COLORADO BASS FEDERATION

PRESIDENTS PAGE 

PRESENTED BY      Valentine Marine

                                                                                                November 2008

Dear Members,

Spring is here, finally. Many are already fishing and most of us will be soon. Our state team qualifier is right around the corner. Check the VP/TD page for details. The economy is at the front of everyone’s mind these days. Many of our members have lost jobs, scaled back, lost homes, or worse. Many of our members cannot go fishing, because it simply costs too much.

I’d like to propose an adopt a member campaign. Look around, be aware of those in your club and the federation that aren’t doing as well as you might be. If you have a boat, ask another member to go fishing with you. Tell them it’s on you, no gas, just a day on the water. With unemployment at record highs, I don’t think they will have trouble finding the time to take you up on your offer. You’ll be amazed how it will make them feel, and you too. If you don’t have a boat, pick a local lake or pond you can shore fish with a friend. Pick them up, bring a lunch for the two of you, and put a little hope into their life. I can tell you from 1^st hand experience, it gets a little desperate, and depressing, with no job and no hope of getting one soon.

Unfortunately, those feelings don’t go away as soon as work is found. The effects of loosing a job stay with you. Loosing your income ruins your savings, and your ability to do things like go fishing. I ended up selling most of my equipment when I was unemployed, so offer to provide a pole or two when you take a friend out.

Look closely, and you’ll see that many are in danger of loosing their homes, and their way of life. 1 in 10 families will declare bankruptcy this year. That means that somewhere between 20 and 30 of our members are in danger of bankruptcy. Many more than that, are behind on payments, and are in serious trouble. These aren’t easy things to talk about; most will hide the fact that they are in trouble. If you see members that haven’t been to club meetings or events in a while, ask if you can help. We all like to keep up the bravado that we are doing well, and things are status quo. In some cases, that’s all that’s between us and being on the street, bravado. We may need to put ourselves out a little to help our membership. It may go beyond a day of fishing, it may mean opening our homes to friends that don’t have one anymore.

At the same time look out for yourself. Pay a little extra attention to what goes on at work, don’t get complacent and think everything is under control. You might want to put off one of those fishing trips, and spend that time at work securing your position, and your ability to continue working, and fishing in the future. Remember I’m speaking from experience here; it’s easy to get lulled into a sense of security, and then have it all disappear literally overnight.

Lastly, be thankful if you are employed, caught up on your bills, and able to continue life normally. Do what you can to help others that may not be as fortunate. Be careful; be safe on the water and off. Take care of your family, and at the end of the day, remember, it’s your family that’s most important.

Thanks again, 

Jay McMillan

Colorado BASS Federation President