CT BASS FEDERATION MEETING MINUTES
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CT BASS FEDERATION NATION
MEETING MINUTES
November 16, 2006

The regular monthly meeting of the Connecticut B.A.S.S. Federation Nation was called to order November 16, at 7:30 p.m. by the Vice President.

Roll Call: The following clubs were absent:

Bell City B/M, Borderline B/M, CT Bassmen, Fairfield County B/M, Greater Hartford, Hartford County B/M, Litchfield County B/M, Mansfield Hollow B/M, Nor’ East B/M, North Eastern CT B/M, Southern CT Bass Anglers, Tobacco Valley Bass Anglers

Excused Absences from the previous month: Bass Busters

Secretary noted that there are five clubs that have missed four meetings during the year. These clubs are considered in “Bad Standing” in accordance with the By Laws. These clubs where notified when they missed their third meeting; Bell City Bassmasters, Fairfield County Bassmasters, Hartford County Bassmasters, Litchfield County Bassmasters and Mansfield Hollow Bassmasters.

The minutes of previous month’s minutes where accepted as posted.


Correspondence

Mark Burgess (Shimano) was to present the “Big Bag of the Year” award tonight. He was not able to make it. That will be done at the December meeting.


Reports of Officers


Treasurer’s Report:

As of October 31, 2006 there were the following amounts in the accounts:

CBFN General Checking - $20,164.21

CBFN Money Market Account - $11,418.14

CBFN Scholarship Checking - $79.52

CBFN Scholarship Money Market Account - $11,176.85

Scholarship Report:

Dan Nitkowski has expressed a desire to chair the Scholarship program for next year.

Conservation / Citizen Advisory / Environmental Report: David Santos

On November 3, 2006 member of the Executive Board and I attended Riverfront Recapture’s Breakfast at the Boathouse to celebrate their 25th Anniversary “Season of Celebration”. In attendance were Hartford Mayor Eddy Perez, East Hartford Mayor Melody Currey, and representatives from local Hartford businesses. We listened to speeches and viewed a PowerPoint presentation about that past 25 years. They discussed possibilities starting in 2007, how you can help, and ended with a question and answer session. The big news was the announcement of Big Mo’2007 which will take place at the new Cabela’s in East Hartford. More info to follow on Bib Mo’ 2007, but I’m hoping to get involvement with the CBFN.

I received the specs on the habitat barge and shared them with the Executive Board. Norm Stucky, BassPro Shops Fisheries Conservation Consultant, is waiting on more copies of the video of the barge in action. Once he gets the copies he will mail one out to me. I’ve exchanged emails with the DEP, and am waiting on information as to whether or not this is feasible to do. The reason being, the last thing we want to do is purchase the barge and it not be utilized efficiently; in other words just sitting there collecting dust.

We were unable to get our More Fish Grant application in. We had a very short window of opportunity, and the consensus was to wait until next year and do it properly and professionally.

There was an article in the Hartford Courant in October 2006 about the DEP’s plan to drop the water level of Moodus Reservoir about 5 feet next year when it begins planned repairs on the leaking 130-year-old Moodus Reservoir Dam. Because of this there is concern of Fishkill. I sent and email to Peter Aarrestad, who is the Supervising Fisheries Biologist Habitat of the Conservation and Enhancement Program. His reply was “We appreciate your thoughts on this but please don't overreact to the article. Upon seeing this article we quickly initiated contact with the DEP Inland Water Resources Division with our concerns. We normally provide advisory review of such projects and we will in this case also. Our aim is to avoid significant impact to fisheries resources so hopefully restoration will not be needed”. When asked if he would share their advisory review he told me “Shouldn't be a problem. I'll make a note to send you a copy of our comments. We have not yet seen anything formal to react to but IWRD is well aware of our concerns. We have informally discussed installing a sand bag "coffer dam" at the causeway to limit the drawdown to the lower reservoir. The upper reservoir is much larger in terms of surface acres and we hope that water level there would not be affected. Limiting the depth of the drawdown in the lower reservoir is also being investigated”.

I emailed Rejuvenade to ask them about being a sponsor for us. I turned over the information to Ed Weeks who is our Sponsor Chairman. He will report on this.

Youth Committee:

No report.

Tournament Committee:

Frank submitted a letter of resignation as Tournament Director. Reason stated was a personality conflict with the Executive Board. Frank expressed his “Thanks” to the Tournament Committee for all the hard work and support this year.

It was proposed that the 2007 tournament trail will be jointly directed by Jack Vinyard, Sylvia Morris with Al Guite.

It was discussed and the decision was reached that there needed to be a single point of contact for Tournament Director. Motion was made that Al Guite be the Tournament Director and Sylvia and Jack would assist him as needed. Motion for Al Guite to be the Tournament Director was adopted.

Al Guite offered this report;

1. The CBFN tournament trail for 2007 has been finalized. Please note that changes have been made to what was previously reported by Frank Dowds. The May 13, 2007 tournament on Lake Lillinonah has been rescheduled for April 22, 2007 in order to eliminate the conflict with Mothers Day. The two day state championship which was scheduled for day 1 on Candlewood and day 2 on the CT. River will now be held on Candlewood both day’s due to a conflict with the annual regatta in Middletown. We have received verbal approval from the D.E.P. for the following dates and locations.

