User talk:Pijoehawley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ZNA stands for Zen Nippon Airinkai a Japanese centered koi association with chapters outside of Japan that are given authority to produce koi shows for hobbyist enjoyment. ZNA chapters in the U.S. are associated with member clubs of the Associated Koi Clubs of America. In this way ZNA's can take advantage of extensive human capital provided by AKCA and other resources including insurance. As of January 2007 there were nine active ZNA chapters in the United States and 18 other national chapters outside of Japan and the U.S. around the world.
The ZNA Japan website is located at http://www.zna.jp The ZNA America website is located at http://www.znana.org
The Associated Koi Clubs of America is the oldest koi club organization in the United States consisting of more than 100 member clubs and headquartered in California. AKCA also produces KOI USA magazine, conducts a Koi Health Advisor program, and funds koi health related research. They provide insurance for member club shows and an annual seminar in cooperation with a club or group of clubs that rotates from one region of the country to the next (east/west). The AKCA has an elected board of directors and one director representative from each of their member clubs that has a single vote on the board as part of the democratic organization of the entire association.
The AKCA website is found at http://www.AKCA.org
Koi message boards: There are many koi-oriented message board forums including ippca.com, koiphen.com, koi-bito.com, and koishack.com. Some of these forums are extremely helpful for hobbyist, dealers, and industry professionals providing up-to-date information about koi carp related issues. Others such as newtcity.com run by R.J. Linburg's (aka Mayor Newt)are an opportunity for hobbyists to criticize each other and borders on hate speech. Many of these forums are associated with business ventures including magazines and industry associations. Many of the most recognized figures in the industry and hobby regularly participate in forums from the most serious conversations to most irreverent.
NewtCity.com is an irreverent message board forum with topics ranging from politics to the koi-fish hobby. The website was the brainchild of RJ Linburg who started the website on March 25, 2003 while living in Comstock Park, Michigan an area he departed years ago. Much of the irreverent tone that Linburg, known as Mayor Newt takes on his forum can be explained by the difficulties he has experienced after moving to Florida. According to the Association of Marina Industries, “R.J. Linburg, a disabled Vietnam veteran on limited income, decided to sell his boat on eBay, took less than half the amount he paid for it, and is planning to move into a mobile home. "That's risky, too," says Linburg, who is aware many mobile home parks are being sold for redevelopment. "I won't get one near the water, so maybe it won't be as attractive to developers." Linburg's choices are limited. He has a large dog, a cat and a bird he won't give up. He also has to find a mobile home park that is reasonably close to the VA Medical Center at Bay Pines, where he goes regularly for medical checkups and treatments. "My dream has gone down the tubes," says Linburg. "Those people on the commission just don't care. They live in their own little world and seem to forget about the human aspect of things," says Linburg.” http://marinaassociation.org/news2.cfm?NewsID=807&archive=y&inputMM=9&inputYYYY=2005
