Re: [Killietalk] losing interest?

[Kate Breimayer <kate at munat_com>]

Is it possible the AKA might ever have a show on the west coast? I get 
one trip a year, if I was to go to the east coast it would be to visit 
friends I haven't seen in years, go to the Smithsonian or the Georgia 
Aquarium, see the fall colors in New England, New Orleans, snorkel the 
Florida Keys, visit NYC... there is no way I would be able to 
rationalize the con when I have never done these other things.  Course 
if you want to hold the next convention in New Orleans, Queens or the 
meeting rooms of the Georgia Aquarium I am totally down with that!

I think WCW attendance was down because previously we had an 
artificially high attendance as the local freshwater club was booming. 
Most never kept a killi and chatted through the lectures (and some 
didn't pay), but it was nice having them. Lately their club has suffered 
a lot of negativity such that people have speculated it won't survive, 
and the members don't have reason other than socialization to pay 20 
bucks to attend a killi show. Last year we had people fly in from other 
states as well who didn't show this year. Maybe they will make this a 
once in a while thing, I totally understand that, there are other clubs. 
Or the general economic downturn so many of us are experiencing is 
forcing cutbacks.

There was also some problem with it being a holiday of some sort. Don't 
remember if it was school or maybe a christian thing but it was 
definitely a family thing.  Auction and show fish numbers were also down 
which was sad, speculation was that people were sending to another show 
  but I think people just didn't like the 50/50 split. I think the show 
is very important. Don't like the split, don't auction the fish, I 
don't. The show is great for the newbies, it's how they first learn what 
the fish really look like instead of what they look like in the photos 
on aquabid! Oddly this year the gardneri went for more than a buck. All 
the fish sale prices were up but there were far fewer fish for sale.

Definitely lets spread out the shows over the year, and maybe at some 
point the AKA can have a show over here. And lets all try to avoid those 
holidays that make some members with kids unable to break free. Sad to 
see someone whose club for their one hobby has it's big yearly event and 
they can't leave the house because they have to feed the kids grilled 
meat at 4 or some other random tradition they can't break.
Kate


>>>For the record, I don't think that is why people are losing interest
>>>and, for that matter,  I'm not convinced that people are losing
>>>interest, in particular in the killie hobby as a part of the larger
>>>aquarium hobby. My feeling is that we are holding our own in comparison
>>>to other branches of the fresh water aquarium hobby. That is not to say
>>>that we should rest on our laurels. We should continue to expose people
>>>to killies as an interesting group and continue to do our best to
>>>recruit people to the hobby and the AKA. Personally I think that happens
>>>mostly at the grass roots level not because we do or don't post show
>>>results immediately. The grass roots level includes such things as
>>>trying to encourage local stores to keep some killies, talking to people
>>>in stores when the opportunity arises, being active in local aquarium
>>>societies and so on. In other words, it is the "work" of individual
>>>members that attracts people to the hobby.
>>>
>>>Barry
>>>
>>>Barry J. Cooper
>>>Sweet Home, OR 97386
>>>
>>>
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