After the usual just-after-the-deadline surge, we've now got 40 Regular Members registered for the Calaveras Conference, and about 70 total attendees, counting Supporting Members and guests.

 

Several of the Supporting Members registered to attend recently joined OWAC, so this will give us an opportunity to welcome them aboard in person.

 

Confirmations and detailed itineraries should arrive by mail sometime this week (9/17 to 9/21).

Zack

•           Congratulations to Andy Lightbody of Rocky Mountain Televisionwhose work won three first-place awards, a second and a third in the 2007 Rocky Mountain Outdoor Writers and Photographers contest.

•           Diane Strachan sent the following note about founding member John Reginato, who passed away July 28:

 

I just read the newsletter and I wanted to submit a bit more on John Reginato.

Herb Caine said, "Don't sell it, tell it." John Reginato would say, "Don't sell it, give it."

There is always more to be said and felt about John...

It was too many years ago that John said I needed to come to an OWAC meeting because we needed some "girls" to join. And with that invitation, considering the source, I actually went!

He scooped me up from wandering the California river banks and for years taught me everything he could about public relations and connecting people to the outdoors. Under that huge influential wing of his I met many amazing writers, new friends, and OWAC members.

John set the standards high. He often said, "Media always comes first; stop whatever you're doing and take that call!" and "If they don't like your first idea, send them three others," and "Be the resource. Provide lots of information. Don't sell it, give it!"

John set the tone with many of us to help the public explore northern California — just get out there and do it!

John was fun, generous, insightful, hard-headed, intelligent, strategic, willing to go the extra mile for  all of us, and inspirational for me. I will always appreciate him.

•           Lynn and Glenn Pribus have moved east to Virginia. "But I'm still about 80% California <sigh>" wrote Lynn.

Supporting Member Notes

•           OWAC welcomes new Supporting Member Lake Resources Group, inventor and manufacturer of revolutionary, patent pending IronClad® soft bait technologies, lures and components, which are nearly indestructible by fish strikes or regular field use by anglers. For a letter from President and CEO Ben Hobbins and additional details on IronClad technology, click here . Hobbins will be attending the Calaveras conference.

 

•           OWAC also welcomes the Placer County Visitors Council as a new Supporting Member. Our primary contact is Executive Director Jan Decker, who will be attending the Calaveras conference. He can be reached at (530) 887-2111 or jancdecker@visitplacer.com. For more information on Placer County, which stretches all the way from the foothill country around Roseville to the northern and western shores of Lake Tahoe, visit www.visitplacer.com.

 

•           OWAC's third new Supporting Member this month is Benchmade Knife Company, Inc. Benchmade manufactures knives for a loyal and ever-growing following of knife users. "As we move into the 21st century we are poised for even more exciting opportunities, innovations and ongoing total world-class quality," says the company. "Here at Benchmade we employ a simple philosophy — 'Make it cool, make it solid, make it happen and definitely make it Benchmade.'" Our primary contact is PR Coordinator Emily DuPlessis, who will be attending the Calaveras conference. She can be reached at (503) 655-6004 x125 or emily@benchmade.com. For more on the company, visit www.benchmade.com.

 

•           United Anglers of Southern California's 6th Annual Garage Sale Fundraiser set for Nov. 18. click here

 

•           Troutstock 2007 participants take home over $33,000 in prizes during Labor Day Weekend event, co-produced by Mono County Tourism and Mammoth Lakes Tourism. click here

 

•           Eleven farms and historical sites welcome visitors to experience rural life at its finest during Placer County Farm & Barn Tour, Oct. 14. The 2007 theme celebrates the family farms that feed us and our agricultural heritage and future. click here

 

•           Hobie Cat introduces single and tandem inflatable kayaks powered by their patented MirageDrive technology that lets kayakers pedal, leaving their hands free for other activities like fishing or taking photos. click here

 

•           Creekside Inn & Resort, represented by Laramore Communications and located on the Russian River in Sonoma County, opens 12 new eco-friendly Nature’s Cottages. click here

 

•           Alpen Optics' model 492 "Butterfly Bino" offers minimum focusing distance of four feet. click here

 

•           Newly formed Eastern Sierra Cultural and Heritage Alliance promotes cultural attractions, produces and distributes an exceptional brochure map highlighting over 20 cultural destinations along Highway 395. (release from Mammoth Lakes Tourism). click here

 

•           The American Sportfishing Association's annual Sportfishing Summit is set for October 10-12 in Sanibel FL. Members of the media are encouraged to attend this event that brings the sportfishing industry together to discuss its most pressing issues. For more information, visit www.asafishing.org or contact Mary Jane Williamson, (703) 519-9691, x227, or Leslie Boatman, x222.

