Kaiman Wrote:

Many members have taken the inititaive to start events for fellow members, such as the annual meets and the state Chapters. At one point, the club even mentioned those events in the magazine, but due to some problems, which I will not go into detail here, have changed that to our disadvantage. We now can only resort to the "Forum" (former BB) to get the word out to members in reference to upcoming events. But it is those events which get the members together and benefit the club by us getting the name of the NAFC out to the public. It may be hard to believe, but there are many fishermen/women, as well as stores such as Academy and Bass Pro Shops, who DO NOT know what the NAFC actually is. It is us members who raise the awareness and recruit new members to the club.

Wouldn't it be just fair to us, and ouur efforts, to have the club support us by mentioning events in the magazine again? Perhaps even have editors join us at the meets or chapter events and see for themselves that we are good people with a passion for fishing and reaching out to the communities?

Hey Kaiman, I don't know if you are aware of this, but according to the NAFC magazine, the club has an " Director of Events and Sponsorship". Her name is Kristine Houtman.   Maybe She would be the one to get in touch with about whether or not the club wants to get involved in Member meets or EVENTS. I'm not sure what events the Director is responsible for, but one would think Member meets would certainly be one of them.  Sponsorship (also in her title by the way ) definetly would assist in making any EVENT more successful both for the Club AND it's Members!  Imagine an event were someone from the club attended and brought along an "expert or local Pro fisherman, brought Sponsors and vendors, etc. Had prizes and giveaways. Took pictures, talked to members about fishing strategies.  Wouldn't that be the true definition of a FISHING CLUB?  Once again a Win-Win situation for club and member alike,  A Marketing guys Dream!!  If you want to try contact her and you think it would be helpful if others ( like myself Or some of the members you know who I'm sure are much smarter the Me) would also contact her,  let me know.  I'm game.  It sounds like some of our members have planned successful Meets in the past but wished for some help from the club to enhance the experience.  I myself would love to attend a meet in my area, ( N.J. ) so anyone's success with discussing this with the club can help us all. Who knows, maybe if someone on the corporate side would see how passionate it's members are about getting together in a Cluib envorinment Making new friends, FISHING.  The key words are FRIENDS FISHING!!  Maybe they will Bite!  If not, nothing is lost, members still will get together at Meets, on the BB, On the Lake or wherever!  Peace to all of You. I'm looking forward to the possibility of meeting up with, fishin and bullcrappin with this clubs members someday.

Dan "Stealthfisher" Doc NAFC LIFE MEMBER I FISH, THEREFORE I AM <*(((>>>< ><<<)))*>

Stealthfisher

Kristine Houtman. is in charge of over seeing the Masters Walleye Tournaments and has nothing to do with club member events at least that was what I was told the last time I inquired about member events.

 

 

 

"Friends are GOD's way of showing us that we don't have to fish alone"
"Take a child fishing"

(Wi) Life Member

Jerry K.

That seems to be just ONE of the problems Rod Tender.  No one is in charge of members events last time I checked which was last week, working to get walleyemen squared away.  Or at least they will not admit to it.
"Doc" Life Member NAFC Best Club Around Life Member VFW. Had 4,000 + posts under old ID

Thanks Rod Tender. I kinda figured one of you guys may have already explored that avenue. I just thought I would throw it out there.  You never know.

Dan "Stealthfisher" Doc NAFC LIFE MEMBER I FISH, THEREFORE I AM <*(((>>>< ><<<)))*>

 

Back in  1978 when  the first Club/ Magazine (NAHC) was started and again in 1988 when  the second Club/Magazine (NAFC) was  introduced they did have  get-togethers for members known as "Jamborees". the last one for the NAFC was in 1998 in Navada for it's tenth Anniversary I have not heard of one being held since 1998  for any of the Clubs.

