President's Message Archives - Outdoor Writers Association of America

Standing tall for storytellers

OWAA Developer — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 21:16:26 +0000

As I wrote this in April, The Denver Post had just published an editorial taking its hedge fund owner, Alden Global Capital, to task for attempting to squeeze every dime from the publication.
I grew up reading that newspaper. It provided me a wide lens into the world beyond my childhood home at the foot of Colorado’s Front Range. Charlie Meyers, the Post’s legendary outdoor columnist, was a master storyteller who captured the magic of getting outside while also holding policy makers accountable for decisions that might negatively impact it or the public’s ability to enjoy it. After his death in 2010, Colorado named a state wildlife area in his honor, but five years later, the Post’s outdoor section largely died too, amid staffing cuts.
This April’s courageous editorial came in response to the layoff of yet another 30 employees — a third of the Post’s remaining staff, which has fallen from 250 to fewer than 100 in just a few years’ time.
“Denver deserves a newspaper owner who supports its newsroom,” the editorial board wrote. “If Alden isn’t willing to do good journalism here, it should sell The Post to owners who will.”
Standing up for the role of journalists in our society is something I hope grows epidemic. It strikes at the heart of OWAA’s creed that we believe in outdoor reporting as a public trust; that accuracy, fairness and clarity are fundamental to our profession; and that the true test of our work is the measure of its public service.
By telling the truth and celebrating all that is at stake, outdoor writers, photographers and artists motivated this nation to protect places like Yellowstone and Yosemite, to pass the Wilderness Act, to create the U.S. Forest Service and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Duck Stamp program and countless other landmarks that now define the outdoors and our ability to find adventure there.
For more than 90 years, this organization has sought to unite the most influential voices for America’s outdoors as a force for good, provided a forum to sharpen our professional skills and to open new doors in the face of monumental challenges.
That’s more important than ever today. Some of the pillars of America’s outdoor heritage are now being chiseled and discredited as never before. It’s up to us to communicate what we stand to lose in these exchanges while also seeking ways to refine our professional media platforms instead of selling them for scrap.
As OWAA president I want to see us stand together as an organization to address what’s at stake in these challenging times, and to be an incubator for innovative ideas and platforms that allow us to make a living doing the essential work we do. I hope you’ll join me in that effort.
—
OWAA president Paul Queneau is conservation editor of Bugle magazine at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

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A special gathering in Fort Wayne awaits

OWAA Developer — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 03:33:53 +0000

The best proofreader I ever had was my mom.
Unfortunately for me, my mistakes weren’t noticed until she read them in the morning newspaper. Dad thought they should hire her.
Mom was an avid reader and especially enjoyed James Michener novels. She died early last year at 93. That’s how she wanted it worded in her obituary, that JoAnne E. Bloom died. No flowery phrases about passing through the pearly gates.
Straightforward. Simple.
One of the things she gave me, besides an appreciation for words, is a framed poster that lists various animal groupings. For example, a school of fish, a pride of lions.
There are 73 in all.
Although some are familiar terms (covey of quail, colony of ants), quite a few are ones I’d never heard of before. Consider these:
A crash of rhinoceroses.
A kindle of kittens.
A rafter of turkeys.
A game of whales.
A fall of woodcocks.
A skulk of foxes.
A dissimulation of birds.
A peep of chickens.
A business of ferrets.
A pitying of turtledoves.
A cete of badgers.
A congregation of plovers.
You get the idea. But were they real or made up? Not knowing how accurate some of the terms were, I searched the Internet and found a few other sources that provided similar lists. Mom’s poster seems accurate. So here are a few more:
An unkindness of ravens.
A tiding of magpies.
A sounder of swine.
A mustering of storks.
A bouquet of pheasants.
A clowder of cats.
A murmuration of starlings.
A smack of jellyfish.
A harras of horses.
A parliament of owls.
A descent of woodpeckers.
A siege of herons.
A bale of turtles.
A dule of doves.
A walk of snipe.
The purpose of this message (other than encouraging use of the proper term — ostentation — the next time you write about a group of peacocks) is to let you know about another special gathering.
It’s an OWAA conference, where outdoor communicators get together to learn and socialize.
In this, our organization’s 91st year, we’ll meet in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Conference coordinator Jessica Seitz and Tim Mead, our second vice president, have worked diligently at developing a first-rate program that includes timely newsmaker panels and craft improvement sessions designed to hone your communications skills.
Conference host Visit Fort Wayne is putting the final touches on a warm welcome, and there’s a wide variety of pre- and post-conference trips designed to meet your storytelling needs.
And proximity is the order of the day, with key event locations within a block of each other.
So, let’s get together and have a conference, or a mustering or a parliament, a flight, a bevy, a school, even a congregation. Whatever you want to call it, let’s just gather once more to learn and have fun.
__
Phil Bloom is the former communications director for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and former outdoors editor at the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.

