www.arkansastrappers.org
President — Aaron Hitchcock, 9331 Sister Lane, Mulberry, AR 72947; 479-997-5361; AHITCH81@YAHOO.COM
Vice President — Charlie Bass, 6755 Bethesda Lane, Batesville, AR 72501; 870-698-1154; trapper38@hotmail.com
Secretary/Treasurer — Gary Gray, PO Box 493, Arkadelphia, AR 71923; 870-403-2469;
secretary@arkansastrappers.org
NTA Director — Mike Fischer, 13823 Masoner Road, Lonsdale, AR 72087; 501-939-2325
Editor — Gary Helms, 1092 Vanderbilt Rd., Texarkana, AR 71854; 870-772-3834; TrapperGWH@aol.com
Membership Options:
• Individual membership including subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $22
• Family membership with subscription — $27
Complete membership application on first page of association section and send dues to:
ATA, Secretary/Treasurer
Gary Gray
PO Box 493
Arkadelphia, AR 71923
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Hello Trappers
To start off with, I would like to apologize to everyone, for the fliers on the ATA Convention and Workshop being mailed out late.
Well the ATA convention is over, and, I think Mike Fischer did an excellent job with the events.
There were a lot of people there again this year, at one point I counted over 125, and I think my count was short.
I don’t know who cooked what, for the potluck. So I had to sample it and it was all very, very good.
The 2014, ATA Convention will again be held at Petit Jean State Park on September 12th &13th.
Gary Helms brought a proposal to the general membership about moving the Convention around in the state, but it was voted down this year.
Tim Ross and Dub Shankle are checking on the possibility of a Southeast Regional in Oct 2014 around the Hope area.
District 1 will be hosting the Spring Convention, possibly in the Harrison Area sometime in April 2014,there will be more information as it gets closer. You can also visit with Wayne Watson on the Internet to get more info.
The River Valley Chapter of District 1, had a booth at the Crawford County Fair. There were a lot of people showing interest in trapping, we signed up some new members and had a lot of interest in the workshop the kids really enjoyed feeling of the furs and the animal cards that they got to take home with them.
Getting the adults to feel the fur and guess the critter was entertaining, for us and them, especially when it came to the skunk pelts. Some people thought they would still smell.
The fur sale will be our next event, so lets all get ready for a good season and be safe. If you are trapping beaver, be careful of the beaver cut stubs. They can ruin a pair of boots real quick, and ruin your day if you fall on one.
Till next time, hoping your traps are full. — Aaron Hitchcock
EDITOR’S REPORT
Trapping season is finally in full swing! It sure seems like it took an awfully long time to get here. I first want to apologize for not having a report in last month’s issue of the Trapper. Due to a family medical emergency, I was not able to make the deadline. Our family wants to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers during my daughter’s ordeal. I’m happy to report that Sharon is doing much better since her stroke, and baby Ginger is healthy and doing great as well! That makes six grand-kids for this old trapper, and as many of you know, there’s nothing else like them in the world!
We had a real good turnout for our State Convention this year at Petit Jean. Thanks go to District 5 for lining up the demos and cooking the hams. They were both excellent! The side dishes and desserts that everyone brought were great also. I hinted for some strawberry and chocolate desserts in my last report, and someone paid attention and brought some. Thank you! The only complaint I had was the hot temperatures this year. If Petit Jean had an air conditioned building, it would have been great! The general business meeting was poorly attended, probably due in part to the heat. This Association belongs to ALL of the members. This meeting each year is your ONE place to cast your vote for any proposals, bylaw changes, officer elections, etc. that affect the ATA. I know many of you have good reasons for not attending, but I would like to see more members attend this meeting each year in addition to the same old faces that are usually present.
Our Trapper of the Year is John L. Tucker from Concord, and Mr. & Mrs. Trapper went to Doug & Bridget Henderson from Beebe. Congratulations to all of you! District 7 made a proposal to host the 2014 Fall Convention at Hope, AR. in a bigger building with air conditioning, but that vote failed. We’ll be back at Petit Jean again next year Sept. 12th-13th. District 1 agreed to host a Spring Convention to be held May 10th, 2014 at the Northwest Arkansas District Fairgrounds, Harrison, Arkansas. Dub Shankle and Tim Ross volunteered to head up a Multi-State -Convention next Fall in Southwest Arkansas. They’ve decided to have it Oct. 2-5 at the Clark County Fairgrounds in Arkadelphia, and it has since become an NTA Southeast Regional Convention. I’ll post more info here on these conventions as they get closer. Here’s another date for ya while I’m at it. The Fur Sale will be Feb. 15th, 2014 in Russellville at the fairgrounds. More info on that next month. As we get closer to these dates, you’ll also be able to find information on all of these events on our website at www.arkansastrappers.org.
I hope everyone has a GREAT season this year! Until next month!— Gary Helms
DISTRICT 1 REPORT
We met at the Catfish Hole in Alma on a rainy Saturday, Oct. 5th. Had a good crowd with a lot of great food and fellowship. We discussed the upcoming ATA Workshop as well as the 2014 Spring Convention. The 2014 ATA Spring Convention will be held May 10th at the Northwest Arkansas District Fairgrounds. The fairgrounds are located at 1400 Fairgrounds Road (just off highway 65), Harrison, Arkansas. The host motel is: Quality Inn 1210 US 62/65 N, Harrison, AR, US, 72601 Phone: (870) 741-7676. If you plan to stay there, let them know you are with the ATA Convention in order to get a rate of $76.49. The regular weekend rate is 89.99.
The fairgrounds have plenty of RV hookups so feel free to bring your RV or tent. Mr. Bill Duke has donated a doz. coil springs and a doz. DP’s to be used as prizes for the kids. We really appreciate Duke Traps for helping out. Until next time, hope your traps are full and be careful out there. — Wayne Watson
DISTRICT 7 REPORT
Glenda and I took our District’s tanned furs, a Destroying the Myth video, and a bunch of my traps, and set up a booth at a Sportsmen’s Banquet in Texarkana on September 9th. More than 800 people attended. We were well received and the ATA got some good exposure. The food was great, too! Brad Townsend took the furs and had a trapping booth at Rick Evans Grandview Prairie WMA on National Hunting and Fishing Day on Sept. 28th. Our last meeting was Oct. 5th at Grandview. We had a good turnout for our meeting. We got rained out at the pavilion, but we were able to move to the lodge. Ronny Whisenhunt showed us how he catches all those bobcats, and Brad did a great job on the hot dogs! Brads brother harvested an 11’ 11” gator and Cameron Tatom used some of it to make us a gator gumbo! Our auction netted $101.50. Thanks to all for the generous donations and to our bidders! Our next meeting is scheduled for December 14th at noon. It will also be held at Grandview at the lodge. This should give everyone time to run their traps, or bag a deer before the meeting. It’ll be potluck, so bring your favorite dishes and deserts. Hopefully I’ll catch enough beavers by then to have us some beaver chili. Eric Brinkman volunteered to do a skinning demo for us after lunch. If anyone else would like to give a demo of any kind, just let Brad know! — Gary Helms
