Gauging interest: Starting another Chicago area reef club
- Thread starter BigKev23
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Joe5688
Active member
I hosted a frag swap/bbq at my house and it was a huge success. Anyone who came will agree with me. We had a number vendors who donate, cr donated, and even one of the vendors came and hung out and had donations! We had more giveaways then we had people.
So it is possible. But it's going to be about who's willing to step up and take charge of things. I volunteer myself as a helper and I have a certain individual in mine for who should be the speaker/leader. He helped me host the bbq/swap at my house and is a major part on CR
So it is possible. But it's going to be about who's willing to step up and take charge of things. I volunteer myself as a helper and I have a certain individual in mine for who should be the speaker/leader. He helped me host the bbq/swap at my house and is a major part on CR
Joe5688
Active member
FishBeard
New member
My point is just that you are throwing more fodder on the pile for the sake of controversy. You want to claim no one reached out to LSA, like the club was the ones breaking ties when in reality i did spend quite a bit of effort to make contact, including asking you directly if you could have Mike get back to me. A simple call back to tell me sorry not interested would have sufficed. We received nothing of the sort. The call a few days before the event was a last ditch attempt to reach out to LSA, since they made absolutely no effort on their part to get back to me when planning began. I hold no "official" position at the club, im simply a commercial liaison volunteer. A regular member like the 400something other members, but I stepped up to donate my time to the club to help make it better for everyone, in return I have to sit back and read snide, rude, and many times completely inaccurate accusations against the club. Sorry, but I cant help to take it personally sometimes, show me a thread where CMAS posted announcement or updates for an event, where someone didn't come in and drop a big old mess in the middle of it. No one wants to see that BS.
Maybe people dont realize that the lack of participation only leaves a handful of people who are actually getting things done. A VAST MAJORITY of the work done for this next frag swap was taken care of by a regular old nobody member of the club who stepped up, shut up, and worked his a$$ off, asking for help when he needed it, and did the best job he could do so the community could come together saturday. This the first public event being held with the new Board of Directors and member volunteers working together, and people can do nothing but complain about one thing after another. First the raffle, then the minimal entry fee to afford a larger venue everyone will be glad to have, then the FREE raffle tickets to try and make a peace offering for having a small fee to get in. What next? People are going to complain their favorite vendor or hobbyist didnt get the best spot at the swap?
Yea, the meetings are boring, its a BUSINESS, anyone thats been stuck in a minutes meeting at their work will know exactly how draining those are, they suck, but they need to be done so the fun stuff like LFS events or Frag shows can be organized and properly funded. How about instead of ANOTHER local club, those that CMAS would be home to simply step up and be about it instead of b1tching about it. Join a committee, work on a project for the club, help plan the next show, whatever you are good at, volunteer to help do that. We can get a private Shedd tour going, or a group trip to somewhere cool like Divers Den or Inland Aquatics, whatever.
Maybe it is time for the staff here to push the idea about having an online presence (CR) and a physical presence (CMAS) which are both already well rooted in the community, and get these groups to work together, they can easily remain separate, but united. Garage BBQ down and dirty meetups are fun, for a handful of people. What about the other several hundred people in the area that cant come because the event cant handle the capacity? I know that CMAS has tried to work on this before and was shown resistance by the owner of CR, but perhaps time to just get it done and cut the drama. We could have one H3LL of a local community this way. Another club isnt the answer, making the one we already have better is. This frag swap is the FIRST major event under new management, and the BoD has been very flexible to let those of us that want to help do so. Dwelling on the past and how things used to be done is not going to give anyone the benefit of doubt now as those of us helping the club try to make it better for everyone.
FishBeard
New member
So show up, volunteer, and help change things if you don't like how it is. Im not saying CMAS "HAS" to be the only option, and its already been stated that its not. My point is you and others are so quick to point a finger, but fail to actually do anything to help change it. If you offered to join a committee and put your time into the club, do you really think someone is going to tell you to go get bent?
What I AM saying is that the club is already there and established, so take advantage of whats already available. Theres more than enough room for the old dogs and the new "growing group" of people to all make CMAS better if they don't like what they see. But DONT p1ss and moan that the BoD doesn't change anything when they are legally following the bylaws of the club. People wanted a new board for the club, the bylaws required a certain attendance at club meetings/events/etc... to be eligible. You cant cry foul that the club did anything wrong by not bending to the demands of a few individuals that wanted open nominations for all members, doing so WOULD have been a breach of the bylaws. Its not hard to make yourself eligible to run for a position in the club if you really want it. Honestly, if you showed interest in the club and put the effort in, I would be happy to vote for you if you ran. Its all about the hobby, it doesn't need to be a pissing match every week.
Herbie
Banned
CR is pretty well rooted without having to give up anything. I, for one, do not intend to allow CR's relationship with any entity to impact the freedom of CR to do what is best for the reefers.
FishBeard
New member
You cut out part of what I said, but thanks for quoting me out of context.
Maybe it is time for the staff here to push the idea about having an online presence (CR) and a physical presence (CMAS) which are both already well rooted in the community, and get these groups to work together, they can easily remain separate, but united.
Herbie
Banned
I think my point was clear.
FishBeard
New member
Sorry, but I dont think you had a point, just stirring the pot is all.
KeishaKornbread
Banned
kratos1028
Active member
Its okay, we have Walt's popcorn. lol
Herbie
Banned
I think this is a thread about people wanting to form a new club. I'm pretty sure you're stirring the pot since the OP did not ask for anyone to defend CMAS. I've been consistently supportive of CMAS and optimistic that the relationship will improve (were all of my posts on this thread pot stirring?). My response to your post was to point out that there will be no limitation confining CR's activities to the virtual environment. That has always been and will continue to be a non-starter. If that was not what you were suggesting, my apologies and I await your clarification. However; this thread is not a negotiation between CR and CMAS. It is a member expressing a desire for change. I hope we can all continue the conversation without any more accusations or name calling. (Yes, I think saying "you are all pi$$ing and moaning" and accusations of laziness borders on name calling.)
Jep21
Well-known member
I thnk it's best to not affiliate with CMAS if we are going in the direction of starting a new group..
Though some ppl like/a member/follow cmas there are also ppl who feel the exact opposite...
It's better to get a fresh start a new face.. Better leadership and more community support
Joe5688
Active member
i think all the cmas fighting needs to stop. George there's no need to stick up for them. I still dont get it. Are u a rep from Cmas or are u just a member? Why do u always have to fight for them. Where are the actual CMAS people fighting their own battles.
Lets keep this to what this thread was intended for. Obviously there is some butthurt about cmas/cr but who cares. It's been years since anything has had any conflict.
Lets keep this to what this thread was intended for. Obviously there is some butthurt about cmas/cr but who cares. It's been years since anything has had any conflict.
BigKev23
Active member
Please start a new thread to fight any battles.... that is not what this thread is intended for.
Jep21
Well-known member
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