2008 OWC Conference Wrap-Up

2008 OWC Conference Wrap-up By Len Rich, Site Chair Thanks to a small but dedicated and hard-working committee, the 2008 OWC Conference in Elora, Ontario, is now history. By every possible measurement and in the opinion of those who attended, it was one of the best conferences in living memory. That is an amazing observation considering that in late January there was no convention planned at all for 2008! My conscience would not let me accept that option when I knew, from past experience in coordinating such events, that it could be achieved. It was only through my limited knowledge of the Elora area, having covered it for the Canadian Fly Fishing Championships in 2006 that I proposed to the BOD that I could investigate the possibility of pulling it together on short notice. Thanks to Jack Bramm, a good friend I made at the 2006 event, I was provided with names of people I should contact. That’s when I met Deb Dalziel of the Elora-Fergus Tourism office. During a quick trip around town it became obvious that we would have to break the mold of past conferences and throw the book out the window. What’s Inside: 2008 Conference W rap-Up Snapshots from Elora From the President’s Desk Executive Director’s Report Central Region Report Midwest Region Report Eastern Region Report Western Region Report New Member Profiles Annual Communications Awards Winners 2008 CSIA National Fishing Week Writers Award Canada’s 2009 By thinking outside the box, I put together a proposal for the Recreational Fisheries Awards BOD which included staying at local B&Bs and Inns, holding The Business of Communicating our dinner events at a racetrack, and offering a variety of new New Member Profiles activities that included fly fishing on the world-famous Grand Market News River, spin fishing at Belwood Lake, hiking, canoeing, Corporate News educational tours, taking a zipline across the Elora Gorge, and learning what it felt like to be in a 1racing sulky at the racetrack. Continued at Page 3 OOWWCC Executive, Board of Directors and Committee Chairs President Midwest Region Director Don Meredith Duane Radford Telephone: 780-892-2870 Telephone: 780-487-4931 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Inside Outdoors is the Chairman of the Board / Central Region Director official newsletter of the Treasurer Daniel Kennaley Outdoor Writers of Canada, Susan Kane-Doyle Telephone: 519- 856-0375 a non-profit professional Telephone: 905-987-5813 E-mail: [email protected] and educational E-mail: [email protected] organization. Vice President Eastern Region Director Executive Director Brad Fenson Perry Munro T.J. Schwanky Telephone: 780-450-3970 Telephone: 902-542-2658 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Editor Vanessa Harrop 2nd Vice President Corporate Director Chris Hockley Peter Wood National Headquarters Telephone: 705-357-9919 Telephone: 519-220-0223 P.O. Box 934 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Cochrane, Alberta T4C 1B1 Executive Director Awards Chair 403-932-3585 T.J. Schwanky Shirley Teasdale [email protected] Telephone: 403-932-3585 Telephone: 519-795-7991 [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Mentor Program Chair Western Region Director James Murray Len Rich Telephone: 250-833-1976 Telephone: 519-943-0692 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] 2 2008 OWC Conference Wrap-up (Continued from Page 1) By Len Rich, Site Chair That’s when our committee was formed. Jack Bramm and John Dadds accepted the job of pulling together the fishing activities, which they achieved with professionalism and panache. Lloyd Fridenburg, who at the time was our acting ED, and Peter Wood, the newly appointed Corporate Director, came on board with no hesitation whatsoever. Of course, Deb Dalziel was a key player, as was staff of her office, and we could never thank them enough for their huge involvement. President Don Meredith gave us carte blanche to proceed, and I kept him informed on our progress with periodic reports as the conference materialized. The committee kept in touch electronically through emails and met every two weeks leading up to the final week. The rest is history. The conference proceeded as planned and went off without a snag. I believe we proved that a small town with sufficient points of interest and activities could (and did) hold a conference for a group of our size. We enjoyed the small town atmosphere, learned that we didn’t all have to stay under one roof, found that events could be held successfully in non-traditional venues (the raceway), and that a small but dedicated committee could make it all happen on short notice if given the flexibility and confidence of the BOD to work unimpeded. 3 4 From the President’s Desk By Don H. Meredith It was a beautiful day to be canoeing. It wasn’t too hot or cold and the water on the Speed River was tranquil, betraying the stream’s name. My wife Betty and I, along with Adrienne and Duane Radford, were in Guelph on the Sunday morning after the OWC conference. We were on the “Poppies and Paddles” FAM tour, sponsored by Grand River Country, a tourism partnership of the municipalities along the Grand River. The tour started in Guelph on the shore of the Speed River—a tributary of the Grand—where we boarded two canoes provided by Speed River Paddling, a small canoe and kayak rental business. The student owner of the business, Gregory Mungall, gave us the requisite lecture about being safe in a canoe, wearing the provided flotation devices and being aware that canoes can easily tip, so don’t stand up or make quick movements. All good advice Betty and I had heard many times since we each learned how to paddle canoes in scout camps, many eons ago. Splash We paddled up the gentle river, stopping along the way to view the sites listed in the self-guided tour. The Radfords stayed well ahead of Betty and I, which worked out well, as I was able to get some photos of them on the river. We followed them around the course, enjoying the scenery and occasional wildlife sightings. On the return leg the Radfords were about 200 metres ahead of us when we traversed a shallow portion of the river. Betty was in the forward seat trying to steer us through the narrow channel when she saw we were about to collide with a large rock sticking out of the water. She swung out her paddle to push us away when suddenly I found myself in the water, splashing about to get my footing and watching water pour into the suddenly swamped canoe. Standing up in the calf-deep water, I saw Betty was all right as she stood up while holding onto the gunwale of the canoe and laughing, saying, “I can’t believe I did that!” After confirming we had not lost anything (and my turning the air blue with my comments on the situation), we proceeded to drag the waterlogged craft to shore, where we dumped out the water, repacked our drenched gear, and re-boarded. We speedily made our way back to the canoe rental where we were late for lunch. By this time Hugh Best had joined our group, and everyone had a good chuckle after learning no real harm had been done in our accident (well, there was a point-and-shoot digital camera that didn’t completely survive). Lessons re- learned: 1) don’t make sudden moves in a canoe; 2) pack the gear you don’t want to get wet in a dry bag; and 3) stuff happens, especially in a canoe, even on a tranquil stream in beautiful weather! After changing into dry clothes, we continued our tour to McCrae House, the historic home of Colonel John McCrae, author of the famous Remembrance Day poem, "In Flanders Fields". The home is a well looked after museum of the time and worth a visit. All-in-all an interesting day to be sure—not to mention the story opportunities. 5 Thanks to Deb Dalziel, Coordinator for Elora and Fergus Tourism, for putting this and other FAM tours together for the conference with the help from people like Sue Trerise, Senior Business Development Specialist for Tourism for the City of Guelph. Board Meeting The Elora conference will go down as a turning point in OWC history. The Board of Directors met face-to- face for the first time in 17 months on May 29 and had a frank discussion about what had happened over the last nine months, as well as the last ten years, and where we should be going in the future. A draft revised bylaws document was presented, debated and amended. That amended document will be presented to the membership for ratification (as required by the present bylaws) via e-mail and postal mail in the fall. If ratified by a simple majority of votes cast, the bylaws will come into effect in the New Year. These bylaws will ensure the Board does its due diligence in looking after OWC business and protecting the confidence members must have in the organization. AGM The Annual General Meeting on Saturday, May 31, was also a success. The members present ratified what the board has been doing and its approach for the future. Some concern was expressed for recruiting new members, especially those outside the traditional outdoor writing genres of fishing and hunting. I made it clear that that was indeed the approach I had hoped to follow a year ago.

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