Happy New Year! The GFSA wishes you a happy, safe, and fishy 2004!
The Goldfish Report editors have a page on this site to communicate important information about the GFSA's premier print publication. Go take a look here. We hope everyone has enjoyed what has now been a full year publishing top quality content in a full color format!
If you have let your membership lapse or have been thinking about joining the GFSA, now is a great time - here is a form you can print. To submit material for the Goldfish Report to editor Matt Lyon, please see the updated society contact info. Articles and photos in electronic form are particularly appreciated.
We would like to start creating the 2004 events calendar. We would also like to expand this calendar to reflect the tropical fish shows that support a significant goldfish class and, for that matter, any other goldfish-related events. So if you have a show or event please send us an email or use the submission form on the calendar.
The current line-up of people filling the GFSA offices is on the society officers page.
State of the GFSA and a Thank You
We are interrupting your normally scheduled insipid goldfish advice to bring you the following public service announcement ;-).
The GFSA has been publishing a color magazine for over a year now. The quality of both the content and the layout has been universally praised. What you may not know is that the way it has been produced has led to significant cost savings, which has allowed the GFSA to bring this quality to a relatively small membership without advertising or increases in dues. As a national organization, the publication is the cornerstone of the society's activities. So this is a major success story.
Now for an expression of gratitude at the start of this New Year. The first acknowledgement is to the current members of the GFSA. We thank you for choosing to support the society with your membership dollars. Your desire to be a part of the society is the reason for all the rest of the activities that we do.
Most volunteer-run organizations have the needs of the many met by the labors of the few. The GFSA is no exception. There is a big thank you that goes to all the society officers, board members, article authors and other contributors to the society's operations in 2003. Without these efforts, we would have nothing to share with the broader membership. At the risk of slighting other deserving individuals, we would like to specially thank four people here (alphabetically):
Terry Cusick: Terry is filling the roles of Board Chair, Publisher, and Membership Chairman, which are three of the five hardest jobs in the society. He has been printing the Report himself which has allowed us to affordably go to a color format. For better or worse, the GFSA has a history of individuals coming in at difficult times and shouldering all the hard jobs to get the society back on track. Terry has certainly continued that tradition, agreeing to take the helm of the GFSA when things looked pretty bleak. He has also found time to write numerous informative articles and columns for the Report. If you are an old or new member and have enjoyed the 2003 Goldfish Reports, please send Terry a thank you.
Gary Hater: While Gary has served as a past society officer and chairman, and is a continuing contributor of material to the Report, this thank you is actually for non-society specific contributions. Gary has stepped into the role of "Johnny Appleseed" for the goldfish hobby; he breeds many varieties of goldfish each year and shares fry at nominal cost with almost any seriously interested hobbyist. He and his wife have also held a yearly get-together for breeders for a number of years. The effect has been to both stimulate interest in breeding goldfish in North America and improve access to hard to find kinds of goldfish. Perhaps more importantly, it has shown a model for how to build hobbyist interest and progress the quality of goldfish knowledge through individual efforts.
Matt Lyon: The job of editor is not an easy one, requiring the deft application of persuasion, guilt and brute work to get enough interesting content to fill each issue of the Report. Matt is early in his career and in starting a family, and yet has volunteered to do this hard job (4th of 5 ... the fifth hard job is treasurer, for which Carlos Perez deserves his own Web site for his years of work). All would agree that Matt has been successful in scouring the society and other external sources for interesting articles and columns. Combined with Terry's color printing, this has been a tour de force for the GFSA.
Scott Taylor: As the society "goodwill ambassador", Scott is an unsung hero. The chances are, if you attended a significant goldfish event in the US, Scott was there. If there was a goldfish show, Scott probably either judged, assisted the judge or helped chair the show. Fish shows are hard to organize and execute, but they are also a great focal point for gathering hobbyists and promoting interest and enthusiasm. While the GFSA has a significant body of information and experience to support goldfish shows, if there is an active GFSA-sponsored show program, we would have to say it is called "Scott".
It has been a great year. If you are not a member, come join us! If you are a current member, we hope you will renew your membership and, even more importantly, find a way to become an active part of the society.