 

•           Sonoma County Tourism is launching a new website and looking for blog postings and video or audio podcasts about travels and adventures in and around the county. PR, Marketing and Communications Manager Keri Hanson will be at the Calaveras conference; her email is khanson@sonomacounty.com.

 

 

Committee Update

Awards: Jack Holder and Bill Becher — Awards committee members are working on revisions to this year's awards procedures and categories. Please be sure to send your comments and suggestions to the committee via Zack Thomas at z.thomas@mac.com.

Tear sheets: Ken Jones — Send in a tear sheet, and you're automatically entered in a drawing for a free conference. Address is 1701 Lakeshore Dr., Lodi, CA 95242.

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

Californian of the Year: Craig Hanson — Californian of the Year honoree State Senator David Cogdill of Modesto and his wife Stephanie will be our guests on Sunday night in Calaveras. Sen. Cogdill will accept his award prior to dinner at Ironstone Vineyards.

         Nominations for Californian of the Year are open year round. The last day to

nominate a candidate for 2008 is June 1, 2008. Please email me if you have any questions: sfangler@mindspring.com.

Newsmaker: Craig Hanson — Welcome to the world of politics. In the past three months our invitation to Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman has gone from "the date is open" to "Mr. Chrisman cherishes his time with his family." At this time, it's not looking good. I've requested another high ranking official from Resources, but have not received an answer. I'm still looking for someone to talk about water movement.

Craft Improvement: Craig Hanson — The four Craft Improvement sessions in Calaveras will be 50 minutes each. Two will run concurrently for the first session, and then the remaining two for the second session. In other words, you get to choose two of the four.

         Options for the first session will be "Web 101" (building and maintaining your own site vs. having it done professionally, as well as the technical and design aspects of building a site) and "Beyond Point-and-Shoot" (a nuts-and-bolts discussion of SLR photography, covering ISO, aperture, shutter speed, aperture-priority and shutter-priority modes, lens selection, etc.).

         Options for the second session will be a seminar/demonstration led by perennial award-winner Bill Becher on how to shoot, post and work with photos on your website, and "Grammar and Punctuation: Answers to the Questions You're Embarrassed to Ask," led by Kathie Morgan and Zack Thomas.

Site Selection: Craig Hanson (copy by Zack) — The Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau has agreed to host our Spring Conference in 2008, and the Santa Barbara Conference & Visitors Bureau and Film Commission has agreed to host the Fall Conference. These are both entirely new conference sites for us and should make for great events.

Raffle: Carol Martens — Remington Arms Company has generously donated a new 12-gauge Model 1100 G3 auto-loading shotgun for the fall raffle. Carol encourages all attendees to bring along their own idea of "Unique Items" to Calaveras this month! Regular and Supporting members can contact Carol at carolmartens@earthlink.net or (818) 883-8125 regarding contributions.

Bylaws: Kathie Morgan — The bylaws committee is back at work after a "summer vacation." We just finished clarifying the process of selecting a president, as we were asked to do by the board at the Bishop meeting.

•           Katina Oliphant passed along an ad from her school for a Sacramento-area copywriter with fitness-industry experience for ongoing contract work. click here

 

•           CDFG announces festive archery clinic for teens and youth. click here

 

•           Six more youth anglers awarded $5,000 scholarships for leadership and named to Kids All-American Fishing Team. click here

 

•           Landmark "Central Coast" Marine Protected Areas will be in effect Sept. 21; California’s Marine Life Protection Act launched as first region "opens." click here

 

•           John McCamman named Acting Director for California Department of Fish and Game, replacing Ryan Broddrick, whose resignation was effective Aug. 31. click here

 

•           Congressman Mike Thompson, Richard Arrowood and Michael Mondavi to host fundraising reception for Olympic shooter and three-time medalist Kim Rhode Sept. 21 in Napa. click here

 

•           Butte College in Oroville partners with Department of Fish and Game to train new wardens. click here

•           Late-September CDFG events include Free Fishing Day, Oroville Salmon Festival, upland and waterfowl hunting clinics, guided crane tours. click here 

•           New California monthly publication on RVing looking to get a few writer click here

•           Casagrande Press seeks fishing misadventure stories for anthology (previously published work considered as well as new). click here