Enriching OVAS ~ Ideas & Volunteers

[Pamelajo]

How about a Purchase Membership button in every forum.

How about a special priced internet membership for distant members who can not take advantage of the benefits your club has to offer.

[mseguin]

Just a few notes:

- We had been working on implementing a "member's version" of the minutes for some time. Basically, point form of what happened at the meeting, minus any in camera items and the "he said, she said" that Sue referred to. We just need to work our way around a few obstacles, like making it accessible to member's only, and with no secretary right now, it was a bit much for anyone else to tackle. I don't think the treasurer's report needs to be included, its given at the end of the season.

- Anyone is free to come to an exec meeting as long as decent notification is given to myself or the secretary. Strangely though, the only time most people seem interested in coming is when they start hearing rumors. Interesting, no? As for a public place, we are trying to save the club money, and very few city facilities have rates that low, trust us.

- The newsletter will be published on the site shortly. Trina (our newsletter chair) can clarify that further.

- As for the forum ideas, I'm all for adding content, and definitely in favor of you guys getting involved.

[Nerine]

I have to disagree with the exec meetings being held at a paid place...There isn't a HUGE number of execs, they are held at their homes, I think it's better that way.  No public place.

I'd love to help with forum content! Even if someone has something they want to put up, I can proof-read and spell check and fix any errors!

I am all for the journals on the tanks and would participate.

Now remember people....talk is one thing, action is another. Don't be all talk and no action!!! Many people will be severely disappointed in you if you say you'll commit and then back out!! Quitting brings bad karma...  I hope everyone who has suggested things and have volunteered will actually follow through....I know I will follow through!

[dan2x38]

Now remember people....talk is one thing, action is another. Don't be all talk and no action!!! Many people will be severely disappointed in you if you say you'll commit and then back out!! Quitting brings bad karma...  I hope everyone who has suggested things and have volunteered will actually follow through....I know I will follow through!

You said it sister...

[Anja]

Just repeating it here, so it's all collected in one place:

* If it's technically impossible to implement a restriction on cf postings before old ones have been cleaned up, how about an automatic delete of posts that are older than ...? (1 week, 1 month, sth like that?)

* I really liked the idea of workshops for members.

* An 'ask the expert' section on the website for members.

* I would make it easier to pay. Don't make people search for the
membership section, put a button in the header that shows up on every
page that reads "Support your club - buy your membership now". That
button should be clickable and take you directly to the OVAS store.

* A "donate to the website" button for people who don't have $20 (it
happens), with a little donation halo appearing on their profile for a
month or a year?.

* Users can give other users points or credit for helpful answers. Include non-members and hold out a membership card as a reward for
so many points to encourage people to post more than just classifieds.

> OVAS news letter

I started in the hobby barely a year ago, so wouldn't trust myself to
write an expert article, but I can certainly contribute something like a
squib/gloss/comment now and then, sth. funny, sth. I learned the hard
way, sth I read in the news or some such like? If that would be wanted?

[dan2x38]

How about like in Readers Digest, 'Humour in Uniform'? But have it Hunour in Aquria. I have some funny or ridicules stories. Open to all... Get ppl. reading & posting.

Babblefish use to do some workshops. You need someone to do them. I know Mila was always on hand. I went they were were great learned a heep. Got to have experts in the field. I think there was also a DIY lighting? Maybe a frag workshop for the salties?

[RoxyDog]

* I would make it easier to pay. Don't make people search for the
membership section, put a button in the header that shows up on every
page that reads "Support your club - buy your membership now". That
button should be clickable and take you directly to the OVAS store.

> OVAS news letter

For these two in particular I have an answer right now: Pierre and I are discussing adding a banner up @ the top to make it easier to purchase memberships.  And we do have a newletter, Trina is working on how to get them online without taking up too much space (this was previously in the works I think).

Dan, you can put funny stories in the Lounge, or if fish related in FW or SW forums.  Post your little heart out. 
Jody (Babblefish) was a wealth of information and very handy in the fish world.  I don't know if there's anyone around to do workshops?  That is something he chose to do himself, as in OVAS didn't set those up.  So anyone who knows a thing or two about *something* can go right ahead and do one no problemo.   I think if OVAS did one it'd be @ a meeting.

[Hookup]

Dan, et All;
  I'll take some funny stories for the Hot-Threads of the Month section!  Just to add some spice to it, and I'm sure Trina would love some "clean" /wink jokes for the news letter.

