA and the contest, I hope to offer up my enthusiasm
and give any help that is needed.

I just wanted to echo my agreement with James' desire to increase
participation and get more entrants into this year's contest.  I think the
single biggest thing we could do is get a large advertisement / announcement
in say TFH or AFM.  There are many people out there not on the APD that are
interested in planted tanks - I imagine a bunch of people not on the net
have no idea of such contests or organizations.  If there is a list of
'goals' or tasks to be done prior to the contest, I think this ought to top
the list.  I'd gladly volunteer to make the effort to get the ball rolling.
Another thing would be to use the various national aquarium societies to
spread the word to local clubs.  Most clubs have newsletters, and would
probably eagerly place a little contest announcement in it.

Also, are there any dates set yet?  Is there any more information on what we
all need to do before the contest gets underway, or am I just getting ahead
of myself? :-)

-Tony
----- Original Message -----
From: "James Purchase" <jppurchase@rogers.com>
To: <aga-contest@thekrib.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 05, 2002 7:34 PM
Subject: I'm Baaaaack...........


> Hi Everyone,
>
> Nice to be back. Hopefully, my lungs and this old body will hold together
> long enough to get us through this coming year.
>
> I would like to thank Erik for inviting me to come back to oversee the
third
> iteration of the Contest - while I was too ill to do anything last year, I
> did watch it with intense interest.
>
> Erik has suggested that anyone not interested or able to help out this
year
> bail now - I sincerely hope that nobody leaves on my account - we are
going
> to need all the help we can get to make this the best Aquascaping Contest
so
> far. It is very gratifying to see that what started as an almost off the
> cuff remark on the APD a few years ago has grown and lasted this long. It
> wouldn't have happened unless there was wide interest and lots of willing
> helpers.
>
> Its going to take me a few days to "get up to speed" and to figure out
just
> how best to handle things this year but I want everyone to know that I
> welcome ALL input - pro and con, on ALL the issues we will face while
> planning and implementing this year's event. Much of the basic work was
done
> long ago, during the 18 months of pre-planning that happened before we
held
> the first Showcase/Contest. When we set out that groundwork we knew that
> some things could only be planned in a preliminary fashion at that time
and
> some things would have to change based on real world experience gained
thru
> actually pulling it off. It nice to see that so much of what we originally
> discussed seems to have worked out, and that the changes needed have been
> minor in nature.
>
> Right off the bat, there are a few things I'd like to see "new" in this
> year's event - chief among them is MORE PARTICIPATION, both on the
> organizing end and on the entrant's end of things.
>
> It won't take much individual time or effort to pull this off if there are
> enough willing hands to help out - I see my role as both a cheerleader
(just
> don't expect me to shake any "pom-poms") and a traffic coordinator.
> Hopefully, everyone here will have a real contribution to make to help
out.
> There are a number of things that have to come together and happen in a
> certain fashion if this is to be a success and everyone will get the
> opportunity to help out where their talents and abilities would do the
most
> good.
>
> I would also like to see us get MORE ENTRIES this year - I definitely want
> to go over 100 and to increase our visibility at all levels - thru contact
> with hobbyist clubs both in North America and in Europe, as well as making
a
> major push to get some attention in the hobby press both at home and
abroad.
> I think that if we contine to stress the fact that this event is more
about
> sharing our love of the hobby in general and aquatic gardening in
paticular
> than it is about big prizes we should be able to reach this goal.
>
> I understand from Erik that there is a real possibility that Amano will
> consent to act as a Judge this year. This could do a lot to attract
> attention and gain potential entrants. Lets make sure that we are up to
the
> task.
>
> If anyone has any questions or comments, please feel free to ask them, now
> or whenever they occur to you. As I said, you input is welcome.
>
> James Purchase
> Toronto
>
>
>
>
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