I wanted to inform the board of a recent incedent that took place when visiting Memfish in Memphis, TN after the WTMAS Frag Swap this weekend. This incident is personal and techniquly does not involve the club but because I am the president of Razorback Reef I am sure the it will have negative ramifications to our public relations in the future.  After leaving the WTMAS Frag swap on Saturday on our way home Cassandra, Jeff and I visited Memfish which is a local fish store in Memphis. During our visit I picked up an Octopus protein skimmer that was not marked with a price as the others and the skimmer pump fell off leading me to drop the skimmer which shattered on the floor. Needless to say that in my embaressment at being the center of attention in a very busy store I had managed to not only break the smaller skimmer that I had picked up but the pump fell on to the lower shelf breaking a piece of the the larger skimmer. I apologized to the manager who promptly told me I was going to pay for the skimmer to which I politley declined stating that this was an accident but did not feel financialy responsible for the 600+ dollars he was stating I would pay. I again declined and he threatened to call the police which I told him was a very good idea. I let him know that I would gladly wait for the police to arive. When the police arived and the manager explained why the police had been called the officer stated that because the manager clearly believed that there was no malicious intent and that I stated I had accidently broken the merchandise there was no criminial issue to be dealt with. Furthermore, the officer declined to even fill out a police report as the incident did not fit any catagory that he could file. I agreed to provide the manager with my contact information and even spoke with the owner over the phone who was less that cordial to say the least. We then left and proceded back to Little Rock.  I am informing the board not for any opinions as to what my actions were or whether or not I have an obligation for liability in the incedent. I have made the choice to deal with this issue in a particular way and will defend my corse of action to the board if requested. I do not know what the future will hold for the club as a result, I am sure that it will be more difficult for me to communicate with WTMAS as a result and after speaking with the president prior to the incident I suspect that our offer to be a sponsor of their event next year will be recinded due to the fact that Memfish is a current sponsor of the event. I have written him an email explaining what occured and hope that it will have some benefit to preserving our relationship for the clubs sake. As for Memfish, they had put out our PR pamphlets and cards that were sent out which I am sure have been taken down by now. I will be happy to address the membership of the club in an email if the board requests me to otherwise I am going to treat this as a personal matter and work to try and minimize the damage and impact that it has on our club.  I apologize for the accident and wish that it had never happened and want to be upfront with the board so that we all know about the incedent so that it can be dealt with if the need arises.
Chris. I am sorry you are having to deal with this issue. I will stand behind you in your decision and will help in any way I can with the relationship with Mem Fish and the club. Being a vendor and sponsor of the event for two years and I feel instrumental in bringing two additional vendors to their event I should have some rapor with Marty. I will not make any contact with them unless I check with you first. I hope this will blow over and not have a lasting effect you seem to think it will have.
