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2010 FFF Southern Council NominationClub of the YearOzark Fly FishersI’m proud to nominate the Ozark Fly Fishers as the Southern Council Club of the Year for 2010. The Ozark Fly Fishers continue to support the goals of the Council as we approach our 40th year of existence in 2011. Throughout its history, this organization and its members continue efforts not only to promote the sport of fly fishing but to work strenuously to protect and enhance our environment for future generations. At the same time, the club also provides an opportunity to bring people together and develop new and often lifelong friendships. And people have responded--our membership has remained consistently at the 300-325 level. Our membership just recently voted to incorporate the club and work toward becoming a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization. Ozark remains very active with education programs, providing fly fishing and fly tying programs through the St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Department which introduce several hundred people to the sport every year. Our members share their time generously through these programs and in response to all community requests. Whether it’s fly tying session at a Boy Scout troop, the Kid’s Fishing Fair at the Busch Conservation Area or the St. Louis Go Fish program, we have always responded. We are also working with disabled veterans through Project Healing Waters at the Jefferson Barracks VA Hospital. Our meetings are a source of entertainment and enlightenment for our members featuring speakers like Dave Whitlock, Mike Kruse and Norm Crisp. We have both Certified and Master Casting Instructors available before each meeting along with a monthly fly tying demonstrator. We have a video library and our raffles provide prizes at each meeting. To publicize these efforts our web site, www.ozarkflyfishers.org, and our monthly newsletter are both very informative, offering articles on club activities, information on conservation issues, photos, fly recipes, recommendations, or simply an opportunity for club members to share their thoughts. We also held our first Trivia Night last year to help raise funds for our conservation and education efforts. Our interest in conservation issues remains a priority. Our club members are also registered members of the Conservation Federation of Missouri and we have established a directorship in that Federation. We continue to monitor and support efforts such as the Missouri Stream Team project, the Friends of the North Fork and White Rivers, the Smallmouth Alliance and others. In the same spirit, we continue to participate wholeheartedly in Southern Council and other conclaves including the national conclave. Our members are serving as directors, presenting programs, tying flies, supervising casting contests and in general volunteering their time and skill to contribute to the success of these events. Ozark was the first club to step up when the Council requested that member clubs underwrite a portion of the Conclave expenses and we have funded the Annual Council Awards and Casting Awards. Ozark has become involved with the national Casting for Recovery program for breast cancer survivors. In 2004 we supported the first Missouri/Arkansas gathering in this program. For the last six years, Ozark has provided the funds for one participant at the Missouri CFR Program . In addition we supply flies and fly boxes for the participants. Many of our members travel to the retreat site each year and serve as River Helpers for these deserving ladies. We are in the process of purchasing a memorial picnic site at Bennett Spring State Park to honor Ed Story, our long-time member and friend. Ed was the owner and operator of Feather-Craft Fly Fishing in St. Louis for many years. All of this involves a lot of effort--effort that was recognized by our parent organization, the Federation of Fly Fishers, when Ozark was awarded the 2005 McKenzie Cup as the national FFF club of the year. Respectfully submitted, |
