http://www.southwestcouncilfff.org/

President’s Report – SWC and National

This is a summary of the SWC Club Presidents call of November 16, 2009 and National Council Presidents call of November 23, 2009/

SWC

Three topics were presented – pro/con of 501(3)(C), shared booth and what I termed “the toxic board member”. Participants in the call were

Tom Smith (Pasadena)

Joe Lemire (Streamborn)

Mike Forrest (Saltwater)

Phil Greenlee (National FFF)

Aran Dokovna (CPA)

Michael Schweit (SWC)

Connie Bullock (Santa Clarita)

Paul Woolery (San Diego)

Randy Upton (Las Vegas)

501 – Aran explained the advantages of a 501. Easier to get donations of merchandise from vendors and cash donations from members are tax-deductible. There is concern from a Pasadena about the legality of “sporting clubs” having a 501 but so far have not seen the statute that would define that. Phil brought up the point that National has helped many clubs become 501’s and there has not been an issues (ms – I think this is an issue of interpretation and unfortunately, tax law is not always b/w.) Phil also brought up the point that if a club is a charter (100% FFF membership), National will do the paperwork for the 501 (saving of 1000’s of dollars) and file your taxes (you do the bookkeeping). Plus charters do not pay any yearly dues. See breakdown to see if this option might be for your club.

Assumptions for charter – cost of liability and O&D insurance 1000.00 versus 200.00 (national), cost of 501 ~4000.00., affiliate club (100.00 base plus 3.00 per non-FFF member.) versus charter (no yearly fee)

So if you subsidize the 35.00 per year cost, you might find the charter route to work for you financially, especially if you are not yet a 501.

Shared booth – so far, so good. We have commitments from all clubs but one (SouthBay) to share staffing at all of the shows. We completed the Marriott show a week ago and the booth with all its propaganda was a success. We handed out lots of brochures from all the clubs and the large map was a great visual tool to show potential clubs who was in their area. Del Mar is going to be our toughest show because of the distance from the L.A./Orange County area but San Diego and Golden State are confident they will have full staffing. The SWC is working to provide casters and tyers as needed.

“Toxic board member” – and sometimes not even on the board! I brought this up as after visiting 18+ clubs and speaking to countless members, most are operating under a congenial atmosphere. There are a few that have one member who stops anything that is deemed “different” than the way it has been done in the past. While no solution was presented, Randy Upton brought up the point that it is up to us (presidents) to use Robert’s rules of order to make things work and get proposals passed.

National Call

There is concern across most of the Councils about reaching youth, presenting a clear manifesto about “what does the Federation do for me” and from National’s viewpoint, what does it need to do to help the clubs. National also is starting a program of gathering conservation project reports from clubs so that they can showcase what is happening nationally.

Youth – Some Councils are having good success with using the Merit Badge program to bring youth into their clubs. The Merit Badge requires about a dozen steps to complete and the Council works with the local clubs to set up a day long event (Expo, special event) so that Scouts can make headway on the Badge. Some have offered free admission to fishing shows to any Scout in uniform. (ms – I am speaking to the Pasadena and Fred Hall people to see about this possibility. I am also trying to reach the Scout equivalent of the SWC to see about implementing the same idea here.)

Talking points for the FFF –

All fish, all waters is more than a slogan and we need to showcase this better. National also needs to better explain what they can do to help councils and clubs. An on-going process. At the National Expo in August, 2010, there will be a seminar (class?) on what it takes to be a club board member, especially president. The package will be available for distribution. Additionally, they are working on updating the FFF DVD so it will better show what is going on.