December 2009 ED Monthly Update of Association Activities
Happy Holidays, Steelheaders!
There is no doubt that the holiday season is squarely upon us as mother nature’s annual ritual of “things falling” (leaves, rain and temperatures) takes a front seat in grabbing our attention and distracting us from what we really should be doing and that is fishing! In spite of these minor seasonal discomforts, efforts by our members to protect and enhance fisheries continue to move forward on a number of fronts.
Some of the highlights of Association
work that has transpired since my last
Executive Director monthly email blast are
noted below:
November 7 Quarterly Board
Meeting
Nearly three dozen Board Directors and
Chapter delegates convened in Eugene on a rainy
Saturday morning for the convening of a
quarterly Board meeting to address one of the
key items that was deferred at the August 1
Annual Delegates meeting, the revised
Association Bylaws. Multiple form and
content changes were under consideration by the
attendees most of which concerned the
downsizing of the Executive Committee from 15
to 7 members as initially approved in concept
by the Board at their Spring 2009 Board
Retreat. Since this action, a bylaws
committee was established and chaired by Board
member Norm Ritchie to perform a review and
“wordsmith” editing of each section in the
bylaws to reflect the above approval.
If you are interested in receiving a
copy of the new bylaws, please contact staff
and one will be emailed to you.
Another notable achievement from the
meeting was the Board’s approval of increasing
the dues for new members from $10 to $20
effective February 1. Several reasons
were cited for the increase not the least of
which was the fact that the former $10 dues
class was virtually all “consumed” by
administrative costs in processing the
membership application with little remaining
for operations. Over time, the additional
ten dollars will be a welcome revenue
source.
Website
Highlights
When you get a
chance, don’t forget to check out the Northwest
Steelheaders new website at http://www.nwsteelheaders.org/.
Since the October 1 activation date, over
$1,000 in unprojected revenue has been received
from advertising , online membership renewals
and donations. The site has received over
4,000 visitors and 134,000 hits since early
December.
Besides clicking
on the Chapter News tab and finding out
what chapters are doing in the way of fishing
clinics and social events or reading their
latest monthly newsletters, the home page has
links you can turn to for Association
information on such things as:
- The latest Government Affairs update by
Board Director Norm Ritchie on Association
advocacy efforts at the federal, state and
local levels;
- Raffle ticket information on
the Fireweed Lodge (Klawock, Alaska) trip for
two; and the ClackaCraft Drift Boat;
- How
you can potentially win valuable fishing gear
and trips by signing up new members;
- Grant
information for chapters to consider pursuing
to fund projects (Association staff stand ready
to provide grant writing assistance to Chapters
if needed).
- A pictorial selection of
Northwest Steelheaders logo clothing
attire.
Best of all, if you want to renew your annual membership or know of someone who would be a great new member, website users can register and pay online without hassling with filling out and mailing printed forms.
New Deschutes Basin Chapter of the Northwest Steelheaders
As reported in prior ED eBlasts to members, interest has been growing in Central Oregon for a new Northwest Steelheaders chapter to be formed so that regional fisheries issues can be addressed. Planning began in August which ultimately led to an organizational meeting being held on December 10 in Bend of volunteer “core leaders”. Consensus was reached on the chapter name (“Deschutes Basin”) and election of the following slate of acting officers:
President - John
Ostendorff
Vice-President - Yancy
Lind
Treasurer - Rob
Hollander
Secretary/Communications - Eric
Flowers
For the time being, monthly chapter
meetings will be held the second Thursday of
each month at 7:00 pm. This puts January
14 as the date for next month’s meeting.
For those who wish to attend, click the
“Chapter News” tab on our website for the exact
meeting location.
Direct Mail Fundraising
Project
The Association
recently embarked on a new project designed to
reach out by direct mail to prospects
identified by Gull Rock Consulting and ask for
donations. Phase 1 appeal letters were
transmitted under bulk mail permit two weeks
ago to select group of anglers in Oregon who
have current ODFW fishing licenses.
Response thus far has met minimum expectations
for direct mail efforts. A second mailing to
another 200 donor prospects is scheduled in
mid-January. Revenues received from these
mailings will be used to fund efforts in the
upcoming new membership recruitment direct mail
campaign which will attempt to target up to
10,000 potential prospects from fishing and
wildlife magazine subscription lists.
More information will be shared on this effort
in future ED eBlasts.
Requests for Association Advocacy Support
The Association frequently receives requests from fishing and wildlife conservation organizations seeking the endorsement of Northwest Steelheaders to be a signee on various letters expressing support or opposition to government agencies or elected officials on a variety of “bullets and hooks” subjects. Consent was recently given on seven issues that were deemed to be consistent with policy statements previously approved by the Board of Directors. These involved the following:
• Letter to Jackson County Commissioners
supporting the removal of Gold Ray Dam
(sponsored by Trout Unlimited);
• Letter to
the Western Governors Association on wildlife
connectivity issues (sponsored by National
Wildlife Federation);
• Letter to National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Association supporting
environmental education (sponsored by
NWF);
• Letter to the Deschutes County
Commissioners on the County’s Comprehensive
Plan (sponsored by Native Fish Society);
•
Letter to Congressman Peter DeFazio supporting
the Clean Water Restoration Act (sponsored by
Environment Oregon);
• Letter to Oregon’s
Congressional delegation supporting the Land
and Water Conservation Fund (sponsored by the
Nature Conservancy);
• Letter to Secretary
of Agriculture Tom Vilsack supporting national
forest roadless areas also known as
“Banking on Backcountry” (sponsored by Theodore
Roosevelt Conservation Partnership).
Short Takes
• Volunteers are needed to help staff
our booths at the upcoming Portland Boat
Show. If you’re interested, please
contact the Association office at
503-653-4176.
• Volunteers are also need to
help on the Hall of Fame Banquet Planning
Committee. Please contact the Association
office for more information.
Dates to Circle on Your
Calendar
• January 7 – Monthly Board Executive
Committee meeting - Association Office
•
January 13 – 17 – Portland Boat Show – Portland
Expo Center
• February 6 – Quarterly Board
of Directors meeting - Newberg Senior
Center
• February 10 – 14 – Portland
Sportsmen's Show – Portland Expo Center
•
April 10 – Annual Northwest Steelheaders Hall
of Fame Banquet – Airport Holiday Inn
Closing
Thoughts
As you may
discern from reading the above, there are a lot
of things happening with the Northwest
Steelheaders on a number of fronts both at the
Board and Chapter levels. If you know of
anyone that might want to be a part of our
great organization as a volunteer member,
please send them our way and we will gladly
help them register and become one of the 1,400
members who are passionate with helping us all
pursue our noble mission.
Lastly, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at pcathcart@anws.org with your concerns, views, and/or suggestions on how to improve this monthly email blast to our members. Also, you can email me if you would rather not receive this monthly eblast newsletter in the future.
Thank you for your continuing support of
the Association to protect and enhance
fisheries and their habitats for today and the
future.
Warmest regards,
Paul