Volunteers for Catfish Convention?

[sherrymitchell]

Hi Guys, I'm just home from the four day Catfish Convention and I have to say those two little nano tanks were really talked about! I'm so glad you put them on display. We have some of the most artistic people in GWAPA and those tanks were worth a thousand words (or flyers, lol)..... Impressive! I even heard one guy offered to buy the tank right off the table! (Hmmm, an auction idea??? Pre-grown, planted nano tanks???) Well done! I had a few people show up when I was manning the GWAPA table from 4-6:00 pm on Saturday..... There was high interest in the club from the people I talked to and I passed out a few cards and info sheets. Several people asked about Mark's little mini-nano snifter gardens too. They're ideal for growing on a windowsill and people were intrigued.

I really loved your glossy fact sheets on the club, catfish for the planted tank, and the business cards. Terrific Ideas!!!! That glossy stock was really sharp. Great job Jen.

The auction was well attended and there were more plants than fish, it seemed. Bidding was fairly high on most everything, with early bidding on some of the rare plecos going as high as $180 a pair. Wow! I came away with java moss, thin leaf java fern, anubia coffifolia, dwarf lilies and dwarf anubia for my little nano tank. Nothing rare, but good for me none-the-less.

Rob, it was nice to sit and chat with you in the club room. Again, congratulations on a job well done everyone!

[DonkeyFish]

I'm going to second Sherry... I think that our club was received amazingly well at the convention. Those who came by the table really were genuinely interested and asked lots of questions. I can only attribute it to having the live tanks there on display. Whoever had that idea should get a big cookie for sure! (LOL, just scrolled back and it was Sherry who first said something!) Seriously though, for a crowd of only semi-likely folks I do think we made quite an impact.

And all I can say about my contribution was that it was my pleasure. It's nice to be able to give something back after all I feel like I've gained from this group! What an incredible resource of knowledge, and absolute unjudging support! It's no wonder our numbers are expanding so rapidly!

Thanks from me as well to everyone who helped man the table, organize, plan, attend, whatever. Rob should get a second nod for stepping up and trying to help organize at the last minute too. GO GWAPA!

[fredyk]

thanks for the display where I could advertise the nanos for sale

the large vase with lid sold for $40 and another small goblet (not in picture) with hairgrass for $5
http://gwapa.org/forum/uploads/ssc_0476_101.jpg

just need more advertising to popularize the concept!

also Francine and Michael Hill were talking about photography. that was nice.

[sherrymitchell]

You know, I'm just thinking out loud here, but I'd love to see a category for planted tanks in a future PVAS show. Those little nano tanks would be ideal to transport and set up for a mini planted tank show...... Would you all enter tiny tanks in a PVAS show next year if we had a category for them???? Typically, the PVAS fall show is after GWAPA has its nano competition, so I could see it transferring. What say you all?

[fredyk]

I only took a few pictures.

[krisw]

Sherry, I guess you never know unless you try. GWAPA found that you get more submissions if it's a photo contest, instead of having to physically transport the tank. The reason being that it's awfully hard to time the perfect scape for a particular day. Beyond that, there's no guarantee that it will transport well. If you allow photos, then you let the entrant submit a picture of their tank at it's best.

Mark, nice pictures! Thanks for sharing!

[sherrymitchell]

Kris, I understand about submitting photos, but the real thing is so extraordinary --- so much more impact than a picture. It's just an idea. I figure others probably have nanos in good shape since the GWAPA contest ended in October, so that's why I suggested actually having the real tanks in the show. We can talk more about it later. Next show isn't for a year, thankfully, LOL.

[krisw]

Sherry, I agree with you. I'm not trying to shoot down your idea, I'm just sharing our experience. As I mentioned, you never know until you try, so I'd definitely support that.

[Aaron]

Notice I'm sporting my new GWAPA swag in the photo.

[Ltrepeter2000]

There were a few clubs that approached us on Saturday at the table interested in talks about aquascaping and a more in depth presentation of the one we did at the workshop on Friday. We gave them the GWAPA business card and asked that they contact the board for coordination of our most qualified members.