April 2009 - Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society

A P R I L 2 0 0 9
Remembering Miecia
by the KWAS executive and BOD. Photos by Zenin Skomorowski.
It is with very heavy hearts that we must inform our
membership that one of our longest standing members has
passed away. Miecia Burden passed peacefully in her sleep in
the early morning of Wednesday, March 25th, 2009. She will be
missed very deeply. Our thoughts, prayers and sympathies go
out to her family, her husband Brian, and every other person
she touched and enriched with her kind, caring and helpful
outlook on life. Rest easy Miecia. This club, and it’s members
won’t ever forget you.
Here we present a short bio on Miecia’s involvement with our
hobby, our club and our lives. Her full bio would easily fill a
book. She touched many people.
Miecia started with the aquarium hobby in 1975 with a single 5
gallon tank in the bathroom as a decorating idea. As is
inevitable with those deeply involved with the hobby, her next
purchase was a 65 gallon for the living room in 1976. Her
passion expanded from there to a fish room in 1978 with a total
of about 20 tanks in various sizes from 5 gallon up to a couple
of 65's.
Miecia discovered Bob and Dorothy Daniells’ aquarium
business in 1976 and through them learned about KWAS. She
promptly joined and volunteered to be the CAOAC
representative for the club. In 1978 she was elected as the
executive recording secretary and has been either an executive
member or held a board of directors position ever since -- well
over 31 years of unfailing service to our club and hobby. In
those years she held almost all of the available positions. From
president to newsletter editor, recording secretary to (most
recently) membership chair.
Her involvement in the hobby was not limited to KWAS. She
also held many positions -- including president and editor -- in
CAOAC.
She treated her fish with the same caring and compassion as
everyone else in life, growing all kinds of 'live foods' and
creating her signature Beef Heart Frozen Mix. She shared these
experiences, as well as all of her lessons in newsletter articles,
seminars and presentations for our club and others.
Through the years Miecia earned dozens of awards. A few of
the most notable were:
• Breeder of the Year (KWAS) 1979
• Service Award (KWAS) 1980
• Bob Daniells Service Award (KWAS) 1981
• CAOAC Service Award 1985 and 2003
• Junior BAP Merit Award (CAOAC) 1981
• CAOAC Past Presidents Award 1989
• Hobbyist of the Year (KWAS) 2001
• Honorary Member (KWAS) 2001
• President's Award (KWAS) 2003
• CAOAC 25 Year Service Award 2002
• CAOAC Newsletter Award 2003
• Miecia Burden Exemplary Service Award 2009
Miecia scaled back in 1987 to just five tanks as she became
involved with computers and took on various other more time
consuming positions in her two fish clubs.
At the time of her passing she had five tanks ranging from a 20
gallon up to a 65 gallon that house a "mixed bag of fish" ranging
from an oranda goldfish to a community tank of sharks and
loaches which also houses a large ghost knife fish. Her
remaining three tanks are devoted to classic KWAS African
Cichlids like Lamprologus brichardi, Neolamprologus multifasciatus,
Pseudotropheus saulosi, Labidochromis caeruleus and three large
synodontis catfish. Her interests always centered around
catfish, sharks and loaches although she also raised and bred a
variety of livebearers and egglayers. She even ventured into the
marine environment at one time.
We’ll miss you Miecia, Thank you!
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