President's Letter Hello Everyone!
The May meeting was at Gary Cooper’s in Dallas. Thanks, Gary, for re-arranging your apartment to accommodate all of us! I want to welcome Jason and Taylor Duval (husband and daughter of new member Christy Duval) as they attended their first TCA meeting. We were also happy to see John Gilliam, who brought his father to the meeting.
The majority of the discussion at the meeting was about ACA 2005. We discussed speakers, tours, the Denver presentation, and t-shirts. Kim Young showed us a preview of the video to be used in the presentation.
We also discussed FOTAS, which is only two months from now! We have an outstanding lineup of speakers, including Sonia Guinane, Gary Lange, David Schlesser, and a discus speaker, Hans Koops van’t Jagt. The issue of on-line registration and credit card payment was discussed.
A substantial amount of work has been done on ACA 2005. Ad Konings, Willem Heijns, Al Klee, Wayne Liebel, Laif DeMason, Spencer Jack, Ric Perez and Howard Schmidt have committed to speak. The tours have been planned--they include a day in Dallas, to the Sixth Floor Museum and to the Dallas World Aquarium, and an evening in the Fort Worth Stockyards and Billy Bob’s. Several board members have actually walked through the tours as we have them planned, and several went horseback riding to shoot video clips to be used in the Denver presentation. Kim Young and Ralph DeBoard have worked very hard on a very professional PowerPoint presentation! Kim has also spent a lot of time jazzing up the ACA 2005 brochure/flyer.
The ACA Convention in Denver is only a few days away now! If you have never attended an ACA, I would highly recommend going to this one! You will meet cichlid folks from all over the United States and even other countries. You will see cichlids you have never seen before. You will listen to speakers you have never heard before. Most importantly, you will have a great time!!! Additionally, we are excited to have the opportunity to invite folks to come to Texas next year.
The next monthly meeting is at Diane and Mike Stewart’s. Bring your swimsuit and towel for a cool dip in their pool! Hope to see you there!
- Kathy