PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE – January 2012
Happy New Year. I hope you all had a nice holiday season. Our annual club dinner in December was well attended and showed enthusiasm is still strong. Our club officers for 2011 were introduced and installed. Jerold Kyle (hey, that’s me) who was president in 2005-2006 will again be president in 2011-2012. Duane Carlson, who completed his term as a director will fill the vacated Vice Pres seat. Marilee Marshall, having completed her term as president and wanting to stay involved, was elected as Secretary. Georgia Vonk will continue to complete her term as Treasurer. Jim Phillips, Dan Alarid, and Betty Martin were elected for new 2 year terms as Directors. Completing the second year of a two year term are Jose Delgado and Sharon Oswald. I am pleased to see a mix of experienced long time members coupled with energetic newer members willing to get involved. It is this kind of mix that makes us strong. Some have said we have been so successful in our endeavors we have become too labor intensive. To that end we want to put some more fun in what we do. You know the old adage, “All work and no play . . . .” Well, what can we do to create more play? Do you have a pond? Plan to build one? Looking for ideas? Consider hosting a meeting to ask questions, gain all sorts of ideas, and we will all learn and gain. Know of a pond we have not seen in a while? We would love to see it. That is one reason many of us originally joined – to see new ponds and get ideas. Now we have a new generation of members joining and we have a wealth of knowledge to draw on to help them as others helped us to be better Koi keepers. Our club keeps evolving and with the wide range of skills different members have there is a wealth of knowledge to draw from. What suggestion do you have? What would you like to see? To learn? To experience? What changes or improvements do you envision as we go forward? What can we do to learn and have more fun? To attract new members? To continue what others worked so hard to start so many years ago. Duane, as Vice President, has a challenging job as he is the Program Director and is charged with finding meeting locations and program ideas. I have been there and done that and assure you it is not a one man job. He will do best with a little help. The program for the January meeting will be for members to discuss ideas for possible programs, projects, or anything else members might be interested in for 2011. If there was ever a time to speak up it is now. The more members that can attend in January, the more ideas we can conceive and the richer we can make our activities. If you can not attend the January meeting, I challenge you to email Duane and me with some small or large idea you think we and attending members might consider. Would you like to host a meeting? I am jeroldkyle@yahoo.com and Duane is found at GraniteBayKoi@yahoo.com I feel honored to be chosen to be the new president of such a wonderful club. To be effective, I need your help. Help me help you get the enjoyment we crave in our hobby. Send me and Duane something right now so we – you – all of us - can have more fun this year. I am looking forward to an exciting year. What would you like to see?MEETING LOCATIONS SOUGHT FOR 2012
Ideas are being sought for meeting locations. A priority will be a pond never seen before or not visited for a number of years. Send me a note anytime. I am always interested in hearing from you.Jerry Kyle There are several benefits available to our club members. For example, access to our Koi Health Advisors, pond rescue, monthly meetings where guest speakers discuss topics that will add to your knowledge on Koi husbandry, a wide knowledge bank on how to build a successful pond, opportunities to visit many ponds for ideas and advice, and of course the social aspect of meeting friendly folks with similar interests. Additionally, you will enjoy barbeques, Koi events, discounts from local vendors and much more. Our members' ponds vary in size from a few hundred gallons to over 20,000 gallons, to small lakes. We can help make your pond more enjoyable. Thank you for visiting us.