WWM Speaker Program  11/14/05
Pick a crew member from the "Meet The Crew" page and a topic and ask them to speak by writing the WWM FAQ page and address the question directly to them by name. If the details work out and they have the time and you have the money you have a speaker. The club pays for all the transportation, housing and meals. WWM will reimburse each club once per year $100 to assist with the transportation costs. Crew members seem to be all over the country so I am sure there is one in and around your area. If you have a topic in mind then propose the topic in a question and see if a crew member will respond.-Chuck

WetWebMedia Speaker Program 07/01/05
Hi to the Crew, As I was browsing WWM today I saw the WWM speaker program page (
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/WWMAdminSubWebIndex/spkrprogfaqs.htm
<http://www.wetwebmedia.com/WWMAdminSubWebIndex/spkrprogfaqs.htm> ).  Since
I had just been talking speakers with other members of the Boston Aquarium
Society board, my eyes lit up ! But I couldn't tell when the page had been
written, other than that it was after Chuck Rambo came on board WWM.
Is the program up and running ?
< Yes it is up and running. The way it works is that you contact one of the crew members you are interested in speaking. You work out the details such as the topic, dates, times, and transportation. The host club will be responsible for reasonable speaker expenses. At the end of the speaking engagement WWM with reimburse the host club $100 to partially cover the transportation costs.>
I had spoken to Bob last year at MACNA (I was the guy from "the other Boston
club") about possibly coming here sometime (possibly timed around a visit to
family in the northeast).  I've also exchanged emails with Anthony about
having him up here (and promising to make it more fun than his last visit to
Boston), but we'd be interested in other speakers as well.
As a universal aquarium club (not just reef or killies or cichlids etc) we
like to have speakers on a variety of topics, so I suspect that there are a
large number of people associated with WWM who would be a good fit for us
(and allow us to use our normal room, rather than renting out Fenway Park
for fans of Bob/Anthony ! ).I'm interested in any info you can provide.
Rich Paulhus Treasurer Boston Aquarium Society
< Go to Marineland.com and check out Dr. Tim's library for the details for the Marineland speaker's program. The American Cichlid Association also has a speaker program similar to the WWM program . They can be found at cichlid.org.-Chuck>

WWM Speaker Program Discussion 7/4/05
Hi Chuck, Thanks for the quick reply!
Is there a list of speakers and topics someplace ?
< No not really. Go the WWM Crew Bio Page and view the listed crew members. There you can get some idea of the members areas of expertise. You will have to contact them through the WWM website and inquire about topics and availability.>
Thank you also for the Marineland\ACA referral - we actually had Wayne
Leibel up here last month, and could have used either Marineland or ACA for
his visit - we went with Marineland because I believe that means we can
still get one more Marineland speaker (and one ACA speaker) this year.
< The way the programs work, including WWM, is that each club can use one speaker once each calendar year. So if you have used Wayne as your Marineland speaker then you are not able to use the Marineland speaker program until 2006. ACA and WWM will still be available. So between the three organizations you can get three programs partially funded per year.>
And of course Wayne is an awesome speaker !
< You are preaching to the choir. I am one of Wayne's biggest fans and consider him a very close and dear friend.>
One of the things that drew me to WWM as a source of speakers was the
prospect of finding someone to cover something besides cichlids (we get
quite a few cichlid speakers, and are hoping to schedule another ACA speaker
as well) - ideally I'd like to find somebody for some of the "unsung" fishes
like livebearers, tetras, barbs, etc - for some reason there seem to be more
killifish, rainbowfish, and cichlid (especially dwarf) speakers in our
"rolodex".
< For tetras/barbs use Randy Carey from Minnesota. For livebearers get Mike Schadle out of the Chicago area. Both are on the Marineland list. Lots of good saltwater people on the WWM crew. I would use the American Cichlid Association's program for cichlids.>
Not that I have anything against cichlids - I'd love to have a cichlid
speaker every month - but we need to keep a speaker program that balances
the needs of experienced fishkeepers and new members, as well as the various
fish families.
< I totally understand. Good Luck.-Chuck> Rich Paulhus, Treasurer, Boston Aquarium Society