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A storied conservation legacy

OWAA Developer — Sun, 01 Apr 2018 19:27:16 +0000

BY PHIL BLOOM
During his only term as U.S. President, Benjamin Harrison signed legislation creating Yosemite National Park and set aside 17 million acres of Western lands as the first national forests.
William Steele Holman is credited with slipping key language into the Forest Reserve Act that gave Harrison and subsequent presidents the authority to establish those national forests.
Gene Stratton-Porter wrote 12 novels and seven nature books that were translated into 20 languages and had a peak readership of 50 million worldwide.
J. Maurice Thompson authored the seminal book on archery for hunting and co-founded the National Archery Association, which became the governing body of Olympic-style archery in the United States.
William Temple Hornaday was chief taxidermist for the Smithsonian Institution’s U.S. National Museum and a prolific writer whose work helped save the American bison.
Durward Allen left the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 1954 to become a professor of wildlife ecology and natural resources at Purdue University, where he launched the study of wolf-moose interplay at Isle Royale National Park. The study continues today as the longest-running project of its kind in the world.
Although he was Scotland-born and Wisconsin-raised, John Muir came to Indianapolis in 1866 to work at a carriage materials factory. Temporarily blinded by an accident at that factory, Muir spent a recuperative period contemplating his future and decided to pursue his passion for the natural world. In 1868, he left Indianapolis for Florida … on foot. Extensive travels followed, and he became one of the world’s leading nature advocates and founder of the Sierra Club.
All these prominent champions of conservation and recreation have ties to Indiana. It’s a prolific list of people whose efforts still impact us today. You can see how the state’s long tradition of supporting the outdoors continues today, and you might find a story or two, when you visit Fort Wayne for conference.
—
Phil Bloom is OWAA’s president and the local chair for the 2018 conference in his hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana. For conference questions email him at philbloom.owaa@frontier. com.

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Adventure awaits in Duluth, Minnesota

OWAA Developer — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 18:54:31 +0000

The first thing I do when the location for a future OWAA conference is announced is ponder the possibilities for adventure. Sometimes figuring out what pre- or post-conference trip to plan is a challenge, but more often the options, at least for this angler who loves to hit new waters, are obvious. Such is the case with the 2017 conference being held June 24-26 in Duluth, Minnesota. And it turns out it doesn’t only work for anglers.
The OWAA board of directors gathered in Duluth in late January for the winter board meeting. Those who made it got a little taste, albeit a wintry one, of the plethora of options awaiting those who head for Minnesota this summer.
Four board members got a chance to fish through the ice for walleyes, pike and eelpout — all within view of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center where our conference will be centered.
Fishing with guide Jared Houston and his staff was not off the charts, but we did manage to catch fish and the company was excellent. We were thankful temperatures were closer to freezing than zero.
Another group, joined by Michael Furtman, the local chair for the 2017 conference, cross-country skied to view petroglyphs in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Steve Piragis with Piragis Northwoods Company helped lead the skiers, and OWAA member and Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters staffer Lukas Leaf made a spectacular lunch.
Yet another crew attending the OWAA winter board meeting got away for ice climbing and fat tire biking. The climbing was under the direction of the University of Minnesota Recreational Sports Outdoor Program. Hansi Johnson with the Minnesota Land Trust and Dave Grandmaison of The Duluth Experience led the biking outing.
If the winter field trips the board experienced while in Duluth are any indication, those making the trip this summer are in for a wonderful treat.
This, however, is not the first OWAA conference in Minnesota or even Duluth. Back in 2010 the conference was held in Rochester, Minnesota. I took the opportunity while attending the conference to fulfill my lifelong dream of exploring the Boundary Waters.
Past president Mark Taylor and I took off with some locals for an epic four-day fishing, camping and portaging excursion. My shoulders still ache just thinking about all the paddling, but memories of catching toothy northern pike, chunky walleyes and monster smallmouth bass are embedded deep in my psyche.
If you are having a hard time deciding whether to attend the 2017 conference, consider the opportunities to not only learn how to be a better communicator through the great sessions Paul Queneau, our second vice president, is planning, but also the chance to see new places and make lifelong memories.
Special thanks to Stacy Oltmanns and Gene Shaw, as well as other staff from Visit Duluth, for the warm reception for our OWAA board meeting.
I hope to see you all in Duluth in June and hear about your Minnesota adventures. If you are looking for ideas, check out pages 12-14 or visit https://owaa.org/2017conference/.
— OWAA President Brett Prettyman, brettoutdoors@yahoo.com