 

 

Those of us that could not attend the 1998 Jamboree for one reason or another felt left out back then, same as member do now. Days after the 1998 Jamboree those of us that were online were feeling sorry for ourselves and mad at the Club for not having Jamborees closer to  the Centeral and Eastern US states for the members who lived there.  The topic of  starting our own get togethers across the country was brought up way back then in 1998 (contrary to the believes of some members ) the first meet of this kind was the NE Meet held in 1999.  again those of us that were unable to make that meet felt left out, so we hashed it over again on the BB and new members from different area of the country joined in, plans were made to start other meets,  like the UP Michigan meet  2002, the La Crosse Wisconsin meet 2004, the Texas meet 2004 , the PA meet, the Ohio meet , plus all the other meets that are poping up as more member hear about them.

 

 

  The question comes up all the time  why did the Club  stopped having the Jamboree and why  are they hesitant about getting involve with the members meets that we the members host.  I think we need to look at the big picture there are ruffly 465,000 member in the NAFC alone with  about 15,000+- active members here on the NAFC BB    between the various Clubs there are over 5,000,000 members of which 1,000,000 are Life members. When I asked management to join us at the La Crosse meet in 2004 the answer I got was:: "the membership is just to big to single out any one group or person." posibably the same reason why they won't answer anyone group or person here on the BB they don't want to offend the rest of us

 

 

Like Kaiman  stated, those of us who have been involved in and  host meets every years  have pleaded with the Club for years  to please acknowledge our efforts and post the info about our respective  meets in the Magazine so the other 450,000 member of the NAFC have the opportunity  to read it,  get involved and join us if they want to and / or start one of their own so we can join them.

 

 

Bottom line is, we have not asked, nor are we asking  the Club to help or fund the meets !! We are only asking  for the Editors to place  a few lines in the members to members section of the Magazine each month

 

 

sample:

2008 La Crosse Members get together July 16th to 20th    for info visit them on the web or contact them at e-mail xxx@xxxxxx  XXX_XXX_XXXX

 

To the Editors and staff of the NAFC is this to much to ask of you???

 

 

 

 

 

"Friends are GOD's way of showing us that we don't have to fish alone"
"Take a child fishing"

(Wi) Life Member

Jerry K.

Jerry, I couldn't agree more with what you've said. All we want is that the club recognizes our work with a short/brief statement in the magazine. How else are we supposed to reach all the members in our state/region? We don't even have a member directory on here anymore, unless I haven't found it yet. But even that doesn't help to get people to attend any meet or chapter meetings.

 

And I've stated this once before, but I have not noticed any response from the editors on this matter on here. Are they too good to respond to this issue?

Kai; Life Member; South-Texas Chapter Chairman; 2337 Posts on old Forum/BB; Atascosa, Texas (just ouside San Antonio)

Thanks Again RodTender  for the in depth explaination.  I had just received the NAFC Magazine, saw Kristine Houtman's name and title and remebered reading Kaiman's post on the subject of meets. I wrote the post as soon as I got home from work that morning. Being one of the newer members,  I was just trying to help, if I could, by offering input. Forgive my ignorance of the actual situation at hand, but once again, I'm a "newbie" just trying to help.  You guys obviously have had, and are still having  a lot of dialouge with the club on this matter and have a much better grasp about this topic than me. I'm feel confident by reading your posts that this matter is in very capable hands and that if anything can be done, you folks will accomplish it. 

RodT Said:

Bottom line is, we have not asked, nor are we asking  the Club to help or fund the meets !! We are only asking  for the Editors to place  a few lines in the members to members section of the Magazine each month

Sorry for mentioning Club Help or Funds.   I feel as though  I may have hit a nerve by mentioning it . It was never my intention.  I'll just yield to those more versed in this matter.

Dan "Stealthfisher" Doc NAFC LIFE MEMBER I FISH, THEREFORE I AM <*(((>>>< ><<<)))*>

stealthfisher

I should be the one apologizing  to you...    My post was intended to bring newer members up to speed and to answer some of the questions that new members like yourself  have with regards to the club and member meets.. I should not have addressed it to just you   Sorry  about that,  I removed your name

 I agree with everything you said: and your right the more members we can get involved in the meets the more the club will benifit ( with new memberships product sales etc) last year we had at least 10 campers driving to there campsites stop and ask what was going on and what the club was about....not to mention the fact that several were fellow members who were mad that club didn't let them know there was a meet ...

