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Federation Q & A
Dear Indiana BASS Federation Member,
The following is an e-mail that the Indiana BASS Federation Officers, Directors and I recently received.
I have copied this e-mail for you to read, and absorb. It appeared on BassFan, and it came directly from The Bass Federation, Inc.
This is the whole truth––not rumor mill stuff, or chat room gossip, and it's at your fingertips.
Please don't e-mail us with questions. Everything known by the Indiana BASS Federation Officers and Directors is in the following transcript.
Best Regards,
Jerry Drazer
Indiana BASS Federation
Public Relations & Website Coordinator
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
For some reason it appears that Federation members don't know or understand
some basics about the Federation. To address that problem, and to educate
non-Federation members, the five divisional reps (aka, the Fab 5) put the
following Q&A together, and asked BassFan to run it.
What do the five divisional reps do?
We were elected by the state presidents to represent the entire Federation.
"We" are Gary Bradford (California, Western Division rep); Chuck Rolfsmeyer
(Wisconsin, Northern Division rep); Charlie Mitchell (Tennessee, Southern
Division rep); Roger Fitchett (Virginia, Eastern Division rep); and Robert
Cartlidge (Oklahoma, Central Division rep). Robert is the elected spokesman
for the group.
What exactly is The Federation?
The "Federation" is a group of 50-plus states and international Federations
independently incorporated as stand-alone businesses in the states or
countries they do business in. These independent businesses have always
joined together over the years to support the sport fishing industry
through each state Federation's grassroots efforts, not only in fishing,
but youth and conservation. Collectively that group is known as the
"Federation."
Most state Federations have Bass in their names. Does this mean
Bass owns the Federations?
No, although that is a common misconception. Bass has never owned the
Federations. They (we) are not owned by anyone other than the members in
each state, and that's always the way it has been. There are no contracts,
written agreements or licenses with Bass or anyone else. Each state
Federation is a stand-alone business that can operate just about any way it
wants to.
Ray Scott set it up that way from the beginning. It's all told in Ray's
book The Bass Boss, which tells how Bass got started. We encourage you
to buy a copy and read it. Ray didn't want Bass to own the Federations.
He wanted them independent. Anything else would never have worked because
there is too much diversity from state to state, region to region and
country to country. What works for California won't work for Maine.
To quote from The Bass Boss: "I don't want people to stay in my
organization because they have to. I want them to follow me because they
want to. If we lead right, they will follow."
If no one "owns" the Federation, where does each state get the money to do
all the things they do to support this industry?
Each state has elected corporate officers: president, VP, secretary and
treasurer. As is the case with any business, it is up to each state's
management to operate the business in such a manner as the membership of
that state deems fit to raise the needed funds. Some of it comes from dues
money and state-run tournament trails. But as an independent business, the
states are free to do business with or partner with anyone they wish, so
much of it comes from sponsorships from a multitude of different companies
inside and outside the industry.
Additionally, each Federation member pays $15 per year to belong to the
Federation. That money is to be a 100 percent payback deal. It breaks down
like this:
$6 per member goes to the five Federation Division Championship prize
purses that each state sends their 12 person team to (with no entry fee);
$6 buys each state Federation and all of the 2,800 Federation clubs a $1
million liability policy as well as a $9,500 AD&D policy covering each
member 365 days a year whether they're fishing or not;
$3 goes to the BASS Federation National Championship.
So Federation members are paying their own way, and fishing for their own
money.
Finally, each Federation member receives a free yearly subscription to BASS
Times from our partners at BASS.
Are the officers in each state Federation paid?
No. They are elected by their membership, do not receive any compensation
and in fact spend much out of their own pockets to make their Federations
run successfully.
It's terrible when someone comments that a state Federation's leadership is
"doing it all wrong" or is "in it for themselves." Complaining is human
nature, but you won't see many of those "who have all the answers"
attending board meetings or stepping up to the plate in a volunteer roles.
If they do, we applaud them. Every Federation is dying for help from anyone
who will give it. These folks donate literally hundreds of hours of time,
in-kind support and dollars to this industry every year and get nothing in
return.
There isn't a paid Federation officer in any of the 50-plus Federations.
They truly are the unsung heroes who have made the sport of bass fishing
what it is today. Some of them have been serving their home states in one
capacity or another for 20-25 years or more. Don Linder from Oklahoma, Ed
Canon from North Carolina, Joe Citta from Nebraska and others come to mind.
They must be doing something right for their states because they keep
getting reelected.
Tell us about this United Bass Federation Inc., now simply The Bass
Federation Inc., that we have been hearing about lately.
Just like the state presidents' job is to work for their states, it's The
Bass Federation's job to work for the Federation as a whole and look to its
interest and longevity. Nothing more. It in no way affects any internal
state Federation structure or partnerships.
In its simplest terms, the state Federation presidents asked their elected
division representatives to form a company structured such that each state
Federation has a say in how it is run. They wanted a company that existed
to work for the benefit of the whole Federation, with the ultimate benefit
to the individual states. The presidents voted in a motion at the Classic
to have The Bass Federation "act as the agent or organization that speaks
on behalf of our Federations in its dealings with BASS\ESPN or any other
companies in matters that are pertinent to the Federation as a whole."
Basically it's just good business. It's long-term planning and
infrastructure work that is designed preserve the Federation for a long
time to come, and add multiple new benefits and opportunities to the
members. It is not intended to "replace" our partners at BASS or provide an
avenue for the Federations to "leave" BASS, as rumored. For example, the
Iowa BASS Federation is still just that, but it now has someone working for
it instead of the other way around.
To put it plainly, The Bass Federation has no intent to sever any state's
ties with BASS. If ever a time comes that The Bass Federation is no longer
in a partnership with BASS, it will be because BASS no longer desires to
work with The Bass Federation or because the state Federation presidents
instruct us to do that for whatever reason.
