RE: NANFA-- Tank for Johnson County Library
BILL HOPPE (zzzzzzbill_at_yahoo.com)
Fri, 20 Dec 2002 13:10:46 -0800 (PST)
Todd you obviously have the energy to type the words
that I need to take a nap in the middle of thinking
about . 100 % gold star . May have something to do
with your 110 wpm to my 5 .
--- "Crail, Todd" <tcrail_at_northshores.com> wrote:
> Let's start from the beginning and I'll move forward
> with your other questions
> that it seems you've not gotten any private repsonse
> on either. Perhaps this
> will address some other things that may be sitting
> in the background.
>
> I've recently spent a considerable amount of time
> writting about projects that
> I think would help NANFA, draw people to NANFA, and
> just serve in the good
> name of conservation. General response was "yeah
> that would be great!",
> however, as you may have noticed regarding how to
> distribute a presentation,
> as an example... The core topic *immediately* gets
> sidetracked with operating
> systems, distribution method, who will do the work,
> "I have this software that
> I'll offer my services" "that software is inferior
> to this product", etc.
> This is not a criticsm, this is just the way things
> are when you have a whole
> bunch of people trying to work over emails. And so
> that got me thinking...
>
> I had an off the record discussion with one of
> NANFA's active members about
> how they feel concerning NANFA type projects, as I
> could clearly see, that by
> just posting a quick little ditty without any
> thought given to it brought a
> tsunami of emails back and forth. It was a good
> illustration of why people
> who *happen* to be NANFA members just *do projects*
> and *then report* back to
> NANFAns about the project. This member offered wise
> advice:
>
> "Do what you were going to do anyway and then modify
> it where necessary to
> make it fit better into NANFA."
>
> That was concerning software. Does software have a
> tangible cost? You bet.
> I bill out at $150 an hour when I do this stuff at
> work, however, that's my
> donation when I set something up that NANFA can use,
> and I'm okay with making
> that kind of donation because I believe in NANFA as
> a *distribution method*
> for my causes, and that their mission is within line
> with my causes.
>
> I'd like to point out that "fit better into NANFA"
> can have two meanings, and
> I'll address the one that I think is appropriate.
> What I've determined was
> implied in this, and I think a lot of other
> education-based active members
> have determined, is that we're doing what we're
> doing because we have a
> passion for educating others about our native fish
> and the ecosystems that
> support them. So this may be more appropriately
> worded "do in a manner that
> NANFA can and would want to distribute as materials
> that meet the *entity* of
> NANFA's goals." NANFA is not in charge of what
> members would like to do. It
> does have the right, however, to determine if it
> would like to spend it's
> resources to take that project a step further or
> reward those members
> financially or with some step of recognition.
>
> So... Any project a member would want to do, sure
> it's great to have support
> and financing, but I think it would be wise to only
> expect an "attaboy" in
> return from *anyone*. Many NANFA members have taken
> it upon themselves to
> place aquariums in public places. They absorb the
> costs, don't ask for
> anything, but willingly place some mention of NANFA
> because *they feel* NANFA
> as *an entity* can help distribute, enhance or
> reinforce their causes.
>
> And before I cause assumptions to be made, let me
> say that there's absolutely
> *nothing* wrong for asking others to help absorb
> costs for a project you'd
> like to do to promote native fish. The worst that
> could be said is "no" or
> nobody responding to emails.
>
> To be blunt, the only way NANFA has commit to
> serving *anyone* or *any cause*
> financially is thru the two grants that have been
> made possible by
> memberships, auctions and the generous contributions
> that some NANFA members
> and two families make yearly to the entity of NANFA.
>
> You have some great project ideas, I would encourage
> you to apply for the
> Corcoran Grant http://www.nanfa.org/conservation.htm
> Talk to Rob Denkhaus if
> you haven't already, he'd mentioned the grant on
> Wendesday, and he's a great
> guy to talk with and can probably help nuture your
> ideas, as this is his role
> in serving NANFA. Also, look at what the recipients
> did in the last 3 years
> for the grants. You will quickly see how their
> ambitions fit into NANFA's
> scope and why NANFA rewarded them financially. And,
> you also may notice, that
> these projects were all going to be done wether
> NANFA gave them anything or
> not.
>
> This is how the entity of NANFA formally offers it's
> financial commitment to
> education. If you'd expect NANFA to formally offer
> it's financial commitment,
> it would be necessary for you to make NANFA's formal
> application and
> description of your project. And I think I've
> pointed out how people have met
> the criteria in the past to complete that
> commitment.
>
> I'm not sure why you're asking for the NANFA
> endorsement, as that endorsement
> isn't going to mean diddly to any manufacturer.
> They're only going to cough
> stuff up as endorsements/marketing for themselves.
> Of course, NANFA endorses
> any project that promotes native fish... However...
>
> What I think you need to determine for yourself
> is... Are you doing this out
> of your own good will because you want to educate
> people about native fish,
> and with what financing you can scrape together,
> because you were going to "do
> it anyway"? Certainly, seeing what support you can
> gather by posting to the
> email list is a great idea, but again, only expect
> an "attaboy" because that's
> all many others who've done similar projects have
> received, and I'm quite sure
> they were content with that. If you would choose to
> name NANFA and it's
> website on your project or proposals, that's
> fantastic. But you can't expect
> any cash or goods in return. That's not how NANFA
> operates it's financial
> commitments.
>
> I think you've already seen the willingness of
> fellow NANFAns to gladly offer
> advice, time, and critters (and there could be a
> financial value placed on all
> of that). I would take, however, the lack of
> response to your request for the
> library project as a warning sign that the people
> that comprise the entity of
> this email list (loosely labelled NANFA email list)
> aren't feeling they're
> going to get much in return or are just a little
> tired of the fast arriving
> requests. You may want to reform your approach.
>
> Respectfully said,
> Todd
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: m c
> Sent: Friday, December 20, 2002 3:38 AM
> To: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
> Subject: Re: NANFA-- Tank for Johnson County Library
>
>
> Did I put everyone off by calling them baitfish?
>
> I mean that I expected a little more excitement or
> discussion on the matter.
>
> Anyway...
>
> Should I say that it is a NANFA project, or that
> NANFA
> is providing technical support?
>
> --- m c <midgatutordigests_at_yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Oh, I checked, and receits for tax deductions are
> > availible.
>
=== message truncated ===
=====
Bill Hoppe
Yellville Arkansas
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