TAG and web site release for your review

[krandall@world.std.com]

Please review the attached release.  If everyone thinks it looks good, Erik
can put it up on the web site, and Neil will print it in the next issue of TAG.

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In some ways it seems like a very long time ago that a group of us got
together in person and hammered out an organizational chart for AGA, and I
got "arm twisted" into acting as interim chair for the Steering Committee.
In other ways, that time has flashed by.  We have a good group of people on
the Management Committee, although there are still openings, but it will
always be a tough job keeping people this far flung geographically
organized and working in a cohesive manner.  

It is my great pleasure to report that Bob Cashin has stepped up to the
plate to take over as our new Steering Committee Chairperson.  Bob has been
a strong supporter of the AGA and active in his "hats" as Steering
Committee member and Financial Secretary for the AGA.  I am sure he will do
a fine job as Steering Committee Chair bringing enthusiasm and energy to
the position that this beleaguered Mom has sometimes lacked!

Unfortunately, this leaves us needing to find a new Financial Secretary as
well as needing to fill the still open positions on the Management
Committee.  For the time being, Bob will be handling both jobs, but it is
very important that we find a new Financial Secretary fairly quickly, as
this is simply too much work to ask any one person to do for any length of
time.  If  you have any suggestions for a replacement, PLEASE contact any
member of the Steering Committee as soon as possible.  If the person to
take over the position were a CPA or lawyer, it would be even better.

There are other big changes coming for the AGA.  It is with great regret
that I must announce that Neil Frank has decided to retire from his
position as editor of TAG after an amazing run of 10 years in that
position!  He has done an outstanding job over that period of time,
producing a magazine that the AGA could always be proud of.  It is due, in
great measure, to Neil's work on TAG that the AGA has become the large,
vital organization that it is today, with over 900 members and growing,
world wide. Neil, you have my heartfelt thanks for the work you have done,
and I'm sure that is echoed by our entire membership.  Neil will not be
leaving AGA though, he will continue as a valued member of the Steering
Committee.

The good news is that we have a fresh, enthusiastic new face waiting in the
wings to take over the reins of TAG.  That is Mary Macaw.  Mary is no
newcomer to work for volunteer aquarium organizations and is currently
serving as a member of the Board of directors of the Boston Aquarium
Society.  Neil and Mary will work together closely during the change over
so that the transition is as smooth and painless as possible.

There are all sorts of plans on the horizon, and if you will refer back to
the organizational chart printed in the Jul-Aug 1998 issue of TAG, there is
still plenty of room for _you_ to help.  One of the areas that I feel we
really need to get moving is finding regional representatives to funnel
information both to and from local members.  I will be taking on this
position "officially" for the North Eastern U.S. though I have unofficially
been doing this work for years.  If you are interested in organizing a
group of AGA'ers in your region, please feel free to contact me or Merrill
Cohen (our Regional Coordinator) for ideas on how to get started.  We have
strong pockets of membership in several areas, and it would be good if
these groups could start sharing information with AGA as a whole.

In this regard, I will mention that The Northeast Council of Aquarium
Societies has again invited AGA members to gather for a special AGA event
in conjunction with their Annual Convention in March, 2000.  The NEC has
invited Claus Christensen to come from Denmark to speak again, and he has
graciously accepted.  If you missed him the last time, this is a great
opportunity.  Claus is extremely knowledgeable, and a very entertaining,
dynamic speaker as well.  AGA members will also have a conference room
available the first day of the convention for their private use.  Details
have yet to be worked out, but the round table discussions we've had at
this event in the past have been well attended, very educational and
enjoyable as well. Look for more information in the next issue of TAG.