April 22, 2007 – Lake Lillinonah – Steel Bridge
June 10, 2007 – Candlewood Lake – Squantz
July 8, 2007 – CT. River – Haddam Meadows
August 12, 2007 – Candlewood Lake – Squantz

Two Day State Championship – September 29 & 30, 2007
Candlewood Lake - Danbury Town Park

The Bryan V. Kerchal Tournament of Club Champions – August 4, 2007 – TBA

The CBFN Classic – October 13, 2007 - TBA


2. There will be a change in the application process starting in 2007.

REGISTRATION, PARTICIPATION AND ELIGIBILITY: Participation in CBFN Tournament Trail events is open to CBFN members 16 years of age or older. You must be a member in good standing with the CBFN and BASS.

(a). For all events, a properly completed and signed official application form along with the entry fee must be postmarked fifteen (15) days prior to tournament date as indicated on the tournament form. Any application postmarked after the (fifteen day) cut off will be subject to a $25.00 late fee. All applications must be received by the Tournament Director at a minimum of eight days prior to the event. Any applications received after the eighth day prior to the event will not be accepted. All late fees must be paid prior to pairings. All late fees will go towards the Classic payout.

(b). When entering the first CBFN tournament of the season, you must submit a copy of your B.A.S.S. Membership card (front & back with expiration date). If you are competing as a Boater, you must also submit a copy of your boat insurance policy (declaration page, showing effective & expiration dates & a minimum of $100,000 liability) and Safe Boating Certificate. These must be kept current and on file with the TD. This info will be kept in your personal tournament records for the year.

There will be a Tournament Committee Meeting at Sylvia’s on 9 December starting at noon. Anyone interested in joining the committee needs to attend.

Trailer – We are looking for some one to tow the trailer for next year.

BASS Club World Championship. Our teams have to be in by May 1st. The date for the Regional is June 27 -30. Location has not be firmed up yet. Champlain has been mentioned. Currently we have one team. If interested contact Jack, Al or Paul.

Fishing Advisory Report: David Santos

No Report

State Team Report: Paul Carter

Team expenses this year look to be around $12,000.00. Will have the final figures at the December meeting.

Raffle Report:

Raffle for 2007: There will be one raffle, with one prize. This will be for the Skeeter, SX180 boat. The raffle will run from January 2007 until September 2007. Each member will be required to sell ten tickets. The tickets will be $5.00 each. The tickets will come in books of five.

The first tickets to be sold will be at the shows in January and February. After the February boat/fishing show the tickets will be distributed to the clubs. We are looking at having the final drawing at the Two Day pairings meeting in September.

The boat will be available for events for show to help sell tickets. We hope to get it to some shopping malls, fairs, etc. All ideas for events are welcome.

Candlewood Lake Authority Report:

No report.

We are still looking for a volunteer to represent us at this meeting. If interested please contact Bob or Jack.

Lake Drawdown info; http://www.newstimeslive.com/news/story.php?id=1017315&ref=Growth

Lake Lillinonah Authority Report:

No Report

We are looking for someone to attend the Lake Lillinonah monthly meetings.

Financial Committee:

No report

Banquet Committee: Sylvia Morris

The yearly CBFN Banquet was held on Sat Nov.4th at The Whiting House in Plainville. There were 94 people in attendance. That is a wonderful turnout!!!

We had a free raffle for the 37 women that were there. We had two other raffles that we sold tickets for. We had over 70 raffle prizes!! These two raffles combined took in $2,490.00!!!! Our expenses for the Banquet were 1,286.71. That left a profit of $1,203.29 to be rolled over to the 2007 Banquet.

I would like to thank our guest speaker, Mr. Bob Crook.

I would also like to thank the following people for there help:
Jim Morris
Paul and Carol Carter (Great coffee Cake)
Ed and Sue Weeks
Jack and Jamie Vinyard
Bob Malloy
Ray Bessette
Dave Santos
Armand and Krista Fortier
Ken Dzurenka

and anyone else I may have overlooked!!


I would like to thank the following Sponsors for there support throughout the year and for Banquet prizes:
Guest Chargers-Sue Delelys
Trantolo&Trantolo- Joe Kowalski
Tournament Force- Mike Kane
Reynolds Garage and Marine- Tom Reynolds
Lunker City- Herb Reed
Cobra Bait- Jonathan Weeks
Candlewood Bait and Tackle- Pat Mohan
The Fish Connection
Dicks Sporting Goods
Shaws of Bristol
Stop-n-Shop
Armellinos
Evan Williams
Plano
Lowrance
Quantum
Motor-Guide
Pennzoil
Lucky Craft

I took a survey at the Banquet about the food. The results were overall good. I had a few people say it was too expensive. I did a little research into 3 other Banquet halls and the prices are all in the same range. I have booked the Whiting House again for Nov. 3rd. 2007 so we would have a place. I am still checking other options

Once again Thank-You to everyone for all your help!!

