|
President |
|
Adam Blundell
|
 |
Responsibilities:
My job responsibilities are to see that the club
does what the presidency wants. I guess I also oversee
meetings, finances, and everything else, but I like
to look at it as a helper position which helps the rest
of the club accomplish their goals.
Born and raised in Centerville. Went to school at many
places including projects at the U, Weber, Boise State,
Bermuda, Hawaii, San Diego. After joining the club,
I knew I wanted to work in Marine Biology so I geared
my education that way. I've been on the reef tour many
many times. My wife's name is Marzena, she works in
Nursing at the U's Labor and Delivery unit. Her favorite
fish are tangs, which is why we have a tank full of
them. My favorite are wrasse, but we don't have any
because we don't have any room (with all them tangs).
My favorite part of the club is the after dinner meetings
and the smaller gatherings where people can really sit
around and talk. I'm the first person to admit that
this club owes its incredible growth and production
to Jake Pehrson, for all of his work with the website.
As president, I'm always pleased to see people helping
out to make big projects (like the Reef Tour) take place.
I believe that the best thing about the club is our
ability to teach people about basic aquarium systems.
I think many people join our club confused and frustrated
but then learn how simple their aquariums can be. |
|
Vice President |
|
Jake Pehrson
|
 |
Responsibilities:
As Vice President my primary job is to help the President
accomplish his job. I am also the Web Master.
I have loved fish and animals my whole life. I
setup my first saltwater aquarium when I was 12 years
old. As soon as I was living on my own I filled
my house with aquariums. I am an entrepreneur
at heart and have own various business related to
aquariums and pets.
I currently work in the computer industry and still
run the CoralPlanet
and a couple other businesses associated with the
industry.
Besides fish and corals I also enjoy scuba diving, board
and card games, computers, electronics, traveling, and
helping people start and run small businesses. |
|
Presidency Council -
Council members are the support staff for the president
and the vice-president. |
|
Suzy Applegarth
|
 |
Responsibilities:
Council Member, Meeting Greeter
Rob and I have had aquariums our whole lives. Isn't
that weird how 2 fish nerds find each other? Now, we
share our obsession of aquatic design (Although, I'm
more into design, and he's more into living creatures).
We have 4 tanks now: a reef tank, a community tank,
and an aggressive tank. They are built into the wall
and connected by a big sump, so we only have to "tinker"
with one system. We also have a small specimen tank
we are starting. We are looking for the perfect "specimen"
right now!
Rob and I have been WMAS fish nerds almost since it's
conception. We have met some really cool people and
even some very famous authors. Most of our corals are
from the WMAS. All of our corals have been shared with
other club members and every fish store show tank in
our part of the valley. We have watched our club expand
and change and evolve into a very impressive group of
wonderful friends! Thanks, WMAS!
|
|
Cortney Curran
|
 |
Responsibilities:
Council Member
I have always been a great lover of animals. When just a young
lad I began working with dogs for show obedience. In 2002, we thought we�d look
into a salt-water aquarium. After researching the internet (obviously not
enough) we had our own little salty tank of death. I stumbled onto WMAS in an
LFS that was advertising Julian Sprung. The meeting was great, and I was bummed
that I couldn�t go to the BBQ, so I paid my dues and as a result the success of
our tank has soared. |
|
Bruce Ewald |
 |
Responsibilities:
Council Member
I have been into
aquariums my entire life. I have only been doing
salt water for approximately four years now. Once I
started salt water it began an obsession. I have two
salt tanks currently, and a frag tank project in
progress. I have a 125-gallon reef with a variety of
corals, a 10-gallon with 2 bubble tip anemones and a
pair of ocellaris clown fish, and a 30-gallon fresh
water tank that I don�t have the heart to tear down.
I think that ocean life by far is the most exotic on
the planet, and I really enjoy having a small piece
of that to take care of in my home.
I am a mechanic at a car dealership. I have been
doing this for around 12 years. I currently work on
Hyundai, Isuzu and .I am also a certified Mitsubishi
Technician. I used to love this job, but now it
pretty much just pays the bills.
