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Why I want to run for President - ecam

ecam

President
Staff member
Board of Directors
NJRC Member
Moderator
Sorry for this long post.... You can thank @JeremyBrito too. but i really feel strongly about this!!!!


I started reefing over 10 years. I was completely loss and was using tap water in my saltwater system. On the verge of quitting, I visited Aquatic obsessions and Will mentioned NJ Reefers. I decided to join and see what I could learn. Here is my journey:


I remember going to @HerbieK and learning about flow. I’m talking 6-8 big a** Tunzes pointed all over the tank at full speed. And I also remember asking Herbie what frag was that in his tank which basically meant give me a frag or shall I say a colony of that which was removed with a screwdriver and a hammer!!!


I remember going to Paul’s house (@redfishbluefish) and sitting in his backyard as we cooked up baking soda for ALK and Driveway heat for Calcium. Now for a boy from the South Bronx, this is not a new skill but the use was…. I’ll leave it at that J


I remember going to @mnat and his wife’s house to get a free BRS reactor and leaving with 2 boxes of misc. fish stuff. I also later got my 57 gallons Oceanic that was an awesome tank from them.


@Hockeynut in all is red-neck glory taught me carpentry and how to do so many things. I’m glad to call that guy my friend!!!!


@kevin, oh man I know he regrets ever selling me that TEK5 LIGHT @ TROP, He taught me about making stands and has built so much stuff for me I lost track. But I still remember that man driving up from Brigantine for 2 months straight to finish my stand (over 2 hours). He only knew me for 3-4 months!!!!


@Sunny, his tank is awesome and the dude can mix a Bacardi and Pepsi like no other!!!!


@Raffleking, although I hated his luck, Him and Terri showed me how to make fresh fish food and have always been great people to know.

@jose7878 lent me and the family a generator in the aftermath of hurricane sandy!!!

Guys… this is my experience with the club this is the NJ Reefers I know… I don’t know the club we have now but I do know we have to get back to this time….


No one cared about swaps and for sale forums… Sh*t the swap was basically @ @HerbieK!!!!


I don’t want to sing Cumbaya but you get where I’m going. The club is fractured and we need to get back to these moments which has left these indelible marks on me and has grown my friend circle so much with awesome and genuine people who no matter reef or personal will be there for you!!!!


I’ve spoken to a few of the old guard and they feel neglected and unappreciated for their efforts in building the club and I also see the new folks that want to trail blaze and take the club to new hieghts!!! We need to create a synergy between these two energies and use it to reach new heights but we can’t do it at the expense of the old guards or the new folks we need both!!!!


As for credentials, I have a strong business and financial acumen. I want to use these skills to strengthen the club from the inside. So, we can increase our meetings, add value to our vendors and strengthen our presence in New Jersey!!!!
 
Got my vote too Edwin, I’ve been lucky to meet everyone you’ve mentioned plus others not only really good fellow reefers but really nice people too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

njtiger24 aquariums

Officer Emeritus
Article Contributor
Sorry for this long post.... You can thank @JeremyBrito too. but i really feel strongly about this!!!!


I started reefing over 10 years. I was completely loss and was using tap water in my saltwater system. On the verge of quitting, I visited Aquatic obsessions and Will mentioned NJ Reefers. I decided to join and see what I could learn. Here is my journey:


I remember going to @HerbieK and learning about flow. I’m talking 6-8 big a** Tunzes pointed all over the tank at full speed. And I also remember asking Herbie what frag was that in his tank which basically meant give me a frag or shall I say a colony of that which was removed with a screwdriver and a hammer!!!


I remember going to Paul’s house (@redfishbluefish) and sitting in his backyard as we cooked up baking soda for ALK and Driveway heat for Calcium. Now for a boy from the South Bronx, this is not a new skill but the use was…. I’ll leave it at that J


I remember going to @mnat and his wife’s house to get a free BRS reactor and leaving with 2 boxes of misc. fish stuff. I also later got my 57 gallons Oceanic that was an awesome tank from them.


@Hockeynut in all is red-neck glory taught me carpentry and how to do so many things. I’m glad to call that guy my friend!!!!


