A periodic information source for members of the American Sportfishing Association and partners on issues of importance to the future of fishing
September 12, 2003
Sportfishing Summit
Representatives of 60 sportfishing companies and many of our partners are signed up for the Sportfishing Summit, so don’t forget to make your reservations by September 17 at the Ocean Reef Club, Key Largo, Florida, where we’ll host this year’s event October 1-3. Here’s how our agenda is shaping up:
Shining the Light on China: Featuring Michael Colopy, President, International Commerce Consultants, Inc. Mr. Colopy will give us exceptional insights about the role of China in the global economy, now and in the future.
Tackling a World of Opportunity: Featuring Michael Rooney, Senior Vice President & General Manager, ESPN Outdoors; Jeff Pontius, President, Zebco; Shirley Andrews, Owner, Turner’s Outdoorsman; Randy Repass, Founder and Chairman of the Board, West Marine; and Bob Delfay, formerly of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Moderated by Jerry Calengor, Executive Vice President, Normark/Rapala Corporation.
Exploring Emerging Markets: Featuring Chris Dummit, Editor, Sport Fishing magazine; Jason Meninger, President, Hooked on the Outdoors magazine; Jay Jolly, Vice President for Marketing & Purchasing, Boater’s World; and Louis Tchertoff, General Manager (Portugal), O. Mustad & Son. Moderated by Tammy Bristow Sapp, Vice President of Communications, National Wild Turkey Federation.
Fishing Forecast: Featuring Bill Hogarth, Assistant Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service; Steve Williams, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and John Baughman, Executive Vice President, International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Moderated by Rob Kramer, President, International Game Fish Association.
Wallop-Breaux: Friend or Foe?: Featuring Tom Bennett, incoming President of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and Commissioner, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
The Sportfishing Summit also features practical business workshops,
ASA committee and Board of Directors’ meetings, evening receptions,
and flats fishing and golf excursions. Join us at Florida’s premier
fishing camp to rethink, rebuild, reenergize, and relax. Registration
forms, resort information, and travel tips are available on our Web
site, or from ASA Special Projects Director Forbes
Darby or 703.519.9691 x222.
ICAST Booth Sales Going Strong
Even with an expanded show floor, 75 percent of available booths are already booked for ICAST 2004, to be held July 14-16 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Next year’s booths are selling much faster than those for all of our last three sell-out shows, so book your booths early. Contact ICAST Director Maria del Valle or ICAST Coordinator Suzannah Weeks on 703.519.9691 for more information, or visit our Web site, to take a look at the 2004 show floor or download the booth contract. Speaking of ICAST, our planning for next year’s show is greatly enhanced because of input from several hundred ICAST 2003 attendees who’ve responded to our satisfaction survey. These were mailed to attendees in August. Bob Delfay, formerly with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, has been hired as a consultant to ASA to fully review the surveys and advise us on how best to continue to improve ICAST in coming years.
Manufacturing Broader Support
The National Association of Manufacturers is taking a lead role in shaping America’s business policy agenda, especially through a media and advocacy campaign on the importance of manufacturing, involving many companies from across the country. During a recent press conference, NAM released its annual “State of the American Workforce Report,” and took the opportunity to highlight challenges related to the Chinese market that NAM is addressing with Administration leaders. In related news, President Bush recently appointed a new high level position within the Commerce Department to focus on manufacturing issues. For more information on NAM’s efforts, visit www.nam.org.
New Crew Member on Board
ASA is proud to announce John Bryan will be joining us at the end of the month in a brand new position for ASA: Chief Philanthropy Officer. John will expand our fundraising efforts for the Future Fisherman Foundation, dedicated to fishing education, and the FishAmerica Foundation, dedicated to fisheries conservation. By branching out into new arenas and creating broader partnerships, we hope to greatly expand our impact in bringing new anglers to the sport and keeping our fish and waters healthy. John has more than 20 years of experience fundraising for the Arts Department at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, and as an avid angler, he's especially happy to have the opportunity to do good things for the future of fishing. Please join us in giving John a warm welcome to the sportfishing community.
President's Corner
Milestones are good times to take a look back and consider the track you're on and how well it fits with where you want to go. This month marks two years since I became president of the American Sportfishing Association, so I've been thinking about that a lot. Looking ahead, what gives me the most confidence is there's a terrific group of 15 talented people here at ASA who make service to our membership a fundamental way of doing business every day. They make things happen because of persistence, creativity, and genuine dedication to our members. We're hearing from you a lot more and that makes all the difference in how well we do our job for you.
The newest member of our staff, John Bryan as our Chief Philanthropy Officer, will be a great addition to the ASA team. With John's fundraising capabilities, we can better leverage the industry's investments in the Future Fisherman Foundation and FishAmerica Foundation to have a much greater impact on fishing participation and the quality of the fishing experience. Over the last two years, your foundations have made great strides in creating solid partnerships, promoting who they are and what they can do, and positioning their organizations to take on a stronger leadership role in fishing education and fisheries conservation in the broader outdoor community. Johanna DeGroff Laderman deserves special thanks for administering nearly $1 million in grants this past year at the same time she's served as the FishAmerica Foundation's Acting Director.
In addition to providing a high level of service and valuable resources to support you and your business, as your trade association, I think we also need to keep a lookout on the horizon on your behalf. That's why our investments in fishing education and fisheries conservation are some of the most important things we do today. In two more years I want to be able to look back and see it's made a difference to you.
