Whats keeping you from becoming a supporting member?

Has a welcome wagon been considered? When a new member joins and it is feasible and the person is okay with it maybe three or so members could go meet the new person to welcome them. A face to face interaction makes a pretty big impression and it lets them know the club is real and members are active. It also tells the new person they are valued by the club because members took time out of their own lives to go say hello in person. We could also give the new person some donated frags from club members and some swag with the club logo on it like the stickers or something.
 
chemaholic said:
I completely agree about the meet ups. I hope there will be some in the coming year.
Click to expand...
Why not have monthly meetings in people's houses? The person hosting the meeting gets a free frag from somebody. There's a door prize raffle and maybe other donated items that raffle tickets could be sold for. Could even do a food sign up list. A lot of people in the club have different skills, somebody could host a meeting and do a small class on a topic. I'm in Barrow County making it to Atlanta for the meetings isn't really worth it to me

Sent from my LM-K500 using Tapatalk

Maybe a better way to put it, is I would be more inclined to go to someone's house and see their setup and hang out and eat some food, then go to an office building in Atlanta
 
myvwrock said:
Why not have monthly meetings in people's houses? The person hosting the meeting gets a free frag from somebody. There's a door prize raffle and maybe other donated items that raffle tickets could be sold for. Could even do a food sign up list. A lot of people in the club have different skills, somebody could host a meeting and do a small class on a topic. I'm in Barrow County making it to Atlanta for the meetings isn't really worth it to me

Sent from my LM-K500 using Tapatalk

Maybe a better way to put it, is I would be more inclined to go to someone's house and see their setup and hang out and eat some food, then go to an office building in Atlanta
Click to expand...

that could be kind of tough to do when we have 30 to 50 people showing up. Having more interactive meetings where there might be how to do workshops and hands-on stuff could pull more people in.
 
dball711 said:
that could be kind of tough to do when we have 30 to 50 people showing up. Having more interactive meetings where there might be how to do workshops and hands-on stuff could pull more people in.
Click to expand...
My new home finishing up. My man cave shop should fit 20 easy. Red Bull fridge and beer. Will have tanks and cars. I’d host if I get to pick and choose attendees :)
 
Been sporadically watching this play out with mainly chuckles to be honest.

If BBQ and seeing people’s set ups is on the table, I’m down! As someone previously said, I’m sure there is more to this than meets the eye, but I haven’t gone that deep.

I interact with this site and forums probably an hour a week. Is it worth one dollar for that interaction every week for a group of like minded folks I will not find elsewhere? I think so. Have I gotten free stuff for it? Nope- wait a minute, I did win a $50 gift card at the one of the two swaps I’ve been to, so half my cost is covered for the last two years since joining.

There are free sites out there that don’t add the value that I think a lot of the club VOLUNTEERS offer, so thanks to you guys for that. Has any of my time here been wasted by no shows/ late shows/ dry goods not represented properly? Yes. Is there a better, well organized option for someone like me that likes to look for deals and appreciates seeing what other local folks are doing better than me? Absolutely not. I think a group salt buy being put together will save me next year’s dues plus some.

I’ll pay my 2023 dues early if the club needs it. Discounts for supporting folks who are involved enough to fork up 1/3 a hammer coral cost for a years worth of interaction seems pretty fair to me. Let’s call that my 3 cents. 2 cents with a tip for the mods.
 
ecoreefguy said:
I run sweatshops. If they can work, I’ll pay YOU ;)
Click to expand...

They are the combo of two people with ADHD, how much we talking?

Thinking on it a bit, I think things like a monthly group buy type thing with each vendor. Big salt buy, sure. Deals for tangs at one LFS, Anthias at another, food deals for the next, deal for RODI stuff, Clean up crews and so on. Work with the sponsors, it would give members a good deal on supplies and fish and it would increase traffic to the sponsor hosting. There are enough to do one a month easily and get them on rotation.

Get togethers and educational meet ups are great but not something I personally would be interested in. Especially since most learning is done on youtube or the forum. But people who arnt hermits would probably be into that.

Start doing tank of the month, or quarter. Maybe host a BBQ at the winners house to let people see it and see how it works.

I like the idea of a welcome wagon, you setting up a tank we can help get it right. I also like the idea of an emergency contact register if youre out of town. Someone close by can be on call if you have an issue. I dont think this should be a "volunteer" thing but at least get expenses paid by the club. If you have an emergency you pay a fee for the service either to the club or the person who helped. The club could sponsor maintenance services for schools or people who have been injured. Stuff like that would actually help the community.