@kevin, oh man I know he regrets ever selling me that TEK5 LIGHT @ TROP, He taught me about making stands and has built so much stuff for me I lost track. But I still remember that man driving up from Brigantine for 2 months straight to finish my stand (over 2 hours). He only knew me for 3-4 months!!!!


@Sunny, his tank is awesome and the dude can mix a Bacardi and Pepsi like no other!!!!


@Raffleking, although I hated his luck, Him and Terri showed me how to make fresh fish food and have always been great people to know.

@jose7878 lent me and the family a generator in the aftermath of hurricane sandy!!!

Guys… this is my experience with the club this is the NJ Reefers I know… I don’t know the club we have now but I do know we have to get back to this time….


No one cared about swaps and for sale forums… Sh*t the swap was basically @ @HerbieK!!!!


I don’t want to sing Cumbaya but you get where I’m going. The club is fractured and we need to get back to these moments which has left these indelible marks on me and has grown my friend circle so much with awesome and genuine people who no matter reef or personal will be there for you!!!!


I’ve spoken to a few of the old guard and they feel neglected and unappreciated for their efforts in building the club and I also see the new folks that want to trail blaze and take the club to new hieghts!!! We need to create a synergy between these two energies and use it to reach new heights but we can’t do it at the expense of the old guards or the new folks we need both!!!!


As for credentials, I have a strong business and financial acumen. I want to use these skills to strengthen the club from the inside. So, we can increase our meetings, add value to our vendors and strengthen our presence in New Jersey!!!!


First off great write up and I have meet many of those same folks and had the same type of encounter with them (I will save more of that for my write up lol). The one thing is I feel odd about is where you say some of the old guard feel neglected and unappreciated. I hope I have not made anyone feel that way and if I did I do sorry. I have always tried to listen to the 'old guard' and take in what they had to say. Good luck in the race
 

Sunny

NJRC Member
Article Contributor
First off great write up and I have meet many of those same folks and had the same type of encounter with them (I will save more of that for my write up lol). The one thing is I feel odd about is where you say some of the old guard feel neglected and unappreciated. I hope I have not made anyone feel that way and if I did I do sorry. I have always tried to listen to the 'old guard' and take in what they had to say. Good luck in the race

@njtiger24 aquariums, why do you think it is you? I honestly believe you have done a lot for the club and that to selflessly. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.
 

ecam

President
Staff member
Board of Directors
NJRC Member
Moderator
+1. This comment is not directed at anyone. It’s a sentiment I’ve picked up on and needs to be fixed. There is no need to point fingers or even be concerned on how the problem came about. We can just fix it and move on.
 
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ecam

President
Staff member
Board of Directors
NJRC Member
Moderator
If you were to become President of the club what would be the first 3 things you would change? Or what would be the first 3 things that you would prioritize in effort to change?

Honestly. I wouldn’t make this my agenda by pretending to assume I know everything that is needed to be fixed.

The first thing I would do is setup a survey or even a Q&A. Where everyone can chime in and list their wants and needs or gripes. Once this is done I would review with BOD and group them into common themes. I will then place it on site for voting to figure out how to proceed.

One take away I did have from the previous years is that the base felt disillusioned because all decisions were coming in from the top with no interaction from the community. The last 2 regimes have done well in incorporating the base again and I want to continue this momentum.

Please let me know your thoughts.
 
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I like that you would like to get the community involved, but I also feel (as well as you and this community) that there has been a massive drop in activity within the forum and meetings. What would you do to try to bring back awareness of the club and get people to be more involved?
 

ecam

President
Staff member
Board of Directors
NJRC Member
Moderator
I like that you would like to get the community involved, but I also feel (as well as you and this community) that there has been a massive drop in activity within the forum and meetings. What would you do to try to bring back awareness of the club and get people to be more involved?


The massive drop in attendance and interest is highly concerning. The first thing I would do to try and fix this is to find out from the memberships what is the hesitation to attend meetings etc. The other thing I want to focus on is getting an inventory of all the Saltwater shops in Jersey. I would lean heavily on the DALs to gather this information, then I would strategically ID and recruit a few of them in the club if not already or re-affirm the relationship. For the upcoming year I would focus on having the monthly meets in various vendor stores to not only promote the club but to add value to the vendors...

I think this is a win win. If we come out in droves to these vendor events it would incentive them to offer better discounts... Better discounts would lead to better turnout etc.....
 
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