SDguy
Valuable Member
Lately, I, along with some of my fellow club members, have been feeling like there is some ambiguity, or confusion about various aspects of SDMAS. I thought this might be a good time to explain, to everyone, both club member and non-member alike, what SDMAS is, who the people are behind the scenes, what exactly we do, and how we do it.
What is SDMAS: The San Diego Marine Aquarium Society has been around, in one form or another, for many, many years. Up to 2007, however, activities had dwindled, and the club, for all intents and purposes, was no longer functioning. It was at that this time that a few people decided to revitalize the club. Victor, Jessica, and Jessy began the process by officially incorporating the organization. On April 23, 2008, the San Diego Marine Aquarium Society was incorporated as a non-profit organization with the specific purpose of education about coral propagation and the aquarium hobby in general. The next big step was to acquire federal tax exempt status. By this time, several others came to be on the Board of Directors (BOD - I know, such an official sounding name for a bunch of reef geeks
). Dave, Jon, Marlin, Shelly, and I rounded out the board, after Victor and his wife left the hobby. On June 10, 2009, we received 501(c)(4) status from the IRS.
Who we are: The club is run by the following people:
President: Jonathan Francis (Nahtanoj)
Vice President: Dave Morris (DaveMorris)
Treasurer: Peter Martis (SDguy)
Secretary: Shelly Anderson (Shells)
Board Member: Marlin Plank (H20poloman2)
Website Administrator: Jessica Gadling (treylane)
Board Member: Jessy Timko (Jessy)
Board Member: JT Milstead (JT_Milstead)
We are all 100% volunteers. We all have busy lives outside of this hobby and club. But we try to have the dedication necessary to fulfill our responsibilities to the club, and ultimately to you, our members. We often can’t all give 110% to what we do for the club, so we try to have some pick up the slack when others cannot. It isn’t always easy, but it’s a gratifying endeavor, in the end, when we get positive feedback from our members.
What we do: SDMAS holds monthly meetings, on the second Wednesday of each month, at 7:00pm. The meetings are 100% free to attend, and absolutely anyone can attend. You do not need to be a member, nor do you ever have to become a member, to attend our meetings. Meeting topics, and therefore locations, vary from month to month. The general focus of our meetings is education. From simple talks on lighting or water chemistry or coral pests, to more advanced topics like fish breeding and rare fish hybrids. We try to cater to everyone, since we know our members are a diverse group, in terms of experience and knowledge.
How we do it: Because SDMAS is a non-profit organization, we depend entirely on donations, fundraising activities like T-shirt sales, and membership fees to fund our activities. Every single penny the club brings in through memberships, raffles, and other donations goes straight into the SDMAS bank account. This money is ONLY used for club events. The BOD receives no monetary compensation for its time and effort. There has also been some confusion about bulletin board/forum memberships and how they relate to the club membership. While supporting your local or national bulletin board forums is great, none are related to the club membership. SDMAS is a non-profit organization, so 100% of all membership fees go right back into the club, to fund speakers and events for you, our members! The benefits of that membership are an added perk, like discounts at various local fish stores. Raffles are an equally important part of our income. Generous vendors either donate or discount merchandise for us, which we then are able to raffle off to you, our members. Again, every single piece of donated merchandise makes its way to our members.
Why we do it: This is a personal aspect of one’s involvement in the club. I can only speak for myself here. I feel that a marine aquarium society is a vital part of any aquarium community. As someone that started reefing during a time with no internet, and no local club, I had only a few magazines and books (mostly German) to go by for my reefing knowledge. I couldn’t even dream about a club, with so many members, bringing all sorts of knowledge and expertise to the group. I’m not naïve… I realize that just because two people keep marine aquariums doesn’t mean they will like each other, or get along. Heck, you should hear some of our “discussions†at our board meetings . I would hope the club environment would transcend this reality. Though rare, experience has shown me that this is not always the case. Thankfully, the positive feedback the club receives easily outshines such minor inconveniences.
What does this all mean for you: SDMAS is YOUR club. Sure, a bunch of us keep the cogs moving behind the curtain, but when all is said and done, without the support of you all, there is no SDMAS. We try to find interesting meeting topics and events, and meeting locations and suggestions. San Diego is a large county, and SDMAS would like to try and reach as many people as we can, without making the same folks drive long distances for our meetings each time So, if you'd like to offer up a meeting location, or have a suggestion for a site, please let us know! Also, feel free to tell us what else you want from SDMAS. And please, if you’d like to help beyond just being a paid member, let us know. Running a club takes time, effort, and dedication. We are always looking for individuals that are willing to commit to such an endeavor!
Recent Happenings: Just to give you all an idea of what you may have been missing out on, here are some recent activities SDMAS has brought to its members...
Speakers such as Joe Yaiullo (20,000 gallon reef), John Copps (rare angelfish), Bob Fenner (common aquarium species), Kevin Gaines (Sustainable Aquatics), Fernando Nostratpour (Birch Aquarium - Acropora spawning).
Raffles including products from Ecoxotic LEDs, Digital Aquatics controllers, Tunze, Marineland, Sunlight Supply, RedSea, Tetra and many many more!