Want me to pay dues? Act like a union and get me some benefits.
 
enderg60 said:
Thinking on it a bit, I think things like a monthly group buy type thing with each vendor. Big salt buy, sure. Deals for tangs at one LFS, Anthias at another, food deals for the next, deal for RODI stuff, Clean up crews and so on. Work with the sponsors, it would give members a good deal on supplies and fish and it would increase traffic to the sponsor hosting. There are enough to do one a month easily and get them on rotation.


Start doing tank of the month, or quarter. Maybe host a BBQ at the winners house to let people see it and see how it works.
Click to expand...
 
I see some really good suggestions here however having meetings at member homes is a concern as a former officer of the club.

I believe we had a membership committee or chairperson. If this is still in effect the chairperson needs to step up and get busy. If not the BoD should consider appointing one/them.
 
dball711 said:
I see some really good suggestions here however having meetings at member homes is a concern as a former officer of the club.

I believe we had a membership committee or chairperson. If this is still in effect the chairperson needs to step up and get busy. If not the BoD should consider appointing one/them.
Click to expand...
@dball711 , can we add your name to list of people interested in reforming a membership committee?
 
I agree with @dball711, good ideas and discussion. I would like to add that the club is financially stable and is still one of the larger clubs of it's kind in our hobby, so don't worry about paying dues in advance ;). If you see value in ARC like I do, then consider supporting ARC through the supporting member option. Membership is our primary way of raising funds and it's related to our status as a non-profit social club. Some people have reasons for not being supporting members, we can still learn from each other and talk about our common interests. Active participation and engagement in ARC is important, for example the membership committee Dave mentioned. If people are interested in participating in that, please let the officers know.
 
Fwiw,
Years ago, we used to do a tour of tanks in various parts of metro Atlanta. Going to a few ARC members homes that volunteered to host members on a Saturday morning. It was a fun way to see how other people do things, get ideas and see some really beautiful systems!

Obviously, COVID has put a big dent in all things related to group activity. However, it would be nice to see that come back at some point. This club has always thrived on the social aspects, we just had to give a lot of that up lately.
 
I joined mainly for the ability to edit my occasional 1am posts that look as though they were composed by a drunken 5th grader. I don't see much value in it but I'm also a bit of a different type of hobbyist than some. I sort of attacked my stocking process pretty quick and got it done fast so there isn't really a point to doing frag swaps or meet ups. I enjoy giving, and receiving, advice on a more local level than the (inter)national board(s). I think this being more local and you could very well be trolling on a future cowork, boss, employee, or friend of a friend, it keeps discussions more polite.

Sort of a long way to say I'm not sure what value being a supporting member brings, even though I am one myself. I hope if I do jump into a 210g upgrade the green tag suckers some of you into helping me out, and some day I hope to have free time the same time that Doberman can swing by and do some par readings.

Business registry is a great idea. I became my own boss back in April, would love to do business with and for fellow reefers though backlog is 6 weeks out already as is. This isn't really the cheapest hobby in the world, I'm sure there are quite a few network minded individuals lurking around.
 
ichthyoid said:
Fwiw,
Years ago, we used to do a tour of tanks in various parts of metro Atlanta. Going to a few ARC members homes that volunteered to host members on a Saturday morning. It was a fun way to see how other people do things, get ideas and see some really beautiful systems!

Obviously, COVID has put a big dent in all things related to group activity. However, it would be nice to see that come back at some point. This club has always thrived on the social aspects, we just had to give a lot of that up lately.
Click to expand...
I was about to post something like this. Do a tour of tanks like people do a tour of homes. Gives people a chance to show off their tanks and gives people on the tour a chance to see how others do things.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

L
Intro and questions
Replies
2
Views
221
ecoreefguy
ecoreefguy
siege
What do you do when you go out of town?
Replies
19
Views
222
ecoreefguy
ecoreefguy
siege
Reef knowledge refresh: if you knew then what you knew now...
2
Replies
21
Views
299
siege
siege
FinParadiseAquaticsLLC
Let talk anemones....
Replies
13
Views
376
FinParadiseAquaticsLLC
FinParadiseAquaticsLLC
ecoreefguy
New Non Supporting Member Contest
Replies
17
Views
2K
ecoreefguy
ecoreefguy
Back
Top