Our supporting membership has doubled this year, and we would like to welcome them and thank them for their vote of confidence.

     We appreciate all members, new and old, who continue to lend their support and talents to OWAC.  It is you who continue to make this an outstanding organization.

     I’d also like to acknowledge our Board of Directors.  Their leadership, hard work and talents have made this a banner year.

     And I’d like to thank Zack Thomas, our devoted, hard-working Executive Director, who has demonstrated a clear understanding of his duties and executed them flawlessly on behalf of OWAC.

We all have plenty to be thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you

Gary Graham gary@garycgraham.com

Awards information and entry forms were sent out via email Nov. 13. If you didn't receive the email (it came from z.thomas@mac.com) or if you were unable to open the attachments, email or call me for help. There have been significant changes to the awards program this year, so read the information thoroughly.

 

Dues statements will be distributed via email the first week of December. Please watch for yours. If you need a hard copy, you'll be able to fill in your own name and address and print one.

 

Before Dec. 1, a working draft of the new member directory will also be distributed via email as a print-ready PDF. Less than three-quarters of members have so far responded to my repeated requests for information, but that's the way it goes. Clearly, if I wait for everyone to send me their information, we'll never have a directory.

 

At this stage, it will print as nothing more than a long, single-sided document on standard 8.5"x11" paper. I'm working on formatting it so that, after printing, it can be simply run through a single-sided-to-double-sided copier and spiral-bound for a few bucks at Kinko's into a booklet the same size as the old directory.

 

The board has asked me to reiterate that all board meetings, including the January meeting, are open to the general membership. The January meeting is tentatively scheduled for Friday morning, Jan. 11 at the San Mateo County Event Center in San Mateo. It coincides, incidentally, with the International Sportsmen's Exposition at the same venue, where I'll be giving a seminar and slideshow on Baja trailer-boating and fishing.

 

Finally, for anyone who hasn't discovered them already, several slideshows of member photos from the recent Calaveras conference have been posted on the website. Just click on the "Photos by Members" link near the middle of the front page.

•        OWAC founding member and former President George Carl passed away at his home October 24 after a battle with leukemia. To read his obituary in the Napa Valley Register, for which he wrote a weekly outdoors column for more than 18 years, click here.

 

         In an email announcing George's passing to the membership, I took a moment to recall the first and only time I met him:

                  

            I didn't meet George until OWAC's 2006 fall conference in Idyllwild, where I had the privilege of sharing a bass boat with him for a morning. He had recently undergone his bone marrow transplant and said several times how lucky he felt to have the energy again to enjoy the outdoors and his family and friends. He didn't know then how long his newly recovered strength would last, but he said it was an extraordinary gift, whether it lasted two more days or two more decades.

            Fishing was slow, and I don't think I caught a single fish. I spent most of my time taking pictures anyway, which seemed more important that morning than catching bass. A couple of them are attached. George and our guide caught a number of little one-pounders and then, just before we headed in, George tied into a six-pounder down deep that he fought for a good 10 minutes on light spinning gear. I've rarely seen anyone get as much simple pleasure from catching a fish as George did tugging on that big bass.

            One of the pictures later ended up on the cover of Western Outdoors, and I hope George enjoyed seeing it there. I also hope he continued to find so much pleasure in his world for the year of life that remained to him and that he stayed as clear-eyed and graceful in the face of uncertainty as he was that morning. I don't doubt that he did.

 

         Among the many short, sad notes that poured in was this recollection of George from former President Mike Moropoulos:

 

            I too was at that conference and at Diamond Valley as well and spoke with George before and after his “catch.” How fitting. I must admit that when I saw and spoke with him at the hotel on Sunday I was very surprised at how well he looked and how energized he appeared to be. Surprised because the George Carl I had in mind was a physically and psychologically worn, weight-losing giant of a man. Talk about a surprise that was easy to take.

            We did have a great laugh as he recalled an episode at an earlier conference where he and I shared a motel room (I went to school about catching record trout.) On the Tuesday morning of that conference I was antsy about getting on the road to the south while George was in no hurry since he was not far from his “country” so I bailed out early.

            Being antsy, I said goodbye, picked up all of my belongings in one dumb rush and walked to my truck. With a load that would require two more hands and an extra arm, I carefully put down on the blacktop my camera and laptop so I could unlock the camper, loaded the rest of my gear and took off.

            It was San Luis  Obispo before reality crept into my wandering thoughts: Yep, left them there right in the parking lot. My first thoughts were the $3,000 replacement cost; whether there any way I could convince an insurance company to cover it; and whether I'd be able to keep this “incident” quiet.

            I was home at 1:00 p.m., got a phone call at 2:00 p.m., and on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. received an Express Mail package that contained — a laptop and a camera.

            Of course the Tuesday phone call was from my “roomie” George Carl who had found my mistake on the parking lot blacktop and immediately realized who would be dumb enough to do that. I sent him a check to cover the special mailing; he tore it up and mailed it back to me.

            What a joy and a privilege to have spent time with such high quality and what a sense of loss to hear of his passing.

            George, God bless you and yours (and what a nice 6-pounder).

 

Gloria Jones, another former President, sent a great photo of George taken at the 2002 Calaveras conference.

 

•        Check out Barbara Steinberg's story "Enrich Your Holiday Spirit" from LUXLIFE. click here

 

•        Zack Thomas made the front page of November's Outdoors Unlimited, the newsletter of the Outdoor Writers Association of America. click here

Supporting Member Notes

•           2007 Sportfishing Summit brings industry leaders together (release from American Sportfishing Association). click here

 

•           Partnership for Sustainable Oceans announces alternative marine resources protection plan for California (release from American Sportfishing Association). click here

 

•           'Physh Ed' continues to hook young anglers; physical education teachers encouraged to apply for fishing and boating grants (release from American Sportfishing Association). click here

 

•           California Waterfowl Association's Yolo Chapter celebrates 20 years and $20 million. click here

Committee Update

Awards: Bill Becher and Jack Holder — Awards information and entry forms were sent out by email. Please read them carefully, as some of the rules, entry form questions and contest categories have changed this year.