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2017 brings change and a birthday

OWAA Developer — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 21:31:30 +0000

Hunt begins for new ED, OWAA turns 90

I was talking to a fellow OWAA board member back in early November about the winter board meeting, and I told her things had been pretty quiet during the first half of my presidency. Everything, I explained, was moving along swimmingly.
That all changed two days later when Tom Sadler, our executive director, dropped his bomb and told me he was leaving his position.
After a deep breath acknowledging the task ahead, I congratulated Tom and thanked him for his four years with OWAA. Then we started earnestly talking about the next steps for Tom and for our organization.
OWAA is in a much better place today than it was when Tom was hired. It would be wrong to give Tom all the credit for the strides accomplished during his time as the executive director — I know he would agree with that sentiment.
Tom worked with the board and our members, but he also pushed our leadership to take more ownership for some of the issues. Of course, Jessica Seitz, our membership and conference staffer, has played a large role in our successes. So did OWAA part-time employee Kelsey Dayton. It has, indeed, been a group effort.
According to multiple sources, most employees in the United States these days average about 4½ years before moving on to other opportunities. Tom fell just a little short of the national norm, but I won’t hold it against him.
While change at the top can be nerve-racking and take some adjustment, it should also be viewed as a healthy process for non-profit organizations. I personally feel the change can be particularly beneficial to professional nonprofit organizations like OWAA.
The selection committee, created by then president Mark Taylor, drafted a job description that tasked Tom with stopping membership declines and getting OWAA’s finances back in the black.
Recognizing the importance of this job description in finding our new executive director, I asked Mark to again be a part of the committee. I also asked a couple of other previous OWAA presidents, as well as former and current board members.
I reached outside of the committee for input from others I felt could offer sound advice on what OWAA is looking for in a new executive director.
Vice President Phil Bloom chairs the Strategic Plan Committee and I asked him to encourage the committee members to send me their thoughts on what skills the next executive director should exhibit.
Tom’s job for the past four years served as a template for a new job description. I also asked Tom to create a “Pass the Torch” document explaining the day-to-day duties of leading OWAA. Our Board of Directors and Executive Committee started using this type of document several years ago help our elected volunteers understand their duties during their terms. It has proven a valuable tool, and we owe thanks to board member Kris Millgate for suggesting we use it.
The selection committee will consider suggestions from all resources before coming up with the final description, which as of deadline for the magazine hadn’t been finalized.
Picking a new executive director is only half the battle. An executive director is only as good as the job description in front of them. Preparing this document and picking a new leader is a time-consuming task full of heavy responsibility. I want to thank the selection committee for volunteering their time, in addition to other OWAA duties many of them have, for the vitally important job of finding OWAA a new leader.
OWAA Turns 90
A new executive director is not the only excitement 2017 holds for OWAA. As of April 9, our organization will be nine decades old. This is truly something to celebrate. As current members of the organization, we need to reflect on all that has been accomplished since our beginnings, but we also need to focus on our vision for the future and all we can do in the next 90 years.
As chair of the marketing committee, board member Tom Keer and his gang came up with a campaign to celebrate our 90th birthday. You may have seen some teasing of this already, if not keep an eye out for it.
There will be specific suggestions for ways to recognize this important achievement, but I’d like our members to think about things they can do to help OWAA continue to grow, remain vital and serve our community.
These ideas could range from setting a goal of personally finding two new members, asking your favorite outdoor gear company if they might want to join as a Supporting Group, helping find a sponsor for one of our currently unsponsored Excellence in Craft contests or making a contribution to one of the many funds which help keep OWAA operating.
These are truly exciting times for OWAA. I hope you will join me in celebrating our wonderful collection of outdoor communicators.
— OWAA President Brett Prettyman, brettoutdoors@yahoo.com

