Fly Tying Group
Initial Board Meeting
July 24, 2008

(first posted September 11, 2008; last updated November 19, 2009)

Minutes of meeting 7/31/07 Whitefish, Montana 2008 Conclave

Present: David Nelson (presiding), Gene Kaczmarek, Leslie Wrixon, Bob Bates, Jim Ferguson, Tom Berry, and Henry Hoffman. Herb Kettler, member of the outgoing Board and our liason with the Board of Directors, was also present. Gene had invited any tier to join us, as a way of demonstrating our openness to ideas and that we are not hiding anything; but no one took him up on the idea.

First order of business was to review the published minutes of the last meeting, mostly to review what we had done previously. David Nelson then reviewed the process that led to the formation of the Board and then our charges as given to us by Bob Wiltshire at the first meeting. Nelson then reviewed some of our accomplishments to date.

The proposed Policies and Procedures Draft 3 (for how to send emails among Board members) was discussed, with all agreeing that they may decrease clutter and help clarity.

The proposed Bylaws was handed out but not discussed, as the discussion was deferred to online discussion, so all could have input. (Copies of the of the proposed Bylaws were sent to all Board member on 7/18. Please read them and the discussion afterwards before commenting.)

The various Committees then reported. Gene reported on the Standing Committee for Conclave. He had a local chair who cancelled out at the last minute and he had to take over the job. It was agreed that more involvement was needed from a year-specific chair and his supporters to make the tying run smoother next year. Gene also solved a last-minute glitch when the person supplying the video theater equipment had all of his equipment stolen; Gene scrambled and was able to get equipment from the school. The cost of this is not known to date; in the future, it was agreed that commitments of FTG funds needs to be run through the President prior to making any commitments. This case was unusual, and we were glad Gene could solve the problem.

International Committee report was given by David Nelson for Hans Weilenmann. Hans suggested that we need to offer some kind of support if we are to entice international tiers to undertake the cost of attending. He realizes that this will not likely be travel/expense support, but we could put together a group that could offer to meet them at the airport, take them to a hotel or even put them up at their home, shuttle them to and from the Conclave, and also take them fishing, either before Conclave, after, or hopefully both. The liason person would not have to do all of this personally, but should arrange for it to be done. All agreed that this should be possible. (After the meeting, I talked to Pat Oglesby, who lives near Loveland, and he will undertake to create such a liason group. Hans, email me and I can put you two together.)

Tom Berry then asked to add an Agenda item, that the Board commit to certifying fly tying instructors. This was tabled, as out of order. This item cannot be added to the Agenda without advance notice. There has been a lot of discussion of this item over the previous years. Please read the first meeting minutes and the FlyFisher article about our creation . The original Board was firmly AGAINST the certification of tiers, and has gone on record stating such. The original charges for the Board from the FFF clearly stated that certification of tiers was NOT a goal of the group, and there was strong agreement that the original Board members would work against, not for, certification of tiers. It is THE hot button issue for everyone, and really should be discussed with the full group, and after everyone was familiar with the history of this topic. Tom accepted the tabling.

Committee formation was next discussed. The Fly Tying Instructor's Guideline Committee is perhaps our most important committee. So far, Dan Van Buren, Bob Bates, Jim Ferguson, Month Smith, and Cliff Sullivan have stated interest. Also, FTG members Ed Morphus, Jason McDonald, and Dave Duffy have asked to work on this committee. This Committee is charged with developing an online guide for fly tying instructors, which has a broad possible range of topics that have not yet been defined. No decisions were made, people agreed to think about what should be in such a guide and to share this via email. (Jim Ferguson, subsequent to the meeting, accepted the post of Chairman of this Committee.)

The International Committee will continue, with Hans as head.

Sr. Carole Ann Corley has expressed interest in heading a Youth Outreach Committee, although she is worried she may not have enough time to do it well. Monte Smith and Jon Uhlenhop have offered to help.

Steve Jensen will head the Framing Committee; Don van Buren wants to help. Their goal is to create an online guide on framing. He anticipates doing a Workshop on this next year, and possibly Judy Lehmberg may do a "framing on the cheap" Workshop.

Henrika Prescott has volunteered to head an Elder Outreach Committee.

We need a Communications Committee. Bob Bates has the most experience in this, but is not yet sure if he wants to do this or stop volunteering so much and get some fishing in. Anthony Hipps has volunteered to help.

The Tier as Teacher Committee has in the past been chaired by David Nelson, but Board Chair duties are taking over his time, and we need a new chair. This Committee may or may not overlap with the Fly Tying Instructor Guideline Committee. We need discussion on this.

Budget was next up. David Nelson noted that we need to do our own fundraising, both so that we can control our own destiny and because the FFF really does not have money to hand out. Fundraising so far has consisted of membership fees, two fly plates placed into the auction, the Fly Tying Group pins which are for sale. David Nelson asked to be reimbursed for the cost of framing the plates ($400, but the plates brought in $900, so we have covered our costs), the cost of the pins ($363, but they have already brought in over $400, so we have covered our costs), and the cost of the Flex-tops ($262; the cost was advanced by David but covered by a grant from John Bailey; he got some advertising on the boxes, so it costs the FTG nothing). The Board voted to allow David to be reimbursed for his costs.
David Nelson reported on his presentation to the Board of Directors. They strongly support our efforts. One Board member wanted to know why we did not have certification of tiers as a goal. David stated, in strong terms, that that was specifically off the table for the Fly Tying Group, according to our initial charges, and that it has seen strong condemnation by the tying community. The Board member replied that that was the same when he was part of the original Casting Board of Governors, and that resistance from the tying community should be expected, but that we needed to do it anyway. Another Board member supported the move to tying certification. David listened to them, tried to respond, but minds did not seem to be open. The final statement was that certification is not one of our goals.

(I am a bit embarassed to add this, but my job is to report what we did, not edit it.) Herb Kettler, just prior to the adjournment, made a movement to commend David Nelson for a "Herculean effort" on behalf of the FTG. It passed.

The meeting was adjourned.

submitted by David Nelson