Our only hope is that the Club will recognize our efforts

Thanks for all your help and ideas    again please accept my apology 

 

"Friends are GOD's way of showing us that we don't have to fish alone"
"Take a child fishing"

(Wi) Life Member

Jerry K.

 

 

"Friends are GOD's way of showing us that we don't have to fish alone"
"Take a child fishing"

(Wi) Life Member

Jerry K.

There is no need for any apologies. I didn't think you were directing anything at me personally.  I appreciate the efforts of guys like you and Kai,Turnip, Skycop, Pillman.AND of course  ladies of the club like, MuskyGirl. I enjoy reading posts from people like yourselves and DaveS, FearnoFish, Basser, Big Bad John,  Bay and ICB.     This is starting to sound like an award acceptance speech. I don't want to leave anyone out, so lets just say I enjoy reading posts from All of our club members and the thoughts and info you folks take the time to print here.  I can learn a lot and that will make me a better fisherman and I maybe  I can add something along the way.

I hope to meet and get to wet a hook with some of you in person someday.  I am going to try my darndest to attend some member meets in the area in 2008.

Dan "Stealthfisher" Doc NAFC LIFE MEMBER I FISH, THEREFORE I AM <*(((>>>< ><<<)))*>

I'd like to get the editors to respond to this whole issue. As I've mentioned before, this threat is called "Ask the Editors", yet I have not seen their response or take on this issue on here. What gives?

 

Respect towards us members seems to be laking. So, what do we need the magazine and the club for if our efforts are not being respected?

 

 

Kai; Life Member; South-Texas Chapter Chairman; 2337 Posts on old Forum/BB; Atascosa, Texas (just ouside San Antonio)

if they really cared about there members they would respond to all questions but they dont so why do you all waste your time here call them. the only way to hear from the nafc is not to send them any money taht will rattel steve pannez is goose  personally.
JESSE

Quote-What do we need the club for?

Guyz with out the club you would not have all the friends and much useful info on this site. We the members made this site what it is, not  the club, sure they own the site, they put up the topics, but we the member gave all the info, can you find one post where they contributed any advice or info? No!The bottom line is we have to make things what they are, if ya want some kind of recongnition for what what your doing, grab the bull by the b@#lls and do it yourself as a club area chapter. The only one who can make things happen is ourselfs, Show them your better than them, ive had the great prevalige in being part of several great things though this club and it's member meets and we never got any recongnition for anything, but you know what we know what we did was good and we felt great about doing it, we don't need a article to tell us we are a great club, the smiles and hand shakes were enough, I,m not tooting any horns here but for example 2 years ago we planned for the gwinn meet that we would like to do some thing for the big brothers and sisters organization, thru several months of planning and reall hard work the members were able to get numerous donations of rods, tackle, and tackle boxs, which in turn were given to each and every child that attended, the smiles were priceless, we then in turn split all the kids up between all the boaters and took them fishing and tried to teach them alittle about conservation, followed by a nice bbq after the fishing was done, this was something that made me so proud to be part of and never could have happened without the devotion of the meet and club member and all the tackle company's that donated gifts, My memory  of this will be with me for ever , as i got to take 2 children out fishing who had never been in a boat before and got to see the amazement and excitement on ther faces as they caught there first fish ever, the one little girl i had in my boat wasn't having much luck fishing and looked kinda down, so when it was time to head back to shore we fired up the boat and i turned to her and said come on Harely you have to drive the boat home, her eye's got as big as saucers and the smile was priceless, a great end to maybe a not so great afternoon for her. Bottom line is the club did not make this happen for the kids we as members did, that's the bottom line guyz!!

TIGHTLINES!! Don't let your kid be the one that got away!!!!!

WEM, while you are correct in much of what you say, I do not think the idea behind an article in the club mag is for personal recognition.  Specificly, it would be designed to inform the vast majority of members that do not have computers.  For those folks, the only club info they receive is what they read, OR if they accidentally run into a member meet in progress.  This is what happened to me at the Gwinn meet last year and has happened at the LaCrosse meet as well.  My two cents and not pointing fingers!
LM since 2005 Bushwacker Deputy Sherif

I have to agree with Turnip, this is not about the individual, it is for the events that are taking place and a way to reach those members who do not frequent the Forum.