         We are still lining up judges, so if any OWAC member have contacts with outdoor writers, editors and photographers outside of California who might want to serve as judges, please email billbecher@yahoo.com with their names and contact info.

         The Craft Excellence Awards are a big part of our Spring Meeting, so please dust off your best work and send in those entries. —Bill Becher

Tear sheets: Ken Jones — Send in a tear sheet, and you're automatically entered in a drawing for a free conference. Deadline for tear sheets related to 2007 conferences (Bishop and Calaveras) is March 1, 2008. Address is 1701 Lakeshore Dr., Lodi, CA 95242.

Outdoor Outreach: Ken Jones — Grant applications can be downloaded from the OWAC website at www.owac.org/president/outreach.htm.

         This year, each of the following five organizations received a $250 grant: Acorn Soupe, a group that connects kids in the Napa-Sonoma area with nature projects; The Lassen Park Foundation (for its youth camping program); Yosemite Outdoor Adventures (the educational arm of Supporting Member the Yosemite Association); the Placer Nature Center (to help deliver their "Learning from the Land" program for middle school students); and the Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute (to help send fifth-graders to Environmental Education Tent Camp).

Californian of the Year: Craig Hanson — At the Calaveras conference, the 2007 award was presented to State Senator Dave Cogdill of Modesto. Sen. Cogdill won the award primarily for his work on Assembly Bill 7, known as the Inland Fisheries Restoration Act of 2005, which dedicates up to 33 1/3% of the revenue from sport fishing license sales to maintain a schedule of fish production for state hatcheries based on a poundage per license formula.

         Keep in mind, we're always looking for a California of the Year candidate. The award is presented annually at the fall conference to a person who exemplifies the spirit of the outdoors through contributions above and beyond the call of duty. Please email Craig Hanson with nominations or questions. The 2008 nomination deadline is June 30.

Newsmaker: Craig Hanson — Got an idea for a future newsmaker topic and/or speaker? Email Craig at sfangler@mindspring.com.

         In Calaveras, Mike Jackson, general counsel to the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and special water council to Plumas County, delivered a thought-provoking discussion of alternatives to dams for water storage in our northern counties. Michael can be reached at mjatty@sbcglobal.net.

Craft Improvement: Craig Hanson — It's likely we will present four craft improvement sessions again in Tuolumne County. Member feedback so far has been positive. If you have any additional positive or negative comments about the expanded craft improvement program, please email me or Zack Thomas.

         Building on the photography demonstrations presented by Zack Thomas and Bill Becher at Calaveras, I'm hoping Rick Martin will give away some trade secrets to Photoshop-ing his award winning photos at the spring conference.

         We're planning on carrying a web theme into a third consecutive conference. A member has volunteered to demonstrate how to piece together your own web page. He promises to make a functional page within the allotted time of the talk. We'll have more when we know it can be done.

Bylaws: Kathie Morgan — We are in the home stretch and believe that we will have a complete draft ready by the next board meeting.

Raffle: Carol Martens — It isn't too early to begin gathering items for the Spring raffle. Regular and Supporting members can contact Carol at carolmartens@earthlink.net or (818) 883-8125 regarding contributions.

History: Kathie Morgan — The History Committee has proposed a program called "Legends of OWAC" to honor our most distinguished members. We would appreciate membership input.

         The proposed criteria are 1) at least 20 years of OWAC membership and 2) some board service.

         The benefits to the recipients could include 1) a tangible award of some sort (plaque, certificate, lapel pin), 2) a free conference, 3) a two- to four-minute opportunity to speak at a conference, 4) a dues-free life membership.

         Do you like it? Would you prefer an amended version? Do you not like it? Why (or why not)? Please contact Kathie Morgan at (707) 838-3270 or fishrap@earthlink.net.

•           11th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count, led by Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, scheduled for Feb. 15-18, 2008. See www.birdsource.org/gbbc for more details and background. Media-only contact is Ms. Pat Leonard, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, (607) 2454-2137, pel27@cornell.edu.

•          Pacific Coast Sportfishing looking for story ideas It’s that time of year again when we look at new ideas, offer some of our own, and set up the feature story schedule for the entire upcoming year. click here

Tom Stienstra (1986-87)

NOTE: OWAC Historian Kathie Morgan will be contributing a series of brief pieces on former OWAC Presidents. This is the first of them.

In 1985, Tom Stienstra was logging 40,000-50,000 miles a year visiting every county in California to discover opportunities for outdoor recreation. The outdoors editor for the San Francisco Examiner, Stienstra saw that many people believed there was no place left in the state to enjoy the outdoors. He conceived a guidebook that would show them where to go, not just the best spots but all of them. The bestselling California Camping was the result.

The Shasta-Cascade Wonderland Association’s annual writers get-togethers acquainted him with enough other outdoor writers and photographers to form the nucleus of what became the Outdoor Writers Association of California. A member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America - OWAA - he believed a local group could offer even greater benefits. He sent out a letter floating the idea of OWAC to California’s writers and got a whopping 90 percent response.

First to lend support were John Reginato and the Shasta-Cascade Wonderland Association, who covered all the mailing expenses at the start, and Ed Ow, who spent countless hours creating a newsletter and designing the original OWAC logo.

By the end of 1986, the fledgling organization had 86 members, and Stienstra became the first president, holding that position for the first two years.