[dan2x38]

RoxyDog in the Lounge non-members couldn't add any funny stories? Just talking about a forum for everyone to add such quips...

[Fishnut]

Here's the idea that I had in the last thread:

Perhaps introduce some kind of fun learning system where paid members can work towards achieving experience status within the club...kind of like the AHAP and BAP.  As an idea, we could have games and/or tests that people can take if they want to participate.  In order to achieve certain expertise...for lack of a better word..., a number of points has to be achieved in that category.  Once the points has been reached, that person will be awarded with a certificate and a prize at a meeting for their accomplishment as a "skillful OVAS cichlid keeper" (for example) and get a new little icon in the star line on the web page.  If someone achieves this certificate in all categories, then we can make up a very special name for that accomplishment, give a certificate, maybe a bigger prize and make a big deal about it at the meeting.  This is just a raw idea because something like this would sure keep me interested in being a member, not to mention promote fish related learning!

I don't have tones of time to implement it and promote it though.

[bamboofish]

Hi Guys & Girls,

I've been promoting meeting dates and speaker info in the newspaper for the last year or so. It's been somewhat successful. The "home calendar" listing ended last fall but is back, so I will continue listing meetings. to get the word out to potential new members.

My concern is that, I always list the web-site for people to go to for more info.
But when you get to our home page, the meeting info is not visible. Yes there is the banner mentioning the new venue, with a click to the map, but no where to advertise the subject of the meeting, to entice new members.
I was wondering, is there too much stuff on the home page?
The two most prominent things are the "legal disclaimer" and the "welcome to" box, and no easy way to find info on upcoming meetings. Could those things not go into the 'articles/info on the side column?

Keep in mind I am looking at this from the view of someone who is new to OVAS, and is looking for info to find out quickly what is happening each month.
I understand how regular members (who BTW seem very techy) might not notice this, as they are regularly visiting the site and may know where to find the info.
If you were to go to our home page as a newcomer right now, can anyone tell me where you would get info on the meetings?
Right now it is buried in a post in 'OVAS club discussions", very hard to find.

I think for any club or society web-site, meeting info should be prominently placed, since getting new members to meetings is the best way to encourage them.
We should always mention -monthly mini auctions- in there as well, since this would also attract a lot of people.
Please have a look at some other clubs' sites I help promote, the meeting info is a prominent tab on the homepage with quick access.

ovrghs.ca  & ottawaorchidsociety.com

Maybe we could also put more info on the calendar and a link, as well as just the meeting date. Do we really need to post members birthdays (isn't this a bit corny? just my opinion)

Now don't get me wrong, WE DO HAVE A GREAT WEB-SITE,
I just think it's important that any web sites should be viewed regularly, from a non member or newcomer point of view, to notice the changes that could improve them.

Also I believe there was discussion about having more members attending exec meetings.
Why not have them immediately before or after monthly meetings at Delude, rather than at exec homes. This might help the membership feel more included and volunteer if they want to attend and observe, instead of at someone's home.

thanks,
Rich

[Nerine]

Just a note about exec meetings before/after the general meetings...Sometimes before there is a dinner with the guest speaker, and well our meetings run a tad late so after...would mean people wouldn't be going home till after midnight depending on how long an exec meeting runs! esp if an auction runs long!!

[washefuzzy]

Just a note about exec meetings before/after the general meetings...Sometimes before there is a dinner with the guest speaker, and well our meetings run a tad late so after...would mean people wouldn't be going home till after midnight depending on how long an exec meeting runs! esp if an auction runs long!!

10 p.m. is late enough for me!! Exec meetings can last 2 to 3 hours.

[dan2x38]

I agree the mini auction should be promoted more on our website. It should draw people to come out and see what it is all about.

* how about a mini auction for SW one month and FW the alternate month? Or encourage more SW hobbists to bring items. Since the nature of items is more expensive have higher min. bid of course. This would encourage salties come mix it up with us FW hobbists. Or a SW mini auction every 3 or 6 months instead of the FW.

[fischkopp]

I second Bambofish: we really should reorganize the website a little, highlighting new/updates more on the first page and maybe reorganize the article/info section as well. Interesting, the article section allows a lot more formating than the forum, could this not be used for the "my tank section"?