This is my first year on the presidency and I am
very excited about it. I look forward to
contributing and helping out the club in anyway I
can. I have been in the club for approximately three
years. I have met some great people and made some
good friends. I have learned a lot from the club,
both from the meeting presentations and from
individual members.
Some of my other interests include:
First is my family. I have been married for almost 9
years to my wife, Jennifer. I also have a new baby
boy, Jake. I love being a father.
I like playing with computers, almost anything out
doors like camping, hiking, fishing, ECT. I also
love music and am partial to stuff from the eighties
era.
I have an RX-7 project car, which I hope to finish
one day. |
|
Jon Finch
|
 |
Responsibilities:
Council Member
By day I'm a chemical engineer
at a local oil refinery. By night I'm a husband and
father of three. I've always been fascinated by aquariums.
My beginnings were with typical freshwater fish, I quickly
moved to cichlids and eventually to heavier water :).
My first reef tank was in the early 1990s. My current
tank is a 125 gallon mixed reef. I really enjoy the
DIY aspects of this hobby and the science behind the
scenes. As you can see from the number of my posts here,
I have an opinion on many topics, but don't take me
too seriously, I laugh at myself more then I care to
admit (I'm laughing at this silly bio right now). More
then anything, the reason I'm here is to meet and talk
with others about this compulsive hobby. I've been a
member of WMAS since coming across this web page in
March of 2003. |
|
Shane Heil
|
 |
Responsibilities:
Council Member, Tank of the Month Presentation
I have owned marine aquariums for about 8-9 years now.
I am into DIY and saving money, but I have learned that
one does not necessarily equal the other. My current
aquarium is 120 gallons. I enjoy keeping a variety of
different coral varieties. Although tanks loaded with
only SPS corals can be stunning, my personal preference
is a mixture of many types.
I have a large family, 1 son and 3 daughters ranging
in age from 9 years old to 18 months. We enjoy skiing
in the winter and boating in the summer. During the
in-between times in when I fiddle with fish. My wife
enjoys looking at the aquarium, but little else. She
is very supportive, but the last thing she would like
to do is cut a stinky leather coral. She also affectionately
coined the title of fish nerd after visiting a meeting
of the W.M.A.S.
I live in Brigham City (about 20 minutes north of Ogden).
We do not have a LFS here, but there are quite a number
of people with reef tanks. I am not into the technical
side of reef keeping. Although it is important to research
and understand about the environment and the species
we keep, you can be successful without a thorough knowledge.
I consider myself to be very practical, eager to learn,
and moderately informed regarding reef keeping!
|
|
Mark Peterson
|
 |
Responsibilities:
Council Member, Membership
Keeping track of expenditures on my first reef aquarium
during 1993-94, I was dismayed at the amount spent!
It's embarrassing to admit that I have seen scores of
fish die in my aquariums. This may be the reason for
my enthusiastic participation in the WMAS; to help others
keep livestock alive.
A pioneering adaptation of my undergravel filtered tank
to the Jaubert plenum method later led to the use of
Mangroves in one of the first Reverse Daylight Photosynthesis
(RDP) Refugia. My Ugly Green Haired Mermaid is famous
(see
http://www.garf.org/ugly.html).
As one of the six founding members of the WMAS and Treasurer
for its first three years, I worked hard to build the
WMAS. During two years as President, I saw the club
come out of poverty, ready for it's current huge success,
at the hands of the current Presidency, led by the energetic
and capable Adam Blundell.
Participating in the WMAS since it's founding in 1995,
has allowed me the opportunity to visit 100's of hobbyists
homes. Learning from other hobbyists has provided me
a unique perspective about how tanks can flourish, even
under extraordinary conditions. |
|
Shane Silcox
|
 |
Responsibilities:
Council Member,
Sounds System
I was born and raised in Sandy.
I currently work for Siemens as a Developer / Cisco
integrator. My wife stays at home with our 15 month
old daughter who I think is as addicted to this hobby
as I am.
