Greater
Seattle
Aquarium
Society Board Meeting Minutes: April 22, 2004
(at the home of Bob
Holmes)
Board Members Present Absent
Bob Holmes
Rick Rose
Sandu Simion
Susan Welenofsky
Paul Winchester
Membership Observers
Steev Ward
Preliminary Business
* (None)
Executive Committee Reports
* The Minutes of the previous Board meeting (March 18, 2004) were not
yet available.
* The Treasurer's Report
1) Current Bank Balance: $4986.36
2) Cash Box: 40.00
3) Outstanding Bills - (Unknown)
Meeting & Program Schedule
Month Topic / Activity
Fish-o-the-Month
SEP 9th Introduce yourself and your fish, solicit ideas, Nominations
($30 Dave-Dwarf/Pygmy Coreys)
OCT 21st Dave Sanford - Intro/Spawning of Killifish, Elections
(Dave & Bob)
NOV 11th Matt Kaufman - Slides of Various 2000 Activities
(Algae-eating Shrimp)
DEC 9th Christmas Party
(None)
JAN 13th Double-feature Movie Night
(Sandy Gibson - $20-40)
FEB 10th Plant Auction
(None)
MAR 9th Yohan Fernando (Bay view Room)
(Wild Bettas - Victorea)
APR 13th General Auction
(None)
MAY 11th Tom Waltzek (loaches)
(Loaches)
JUN 8th Home Show, Erik & Kathy's video, Board Elections
(Cories, Dwf. Cichlids, Tetras)
(2004-2005 Club-Year)
SEP 14th ]__ Oliver Lucanus? - Sandu will contact in September to
book an available date in the spring.
OCT 12th ]
NOV 9th
DEC 14th Christmas Party
JAN 11th
FEB 8th Plant Auction
MAR 8th
APR 12th General Auction
MAY 10th
JUN 14th
(*) Tentative, Special Dates
Bob notified Kelly that we have chosen to keep our regular March meeting
date and will accept the Bay view Room - we will need a screen.
Special Dates (in Red)
List of possible speakers:
* Pam Chin
* Steve Lunblad (African Cichlids) FOTM: Tanganyikan Cichlids
* ____________ (Livebearers, Bob will contact possible speakers
proposed by Frank Tomko.)
* Steev Ward (Freshwater Fish Diseases from a Practical Standpoint)
FOTM: Any nice tetra, barb, catfish, otocinclus - Steve would like to get
some Power Point help. Paul will look for slide-show utilities.
* Wayne Liebel - Cichlids, or History of the Aquarium Hobby
* Paul Louiselle
* Bob will ask Erik to explain how Manufacturer-Sponsored Speakers
work
* Bob will contact GPAS to see if they want to share
* Bob will contact Van Couver to see if they want to share
* Mel O'Meare (sp?) - Large Central American Cichlids (Dave) FOTM:
New World cichlids - NO CONVICTS, Blue Rams would be good.
* South American cichlids (broad selection. could be subdivided into
dwarf,pike etc.)
* Anabantoids (again, subdivide into bettas, gouramis etc.) -Catfish
(Lee Finley?)
* Asian fish (loaches, barbs, rasboras etc.)
* Gold Fish
* Lee Findley - Catfish
* Steve MacDonald - Discus (Paul/Susan will contact - possibly for
January) FOTM: Corey Cats, Tetras
* Yohan Fernando - Wild Bettas - Part II
* David Spector - Show Bettas (possibly for January)
* Tom Waltzek - Loaches (requested by Don Rudee) - FOTM: Loaches
* Oliver Lucanus (www.belowwater.com) - Sandu will get contact info to
Bob FOTM: (Variety)
* Takashi Amano
Meeting Ideas:
o Field trip to African NW (South Park Industrial Area - weekend
activity) (Sam is willing to set up - let him know when ready)
o Videos from Erik's library
o Double-feature Night with popcorn, etc..
* National Geographic video - Jewels of Tanganyika - tape ordered and
on the way
* Collecting on the Rio Negro
o Home Video Night (10 minute presentation by various members)
o Rain Forest Aquarium Presentation by Sandu
o Erik and Kathy's collection trip in the Amazon [FOTM: Dwarf
cichlids, Corey cats, tetras]
o Florida Aqua Farms Presentation
o Anthony Calfo - from Pennsylvania - Saltwater (friend of Sandu)
[Sept, Oct, or Nov?]
o Advanced Killifish Presentation - Dave Sanford/Kate Breimayer
Next Meeting: May 11, 2004
* The May General Meeting will feature Tom Waltzek speaking on Loaches
* FOTM Donation
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-gsas-board@thekrib.com [mailto:owner-gsas-board@thekrib.com] On
Behalf Of June Olberding
Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 8:28 AM
To: gsas-board@thekrib.com
Subject: Hi--FOM
Hi folks,
Got back from land of sun, but still pretty nice here ;->
I will have some kauli loaches and 6 clowns that could go for FOM at May
meeting, donations of course. That is if I can catch them. If you want
them, I will catch them. I intend to close down the rest of my tanks by the
mid June and will just do those first. The clowns are of nice size and may
be more suitable as auction item since they need to go in as couple trios a
or least in pairs.
