June 4th, 1983 marks the official beginning of the Tampa Bay Area Grotto. On this date, we became the 295th chapter of the National Speleological Society. The Grotto was founded by 37 members from 28 different families. Our first executive committee was comprised of Toni Williams, Chair; John Arnaldi, Vice Chair; Carol Logan, Secretary; and Jean Allen, Treasurer.
The inaugural meeting lasted seven hours and covered a range of topics including adpoting the NSS bylaws, naming the Grotto, and selecting our first officers. The group struggled to find an appropriate name but after much deliberation, finally agreed on Tampa Bay Area Grotto, or TBAG for short. Our founding chair, Toni, took advantage of our new name at the annual NSS convention, handing out tea bags with printed labels that read, "Tampa Bay Area Grotto, June 4th, 1983." Are any of those tea bags are still out there?
With dues at just $6.00 per person and $1.00 for each additional household member, the Grotto was founded with very little capital. Our first newsletter was published just two weeks after our inaugural meeting with barely $100.00 in the treasury and a bank account not yet established. It cost $38.20 to print and $20.00 to mail.
Though the premier issue was unnamed, a contest to create both a name for the newsletter and a logo for the Grotto was featured. The original logo, a picture of a handheld carbide lantern shining rays of light into a cave, was printed at the top of most of our newsletters.
The Grotto's first organized trip was to Blowing Hole Cave near Brooksville. On June 25, 1983 the group led a cleanup and hauled quite a few bags of trash out of the cave. One bag broke while being lifted out, but no one was hurt and the cave was left trash free.
From that point on, the Grotto has regularly led trips, hosted cleanups, and supported caving through education, volunteer service, and community outreach. Our continued mission is to uphold the values and standards set by our founders and the National Speleological Society.
At just over 40 years old, the Tampa Bay Area Grotto has had a tremendous impact on many people and issues. Our members have located and surveyed new caves, appeared on the news and in articles, and testified on behalf of cave protection. To this day, we remain involved with cave science, education, and conservation in our area and all over the United States.