Local Reef Clubs????

[drexel]

I guess we have to ask ourselves. What is the purpose of a reef club anymore? What do newbie reefers get out of it? What do experienced reefers get out of it? In the age of internet/social media and all of the information at the tip of your finger, is there a need for a reef club where people pay for memberships? And what does the membership dues even pay for if everyone are volunteers, are they just for door prizes and food/drinks to drive attendance? How do new leadership gets voted in?

If there are dues, then maybe they can go towards getting guest speakers, frag swaps, website, etc...but no one seems to be interested enough to show up to any meetings, which are hosted by two different LFS, so maybe it's just the area or people don't want to commit any time? I'm old school, so I like talking to people in person, seeing their tank(s), etc. Banking corals with trusted friends, sharing ideas, helping each other to be successful and actually creating a strong community that supports each other is my goal with being a club member. I know we share info here on this forum and other forums, but it's hard sifting through all the garbage and misinformation that's out there, especially for new reefers. I've seen veteran reefers who still believe in certain myths that have been busted countless times, so there's still a lot to learn. I love new technology, but I think we're losing ourselves a little by depending on technology too much, but that's just me I guess? Again, I'm the guy who still references books.
If people aren't into clubs these days, fine, for those of us who want to build a strong community, we'll just have to do it one reefer at a time.

 

[lazycouch]

if anyone knows of a club near long beach 90804 please let me know. been looking for some but most are 45mins-1hr out

 

[shootingstar_reef]

Free club. All byob lol


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This is the current setup, haha. I even bring snacks myself. Not sure how else to bribe folks

 

[dansyr]

Disclaimer, never been a part of reef clubs but have been member of hobby clubs (orchids). I would definitely be down to hang out with a local reef club, the main constraint is travel time I think, it seems there's not that much of a density of reefers (just guessing from forum tags) within ~20ish minute drive from me (pasadena).

For me a local club is irreplaceable for being able to share in interesting conversations, have local friends to bug when plumbing a reactor, do group buys etc are things kinda shaky to do off online-only groups.

 

[Jimbo327]

LOL. 20 minutes drive in LA traffic gets you like a few miles radius.

 

[dansyr]

LOL. 20 minutes drive in LA traffic gets you like a few miles radius.

i know.... as a relatively recent transplant to this area I still can't reconcile there being 13 million people here and yet everything is an hour away from any given spot

 

[drexel]

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[barretojesse93]

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Something about that guy creeps me the F out, not gonna lie…. Definitely going to watch it tho as it seems to pertain exactly what we’re talking about lol


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[pledosophy]

I volunteered with a club for 11 years. Everything from moderator to President. It was a bigger club, it took a lot of time. Unbelievable amount of time. For every hour I spent actually enjoying the club there was at least 10 hours spent doing dumb shit. Moderating forums is not fun, having vendors bitch at you is not fun, calling the cops because one of the people in the club moved a few thousand from the clubs account to their personal account and was holding it for ransom until their demand was met; that was still more fun than the site being hacked from some random in China and our admin accidentally deleting 6 years of back up files in trying to reboot the forum...

Man it was a shitty gig.

We did put on 500 or so events during that time. Every event I was ever at people came up and told me how it should be different, or we should do something bigger. Of course they didn't want to actually help do that.

It was not a great thing for many reasons.

Now there was a club I was in previous to that, that was fun. We met at a fish store once a week. Store bought a dozen donuts. That was it.

I do think for many things in this hobby having someone who knows what they are doing to come help out, or offer a hand just moving a larger tank etc, is a great thing; but so many of the organizers who have been around just got burned one to many times.

 

[pledosophy]

if anyone knows of a club near long beach 90804 please let me know. been looking for some but most are 45mins-1hr out

I'm over by CSULB. If you ever need a hand with anything let me know.

 

[lazycouch]

I'm over by CSULB. If you ever need a hand with anything let me know.

lets start a club! LOL

 

[dontavo27]

I mean I tried this, and as willing as the LFS are to support the community, the more difficult part is getting people to show up.