June
* Mini-Plant-Auction?
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-gsas-board@thekrib.com [mailto:owner-gsas-board@thekrib.com] On
Behalf Of June Olberding
Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 6:28 PM
To: gsas-board@thekrib.com
Subject: plant donation to GSAS
Hi all,
I think I am in front of a snowball headed down hill here. Won't bore you
with the details but looks like our house may go on the market with in 90
days which means all this fishy stuff has to go.
Would the club like to and be able to do a mini auction of plants at the May
meeting with all proceeds to the club? I am talkin maybe 20 bags of common
but nice plants like Bacopa, val, sag. rotala, cypts, ferns etc. Also have
many anubias but they have some BBA on them.
If this is workable for club let me know.
June
* Thank you June! We will use the Kauli's for FOTM and auction the
clowns.
* Also, we will try to fit in a mini-plant-auction as time allows -
Thanks again!
* Tom Waltzek has not yet returned Bob's email.
* We need the same equipment for Tom's presentation as we did for
Yohan - Erik? Dave?
* Bob will ask Sandy to get loaches (other than Kauli's and clowns)
for FOTM. - $20-$40.
Old Business
* Recap of April General Membership Meeting - 2004 General Auction
* Very well attended with 55 bidders recorded. See Erik's stats
below:
2004 2003 2002 2001 2000
lots 317 336 322 289 310 (411)
bidders 55 49 71 54 57
gross $2729 $2148 $2517 $2923 $2485
-splits $834 $611 $486 $869 $672
net $1895 $1537 $2031 $2054 $1754
We had quite a reasonable turnout, good splits,
middle-of-road net, and we have several unsold items left over that will
make good prizes.
* (email feedback...)
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-gsas-board@thekrib.com
[mailto:owner-gsas-board@thekrib.com] On Behalf Of Hess, Clay A
Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2004 11:54 AM
To: gsas-board@thekrib.com
Subject: RE: auction stats
The Board,
Wow, I would have sworn that this year's auction had more
lots than that. Maybe it was the number of fish and tanks that I found
overwhelming this year. No matter, I think it went real well again. The
Club did great with filling in when there was a need. A couple things to
think about for future auctions:
1) Remind sellers, prior to the auction (maybe by email to
the membership?), to bag their fish real well. I had to take time to rebag
at least six different lots of fish because the bags were deflated and
leaking all over the place....this made for some lag time in the auction
process.
2) We should use a few minutes prior to the start of the
auction to introduce folks to our club and what we are about and where, when
and what time we meet. This is an excellent opportunity for the club to
reach out to potential new members and I am not sure we took full advantage
of that this year. This is just my perception, I may have missed something.
3) We may wish to review some of the ground rules of
auctioning too. Such as "multiple items" sales, what to do if one buyer is
distracting the auction process, how the runners and computer interface
works, etc. I know that these items are things that come up each year and
for auction veterans they may seem unnecessary to review...but, we do get
new help each year too and we should remember to help them understand what
the plan is.
4) Let's try to keep all the items for sale in the front of
the audience. I had to be reminded twice that there were items in the back
of the room that we had not brought up to the front for auction. I was
happy to have gotten the reminder as I had no idea some of the things in the
back were up for sale.
Just some thoughts.....I am anxious to see the facilities we
will have for use this next year. I hope they have lots of tables....seems
we never have enough space and tables for the auction to display all that is
to be auctioned.
Finally, THANK YOU to all of you who helped with the
auction. I find myself looking forward to the yearly auctions every year as
I am always impressed with how much help we get from so many members in the
Club. You all do a fantastic job of making one of our prime sources of Club
income a fun and exciting experience.
Clay
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-gsas-board@thekrib.com
[mailto:owner-gsas-board@thekrib.com] On Behalf Of Bob and Judy Holmes
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2004 10:44 AM
To: gsas-board@thekrib.com
Subject: Post auction misc.
