Dear Aquarist,
October means that Fall is here and the goblins are coming, but so is the BAS Giant Auction! We had a fantastic auction of close to 250 items of livestock alone! We had A LOT of equipment, aquariums, lights, canopies, stands, filters, and much, much more. It was also a packed house with members and friends coming from far and wide to partake of our auction of products, fish and plants.
Our great auctioneers, Dennis Alestra and Bill Amely, rocked and socked the audience with a barrage of hard to find items that kept them coming back for more. Dennis Alestra (a professional auctioneer) even brought his high-tech stand and auctioneer equipment. Dennis also brought us fresh cakes, cookies and many more delectable items. He even donated a coffee maker and a pressure cooker to our raffle. Everyone had a great time and we must thank our great retail stores for donating livestock and equipment to make our auction a success.
Due to miscommunication listed in our Bulletin, we must extend our 2014 Photo Contest for another week. It will now officially end at Midnight, Sunday, October 19. There are 19 categories and fantastic prizes from our sponsors. Each prize has a minimum of a $100.00 value. I hope you entered so you can win some of the wonderful prizes our great sponsors donated. The winners will be announced at our Nov.14 event. Please read our Bulletin or go to our web site for all information regarding this contest.
The new Forum Questions & Answers started in October and runs through December. This contest will have 3 different time frames. October through December, January through March, and April through June. Let’s see who can ask and who can answer the most questions. Prizes are at the selection of the winners. We will have a winner for the most amount of questions and another winner for the most amount of answers. Please see our Bulletin or our BAS web site for more information.
Our November event will feature James Fatherree. James always has an interesting and educational presentation. His topic for the evening is entitled “Reef Basics.” You will also be able to purchase James Fatherree’s books “Super Simple Guide to Corals” and “Giant Clams in the Sea and the Aquarium” through our BAS web site. James will be happy to autograph them both for you.
As always, the meetings will be at the NY Aquarium Education Hall. Doors open at 7:30 PM. And, as always, there is Free Parking and Free Refreshments. Be alert to detours to Ed Hall during construction.
Please visit our new website where you can read the Bulletin and enjoy a full color Aquatica. The interactive forums and sponsor sections are truly remarkable. Provided you have given us your email address, you will be getting notifications of club events via email.
I am asking for your help and support. If you want to see different speakers or try different things, please let me know. The elected officials of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society are here to serve YOU! Please let us know what you want and why. It would be helpful to everyone.
It is important that you visit and patronize our sponsors. It goes full circle: by helping them, they are also helping you as hobbyists and everyone is helping the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, so help us, help you!
For more info, please call our BAS Hotline at (718) 837-4455.
On a more personal note – Any member who desires to attend a Board meeting, which are held at the Education Center of the New York Aquarium on the 1st Friday of the month, September through June, please notify me at (718) 238-1792 by the Tuesday previous to the meeting.
Joe Graffagnino
President