President’s Message – February 2011

Dear Aquarist,

Happy Birthday Brooklyn Aquarium Society! February 14 is our birthday when we turn 100 years old. We had a great time at our birthday party with a beautiful fish birthday cake. We had horns, kazoos, birthday hats, balloons and as our birthday present to you the members new or renewal membership for the same price as it cost in 1911. With one year membership at the regular price of $20 (or $25 for family membership) for an additional $3.00 dollars you get another year.

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To help us kick off our next hundred years we had Christine Williams as our guest speaker. Christine’s topic for the evening was “When Aquariums Attack”.  Christine pointed out the very serious problems and consequences of not being prepared if you get stung, bit or having an open wound that can cause infections. No matter how minor the cut, abrasion, sting or puncture wound it may appear, preventive medicine is always the best remedy. Christine mentioned and described how seemingly harmless an unfortunate accident may be aquarists have lost limbs and in some cases have died because of them. Safety comes first! It was a great presentation and I’m sure we will all start using water proof gloves the next time we clean or feed our aquarium pets.

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I haven’t received any complaints regarding the on line BAS Bulletin and Aquatica. I must assume that you enjoy the full color Aquatica and can still get your information from the Bulletin via the Internet. We brought many Bulletins to the meeting, but only a few were taken so I guess the email notification with the link is working and your content with this new method to present our news and articles  to you. Our new web site should be up as you are reading this. 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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March winds bring many things our way and it is really blowing hard for our next speaker. Richard Ross is coming in from California to present us with a truly memorable event. Richard is the aquatic biologist at the Steinhart Aquarium. He is also an author and much desired speaker. Richard’s topic for the evening is “Cephalopods: Is There An Octopus In Your Future?” So come on down and meet with us on March 11 at 7:30 PM.  As always there is free parking and free refreshments.

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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!

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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, please notify me at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.

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Joe Graffagnino
President