WWM speakers bureau
Dear Mr. Fenner
My name is Schuyler Sloane (Mr. Sky) I am the president and founder
of The Northeast Philadelphia Aquarium Society. I am looking for
aquarium speakers in our area. and have only found a few different
listings available. Do you have a list of local people that will speak
at aquarium club meetings?
We are only a few years old and do not have the funds needed to fly in
some of the more distant speaker (but at the rate we are growing we
may be able to soon)
Your site wet web media is great and I plan on visiting it on a regular basis.
Hope You don't mind if you occasionally get e-mails from me as I am
always looking for ideas on how to improve my club and the hobby in
general.
Tanks a lot!
<There are a few of us here who have given such presentations, and others who definitely should. Chuck Rambo has undertaken to improve these arrangements, so will cc him, and post to WWM, ask the Crew to chime in, state whether they will travel, speak, and on what general topics. Bob Fenner>

WWM speakers... will you?
Dear Crew,
Last year I brought up the topic of the WWM starting our own WWM Speakers Program. It was lightly discussed and then there were a number of things going on. It appeared that we were losing crew members, then a lack of responses by crew members who were short on time, and then third was a lack of sponsorship on the WWM page. My feeling was that many times a club books a speaker up to 12 months in advance. Being somewhat new to WWM it appeared that many crew members barely had time to answer questions let alone take on a speaking engagement. Then there was the question of financially sponsoring the program. If you look at the site there are many spaces available for sponsorship. A couple weeks ago while visiting Bob we discussed the program and he is still very much for it and he would take care of the financial sponsorship. I volunteered to take care of the speaker coordination. Here are the breakdowns to my proposal. Crew Members, If you are interested in participating in the speakers program then I would recommend that you update your Bio on the WWM page to include your topics for presentations. The media your topics are in and the general area that you live in. For example;
Chuck Rambo, San Francisco Bay Area Blah. Blah, Blah.................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................
WWM Speaker Topics/Media 1) Cichlids From Lake Tanganyika ( Slides or PowerPoint) 2) Cichlids From Lake Malawi (Slide or PowerPoint) 3) Cichlids from Lake Victoria/Cichlid Conservation (Slides) Clubs need to contact the speaker desired directly to check on availability. That could be handled through the WWM website with a simple subject line of " Question for ..." . If the speaker and the club have worked out an acceptable arrangement then the club or the speaker can make the arrangements for the travel. Once the speaker has arrived then it is the responsibility of the club to make sure that the speaker is cared for and their expenses are reimbursed.  After the meeting then the club should send the receipt for the travel to me and I will send it to Bob. Bob will send $100 back to the club to partially sponsor. Each club is allowed $100 per calendar year. They can use as many WWM speakers as they want. It just means that WWM financial responsibility will be limited to $100 per club. For the time being we will limit it to 10 presentations per year for the entire program. Discussion Currently this is the way the American Cichlid Association with Marineland have run their program for the last 10 years or so. They have never exceeded 10 talks per year. The $100 is really not that much but it does help small clubs. I only know a couple of the "crew" personally and am only a name on a list to most of you, but if you have any feed back or ideas then I would like to hear from you to make this a win-win program for both the clubs and the speakers. Thanks -Chuck Re: WWM speakers... will you?

Re: WWM speakers... will you?
Anthony Calfo  wrote:
Schuyler ,
Please take the time/advice to visit MASNA.org (the
society of marine aquarium societies for N. America)
and join as a member club. Of the many benefits they
offer, you get access to the most comprehensive
speakers database for the aquarium hobby and aquatic
science. Names, cities, lecture topics, fees if any,
etc.
You also get access to a the club database with
contacts for well over 100 other clubs. Its great to
call on them for advice as your club grows (how to
best do fundraisers, run meetings, get speakers,
incorporate, sample by-laws for perspective, etc.).
I cannot say enough about how helpful it would be for
your club to join.
I've cc'ed a couple of MASNA BOD friends here to chime
in if needed (Cheri and Amy)
best of luck and life,
Anthony Calfo
Thank you for the CC Anthony & Adam.
Schuyler, if there is anything MASNA ( http://www.masna.org/ ) can do for
you please feel free to email me, TippyToeX@Yahoo.com. I believe there is
much MASNA can do for Northeast Philadelphia Aquarium Society. =)
Amy Larsan
MASNA - Director of Membership & Secretary

