Dispatches from the Middle River » IFTD

Headed to IFTD

Tom Sadler — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 22:31:25 +0000

Dispatches is going mobile to Denver bright and early tomorrow. First the AFFTA board meeting on Wednesday, then the IFTD Show Thurs thru Saturday.

If you want to stay up to date on the show, “like” the IFTD Facebook page and follow IFTD on Twitter.

I will also try and log in a few posts from the show as well.

Stay tuned!

AFFTA board election results

Tom Sadler — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 17:12:38 +0000

As board member of the American Fly Fishing Trade Association it is my pleasure to report on the results of the recent election. There were 28 applicants for nine board seats. Making it the most competitive election in AFFTA’s history.

AFFTA strives to be sure all segments of the fly-fishing industry are represented on the board. Our by-laws require two members from each industry category must be appointed to the board prior to filling at-large seats.

For this election, in order to maintain industry diversity, four of the nine available board positions needed to be filled first. Then the the five remaining seats could be filled.

Here is the breakdown of the election results:
Representatives (1 required)
Scott Harkins – San Miguel Mountain & River Products

Media/PR&MKT/Associations/Government/Educational (1 required)
Kate Fox – Casting for Recovery

Retailer (2 required)
Pat Pendergast – The Fly Shop, Inc.
Dustin Carlson – Fishwest

At Large Seats (5 required)
Jeff Wieringa – Scientific Anglers
David Heller – Ross Reels USA / Ross Worldwide Outdoors
Larry Barrett – Far Bank Enterprises
Riley Cotter – Umpqua Feather Merchants
Mike Gawtry – LL Bean

As the AFFTA announcement noted, “It is worth mentioning that more than 50% of AFFTA members participated in this year’s election. This is an incredible turnout for any election and a clear demonstration that the association is more active than ever as we reinvent the fly fishing trade during these challenging economic times.

We are excited about the future and look forward to kicking off the year with everyone at the new International Fly Tackle Dealer Show this coming month!”

To become an AFFTA member of you can download an application HERE or get more info HERE.

AFFTA’s International Fly Tackle Dealer show

Tom Sadler — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:13:23 +0000

As a new AFFTA board member it has been entertaining to read posts (my favorite), comments, and email regarding the trade show and the association’s future. Now it is settled and the fly-fishing industry has it’s own show. Here are some important points about the process and decision.

The AFFTA board and staff had a lot of careful and thoughtful deliberations as we considered a new show among our options. We looked at every option – including partnering with ASA, OR, Chuck, and other show producers that approached us in the past two weeks. The process took time, but it was worth it to be sure we had solid information for a final decision.

In the end the board firmly believes that an independent show is in the best interests of the fly-fishing industry. That decision is validated by the overwhelmingly positive response so far.

The hiring of an industry veteran like Randi Swisher makes the success we expect achievable. The proceeds from the International Fly Tackle Dealer show will be put to work for the industry. Retailers will now be directly involved in our decision making process on show decisions like dates, format, features and other elements.

Those of us with a passion for fly-fishing deserve our own show and our own association. Now is the time for folks to get involved and help make this show a success and AFFTA stronger.