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Get involved to change OWAA

OWAA Developer — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 19:45:45 +0000

Criticism is only annoying when it goes unreported.
Some may argue my point, but unshared criticism serves no one. Those complaining just allow complaints to fester and those who can make a difference are never given the opportunity. As president of OWAA I fully expect to hear the thoughts and concerns of our membership. Some are quite good at this — you know who you are.
Others bite their tongues and refrain from sharing their disapproval.
Several concerns recently came to my attention through a board member, who shared feedback she’d received from members.
While the board member properly addressed the criticism, it is possible others in our organization could have the same thoughts and I wanted to take time to discuss those complaints.
Complaint No. 1: OWAA’s board is stacked with people from Western states.
The obvious response to this complaint is that people from the West are stepping up as board member candidates. Then our membership is electing them.
However, the current OWAA Board of Directors is geographically diverse with four members from the East, three from the West and two from Texas.
There have undoubtedly been times in the past 90 years when certain geographic regions have dominated board positions. Since I’ve been a member of OWAA there have been two states so well represented that members became known as the Oregon and Missouri Mafias.
Since it came up, I would also like to point out how gender balanced our current board stands, with four women and five men representing the organization. This, at least to me, is more important than regional representation.
It is a different story when you look at the OWAA Executive Committee. Counting myself, there are four Westerners and one representative from the Midwest. There is also only one woman among the five of us. In the same way the Board of Directors can become unbalanced, the executive committee is comprised of people who agreed to run and serve in their respective positions and then were elected by their peers.
Here comes the line everybody has been waiting to see: If you want to see changes on the board or executive committee, consider running or encouraging others to do so.
Finally, let me say, the current board has a wonderful balance of outdoor communicators and many are at the peak of their careers. This board is thoughtful, progressive and responsive to the needs of our members and I’m proud to be a part of our leadership.
Complaint No. 2: OWAA focuses too much on issues impacting the West.
It is true that we try to include regional issues at our annual conferences. We want to take advantage of area experts and we want to help those who attend conference find stories they can report and photograph in the area during their trip.
People should expect some regional tours and news about Midwestern issues at the 2017 conference June 24-26 in Duluth, Minnesota.
OWAA has covered a number of national issues and news at recent conferences including: climate change; the National Park Service centennial; ethical and legal use of drones; access for journalists on federal lands; impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill; and invasive species.
The big issued we focused on in Billings, Montana, this past summer was the proposed public lands transfer. Some consider this a Western issue, but that is a tragic view. These are our lands and they belong to all Americans whether they live in New Hampshire, Arkansas, Alaska or Hawaii.
But if you aren’t satisfied with conference topics, the solution is the same for our conference program as it is for our makeup of the board: Get involved. If any members have suggestions for possible sessions at our 2017 conference, share them with Paul Queneau, who as our second vice president is planning the event. You can email him at pqueneau@rmef.org.
— OWAA President Brett Prettyman, brettoutdoors@yahoo.com

