President’s Message – June 2014

Dear Aquarist,

June was our final event of the year and we really ended it with a huge BANG! Our guest speaker was Chuck Davis. Chuck’s topic for the evening was “Gizmos, Gadgets & Other Good Ideas.” Chuck returned to Brooklyn after a long absence – the last time Chuck gave a presentation to our Society was in 1991 (23 years ago). It was great to have him back. Several members from the North Jersey Aquarium Society joined Chuck at our meeting. As always, Chuck’s presentation was educational while also being hysterically funny. Chuck poked fun at many of our members during his Power Point show to great amusement. Chuck demonstrated how little household objects can be converted into useful aquatic contraptions and inexpensive, easy methods to change potential recyclable objects into filters, fry hatcheries and many other useful fishy items.

We had our annual elections and the majority of the Board kept their positions. A significant change was that Charles Stein had to step down because of health issues. Charles had been on the Board, in multiple positions, for over 20 years. Most of you remember Charles and Ruth as the charming couple selling shirts and books for us.

We are happy to add David Manuel to our Board as a Board member. He has been helping out as a volunteer for several months and has proven to be hard working and dedicated. David also has helped promote our Facebook pages with fantastic results.

Several of us went to the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Burlington, VT Aquarium Society, sharing the bus trip with the North Jersey AS people; members of the Jersey Shore and Lancaster, PA AS clubs joined us on the trip. We all had a great time. David and Janine Banks put on a wonderful weekend of events for fish and for non-fish people, which included a dinner cruise around Lake Champlain. Presenters such as Eric Bodrock and Rachel O’Leary gave informative talks that all enjoyed.

We had such a good time on the trip we want to do it again. We are contemplating going to the Catfish Convention in Herndon, VA on Friday, Oct. 17, returning on Sunday, Oct. 19. Guest speakers include Hans Evers, Editor-In-Chief of Amazonas magazine, Julian Dignall, PlanetCatfish.com, Ian Fuller and many more.

Also we are looking into attending, by bus, the Ohio Cichlid Association’s 20 Years of Cichlids and Catfish. Presenters will be Ad Konings, Wayne Leibel and many others, from Nov. 21- 23, 2014.

Anyone interested in going on either trip, please let me know. You must register for the hotels and convention registration. Cost for the bus depends on number of attendees.

We will take our needed rest, closing down for July and August. When we return on September 12, we shall have Greg Sullivan as our guest speaker. Greg’s topic for the evening will be “Saltwater For The Squeamish.” As always, the meetings will be at the NY Aquarium Education Hall. Doors open at 7:30 PM. And, as always, there is Free Parking and Free Refreshments.

Please visit our new website where you can read the Bulletin and enjoy a full color Aquatica. The interactive forums and sponsor sections are truly enjoyable. Provided you have given us your email address, you will be getting notifications of club events via email.

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!

For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455.

On a more personal note – Any member who desires to attend a Board meeting, which are held at the Education Center of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, September through June, please notify me at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.

 

Joe Graffagnino
President