Again, the purpose of the company is simply to lead the Federation as a
whole and to focus the efforts and synergies of those individual state
Federations to benefit their members directly, and to ensure that so the
Federation is still going strong in another 35 years. The industry now
offers multiple choices and avenues, and undoubtedly there will be even
more as it continues to grow, which is what we are all working toward. To
quote Abraham Lincoln as Ray Scott did in his latest Scott On-Line column
on BassFan: "Stand together, not divided."
It just makes sense for the state Federations have their officers to work
for that state and their interest, just as BASS has a Federation director
to work for them and their interests. The Federation as a whole needed
someone look after its interests, and the result was The United Bass
Federation Inc. That name was recently changed by the presidents at a
Bassmaster Classic meeting in New Orleans because of a request by BASS,
which preferred the name The Bass Federation. Given our long history, and
in an effort to work alongside our BASS partners, the presidents voted
right there to unanimously to change our name as BASS had requested. So the
company's new name is simply The Bass Federation Inc.
What's all the talk about the Federation "leaving" BASS?
The Federation has no desire to "leave" BASS. BASS has been our partners
for more than 30 years, and as long as they will work with us we will work
with them. The state Federations played a vital role in building BASS and
the sport fishing industry. Think about where the sport would be today
without the Federation, its the Federation members and local bass club guys
and gals -- BassFans who buy the products and do all the youth and
conservation work on the ground, including letter-writing campaigns for the
Clean Water Act and lobbying Congress for Sport Fish Restoration Funds;
cooperative projects with state governments; collegiate tournaments;
helping with FLW and BASS tournaments; Children's Miracle Network and
Paralyzed Veterans of America events; CastingKids; and others way too
numerous to mention here. Think about the boat ramp facilities that the pro
events use. Many of them were built with Sport Fish Restoration
(Wallop-Breaux) money and Federation labor. We also do a lot of habitat
work in lakes. And all of this benefits the general public.
We shouldn't forget that a large number of tour pros came up through the
Federations. In fact, nine of the last 13 Classic champions started in the
Federation ranks.
So everyone connected with this industry has seen some of the benefit of
the grassroots organization we call the Federation, and we have seen
benefit from them as well.
If no one has ever owned the Federation and BASS knows that, why all the
problems now?
That's a tough one. Some of it is simply growing pains. The Federation has
always been a grassroots support\growth group working not for anyone in
particular but the sport or industry in general. BASS was really the only
sport and industry for a long time, but the Federations don't really do
youth fishing events or conservation work "for" BASS. They do it for the
future of the sport. They do it because they care, which happens to be good
for BASS and the rest of the industry.
As the sport has grown, so has the competition. Now competition is not a
bad thing necessarily. It's doubtful that any angler out there could
reasonably argue that the competition among tournament trails has not been
good for the sport. There are more opportunities out there today than can
be imagined. But too many of us have the attitude that you have to choose
which is "good" and that makes the others "bad" by default. BASS or FLW?
Pro-ams or team? Mercury or Yamaha? Why does any one of them have to be
good or bad? Fish them all if time and money allow, but if not, that's okay
too. Competition is good for the consumer. It drives innovation and leaves
everyone wanting more, bigger and better.
When ESPN bought BASS, for whatever reason they didn't fully understand the
Federation -- how it worked, or that they did not own it outright and could
not "sell" it -- and that has caused some issues. BASS\ESPN floated some
very unpopular ideas to the presidents, many of them widely reported and
speculated on. Some called them "rumors," but the fact is that they were
presented to the presidents as things that may happen. But to BASS's
credit, at this year's Classic BASS indicated that they have now "heard us
loud and clear." Only time will tell, but it is our greatest hope that this
is a new direction as everyone has now seen the list of things that BASS
has put in writing to the presidents and reps after the Classic.
Its a big first step forward for BASS. They promised that the five
Federation Classic spots "will not be eliminated," but truthfully those
five spots have not been a point of contention for some time now. It's just
the thought of it that some states had trouble with -- in other words, the
implication that if the Federation did not take whatever BASS offered, they
would pull those spots. But the rank and file needed to hear that wasn't
true from BASS, and they have heard it now.
Another positive step is that BASS said, "There will be no new mandates of
any kind." Just 3 weeks ago, the Federation division reps asked BASS to put
that statement in a joint press release sent to the presidents. But BASS
refused. But after our Classic meeting they have stepped toward us and put
it in writing as a promise for all to see.
The presidents also took a step toward BASS in return that they probably
wouldn't have done not long ago in voting to give BASS the 6 months that
BASS asked for to prove that they are willing to work "within the existing
(Federation) framework," as Dean Kessel said in a letter to the presidents.
The presidents also voted to change the name of the United Bass Federation
to The Bass Federation at BASS's request.
With partners taking steps toward one another, all of a sudden we are
working together toward a common goal. If we can get around this
"ownership" issue (BASS does not own the Federation and can't control us)
-- in a positive way and continue forward, the sky is the limit for the
Federation, for BASS and for the rest of the industry as well.
Al Smith was let go by BASS?
We have had some great Federation national directors, Al Smith recently and
Don Corkran before him (and now returning). Both were staunch advocates of
and for the Federation, and both are men of character. These men both
worked for and were employed by BASS, and "understood" the Federation. Al
Smith worked hard to keep the Federation afloat and intact for the last
2-plus years. Unfortunately no one will ever know how much of his heart and
soul he put into trying to balance the needs of BASS, his employer, and the
needs of the Federation, where he came from. Al is a former president of
the Maine Federation. Were it not for him, it's hard to say what the
Federation would look like today.
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