Sylvia Morris

Membership Committee:

Dave Sytulek and Armand are working on a hand out (pamphlet) for distribution at the shows.

Sponsors Committee: Ed Weeks

I responded to the contact Dave Santos gave me for Rejuvenade and they are interested in supplying us with their product for the trail. I will continue to be in touch with him and have to develop a letter that I can use to contact other possible sponsors. More to come.

Nominating Committee: Bob Antonio

Received Letter of intent to run for re-election from:

President - Bob Malloy
Vice President - Paul Carter
Secretary - Jack Vinyard
Treasurer - Sue Weeks

Have received no other nominations.

A motion made to accept all reports as given. Adopted.

Old Business

By-Law change proposals – This proposal will be voted on in December.

Received a Standing Rule change proposal from Paul Carter.

Standing Rule #8 - Federation Team Expenses. Any prize money won by the Connecticut State Team shall be distributed in the following way:

50% to the State Team Participants, in equal shares,
50% to the Connecticut BASS Federation Nation

Thought for change – This Divisional (Regional) Tournament is funded entirely by the Connecticut BASS Federation Nation. The participants are provided clothing, fuel expense, food allowance (when traveling)
And they are provided meals and boarding for a week while they are at the event. With the increase cost of everything, but mainly fuel, I would offer this change;

“All prize monies won by the Connecticut State Team shall be returned to the general fund (treasury)”

T-shirts We have short sleeve, long sleeve and hooded sweatshirts. Place order through your FED Rep or contact Paul Carter (prcfunfish1@aol.com) or Jack Vinyard (ctbassfed@sbcglobal.net). View available items and prices on the website; http://www.ctbass.com/pro_shop.htm

Meeting Location – Last month it was reported that the meeting room at Northeast Utilities would be “No Cost”. After further review, it was discovered that was not entirely correct. If we where classified as a “Charitable Organization” for taxes it would be no cost. We are classified as a “Social Club”. The cost would be for Heat and Air Conditioning. This cost would not be more than $400.00 per year.

The first meeting held at the new location will be in January. Directions will be available at the next meeting and posted on the website.

Toys for Tots – toy drive is underway. Clubs are collecting toys. Some are holding their own collection events. We will turn over the collected toys to the Marine Corp at an event scheduled for 16 December at the Westfield Meriden Mall.

New Business

B.A.S.S. Federation Nation – Online Club Roster – club administrators are now able to access your club rosters from your computer. By popular demand, BASS has designed an online system to enable you to perform your annual club update process, as well as provide you with a method to add new members and monitor your club roster throughout the year. More info and instructions can be found at:

http://www.ctbass.com/forms/BASSFederationNation-StateAdminOnlineRosterInstructionsv%201.pdf

If you have problems with the online program you can contact Jack Vinyard for assistance.

Reminder that B.A.S.S. Federation Nation dues ($20.00) are do to B.A.S.S. by January 1, 2007. Our state dues ($25.00) are due January 31,2007. The “Roster” form is available for download on the website under “Downloads / forms” section.

Standing Rule Change – Because of the changes to the Raffle format for the upcoming year. The following change is submitted.

By Law Standing Rule #11. Currently reads as follow;
Each year the Federation may hold a raffle to help defer operating costs, i.e., Connecticut B.A.S.S. Federation Nation State Team. It shall be required that affiliated Chapters (Clubs) sell twenty (20) tickets for each member as appears on their most recent roster (roster in effect 90 days prior to drawing) to fulfill their Connecticut B.A.S.S. Federation Nation obligations, i.e., Connecticut B.A.S.S. Federation Nation State Championship, Tournament of Champions. All Raffle tickets shall be turned in to the Raffle Chairperson on or before twenty (20) days prior to the drawing of the prizes (Drawing Date). No prizes may be substituted; all prizes must be accepted as printed.
Proposed change:
Each year the Federation may hold a raffle to help defer operating costs, i.e., Connecticut B.A.S.S. Federation Nation State Team. It shall be required that affiliated Chapters (Clubs) sell ten (10) tickets for each member as appears on their most recent roster (roster in effect 90 days prior to drawing) to fulfill their Connecticut B.A.S.S. Federation Nation obligations, i.e., Connecticut B.A.S.S. Federation Nation State Championship, Tournament of Champions. All Raffle tickets shall be turned in to the Raffle Chairperson on or before twenty (20) days prior to the drawing of the prizes (Drawing Date). No prizes may be substituted; all prizes must be accepted as printed.
Summary of change: To change the number of tickets required to be sold by each member from 20 tickets to 10 tickets.

Motion made to accept the proposed change, seconded and passed.

Jon Puhalski and BASS Busters presented the CBFN Youth fund a check for $395.00. These funds came from their annual Snow Ball Tournament held earlier this month.

Retirement Gift - Long time B.A.S.S. Conservation Director, Noreen Clough is retiring. All the states are pitching in to buy her a gift from the Federation. It was proposed that we donate $100.00 towards this cause. The motion was seconded and accepted.

Announcements

Next Meeting: December 21, 2006


Meeting was adjourned at 8:54 pm

Jack Vinyard
CBFN Secretary
 

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