Looking For Plant Aquarists In Miami Broward For Club

JJ I know you're excited, but here's the problem I see:

i told you i'd be interested in being part of the club, but i have no intention, nor time, to be a coordinator for it. you set it up it, you run, and you tell me to be at a certain place at a certain time, and i'll be there...but setting up the logistics for it, i just can't, and i'm sure others dont have the time either.

so what i think you should do, is you make all the decisions, find the place, the time and just get it going. then people will go or not. does GCAS allow us to choose when and where we meet? no, they decided it and if you like it you go, if you dont you stay home. that way you'll have some members and a club, rather than a bunch of people online giving you excuses...

all i ask is you don't make the meetings be in south beach. i dont mind driving around for meetings, but parking in south beach is a PITA all the time, and costs too much money...and did i say it's a BIG PITA...i only go to south beach on the bus:shock::der:

Hi everyone! Sorry about my late reply.

Unfortunately, South Florida has not been a good location for aquatic plant hobbyists. It's ironic because Florida produces much of the industry's supply of ornamental aquatic plants. We have many excellent farms/growers/wholesalers in the area.

I tried to unite a few members several years ago without much success. I suppose it was too informal and people were simply not that interested.

With the continued growth of the hobby and online resources, perhaps it's worth it to try again. However, I would like to throw in a few suggestions.

First, for any club to survive the critical first years, it must be created by a very dedicated and hard-working core. It can't be one person but it doesn't need to be many. This is the heart of the club that will keep the blood flowing during the initial inertia of getting members interested.

The AGA did this when they revived their group in the 90s. Without that core of dedicated members like Niel Frank, it would never get to where it is now.

Second, the club needs to have a formal structure. This means a governing core, bylaws or rules, scheduled meetings and (today) a website. Membership dues are always a plus because it makes people put skin in the game but you need to have a management team able to legally/appropriately deal with the money and how it's spent.

Lastly, the club must bring some value to the members. Simply sharing plants is not enough. We all will get to a point where we don't need more plants. What am I getting if I'm a member that I don't get if I'm not? Why should I go through the pain of going to meetings?

I don't mean to put down your efforts so far. And, in fact, if you want a formal get together, by all means go for it. I just wanted to give you some thoughts on my experience on the subject.