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Mentorship matters

OWAA Developer — Sat, 01 Oct 2016 15:28:34 +0000

Welcoming new members benefits all

Ken Keffer was not what I was expecting.
I ventured into the green ribbon meeting at OWAA’s 2014 annual conference in McAllen, Texas, to meet new members.
Jessica Seitz, OWAA’s membership and services coordinator, had matched me with a conference newbie she thought would be a good fit for me to mentor throughout the weekend.
This conference tradition is something I’ve come to appreciate. It is a chance for established members to help those new to the scene feel like they have somebody to eat meals with and introduce them to other members.
It was a formality I bypassed at my first conference in Redding, California, in 1998. I traveled to that conference from Utah with my Salt Lake Tribune colleague Tom Wharton. I figured he was already my mentor, so I probably didn’t need one. It turned out Tom was a little busy with board duties and as the incoming president of OWAA.
Thankfully, Bill Monroe stepped forward and showed me the ropes of that first conference while Tom dealt with business.
So Texas was my first foray into formal mentorship within OWAA.
After welcoming the new members to Texas, Jessica announced the mentor-mentee pairings.
It quickly became clear Ken wouldn’t need me to make any introductions. His gregarious and warm nature, not to mention a fantastic display of facial hair, made him someone everybody wanted to meet.
Nonetheless, he was polite enough to hang around me during conference. I think he was trying to make me feel like I was doing my job as a mentor.
Ken and I became friends during that conference. We talked about being writers, poked fun at our editors and discussed ideas for his upcoming books.
It is now sometimes hard to remember who was supposed to be the mentor at that McAllen conference.
I had a book deadline due smack dab in the middle of the 2016 OWAA conference in Billings, Montana, and I found myself struggling with maps. It was ironic — I had warned Ken how maps always take more time than planned. Now I was turning to him for advice and sympathy for my procrastination. He provided both.
Ken, like so many other members, came to OWAA as an experienced outdoor communicator. His advice is as valuable as mine, if not more so.
We come to this organization looking for ways to improve our skills, hone our ideas and find our voices.
OWAA is a team, and every member provides valuable contributions to keep the organization vital and the profession alive.
We need each other now more than ever to bounce ideas off of, vent frustration with the industry, seek inspiration and set the highest possible professional standards.
As outdoor communicators we often work alone. Even at the newspaper office I worked in for 25 years, I felt most other people in the newsroom didn’t understand my beat.
I found myself reaching out to OWAA members for help with editing and fleshing out story ideas. Email makes it easy to have peers take a look at a story that keeps you awake at night because it just doesn’t feel right. Other members helped me make me it feel right.
I’d like to think I helped others who reached out to me as well.
It is also nice in the social media age to have friends who recognize the value of our stories and understand that clicks matter to our publishers and editors, so they share them in their circles.
Sharing good stories by other OWAA members in your social media world benefits all of us by showing the value of our profession in a world increasingly disconnected from nature.
Walking into a green ribbon meeting is an easy way to become a mentor, but locating someone in your community and helping them find their way as an outdoor communicator takes some work.
Consider checking in at the local college or high school for communications courses, and offer to share your experience with the class.
In my experience, there is always at least one student with a passion for the outdoors and they usually wait for you after class to introduce themselves.
Or, borrow an idea from OWAA members and our staff in Missoula, Montana, and hold an “Off The Record” social to give outdoor communicators in your community, whether affiliated with OWAA or not, a chance to get together in an informal setting.
New members of OWAA, and veterans for that matter, come in with the passion and skills required to be outdoor communicators. They just need someone to welcome them to our tribe.
— OWAA President Brett Prettyman, brettoutdoors@yahoo.com

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Presidential pact: Prettyman steps up to lead OWAA

OWAA Developer — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 17:35:45 +0000

The coup is complete.

Newspaper guys rule OWAA. Four of the last five presidents served, or are serving, long careers in the newspaper industry. And the reign will continue with the current vice president also coming from the print journalism world.

The idea for three of those to run for president hatched during the 2007 conference in Roanoke, Virginia.

Emboldened by each other’s enthusiasm, the three — feel free to call them Larry, Curly and Moe — made a pact not only to take turns leading OWAA, but to support each other while doing it.

