Frag Fest was fun but how can we make it better? I don't know if we can make it more appealing, 3 corals for that price is hard to beat. I'm sure we can improve it though. John
I had a great time and am glad I went! The only thing I might see that could make it better would to maybe speak more. I know many are old hats but quite a few are still learning, myself included, and either hitting specific topics or just more general discussion about corals and their placement and care or types of corals that play well with others and proper tank placement ... maybe identifying hitchhikers or dealing with algae outbreaks and how you got through it ... and it doesn't just have to be you but everyone chime in when appropriate to keep the conversation moving along. There was a lot of small talk, which was nice, but some big group discussion would be enjoyable for me. I loved the drawings, fellowship amongst new friends, delicious food, and gorgeous corals! Oh, maybe we could also have more of an unofficial frag trade. Everyone who is able bring a few frags to swap and share. I brought monti caps this time but could work on something else for next time. I know many just have a few frags they are working with but I'm fortunate to have a full tank to work with! I think that would be fun and float more frags around!
The fragshop events are so hectic that we often don't have the time to do a good job with that Christi. We've talked about doing it at regular meetings which is a great time to do it. We(the board) probably haven't done a very good job at organizing that....and I apologize for that. I'll start a discussion among the other board members about how we can do better at that! We did even have a list of topics a few months ago that we could begin with.
I'm sorry, I guess I was having ideas for meetings in general. Since this was only my second meeting, I don't have a lot of experience to go on! I don't think frag fest was completely disorganized.. just maybe a little slow in places. It was nice though! I had a great time! I just know a few folks were ready to go by the end before the auction. (Which I'm guessing didn't happen..) Maybe we could set up an online auction sometime? I know some groups and FB groups do stuff like that. Just a thought. And maybe some of the conversation or swapping could go on while the corals are being fragged up. Or during the meal.. I'm just thinking to fill the "stand around and chat" time with something informative. And I don't know when the next one is but maybe we can delegate topics to some of the more knowledgeable members or anyone that wants to research and share.. really just brain storming. I don't think all of the work should be put on you guys. Those of us that attend can help make it a very interactive and learning event as well.
Agree, we just need to have one person responsible for organizing the talks. Different folks have different areas of interest and espertise. We should have someone who could speak to most topics. It will be much better at regular meetings when there aren't several different things going on at the same time. Doing it during the meal is a great idea!
I feel bad bad for not being able to speak more at these events but I am limited on time. I have a lot of work to do fragging the coral. While I am doing that I have no idea what is going on away from the frag table. I attended a meeting in LA last year. It was held at a store and it have me some ideas for our events. I'm planning on talking to Vanessa about it.
I loved the talk John gave about the corals he was fragging. I usually spend a lot of time hanging near people that I know are successful in the hobby just eavesdropping (rude?) on their conversations about their tanks, learning things. I would happily listen to Q&A from lots of our members. Anything from that topic list we talked about before to whatever else a speaker might want to discuss, I'm all for it!
Absolutely! We appreciate the input. I'll be posting a thread soon to outline our plans and seek input on discussion topics.
But I don't necessarily feel that it's broken.. just ideas to be even better in the future! Almost everything can be improved but it doesn't mean that it was bad to begin with!