Auctions:
I would suggest to break the tradition of monthly mini-auctions, instead we could have two bigger auctions. There are lots of reasons to for getting rid of the mini-auctions: in short I would say that most of the time the outcome doesnt justify the organizational effort involved, for all: club, seller and buyer. There are only few, mostly common, items and the audience is small, not comparable to a big auction -  always the same crowd so to speak. As as result, many items sell at a low price or not at all, seller unhappy, and club too: an item sold at $2 isn't much of a fundraiser. On the other hand, sellers know that already, so they will stick to their items until the big auction. Hence we will see even less things on a mini auction. Two big auctions on the other hand will certainly find a bigger audience. Yes, we will have to organize a second event, but we will save a lot of time during monthly meetings in my opinion. I don't think that most people show up because of the auction, it's the presentation and the social part that draws them there.

Swap event:
I would even go a step further and try something new: a swap event! Now this could be fun: imagine if we could bring in some local breeders and even some from far away. The salties can setup their frag tanks. We might be able to get fishies/plants/frags into town that are rare and hence only traded within hobbyists. The trade is person-to-person, the club provides the location/organization at takes a table and entrence fee. The seller gets what he wants, the buyer has more variety, and the club is just watching in the background after taking care of the organization. We may even motivate some LFS and sponsors to show up. Yes, no one here has done it yet. But I think that an event like this could be very well successful.

[dan2x38]

FischKopp nice ideas how about the swap meet idea in Sept. we could combine the membership drive with it since BA won't let us set-up there any more. Also after the long summer break there are no meetings for 3 months there would be a lot of interest. Then leave the the Giant auction as is nice winter break for cabin fever.

Maybe have mini auctions every 2nd month. I just enjoy them they are a lot of fun. Even if it only raises a few bucks it covers the cookies... but not how many I eat! 

[garnpet]

I would suggest to break the tradition of monthly mini-auctions, instead we could have two bigger auctions. There are lots of reasons to for getting rid of the mini-auctions: in short I would say that most of the time the outcome doesnt justify the organizational effort involved, for all: club, seller and buyer. There are only few, mostly common, items and the audience is small, not comparable to a big auction -  always the same crowd so to speak. As as result, many items sell at a low price or not at all, seller unhappy, and club too: an item sold at $2 isn't much of a fundraiser. On the other hand, sellers know that already, so they will stick to their items until the big auction. Hence we will see even less things on a mini auction. Two big auctions on the other hand will certainly find a bigger audience. Yes, we will have to organize a second event, but we will save a lot of time during monthly meetings in my opinion. I don't think that most people show up because of the auction, it's the presentation and the social part that draws them there.

Some thoughts on this...

1.  Yes, typically the mini-auctions do not bring in a lot of money to the club, unless there are a handful of 100% donations to the club.  However, what is the purpose of the mini-auction?  Is it a revenue generator or it is a way for OVAS members to give back to the community and help out fellow fish freaks?  I would argue that the average person bringing in a couple bags of Val to the auction is not planning on getting rich, but really just wants to help out the OVAS community - and perhaps get a bit of money to offset their own purchases.

2.  Over the past couple of years the number of items at the mini-auctions have pretty well remained consistent.  People will hold onto items until the giant auction for a better auction crowd, but for some items that is impossible.  Back to the Val example - if you prune a tank in September it's pretty hard to hold onto the extra plants until a giant auction comes along.

3.  I would think again about the thought that two big auctions will find a bigger audience.  Montreal traditionally has two large auctions a year.  From all accounts from the people that went to the last one, the size has drastically shrunk over the years.

4.  Lately I have given some thought to the every other month mini-auction so that we could expand our speaker presentation.  The November speaker was a good example.  Someone who was interesting and had a lot to say.  It was unfortunate that he had to wrap up before he was done - perhaps giving the whole evening over to the presentation every once in awhile would allow us to get more into depth on some topics.  (Plus I wouldn't mind just going to a meeting and not working).

Some good thoughts in these threads.

[mseguin]

Just to add to what garnpet said, don't forget, if things aren't sold at auctions, more will be sold in our classifieds, which people were already saying were too cluttered.

[charlie]

Just to add to what garnpet said, don't forget, if things aren't sold at auctions, more will be sold in our classifieds, which people were already saying were too cluttered.

Which can bring up another point of view - why bring it to the auction & have to pay a percentage to the club as a support, when i can sell it on the classifieds with a much larger target audience without paying a percentage or for that matter not be a member.

[Hookup]

cause auctions bring the possibilty of two or more poeple bidding on your item and getting more $$ than selling it in the classifieds, and secondly, the auction is interacting with real-people, having fun...  would be my thoughts anyhow.