An open letter to all who participated…

Hello all,

On behalf of the ASSA Johannesburg Centre, I would like to thank you for your kind efforts and involvement in making the second annual ScopeX event such a success. Our mission was to have a special day where like-minded astronomy enthusiasts could get together and mingle informally. Apart from getting together those of us already active in this field, we wanted to ensure the long-term survival of our hobby by bringing in new blood. That of course implied a wide scale promotion of astronomy in general and telescope making in particular. While there is always room for improvement, I think we again succeeded admirably on all counts. It was extremely gratifying to see the "old timers" giving of their wisdom to the benefit of the newcomers. We hope you enjoyed the day and will be prepared to participate again.

Again, thank you. That you selflessly gave of your time to share ideas, concepts and experience is most valued. Feedback has been extremely encouraging and many people commented that they came away with new knowledge and a renewed sense of wonder. That is a rare experience in most people's lives.

It was extremely interesting to note the variety that was so professionally and attractively displayed. Not only was this a counterpoint to our home-built instruments, but it gave many an appreciation of what really is available on the local market. We thank you for your sponsorship, which contributed to making the event possible. We trust that the day was as fulfilling for you as it was for us.

What a wonderful venue! Clean and neat, with spacious lawns on which to array our instrumentation, fascinating reminders of our military history, a calm ambience, safe parking, nice auditorium... the list could go on. Thanks for once again accommodating us and going that extra mile to make this an event to remember.

A special thank you for bringing your beloved equipment and exposing it to the public. This always entails a certain risk, but without it there would have been no real exhibition. I know I am not alone in having enjoyed the diversity of instruments and approaches; there were so many interesting features to be examined and lots of ideas to spur us on. Thanks too for your patience in fielding endless streams of questions from the public, and generally spreading your enthusiasm. This is what it takes to ensure the local growth of our hobby. We are particularly indebted to those who came from Pretoria and even as far afield as Bloemfontein, Dundee and Durban to be with us.

A big thank you for a very well-run and extremely popular exhibit. Judging by the constant crowds surrounding you, I would be surprised if you haven't lost your voices! Having practical demonstrations of a hands-on nature, supplemented by diagrams and examples of work-in-progress, went a long way to demystify the process of building a functional instrument. I am certain that many people who never before had even an inkling that such a thing might be possible, will find their way into the telescope making class. Tangible proof of the value of your exhibit, is that people who were previously deterred from astronomy by the high cost of commercial instrumentation will soon find themselves enjoying the splendor of the night skies through a telescope of their own making. And that is something special, of which you can be proud.

Without your assistance - be it in the initial organisation, helping at the information desk, selling raffle tickets and hotdogs, or manning the cafe, guiding visitors to the exhibits/auditorium, or whatever - the event would not have been as complete, fulfilling or successful as it was. To those not in the know, you comprise the "unsung heroes"; but believe me, there are many of us who do know and appreciate just how hard you worked. Your efforts, no matter how unglamorous, oiled the wheels on the day and were every bit as important as the high-profile activities. Your support was essential and very much appreciated: thank you. Not only are we grateful for the help of those whose roles were pre-arranged, but we are also particularly appreciative of those of you who, unasked, just pitched in and helped wherever you saw a need.

Thank you for filling the ranks. We were proud to show off our equipment and share with you our appreciation for the skies. We trust you found it an interesting day and a worthwhile use of your time. We would love to have you back again next year, hopefully as an exhibitor!

To some of you, the awards and prizes that we gave out came as a surprise. It was our way of rewarding in some small measure your effort and enterprise, a tangible token of our appreciation. Although we would of course like to have given more, we did the best within our means – random selection therefore had to play its part to some degree.

We plan to put together a short report on lessons learned from this second ScopeX. So, while the day is relatively fresh in your mind, please let me have your views. We need to know what requires improvement, and also what you think went well. Suggestions are most welcome. With your input, we can adjust our planning for next year. This way, we can not only keep on meeting our mission as stated above, but also (within the limits of feasibility) mould the event in such a way as to continue meeting your high expectations and make it more interesting. We will happily send you a copy of the report in due course if you wish.

Please address your responses to mwgringa@mweb.co.za   and copy lerika@icon.co.za

Thanks again. We hope we can once more count on your contribution next year, for another enjoyable day among friends.

Regards,
Chris Stewart
Vice Chairman,
ASSA Johannesburg Centre
Personal website:
http://home.mweb.co.za/mw/mwgringa/