When I became president in Billings, Montana, in July, it completed our plan to take over OWAA.

We decided it made sense to ride the success of the annual conference in his hometown and threw Mark Taylor to the lions first.

Taylor, also known as Curly for obvious reasons, officially took the helm in 2012.

Bill Graham was not a part of the “Three Stooges” pact, but he managed to sneak in as president of OWAA in 2013 and strengthened the grip of newspaper blood on the presidency.

Next up was Mark Freeman, henceforth known as Larry. Freeman was key to the agreement, at least for me. I figured if he could serve as the OWAA president and the organization survived, then surely I could handle the job. I only say this because Freeman loves to say the same thing.

I’m proud five OWAA presidents between 2012 and 2017 came from newspaper backgrounds, but even I’m a little suspicious about the dominance.

Perhaps you are thinking we all have time because we are unemployed as newspapers keep slashing jobs like Taylor’s casts hit the water. The truth is, four of us have since left the profession, but remain qualified for OWAA membership with other forms of outdoor communication careers. Only Freeman maintains his job as a daily scribe.

So what gives? Why are members from the other disciplines of OWAA avoiding accepting the gavel?

It took me a while to agree to run for the executive board. I kept dodging the opportunity, saying I was too busy and wouldn’t be able to serve OWAA as I should. I offered up the same excuse when I was asked to throw my name into the hat for the board of directors.

I was wrong. Life just gets more crazy as the years pass, and procrastinating involvement at the highest levels of the organization means missing a chance to give back to other OWAA members.

If you are asked to run for the board or for second vice president it means a committee identified you as somebody who can help move OWAA forward in a meaningful way.

This request should not be viewed as a burden. It is an honor to represent the organization as a board member or as part of the executive committee. I’m proud to join the ranks of so many amazing outdoor communicators who have served OWAA since 1927. That’s 90 years of people just like you and me who volunteered to take on some extra duties to keep Outdoor Writers Association of America strong and vital.

I was intimidated and a little star struck in my first board meeting. I spent most of the time just listening and getting a sense of how things worked, but it wasn’t long before I realized I had a voice and that it mattered to the other board members and the organization. That is powerful stuff and comes with a strong sense of responsibility.

Over the course of my board term I came to develop a deeper understanding of how OWAA works and what it takes to keep the organization afloat financially and in terms of member services.

It is absolutely vital for OWAA members, those serving in official capacities and those who just joined the organization, to engage in the operations and understand the issues to keep us healthy.

I have occasionally found myself over my head when asked to perform certain tasks for OWAA. At first I was reluctant, perhaps stubborn is a better word, to ask others for help. I eventually came to understand I was not alone and I had the entire membership of our organization who could lend a thought to the task.

I’m entering my presidency of this storied organization knowing I am not doing it alone. I’d like to think every one of you is there should I need you.

A lot of people have managed to sail this course before, and I believe it is due largely to those who stand in line behind us ready to take the helm.

— OWAA President Brett Prettyman, brettoutdoors@yahoo.com

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Looking back while moving forward

OWAA Developer — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 02:33:06 +0000