First; Thanks for your input, Clay. Points well taken. Your
email is now part of my "auction procedures" file. In addition to
Clay'points I noticed a couple of other things that may help the auction to
run more smoothly; the STAGING AREA AUCTION PERSONNEL ONLY might be more
effective if we made it larger next year. I think it's great to put the
kids to work as runners, and it's good for them too, but I was a little
nervous watching them carry large bags of fish and think maybe older kids
and adults should handle those.
I saw a need for a sort of "escort service" also - one or
two people standing by to assist with taking the heavy or bulky purchases
out to people's vehicles and helping to load them, then returning with the
hand truck, saving the purchaser a return trip. I did this a couple of times
myself and found the extra help to be much appreciated.
Thank you notes: most important that these get done as they
provide positive feedback to the donors, setting us up in a good position
for next year when it's time to solicit donations again.
...
AFrican NW has requested that we send them a donation form
Bob
* (Local Donors)
Donor ID # Donation Value Card
Indoor Reef Susan
Innovative Aquarium Susan
The Fish Store (Seattle) Susan
African Northwest Rick
Fish Gallery & Pets - Renton Rick
Sierra Fish & Pets - Loehmanns Rick
Fish Gallery & Pets - Kent Rick
Pilgrim Pet Supply Rick
Puget Sound Fisheries Rick
Conway Tropical Fish Rick
King's Discus Rick
Rich and Diane Rick
Manufacturers Rick
Verify that these previous sponsors did NOT donate this year?
Liems - Verified (Bob) 51
Denny's Pet World in Kirkland 143
Blue Sierra in Issaquah
Snubber's Fish in Tacoma 349
* (Wholesalers & manufacturers)
1. Rolf C. Hagen
2. Kent Marine
3. Energy Savers Unlimited
4. Marine Enterprises International
5. Boyd Enterprises
6. Perfecto Manufacturing
7. Aquarium Systems
8. Tetra
9. Python Products
10. Ecological Laboratories
11. Novalek, Inc. (Kordon)
12. Aquatic Ecosystems Inc.
13. HBH Pet Products
14. Omega One
15. Eugene Danner
16. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals
17. Tropical Science Biolabs
18. OSI Marine Labs
19. Lee's Aquarium Products
20. Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Magazine
21. Pacific Coast Imports
* Blue Sierra's (in Issaquah) address is wrong on our website. (If
they are on the website, that means they offer a discount to members and
they should be changed to active.
* Ideas discussed
o If we solicit donations earlier, then we could possibly pre-register
them into the computer database (saving time and headaches at the auction.)
o Ask Erik about ability to track donors.
o Microphones/Wireless headsets for each auctioneer
o Put up a table to block entry into the staging area, or, construct a
U-Shaped counter area just inside the staging area by using multiple tables.
This would provide plenty of surface area for verifying, re-bagging, and
dealing with bidder questions while limiting the chaos behind the tables
where the workers are.
* Bob will post question on Board email list - What about moving the
General Auction to May next year? - Outstanding
* June Olberding (from the membership) requested that the kid's
coloring contest winning entries be displayed on the table near the
entrance. Rick will do this. (Outstanding)
* Susan is considering the BAP Committee Chair. She will research the
BAP requirements on the GSAS website and present a proposal for restarting
this program. - Tabled until the August 2004 meeting. (We could possibly
kick this off at the September meeting.)
* Rick will notify Holly of the Board's decision about a Message Board
- Done (see message strand below.)
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-gsas-board@thekrib.com
[mailto:owner-gsas-board@thekrib.com] On Behalf Of Rick Rose
Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 10:11 PM
To: 'Holly'
Subject: RE: GSAS Message Board
Hi Holly,
Thank you very much for your receptive spirit and great
attitude. The Board will be very happy to know that this has been resolved
with no hard feelings - which was one of our primary concerns. We really do
appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
Rick Rose,
GSAS Secretary/Historian
-----Original Message-----
From: Holly [mailto:holly@ourglasshouse.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 8:40 PM
To: 'Rick Rose'
Subject: RE: GSAS Message Board
Rick I'm very sorry. I didn't see this
Email until just tonight. I sometimes miss things because I receive a
relatively high volume of Email and it can be hard to keep up with. I just
got an Email from Bob so I'll copy what I said to him. I feel really
terrible now...
Bob,
I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I was
excited about the club and attempting to contribute something fun and useful
when I created my message board way back in November. I thought that a
message board would add a lot to the club and help bring in new members as
well. I never handed out that URL until this month when group members asked
about a message board via the GSAS Email list. I never intended to host the
message board myself. I was just brain storming and playing around with the
logo to try to come up with a color scheme. I am sincerely sorry for
offending everybody.
