NANFA-- 2004 NANFA Convention invitation

Ipchay61_at_aol.com
Fri, 26 Dec 2003 19:56:43 EST

Dear NANFA Member,

We would like to invite you to attend this year's NANFA Convention in
Columbia, SC on June 17-20, 2004. The annual convention is a great place to
meet
other NANFA members, hear interesting presentations about fishes and the
aquatic environment in general, and spend a day or two visiting some of the
local
areas and collecting fishes you may never have seen before. South Carolina
has
a diverse range of habitats within a
relatively short drive, from mountains to piedmont to coastal plains, so we
have a lot of choices! You will need a South Carolina recreational fishing
license to collect nongame fishes in South Carolina. Anyone who wants to
should
be able to find some interesting
new fishes. The weather in early June should be warm but not oppressive, and
many of the fish may still be in breeding coloration. For those of you
wishing to bring your families, there are many historical sites and
attractions for
them to visit around the state.

Riverbanks Zoological Park & Gardens ( Riverbanks Zoo and Garden, Columbia,
SC ) has been kind enough to allow us to have our auction, speakers and
banquet in their facilities. Dustin Smith, Fritz Rohde and Chip Rinehart will
be
acting as your hosts. The format for the meeting will be a full day on Friday
of collecting trips throughout the state of South Carolina and possibly into
North Carolina. Friday night we will have our annual auction at Riverbanks
Zoo,
along with a tour of the aquarium. On Saturday we will have presentations of
interest to NANFA members by NANFA members and invited guests, followed by
the banquet that night, also at Riverbanks. Sunday, for those interested, we
will do some more collecting. This year's convention t-shirt will be another
original, designed by Casper Cox. I know you'll want one.

Our meeting will begin at 8:30 am, with a lunch break at 12:30 pm, then
resuming again at 2:00 pm and continuing until approximately 5:00 pm. A brief
list of our speakers and their topics below:
Patrick McMillan - Aquatic Plants
Gerald Pottern - Shiners of the subgenus Hydrophlox
Fritz Rohde - Pygmy Sunfishes
Brian Wagner - Crayfishes
Dave Neely - Sculpins
Ray Wolff - Aquarium and Pond Maintenance
at least one more TBA

We are honored to have, as our special guest speaker at the banquet, Dr.
Robert Goldstein, who will be speaking on collecting in South America.

Here are the details of how to get to and where to stay in Columbia:

CONVENTION LODGING: Holiday Inn - Columbia Airport. The rooms will be
non-smoking doubles, and some smoking rooms will be available at your
request. The
rate will be $65.00 per night and will include a complimentary hot breakfast
buffet in Magnolia's Grill which is the on-site restaurant. For more info on
the motel or to make reservations, call (803) 794-9440 or go to
www.holiday-inn.com/cae-airport < http://www.holiday-inn.com/cae-airport >.
*NOTE: Make sure
to mention that you are with the 'NANFA' group and tell them to use tracking
number "2-NAN". The deadline for making reservations is May 25, 2004. This
Holiday Inn is located on Chris Drive, just off of US #1 at I-26 (Exit 111b)
and is a short 10 minute drive to Riverbanks Zoo via I-26/I-126. For any of
you that may be flying in, it is also very close (approx. 10 minutes) to the
Columbia Metropolitan Airport and has free shuttle service to and from the
airport.

AIR TRAVEL: Columbia Metropolitan Airport is served by several major air
carriers with direct connections to many North American cities. The airport is
about 10 miles west of the meeting site, connected by I-26/I-126.

TRAVEL BY CAR: Columbia is located in the center of the state easily
accessible via interstates I-20, I-26, and I-77.

CONVENTION REGISTRATION: The registration fee for the convention is $65 if
paid by May 16, $75 at the door. A spousal registration fee of $20 will cover
attendance at the Saturday evening banquet and admission to other convention
events. Additionally, this year we will have an early Student Registration fee
of
$25 for those students in Middle and High School or College, $30 at the
convention. Early registrations should be made out to NANFA and sent to:
Dustin
Smith (1229 Walnut Street, Newberry, SC 29108) .

I hope you can make it to Columbia this June. If you have any questions,
please contact us at (803-405-1847) or by e-mail at Fritz.Rohde_at_ncmail.net,
Dsmith73_at_hotmail.com, Ipchay61 at aol.com .

Dustin Smith, Fritz Rohde, Chip Rinehart
Convention hosts

NANFA members will receive a mailed version of the above letter in then near
future.
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