President’s Message – March 2011

Dear Aquarist,

March winds came and blew in Richard Ross from the California Steinhart Aquarium. Richard gave a very interesting talk on a rare subject with an elusive compulsive – octopuses!  I never knew how many varieties of octopus there are around the world. Rich also spoke on other interesting and unique creatures such as cuttlefish. His talk kept the audience on the edge of their seats. It was very entertaining. His talk brought in many members from other clubs as well, such as Greater City in Queens, and Nassau County Aquarium Society and several members of Manhattan Reefers. A great turnout for a great guy.

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Next month we will have Leslie Harris as our guest speaker. Leslie will also be coming from California and her topic is on marine aquariums entitled “Life Styles of the Wet & Spineless.”  Come on over and meet with Leslie and have an entertaining and educational time with us on April 8 at 7:30 PM.  As always, there is free parking and free refreshments.

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By the time you receive this Bulletin, the new website (www.basny.org) will be up and running. You will automatically be directed there if you “dial up” the old URL.  We have put a lot of effort and hard work into this endeavor. We want your feedback as to how you like it. Please get back to me on this.

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I guess nobody is missing the Bulletin and Aquatica being mailed to them. With over 300 members, only 7 people told me they wanted to continue receiving them in the mail. WOW — aren’t we in the computer age! Bernard, our Webmaster, will be running both sites for a few months until people are familiar with the new site. The interactive forums and sponsor sections are truly enjoyable. Also, you will be getting notifications of club events via email.

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I hope that many of you have gone to and enjoyed the Northeast Council Convention in Cromwell, CT at the end of March. As you know, the NEC has selected the Brooklyn Aquarium Society’s theme of “100 Years of Advancements In The Hobby.” We had our booth there and entertained the audience and convention members with antique aquariums, books and stories. We sold our latest T-shirt there with John Todaro’s winning design of the 1911 old logo with new logo and 2011 under that. Being the oldest club in the United States is something that we are very proud of and it’s something that you should be proud of also.

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What is our next venture, you ask? Well, that ‘s easy!  Our Birthday Party is set for July 8 starting at 7:00PM at the NY Aquarium. We will have a Bar B Q style food set-up, a sea lion show, pretzel, popcorn and ice cream carts, dancing under the stars, the complete new and vastly remodeled aquarium to ourselves and don’t forget the fireworks – after all we do have something to celebrate. Invitations are literally in the mail, so please send in your acceptance no later than May 15.

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I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different speakers or try different things 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!

Joe Graffagnino
President

 

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