Holly ~
-----Original Message-----
From: Bob and Judy Holmes
[mailto:jbholmes@nwlink.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 8:11 PM
To: hollyjackson@comcast.net
Subject: Message Board
Hello Holly,
The GSAS board is concerned with the
potential consequences of any
unauthorized usage of the GSAS logo and/or
reference to the club. GSAS has
not sanctioned outside use of the GSAS logo
or reference to the club for
your Message Board.
Accordingly, GSAS requests that you please
delete any use of the GSAS logo,
and any reference to GSAS club, from your
message board.
Thank you for your cooperation in this
matter.
Bob Holmes, President
Great Seattle Aquarium Society
-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Rose
[mailto:rick-rose@comcast.net]
Sent: Thursday, April 08, 2004 9:46 PM
To: Holly
Cc: 'GSAS Board'
Subject: GSAS Message Board
Hi Holly,
I need to apologize to you for letting so
much time go by before sending you this message. I hope the delay will not
make the situation uncomfortable for you or anyone else that may have been
interested in the idea of a GSAS message board.
Late last year when you first threw out the
idea of putting up a GSAS message board, the board of directors discussed
your proposal and decided that GSAS would not pursue a message board at this
time. There are several reasons for this decision - not the least of which
is the potential liability given the recent law suits launched by the Pets
(with an 's') Warehouse rampage.
I was given the task of communicating this
decision to you on behalf of the Board and unfortunately, I allowed it to
slide onto the back burner. It seemed like the idea had fizzled out so I
didn't make the effort that I should have made to get the message to you.
We sincerely hope that it will not cause any hurt feelings, but we must ask
that you remove the GSAS Message Board from your website.
Thank you for understanding,
Rick Rose, GSAS Secretary/Historian
* New Meeting Location under consideration: Weter Hall on SPU Campus
o Instead of asking for a reprieve from the Seattle Aquarium, Bob will
write the text of a letter expressing a nice "Thank You for the many years
and good working relationship" that will be reviewed by the board on the
email list and printed onto the new letterhead by Rick for mailing. -
Outstanding
o Proposed Insurance Requirements: Comprehensive commercial general
liability not less than $3,000,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and
$1,000,000 per occurrence for property damage.
o Discussion of concerns raised from review of proposed contract
1) The $150 non-refundable deposit will be applied to
rental fees (first and last, or whatever, just as long as something is
specified.) [Applied to the rent]
2) There is no mention of the year-round cart storage;
that needs to be added.
3) II. A. - We need to be able to begin setting up no
later than 6:30 for a regular meeting, and earlier for Auctions and Holiday
parties. Clean-up often goes beyond 10:00pm. We need to be able to change
a meeting date with reasonable notification, or to cancel one completely for
a particular month without incurring any rental fee for a month in which we
did not use the facilities. In addition to Weter 202, we need to have it in
writing that we can, for auctions, parties, etc. use the commons area
outside the classroom at our discretion.
4) II. B. - "Standard Classroom Equipment" needs to
include the computer, projector, and screen that they have already promised
we could use. [Yes]
5) VIII - Publicity - this is a big one. We can
easily commit to following some guidelines, but we absolutely cannot be
required to provide them with an advance copy of any publicity that happens
to mention SPU as our meeting place. Number VIII needs to be deleted before
we sign.
6) III. or IX. 4. - We can not be required to contract
our Food Service through the University. I realize that this is a "generic"
contract, but these things need to be stipulated before we sign. Our snack
table, Pizza's for workers, and especially the Holiday Party are all food
that we must be allowed to bring in from the outside. [Delete]
7) IX. 5. - We need to delete this item. For example,
we need to be able to have someone like Steve L. show up at the Ad Konings
presentation with books to sell without having to get special permission
from SPU in advance.
8) XI. - We cannot be responsible to monitor,
maintain, and provide to SPU a "Parental Release" for unaccompanied minors
that can (and do) attend our meetings. This requirement needs to be deleted
before we sign.
* Home Show Recap - Our first home show in ten years was held on
Sunday March 28. A small team of "experts" went around to judge, photograph,
and videotape six members' aquariums. Look for the video at the June
meeting.
* Library Handout - Bob (Outstanding)
* Rick will email a copy of the Articles of Incorporation to Bob. -
Done
* Board Member Elections for 2004-2005 Club-Year - Rick (No Update)
* Bob will respond to an offer from Jungle Laboratories to list GSAS
on their "Societies List," free samples, etc. - (Outstanding)
New Business
* Newsletter Update
1. Victorea Earnest has expressed an interest in the newsletter editor
position - still undecided.
2. Rick will continue to produce pamphlet-style newsletters until the
editor position is filled.
3. Content...
* May will be our last regular meeting at the Seattle Aquarium - New
Location to be announced.