WWM Speakers Program
Hi Bob,
I have just finished my last speaking engagement for this year so I am
ready to get back on track with the proposed WWM Speaker Program. So the
first thing we need to do is to find out which of our Crew wishes to
participate. I am thinking that Crew members that would like to be on the
list simply add a few lines to their bio's. An example would be like this:
Chuck Rambo
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
WWM Speaker- San Jose, Calif
Topics: Lake Tanganyika Travelogue ( PowerPoint or slides)
                 Lake Malawi Travelogue ( PowerPoint or slides)
                 Lake Victoria Cichlids ( slides)
I assume that a club would contact us through the WWM web site and enquire
about a particular speaker. Once the details are worked out then the
speaker would go to the club and give them the presentation and they would
pay the speaker for the airfare and get the receipt. The club then needs to
send the receipt to someone (BOB?) to get reimbursed a $100 for the
airfare. Bob, do you feel comfortable having the club send you the bill? CR
<Will solicit this about amongst the Crew. My spiel, topics are listed on
the WWM Crew page:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/WWMAdminSubWebIndex/wwmcrew.htm
And do have the folks send their requests for reimbursement to me/us: 8586
Menkar Rd. San Diego, CA 92126.
Thank you, Bob F>

Speakers for Aquarium clubs 7/31/04
<cheers Anna... your message was cc'ed to me for further comment as I am active in helping clubs get speakers, speaking at clubs myself and am a native of your region (PA residence). Our WWM speaker program is still a concept... but there are other options to be sure. Many clubs keep personal databases that they gladly share with sister clubs. My hometown club does this for the asking (PMAS.org). Your best bet though might be for your club to become a member of MASNA (the society of societies). They give all kinds of support to member clubs including access to speaker lists with contact information and requirements if any (travel fees, hometown locale for flight info, etc.). I'm going to be in your area in the Spring and recall some NJ folks saying they were goinmg to make the trip to either Philly or Long Island (LIRA club) for April 15th/16th (?) dates. Best regards, Anthony Calfo>
------
<Anna>
I saw some info on your website about a possible speaker program.  Did this
ever get off the ground?  I am very interested as I have recently become the
speaker chairperson for the Bucks County Aquarium Society (bcasonline.org).
<This takes me back a bit... I tried for a few years to continue Guy Jordan's (R.I.P.) "Scanning the Periodicals" for the San Diego Tropical Fish Society... after his passing. Your club's bulletin was one of my faves>
I am currently lining up speakers for next year.  If you do have such a
program I would love to get info!  I would also be interested if you know of
potential speakers in the Eastern Pennsylvania / New Jersey area.
Thanks,
Anna Burbank
<Am referring you to the originator, instigator of this WWM feature, Chuck Rambo, for follow-up. We do (intend) to in part subsidize such travel. Bob Fenner>

Speaker program
Thanks for passing this along!  Even if you are not doing travel subsidies
at this time, I would be interested in learning of potential guest speakers
in the Pennsylvania / New Jersey area.
< If you are interested in speakers for your club then there are three ways to go. The first is the Marineland speaker program. If you have over 100 people at the meeting then Marineland will pay for the airfare, the host club is responsible for housing food etc... Good to Marineland.com to sign up for next year and to get the details. If you want a cichlid speaker then the American Cichlid Association has a program that will pay $100 towards the airfare for one of their speakers. Go to www.cichlid.org for the ACA's website and look under speakers program. Wetwebmedia is proposing to do a similar program with the wetwebmedia crew. Unfortunately we haven't worked out the details yet but we should have something up and running in a few weeks so stay tuned.-Chuck>
Anna