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OWAA celebrates its 90th birthday next year. With such a big birthday looming (celebration preparations are in the works now), and as my year serving as your president winds down, it’s only natural to look back not only over the last year, but also over OWAA’s history. I’ve come to appreciate how OWAA has stayed true to its mission throughout nearly a century of substantial changes in the field of outdoor communications, yet it modernized time and again to stay relevant. OWAA is not just a survivor. It’s an industry leader, and remains the “voice of the outdoors,” because of you and me, its members.
OWAA was founded in 1927 at a time when bootleggers supplied whiskey and journalists who delved into outdoor topics probably drank too much of it. There were no standards in our craft, no ethics and few real jobs as outdoor content providers. That year, at the Izaak Walton League of America’s fifth annual convention, 18 writers founded OWAA for “the purpose of bettering of our profession, to give more stability and standing to the same, and to eliminate untruths from stories of the outdoors.” Morris Ackerman, who wrote the first ever outdoor column for the Cleveland Leader and then served as the first outdoor editor of the Cleveland Daily News, led the group. Outdoor columns and outdoor editors didn’t exist before Ackerman. His efforts and those of his peers created the field in which you and I now earn our livelihoods.
Today, OWAA has about 700 members plus 200 supporter groups. Some of us still produce outdoor prose for newspapers, but as these opportunities have become fewer and as singular media outlets have turned into multi-media companies, we’ve become broadcasters, photographers, magazine and Internet content providers, videographers and filmmakers, artists and authors. We now cover a cross-section of outdoor activities, destinations and gear, as well as conservation stories.
Times have changed, and so has OWAA, which is why it’s still a vibrant organization. As your president for the last year, I hope I have contributed to OWAA’s ability to stay current in positive ways. As time and technology march forward, its OWAA’s ability to change and help its members do the same that will keep it viable. You should take advantage of all your OWAA membership offers, starting with the annual conference.
This year we’ll gather in Billings, Montana, July 16-19. This year’s conference is a life-list location for many. My husband, Jack Ballard, a native Montanan, is local chair. He has cherry-picked some of the best outdoor experiences in the Treasure State for your pre- and post-conference trips, and our second vice president Phil Bloom has put together an outstanding program. You can read about what we’re offering by visiting https://owaa.org/2016conference/agenda/.
I’m looking forward to welcoming you to Montana and guarantee you’ll leave with at least one new career-enhancing skill, a few story ideas, a number of new contacts and many fond memories.
Shortly after I see you in Billings, I will pass the gavel to Brett Prettyman. As I look back over the last year, I’m proudest OWAA has accomplished the following under my watch:

Our financials are in the black thanks to our executive director Tom Sadler’s adroit management of our funds with the help of our treasurer Ty Stockton.
Development chair Rich Patterson master-minded a plan for ongoing giving to our endowment, helped us take advantage of a generous matching gift and laid the groundwork for the Bob Smith Fund in honor of OWAA’s first legal counsel and in celebration of OWAA’s 90th anniversary. You can donate by visiting https://owaa.org/store/donation/.
We made a huge improvement in OWAA’s member recruiting materials thanks to Tom Keer. You can find the new brochures at https://owaa.org/file/individual-membership-brochure-2016.pdf.
We completed a member survey shepherded by Colleen Miniuk-Sperry to help headquarters and the board better understand your conference preferences.
We steered through a nationally explosive situation between OWAA member Don Thomas and OWAA supporter Ducks Unlimited.
We hosted OWAA’s first three webinars covering Adobe Lightroom, how to make money as a nature photographer and on capturing and using audio from the field.
We saved you annual permitting fees on federal lands, thanks largely to Mark Freeman’s expertise and watchdogging. Freeman worked with U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell and then with the Congressional committee that drafted the language in the Sportsmen’s Bill on the parts of the bill that pertains to editorial work on lands managed by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture.
We introduced a searchable on-line member directory, spearheaded by Ashley Chadwick and Jessica Seitz, to make it easier for us to find each other, whether member editors are looking for writers or new members are looking for mentors, or just for members to stay in touch.
With the help of our legal counsel, Bill Powell, we protected our magazine’s trademark while avoiding potentially costly legal fees, a situation kept quiet until now due to its sensitive nature, but of substantial angst while it was in progress to me and the executive committee.

I leave my year as president with both regret and relief. Regret because there’s much more to accomplish. A year is too short. Relief because leading OWAA can be all consuming at times. I often found myself putting OWAA ahead of my day job as a freelance writer and photographer. It didn’t help pay the bills, but rewarded me in many invaluable ways, including the chance to work with so many bright, enthusiastic board and committee members. Thank you for allowing me to lead OWAA. Time for me to spend more time outdoors!
— OWAA President Lisa Ballard, densmore1@aol.com

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Lucky us: Board members work hard for OWAA