I grew up loving animals, but because my parents didn't
like the added work and responsibility of a furry pet,
they got me fish, hence started the addiction. As most
I started with freshwater fish, and kept them for quite
a while until one of them died and the rest of the tank
crashed. I got quite dismayed and gave up on fish for
quite a while. Then last year while checking out turtles
at the aquarium with my wife, we got interested in saltwater,
and toward the end of my research for my new tank I
ran across the WMAS. I wish I would have known about
it sooner! The assistance and knowledge transfer that
I have gotten from so many people here has been invaluable.
I look forward to many great years with my new friends.
Thanks WMAS!
|
|
Will Spencer
|
 |
Responsibilities:
Council Member, Accountant, Sea Star Editor
I have loved fish all my life. I started with a
10 gallon freshwater aquarium when I was 10
years old. This soon became several 10 gallon
aquariums. 14 years later I still had one of
those 10 gallon tanks when my wife gave me a 75
gallon tank. I had always wanted a large tank
and this one got me hooked. My wife jokingly
says it�s her biggest mistake of our marriage.
In July of 2003 my boss got a 150 gallon tank
for our office and asked me to do something with
it. I decided to go with a saltwater reef even
though I had no previous experience. With the
help of this club that tank has become a
success. I purchased a 180 gallon tank from
Seahorse Suzy in November of 2003 and have it in
my fishroom at home. This tank has provided
endless hours of gazing at all the life in my
own little reef. I am now an official Fish
Junky with 6 tanks totaling almost 500 gallons
of water and another 130 gallon tank in the
works. My goal now is to keep the water in the
tanks and off the floor.
I love this club and the people in it. I love talking fish to anyone who will
listen and anyone who can help me keep my animals better.
I am a tax accountant by trade
and hope to be able to use my expertise to help
this club in any way possible. It will take a
long time to give enough back to this club to
pay for the advice, expertise and friendship I
have received since joining in September 2003. |
|
Renee Weimer
|
 |
Responsibilities:
Council Member,
Membership
I was born
in Minnesota on a dairy farm, but my family moved to
Washington state when I was little. I was the youngest
of 9 kids, and loved our farm animals. I enlisted in
the Marine Corps when I was a junior in high school.
I needed $$ to go to college. I spent 4 years in the
Corps, and got to live in Iwakuni Japan for a year.
A month after leaving the Corps, Damon and I got married.
We were high school sweethearts. He was in the Air Force
stationed in England -we stayed there 10 years. We also
got to live in Germany, which was great for traveling
all over Europe. It was also a great place to earn my
Master's degree. We had a few freshwater tanks, and
enjoyed them. For the last 7 years, we've been dragging
this 225g acrylic tank all over the world. The military
movers HATED it. We learned many German cuss words thanks
to our tank, but could never afford to buy the 220v
equip, with the fear of Uncle Sam suddenly moving us
stateside. We were very sad to leave our international
friends. We arrived at Hill AFB in Jan 03, and immediately
started trying to figure out how to set up a saltwater
system. The opinions were many, and we had saved up
a fair amount of $$ in anticipation. Alas, we never
heard of WMAS until Jan 04. By that time, we had AquaSpace
250m/h lights, 24w blue power compacts, 55g refugium
(mostly for seahorses someday!), EuroReef skimmer CS
6-2, Iwaki Walchem WWM 40RXLT pump, and R/O unit. So
far, all the livestock has come from Aquatic Dreams
(except "Lucky," our Achille's Tang from Hawaii). As
newbies, we really appreciate the frags, advice, and
patience from WMAS members. We can't wait to have frags
to share!
When I am not fondly gazing at itty bitty critters in
our tank (wondering what wonderful scientific names
they must have, and whether they are "friend" or "foe")
I teach classes to Hill AFB active duty and civilian
employees. It's a big change from working overseas,
where the pace was normally pretty frantic. I enjoy
growing things, wandering the mountains with our Border
Collie, "Chester" and our English Bulldog, "Penny."
Of course, hanging out with Damon is fun, too. We like
to SCUBA dive together, travel, and woodworking. Someday,
our dream is to have an aquatic wall in our dream house,
where we can sit and gaze at a homegrown reefscape.
As hobbyists, we dream of someday helping the real reefs
to continue to thrive. |
|
Past Presidencies: |
2004 |
|
|