* Librarian wanted
* Upcoming Events
* Summer Picnic - August 14
* Sandu - Aqua-Tips
* New Members
* Commemorative Stamps (used) to Susan W. for the Audubon Society
* New Members since last meeting - Susan
* Tony Lennox
* Celestia Mayasleca
* Kevin Myers
* Fran Sanders
* Alfred Shiga
* Hiro Takahashi
* Stephanie Zimson
* Incorporation
1. It was moved and seconded to designate the Seattle Aquarium as the
beneficiary of GSAS assets upon dissolution - passed unanimously.
2. Bob will send the application for incorporation as a non-profit
organization.
3. Susan wrote out the check to cover the $30 application fee.
4. We should have our paperwork in one week.
* Librarian Chair Volunteer - Woody Loyko was endorsed by a unanimous
vote of the board. Florian Raymann also volunteered (after Woody) so we
should remember his interest should the need ever arise in the future.
* 2004 Summer Picnic
-----Original Message-----
From: Winchester, Cheryl
[mailto:Cheryl.Winchester@providence.org]
Sent: Monday, April 19, 2004 8:52 AM
To: 'Rick Rose'
Subject: RE: 2004 GSAS Picnic
Sorry I took so long to respond, Rick, we just returned from
a vacation.I would love to host the picnic again at our house, how about
August 14th?
Cheryl
* The board approved the purchase of a full ream (500 sheets) of
glossy brochure paper if it is still available on eBay. Rick will check.
Announcements for the next General Meeting
* Bob - Meeting Location Update
* Susan - June Meeting - Erik & Kathy Olson's Collection Trip Video
* Bob - Woody is the New Librarian
* Rick - Board Member Nominations Tonight and Elections in June
Low-Priority and On-going Issues
(The following issues which may or may not have been addressed above will
continue to be listed here until they are completely resolved.)
* Official Bylaws - Rick
1. Dave has obtained a copy of GPAS bylaws and passed them on to Rick
2. Erik has obtained a copy of AKA bylaws and passed them on to Rick
3. Erik found a copy of the GSAS bylaws, scanned them, and gave them to
Rick
4. Rick has produced an editable text file from the scanned images - a
copy given to each board member and one to June Olberding.
* Promotional Materials for GSAS - Rick
* Poster Boards (for Fish Stores) and GSAS fliers are still
outstanding.
* Business cards will be produced for all board members plus the
Newsletter Editor. All new board members and June agreed to have their
phone numbers and email addresses included on their card. Paul would like
his cell phone number (206-383-2910) used rather than his home phone.
* GSAS Fliers
* Standard GSAS Thank You cards - Done
* T-Shirts and Caps with GSAS logo
* New Member Application and Informational Brochure in time for
Auction
* A-Frame Sign(s)
* Historian Project(s) - Rick
* History of Philanthropy Projects
* Probe the minds of Clay, Dave, Bob, and Erik
* Look for old article (on the 30-years CD), written by Laurie Hess,
about the "Providence Tank"
* Committee Chair - "Job Descriptions" - Rick has no progress to
report.
* Discussion on a future Philanthropy Project - Clay
* Clay has asked Diane Elliot how Rich (a lawyer) would advise us to
proceed with regard to Liability Insurance - Waiting for an Answer.
* Meeting Activities for younger kids - Dave, Bob, and Rick (Tori
Craig)
1. Dave - coloring book update - gave a folder full of artwork to Rick.
2. Rick - pages for the coloring book that promote GSAS
3. Rick - Aquarium-related word searches, puzzles, mazes
* Sandu - a presentation to introduce his idea for an "Aquascaping
Award Program." Brief discussion highlights from last month's meeting are
as follows: - Moved to "Low Priority" items at Sandu's request. Sandu will
prepare a short "blurb" for the January Newsletter.
o Submissions/entries would be pictures
o Entrants should have the option of being/providing their-own
photographer or requesting that a "club photographer" (one person, to be
determined) take the pictures. This would alleviate the potential problem
of "blaming" a non-winning entry on "which photographer was assigned to take
their picture."
o The contest could accept entries during the entire club-year,
culminating in a slide presentation at the June meeting, at which time the
membership would judge the entries and vote for the winner(s).
o Sandu will asked if there is enough interest in this idea at the
last general meeting.
* The "show of hands" of those interested in receiving an electronic
version of the newsletter was positive at the December 2003 meeting. June
will continue to investigate on a low priority basis.
Next Board Meeting Location
The location of the next meeting will be at Sandu Simion's home. The date
will be Thursday, May 20, 2004, starting promptly at 6:30pm.
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