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BY TONY DOLLE
I urge you to attend the conference this year at Snowbird Resort. IT’s a great facility and the planners have some really great sessions schedules.
Probably the hardest thing about being a Board member or officer in OWAA is that you can’t attend as many of the conference sessions as you want because you have to tend to OWAA business.
However, I’ll do my best to be at sessions when I’m not in meetings. Let me run through a few of the sessions I plant to attend.
While I haven’t been able to attend Pat Wray’s “Becoming an Outdoors Communicator” session the past couple years due to official duties (this year being no exception), I urge everyone — even veteran communicators — to attend. In the past, I presented programs for this annual event and have learned much, in fact, I’ve learned a ton by just being a part of the audience. Just because you think you are already an outdoors communicator, don’t sell this Friday session short. There is something in it for everyone at every level of experience.
I recently had the opportunity to meet Hank Shaw — this year’s keynote speaker — and you will be doing yourself and your audience(s) a disservice if you don’t listen to what Hank has to say Saturday morning. This guy gets it and makes a great story. And remember to stick around for his follow-up session on how to cover the local food market. With the success of the numerous cooking shows on television and umpteen books on cooking, Hank Shaw’s success in the food realm is something to strive for — this is a market you are going to want to tap.
If you had trouble with the digital entry process for the EIC contests — and I can tell you from the number of phone calls and e-mails I received, that many of you did — be sure and attend Ashley Schroeder‘s “Computer Skills for Your OWAA Membership” seminar. I’m attending this one for a couple of reasons: First, I need to know how to enter the contests for future reference and second, I’m always late with this column and I need some brownie points with Miss Ashley.
I sold my macro lenses a few years ago out of frustration, but I plan to attend Sam Dean’s seminar on Macro Photography to learn how to use a macro lens — even though I don’t have one right now.
It’s my job to put Ducks Unlimited executives and experts in front of the camera. But I found I tend to stumble when it’s my turn. Lisa Densmore’s seminar, “How to Talk to The Camera, Part Two” is going to teach me to be better at it. I’ve even volunteered to be her “pupil” for the seminar.
Jodi Stemler has been in the PR business for years and as a professional she’s hard to beat. I’ve worked with her many times and I know her capabilities. OWAA Vice President Bill Graham is a recent “dark side” convert and between the two of them, their seminar on thriving in that world should be extremely educational. As a PR professional, I plan to be there.
I’ve had many conversations with Wade Bourne and OWAA First Vice President Mike Walker — both successful radio hosts and veterans of the airwaves — and we’ve talked about outdoor radio and the best ways to make it “work.” But both of them tell me Ty Stockton, an OWAA board member, is doing some interesting things with his radio show. Ty is presenting a seminar about what he does and I intend to be there to take it all in.
There are many others I want to attend if my schedule permits. This is set up to be an exceptional conference from the “what- you-can-learn-if-you-attend” standpoint. Add in the beauty of the surrounding area and the many exciting and money-making pre- and post-conference trips and you’ve got all the makings of a conference that will pay you back what you spend if you attend and participate.
On an unrelated note, elsewhere in this issue of OU you are going to read that we have sold the OWAA headquarters office condo. Much credit for that sale belongs to Executive Director Robin Giner. Past President John Beath was also instrumental in setting up some essential things to make the condo saleable.
We’ll have full details about the sale in future issues of OU, but I wanted you to hear
about it here first.
See you at the conference. ♦
— — Tony Dolle, OWAA President tdolle@ducks.org
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Conference seminars will make you successful