I keep trying to make it to one of your meetings,
But I usually work 6 days a week, and only take Sunday’s off. I ended up moving back to valley as of recent, maybe I’ll have a better chance at making it to the next one. I’ll PM you. I know other great reefers I can invite.

 

[pledosophy]

lets start a club! LOL

There are at least 5 LBC reefers out here. I've met 2 of them. Everyone is pretty great

 

[laverda]

Any club takes a minimum of probably 6 very dedicated volunteers to keep things active. Preferably more! Keeping a web site up to date is always a problem in the long run.
SCMAS used to be very active and one of the best Reef clubs in the country. It is nothing but a Zoom political meeting to get likes and freebies for one person now. The Zoom host will kick you out, if you say anyhing he does not agree with. Do discusion among the board or members about it, just like other very major decisions. Sadly, there is no real reason to go to the meetings any more.
I would love to see SCMAS and RC return to their glory days! I doubt either will happen.

 

[Tangerine Speedo]

Something about that guy creeps me the F out, not gonna lie…. Definitely going to watch it tho as it seems to pertain exactly what we’re talking about lol


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I am not going to lie... Than is kinda my idol. On the business end he does things right, Always looking at the big picture, the whole picture. He is not afraid to spend a bit more money to not to lose money later. That includes equipment and the welfare of his employees. That is not the current thinking of most modern business ideals that just want to maximize profits short term. Or as they say "F... tomorrow for a better today"

 

[five.five-six]

Any club takes a minimum of probably 6 very dedicated volunteers to keep things active. Preferably more! Keeping a web site up to date is always a problem in the long run.
SCMAS used to be very active and one of the best Reef clubs in the country. It is nothing but a Zoom political meeting to get likes and freebies for one person now. The Zoom host will kick you out, if you say anyhing he does not agree with. Do discusion among the board or members about it, just like other very major decisions. Sadly, there is no real reason to go to the meetings any more.
I would love to see SCMAS and RC return to their glory days! I doubt either will happen.

It’s sad, and admittedly I only really volunteered at the big event, but what was once a truly great institution has been reduced to a shell of it’s former self.

It was a great forum for newer reefers to tap into a wealth of experience and for older reefers to tap into renewing enthusiasm.

Those who know me know I work insane hours but once a month I would set all that aside for a night at ihop. It was really great to see old friends and have a night away from the hustle and bustle of life. I guess the ability to get drunk in your own home and a fist full of IG followers Trumps all that.

 

[barretojesse93]

It seems like most of the active users here are all pretty spread out too. I’m all up for helping however I can and being serious about it if anyone else is. I was in a car club once. It was fun. I don’t have experience in starting/running a club but I’m all for dedicating whatever resources I can spare.


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[drexel]

It’s sad, and admittedly I only really volunteered at the big event, but what was once a truly great institution has been reduced to a shell of it’s former self.

It was a great forum for newer reefers to tap into a wealth of experience and for older reefers to tap into renewing enthusiasm.

Those who know me know I work insane hours but once a month I would set all that aside for a night at ihop. It was really great to see old friends and have a night away from the hustle and bustle of life. I guess the ability to get drunk in your own home and a fist full of IG followers Trumps all that.

It's funny, but I tried to watch an episode/podcast with Shane Baker or whatever his last name is? And I couldn't watch but 20 minutes. He and his guest talked about social media for nearly a half hour and not much about actual reefing. Being me, I left an honest review comment about how I couldn't watch two reefers talk about getting more likes and views on social media. WTF? It's a whole new generation that really only wants attention. Ugh!

 

[five.five-six]

It's funny, but I tried to watch an episode/podcast with Shane Baker or whatever his last name is? And I couldn't watch but 20 minutes. He and his guest talked about social media for nearly a half hour and not much about actual reefing. Being me, I left an honest review comment about how I couldn't watch two reefers talk about getting more likes and views on social media. WTF? It's a whole new generation that really only wants attention. Ugh!

Well, likes and subscribes = free merch and $$ and a sensation of accomplishment. That combo is just too much for many people to resist.

 

[barretojesse93]

Well, likes and subscribes = free merch and $$ and a sensation of accomplishment. That combo is just too much for many people to resist.

And most of it done from the comfort of your home; what more could you want?


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