OWAA Developer — Sat, 02 Apr 2016 02:21:51 +0000

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BY LISA BALLARD
OWAA is a special organization. Like other professional trade groups, we’re a collection of colleagues who go to conferences to network, gather information vital to our work and improve our craft. OWAA also provides us with this magazine, a website, webinars, the Excellence in Craft contest, Bodie McDowell scholarships, discounted goods and services from OWAA’s supporters, legal guidance and many other benefits to help us succeed as outdoor communicators.
But perhaps the greatest thing OWAA offers is friendship, something that is not so commonly found in other professional organizations with such a broad constituency as OWAA.
Our 800 members include magazine writers, newspaper reporters, photographers, videographers, radio broadcasters, artists, bloggers, educators, television hosts and public relations liaisons. I could fill this page listing all we do. And we do it in all 50 states and Canada. Some of us are urban dwellers. Others live in rural outposts.
We don’t cover the same things. Some of us are specialists in a particular outdoor sport. Others cover outdoor recreation in general. Some review gear. Others cover conservation issues and policy.
But we do share one thing in common. We all love the outdoors. Getting outside clears our heads and strengthens our souls. Shared adventures with our family and friends bind us together. It’s exercise, recreation and lifestyle all rolled into one. And it’s our livelihood. Lucky us.
In early January, your OWAA Board of Directors gathered at the ‘Tween Waters Inn and Resort in Captiva, Florida, for its winter meeting. It was the first time in years the board met in person rather than by video or telephone conference call for the winter meeting.
OWAA’s budget cannot bear the travel expenses of getting the board to a common location, so each member paid for their plane ticket and the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau generously arranged the rest. We could not have done it without Lee County’s assistance and the willingness of each board member to pay their own travel expenses, but it all worked out. Lucky us — and lucky you. The agenda for the winter board meeting was full beyond what we could have reasonably covered by conference call and a few topics were sensitive, making it important for us to speak in person where we could read nuanced facial expressions and body language.
Here are a few of the many topics on the agenda:

A positive financial report showed OWAA in the black for 2015, and a balanced budget for 2016 with long overdue raises for OWAA’s staff.
A successful fundraising effort in 2015, with an ongoing plan for regular annual contributions to OWAA’s restricted endowment. Though we didn’t make the full matching gift of $10,000, we still realized donations of more than $8,000, a welcome boost to operations. Thank you to everyone who participated.
Tom Keer created new eye-catching member recruiting materials. He plans to create a similar brochure targeted at potential supporters in the near future. You can find it at https://owaa.org/file/individual-membership-brochure 2016.pdf. Please give it to your colleagues.
The board supported two proposed bylaws changes. One is meant to bring the board nominating process more in line with our current member numbers, by reducing the number of candidates needed each year to run for the board. The other combines a couple of committees. You can read about them on page 15 and then vote on them in the election which opens April 1.
A review of the Billings, Montana, conference program shows it is shaping up to be a spectacular line-up in an amazing location. Writer Tim Cahill, a founder of Outside magazine, will give the keynote address. Phil Bloom, the conference program chair, lined up impressive sessions and speakers, and the pre- and post-conference trips are going to be world-class bucket-list toppers.
Bill Powell has been guiding us through protecting OWAA’s trademarks in light of an ongoing infringement case.
Finding ways to improve the Excellence in Craft Contests and whether to create other contests is a never-ending discussion for the board.

I’m also happy to report that our executive director, Tom Sadler, signed a twoyear renewal agreement during the winter board meeting, giving OWAA stability at the top. Lucky OWAA. After we’d been sequestered for eight hours in the board meeting, the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau treated us to a day of “work,” kayaking in Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and saltwater fishing. The board meeting was long, but the time passed quickly in the company of the thoughtful, enthusiastic people on the OWAA board, and then we got a taste of an ocean-side Eden.
Your board mirrors OWAA’s membership, both in terms of areas of expertise and geography. It includes an artist from Texas, a television producer from Idaho, a public affairs officer from Indiana, a photographer from Arizona, a radio host from Wyoming, a freelancer from Massachusetts, a newspaper staffer from Missouri and a magazine editor from Montana. These dedicated members are among the best in their fields and our colleagues. Lucky us.
They’re also my friends. Lucky me.
— OWAA President Lisa Ballard, Densmore1@aol.com
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