WWM Crew Speaker Program Proposal
Dear Mr. Fenner,
<Geez Chuck, just Bob>
As per our conversation the other day I would like to formally submit to
you this proposal tentatively called the WetWebMedia Crew Speaker Program.
Currently the American Cichlid Association has a speaker program in effect
that has been very helpful in providing quality speakers all over the
country on the subject of cichlids. I have been part of this program for
many years and have given numerous talks to all kinds of aquarium societies
all over the country. If you look at the ACA website and look under speaker
program you can see how it works. When I go to these societies they are
very grateful and often ask if there are any other such programs out there
for other fish. Unfortunately there are none. So when I joined the crew I
became aware of all the talent that could be used to help promote the
hobby as well as individual clubs. So my proposal is a follows:
1. We need to develop list of Crew members that are willing and able to
give an hour long presentation on their particular area of expertise to
aquarium societies across the country. Some ACA speakers do go to Canada
and Bermuda.
2. Willing Crew members can then list their presentations along with their
bios on the WWM web site. They should state what form their presentations
are in. Many clubs are lacking funds so they cannot afford LED projectors
for PowerPoint presentations, but all seem to have at least a slide
projector.
3. When a club wishes to invite one of the crew members then they will
contact the Crew member directly. The Crew member then works out the
details with the club on transportation and accommodations. The host club
with pay for all the transportation and responsible for all accommodations
while the crew member is there. Many times they will ask if it is alright
if you stay at someone's home. Sometimes they offer a hotel instead. After
the speaking engagement is completed then the Host club will send the
transportation receipt to Mr. Fenner. WWM would reimburse out of the general
fund to the club 1/2 the airfare not to exceed $100.
4. Each club would be entitled to one speaker per calendar year. The
program could be limited to the first 10 clubs so the actual cost of the
program would not exceed $1,000 per year.
While it may not seem like allot, the $100 savings does make a difference.
Just the fact that we are able to introduce a whole new variety of speakers
would be very helpful to many societies. Some clubs do meet duringg the
week though and that makes it hard for us working folks.
Just a thought . Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for your
time. Chuck (Cichlidguy) Rambo
<Sounds very good... as per your phone call. Am circulating amongst the WWM Crew for input, and sign-up (as speakers) and will gladly vouchsafe the 1k funds for this year and ongoing. Thank you for your input, the idea and involvement period. Bob F>

RE: WWM Crew Speaker Program Proposal
Wow, Chuck... this is one heck of an idea... but very
interesting.
I was just thinking today too that we have so much
talent now on our crew. An amazing amount of
experience/knowledge.
Indeed we have all help as best we can and gratis. I'm
looking forward to hearing more about it.
It looks like we will have quite a few WWM folks at
MACNA too... perhaps I'll harass the organizers for a
table for us? A WWM booth again for the crew to relax
at, chat with aquarists/traffic and to promote the
site?
kind regards to all,
Anthony
<Antoine, pls do ask re a table... and if we can help/subsidize travel expenses for folks... and maybe we should have some tee-shirts printed... possibly through the place Zo has folks buying WWM garb et al? Bob F>

RE: WWM Crew Speaker Program Proposal
Hi all,
Thanks to Bob for supporting the idea/program... big
thanks to Chuck for suggesting it.
<Amen my brother!>
Very good deal all
ways around for the crew to promote WWM, the clubs to
get new/interesting speakers, and the crew/speakers to
enjoy rewards for their participation (feel-goods,
book sales, article recruitment, etc.)
<Indeed!  And for those concerned about the $100 per trip subsidy, I am willing
to bet we could get one or a few manufacturers to underwrite that cost, perhaps
we could have and promote "The WWM/Aquarium Systems Speaker exchange" or
something like that.  We could also use terminology like "WWM pays $100 of each
speakers expenses for clubs who need the assistance" and leave it to the honor
system to decide who accepts it.
I am in the same position as Adam B.  I am the President of PMASI and have just
accepted my first couple of speaking invitations.  Finding and booking speakers
is a challenge.  The "big names" who come quickly to mind are often booked far
into the future or only have very specific dates that they can accept.  Lesser
known (but often high quality, informative) folks are hard to come up with.
This service will help in that regard.
I also agree strongly that this is a powerful way to raise the profile of WWM
(particularly with intermediate-advanced hobbyists).  If clubs start using the
"service" and we plug WWM at each stop, it will put the afterburners on word of
mouth about the site.
Another thing to keep in mind...  If you put the effort into developing and
researching a talk, why not develop it into a CA article?  The hard part will be
done, and you will earn a few extra dollars for the effort.>
I'll be delighted to participate if/when invited.
<As will I, put me on the list.  Unfortunately, my call schedule limits my free
time, but I can do some.>
Adam