 

I have been organizing the annual Texas meet for 4 years now, with, unfortunately, stagnant member attendance. Why? Because there is no other way, besides the forum, to reach members. More recent, I have become the Chaiman of the South-Texas Chapter, and one of our prime concerns is to get more members involved. But how, other then through the magazine and forum??

 

In that aspect, we, as the membership of the Chapter, are going out of our way to get the word out and are in the process of placing flyers at outdoor stores, such as Bass Pro Shops and Academy, in order to make members aware of us. Yet, it would help all of us if the club would give us some recognition and place something in the magazine. After all, it would benefit everybody involved. We are getting new members for the club, and our attendance numbers will rise.

 

As the chapter, we are in the planning stages to get injured service men and women out of area hospitals to take them fishing. Also, we are planning to get the big brothers and big sisters of America involved for other events as well.

 

With all that being said, where does it say that it is for individual gain? My question, in regards to what do we need the club for, is that they don't want to get involved or recognize our doings!! Think about that!

Kai; Life Member; South-Texas Chapter Chairman; 2337 Posts on old Forum/BB; Atascosa, Texas (just ouside San Antonio)

Maybe i wrote my post alittle wrong getting the wrong message out, i truly myself don't beleive in the self or single reconigtion either, never have , these events and particapations are group organized and so they should be pertrade as so, all i was trying to say is we got to keep plugging away and make our words be heard, eventually they got to see the real picture, the way i'm reading into this topic is your mad because the club doesn't recongnice these things so why should we care. You guyz are all doing great things, and i read about them every day, keep it up and eventually you'll be heard, never give up guyz, start a local web site, make posters and put them up in tackle shops, put together a fishing tournament, ya have to do the leg work to be heard, sooner or later the clubs gonna read what we do somewhere's else and then maybe they'll open up there eye's, again sorry if my post was misunderstood, just keep up the good work and writing about it. Doug.
TIGHTLINES!! Don't let your kid be the one that got away!!!!!

Hey Kaiman, I can think of no better thread on this board than this one. Make us a petition, post it here. I think many would sign it. Lets see if the members will come together and be heard in one voice. Even if you have to e-mail it, it`s not you by yourself, it would be the members. Just an idea.

 

 

 

 

/

Seems ridiculous, but it sounds like the club should have a separate news letter for members only up dating the folks about stuff like member meets. It could be quarterly or bi-annual. They could give the organizers a deadline to get all of their information in so it could be put into the news letter before the event. Seems silly to me to try and promote a club that doesn't even want to lift a finger to help though. My hat is off to the fine folks that go out of their way to make these events happen. Hopefully the club will get their heads out of where the sun doesn't shine and appreciate your efforts as well. Better yet let me explain it to them. THESE PEOPLE ARE MARKETING THE CLUB FOR YOU FOR FREE... THAT EQUALS MORE MORE IN YOUR GREEDY LITTLE POCKETS.  Anyway thats my two shiny pennies worth. Good luck with all of this years up coming meets.

 

 

Angry Bob NAFC Life Member Registered Smallie Fanatic

I second the petition!Good idea, maybe get a members list and have it sent to each and every member to be signed, kinda like sending the tie around, then you have writen sigintures and show how devoted we are by sending it out, if guyz are serious about this then it will be done, example make a list by starting a post, send it to the first guy on the list have him sign it  and mail it to the next guy on the list and so on. i don't think a e-mail petition carry's much weight, were as if they see a writen one with signitures from across the north america, then  maybe they'll start taking us more seriouslly. I seriously hope we can follow thru with something i would love to particapate in a great cause to have our word heard for a change, i guess maybe a post  to address, all the concerns would be in order to make sure everyone is on the same page, just some thoughts, getter done!
TIGHTLINES!! Don't let your kid be the one that got away!!!!!