Dear Aquarist,
May, what a beautiful month! Not only does it bring flowers, but it brings our Giant Auction. What a great array of fine aquatic creatures donated by our members and friends! There were over 200 items at the auction and everyone left with great bargains. There were freshwater fish, marine fish, corals and plants, tanks, magazines and coupons from our sponsors. Our great auctioneers, Dennis Alestra and Bill Amely, took turns at the podium working up bag after bag and the many aquariums, to the attendees’ delight. Even former president Seth Kolker joined in to help out and give our regular auctioneers a breather. If you missed this event, you missed a spectacular evening.
June will be our final event of the season before we take a summer hiatus. To end our sessons on a very high note, we have Laura Birenbaum of the Long Island Aquarium & Exposition Center as our guest speaker. Her topic for the evening will be “Coral & Marine Inverts’ Tolerances for Dry Shipping.” For all you marine guys, this is a not to be missed event, especially if you were thinking of mailing a frag to a friend.
June’s auction is our promised 50/50 on livestock – fish, corals and plants only! If interested, please tell Marty when you bring your items in.
June is also election night, the time for all members to vote for your elected officials. Anyone wanting to run for an Officer or Board position must have been a member for 6 months. Please let me know what job or function you wish to be nominated for. Doors open at 7:30 PM. As always there is free parking and free refreshments.
We plan on having a photo contest starting in June. We have started a Yahoo Group called the Brooklyn Aquarium Society. We plan on having at least 16 categories for you to enter. Each member may enter 3 pictures of 6 Megapixel or greater in each category. Winners will be selected by our sponsors and members of the Board that have not entered the contest. This is still in the planning stages; however, the contest will run through the summer and the winners will be selected at our October event. Winners must be present to collect their prize. Stand by for more info which will be posted on our web site.
Don’t forget to enter our Forum contest. The winner of the most posts in our Forum wins $25. worth of BAS Bucks and second place wins $10. You must be in it to win it.
I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different subjects offered, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why. It would be helpful to everyone. It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle; by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!
On a more personal note – Any member who desires to attend a Board meeting (they are held at the Education Center of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month), please notify me at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.
Joe Graffagnino
President