Events such as our yearly summer BBQ (coming this June), Holiday Party, free trips to the Aquarium of the Pacific, and behind the scenes at Birch (also upcoming!).
What is SDMAS: The San Diego Marine Aquarium Society has been around, in one form or another, for many, many years. Up to 2007, however, activities had dwindled, and the club, for all intents and purposes, was no longer functioning. It was at that this time that a few people decided to revitalize the club. Victor, Jessica, and Jessy began the process by officially incorporating the organization. On April 23, 2008, the San Diego Marine Aquarium Society was incorporated as a non-profit organization with the specific purpose of education about coral propagation and the aquarium hobby in general. The next big step was to acquire federal tax exempt status. By this time, several others came to be on the Board of Directors (BOD - I know, such an official sounding name for a bunch of reef geeks
). Dave, Jon, Marlin, Shelly, and I rounded out the board, after Victor and his wife left the hobby. On June 10, 2009, we received 501(c)(4) status from the IRS.Who we are: The club is run by the following people:
President: Jonathan Francis (Nahtanoj)
Vice President: Dave Morris (DaveMorris)
Treasurer: Peter Martis (SDguy)
Secretary: Shelly Anderson (Shells)
Board Member: Marlin Plank (H20poloman2)
Website Administrator: Jessica Gadling (treylane)
Board Member: Jessy Timko (Jessy)
Board Member: JT Milstead (JT_Milstead)
We are all 100% volunteers. We all have busy lives outside of this hobby and club. But we try to have the dedication necessary to fulfill our responsibilities to the club, and ultimately to you, our members. We often can’t all give 110% to what we do for the club, so we try to have some pick up the slack when others cannot. It isn’t always easy, but it’s a gratifying endeavor, in the end, when we get positive feedback from our members.
What we do: SDMAS holds monthly meetings, on the second Wednesday of each month, at 7:00pm. The meetings are 100% free to attend, and absolutely anyone can attend. You do not need to be a member, nor do you ever have to become a member, to attend our meetings. Meeting topics, and therefore locations, vary from month to month. The general focus of our meetings is education. From simple talks on lighting or water chemistry or coral pests, to more advanced topics like fish breeding and rare fish hybrids. We try to cater to everyone, since we know our members are a diverse group, in terms of experience and knowledge.
How we do it: Because SDMAS is a non-profit organization, we depend entirely on donations, fundraising activities like T-shirt sales, and membership fees to fund our activities. Every single penny the club brings in through memberships, raffles, and other donations goes straight into the SDMAS bank account. This money is ONLY used for club events. The BOD receives no monetary compensation for its time and effort. There has also been some confusion about bulletin board/forum memberships and how they relate to the club membership. While supporting your local or national bulletin board forums is great, none are related to the club membership. SDMAS is a non-profit organization, so 100% of all membership fees go right back into the club, to fund speakers and events for you, our members! The benefits of that membership are an added perk, like discounts at various local fish stores. Raffles are an equally important part of our income. Generous vendors either donate or discount merchandise for us, which we then are able to raffle off to you, our members. Again, every single piece of donated merchandise makes its way to our members.
Why we do it: This is a personal aspect of one’s involvement in the club. I can only speak for myself here. I feel that a marine aquarium society is a vital part of any aquarium community. As someone that started reefing during a time with no internet, and no local club, I had only a few magazines and books (mostly German) to go by for my reefing knowledge. I couldn’t even dream about a club, with so many members, bringing all sorts of knowledge and expertise to the group. I’m not naïve… I realize that just because two people keep marine aquariums doesn’t mean they will like each other, or get along. Heck, you should hear some of our “discussions†at our board meetings
. I would hope the club environment would transcend this reality. Though rare, experience has shown me that this is not always the case. Thankfully, the positive feedback the club receives easily outshines such minor inconveniences.What does this all mean for you: SDMAS is YOUR club. Sure, a bunch of us keep the cogs moving behind the curtain, but when all is said and done, without the support of you all, there is no SDMAS. We try to find interesting meeting topics and events, and meeting locations and suggestions. San Diego is a large county, and SDMAS would like to try and reach as many people as we can, without making the same folks drive long distances for our meetings each time
So, if you'd like to offer up a meeting location, or have a suggestion for a site, please let us know! Also, feel free to tell us what else you want from SDMAS. And please, if you’d like to help beyond just being a paid member, let us know. Running a club takes time, effort, and dedication. We are always looking for individuals that are willing to commit to such an endeavor!Recent Happenings: Just to give you all an idea of what you may have been missing out on, here are some recent activities SDMAS has brought to its members...
Speakers such as Joe Yaiullo (20,000 gallon reef), John Copps (rare angelfish), Bob Fenner (common aquarium species), Kevin Gaines (Sustainable Aquatics), Fernando Nostratpour (Birch Aquarium - Acropora spawning).
Raffles including products from Ecoxotic LEDs, Digital Aquatics controllers, Tunze, Marineland, Sunlight Supply, RedSea, Tetra and many many more!
Events such as our yearly summer BBQ (coming this June), Holiday Party, free trips to the Aquarium of the Pacific, and behind the scenes at Birch (also upcoming!).
