Presidents Corner
Happy New Year! It’s time to start thinking about fishing again now that the holidays are behind us. There will be a lot going on this year as far as your club is concerned. Our first general membership meeting will be January 28, 2020. The legendary Bob Clouser will be our presenter. He is always willing to share valuable information and hilarious fishing stories. Don’t miss this kick off to our best year yet! Our silent auction and Christmas raffle were great successes. The silent auction netted $682.50. The Christmas raffle netted $440.00. Now we need to collect this year’s dues. Please make an effort to pay your dues at our next general meeting. Our new treasurer, Justice Rivera, and our secretary, Don Killingsworth, will be collecting dues at a table just inside the door so bring cash or a check made payable to FFFA. The dues remain unchanged for 2020. One of our association’s primary goals in 2019 was to increase membership. We have not been able to make big gains but Keith Braun’s fly tying class did get us some much needed exposure with the younger anglers. There are plenty of like minded people in Brevard County that want to enjoy the activities our club has to offer. Let’s double our efforts and meet our goal of expanding membership in 2020. Each one of us can spread the word to the anglers we know. It is difficult to convince some recreational fishermen to try our methods of angling. Most recreational fishermen have heard about the frustrations associated with tying flies, casting long distances and catching fish with flies. Dispel the myths whenever possible and stress the pleasures associated with casting a fly to fish and the rush of seeing that fish attack a lure made of feathers or synthetic fibers. If each one of us can share the excitement we feel with at least one person we are bound to make a few converts. We will have numerous outings in 2020 including the Everglades canal trip which will take place April 23rd to the 26th. Last year was the first time I was able to go. I had a great time and really learned a lot. (Thank you Ron Nemets!) If you have not made it before you should really make an effort to go. More information on the hotel and outing will come soon. Thank you to all of the members that assisted in the planning, preparation and hosting of our 2019 holiday party. If you were unable to attend you missed a great time and a chance to win a brand new flats boat! O.K. I’m just kidding about the flat’s boat but the raffle prizes and gift exchange gifts were the best in years! I also want to thank Richard Goode of Harry Goode’s for donating a rod for the Holiday raffle; Joe Sherer for tying the flies for the raffle tree and Bob Clouser for donating a shadow box with one of his world famous flies and a video that I was very lucky to have obtained during the gift exchange. A special thank you goes to our venue host, Donna Gabor, who invited us to celebrate at Viera East’s Resident’s Center even though she had suffered a tragedy in the days leading up to our celebration. Her dedication to this club during a very difficult time in her life is nothing short of amazing. She has earned a special place in our hearts. Thank you Donna! More improvements will be coming to our website soon. It has had a few unexpected hiccups but your board is working hard to fix any perceived problems. We will do our best to keep it current. We welcome any suggestions and/or submissions from our members. Our board is made up of volunteers from the membership. They work passionately to improve the club for all of us. The more help the board can get from individuals like you the better the website and the club will be. See you on the 28th!
Steve Moon