President — John Whitfield, P.O. Box 1989, Keystone Heights, FL 32656; phone: 352-475-1904; e-mail: huntfishwriter@aol.com
Vice President — Dane Dwyer, 426 East End Rd., San Mateo, FL 32187, phone: 386-325-9642; e-mail: fortdwyer@hotmail.com
Secretary/Treasurer — Carol Lokken, 7047 Spinnaker Blvd. Englewood, FL 34224; phone: 941-475-1206; e-mail: beachbum5253@comcast.net
NTA Director — George Dykhuizen, 8110 Casa De Meadows Dr., Englewood, FL 34224; phone: 941-697-7634; e-mail: principal1@embarqmail.com
Membership Options
• Family membership including subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $25
• Lifetime membership: Contact one of the officers above — $100
Complete membership application on first page of
association section and send dues to:
Carol Lokken
7047 Spinnaker Blvd., Englewood, FL 34224
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Fall Rendezvous Planning Report
On April 18, our planning committee members met at Dave Enfinger’s farm near Chipley, FL, for a fish fry and Fall Rendezvous planning session. Responsibilities were divided up and a preliminary agenda was agreed upon, with a special emphasis placed on demos and activities for our Florida Youth Trappers and our families, as well.
With the many activities of our Fall Rendezvous, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 26, we are encouraging our members and guests to arrive early, camp out (either at the farm or at the nearby Falling Waters Campground) and spend some time learning more about Florida trapping and our great people, and making new friends in the Florida trapping community.
Some will be arriving on Thursday, Sept. 24, and a lot more on Friday, Sept. 25, with the first scheduled activity being a “Beginning Trapper Seminar,” at 4 p.m., hosted by George and Terry. There will be other demos and also a wiener roast and bonfire Friday night. And a bunch of tall tales told, I’m sure.
Then, Saturday, we will have activities all day long, including our now famous “Live Auction” at 1 p.m. (You don’t want to miss this — great trapping equipment at terrific prices!!!)
Saturday night, we will have a chili cook off, a live band and a huge bonfire.
We’ll break camp on Sunday and then all head home — loaded with goals, dreams, ideas and ambitions for a great fall and winter trapping adventure.
A special thanks to Dave and Judy for having us for the fish fry and also for hosting the entire Fall.
Rendezvous. The Mountain Man Spirit is alive and well in Florida.
Summer Chores
We hope all our members had a great trapping season and have now processed their furs for market. Good luck on your sales.
Now, summer is nigh and there is always much work to be done — even in the off season — on our equipment, on the trap/skinning shed and on the hunt/trap camps and properties. And, summer is a great time to make the necessary contacts and arrangements for next season — getting permission in advance.
Many of us swap some service for some trapping accessibility. Do some chores for the farmer, rancher or property owner and let them know you are a responsible woodsman. Fix some fence, repair something or pitch in wherever needed.
New Members
We welcome all our new members, particularly our youth trappers. We are so glad to have you on our Florida Team. One of the great things about us is that our membership is for the entire family! And we’d love to have your whole family attend the Rendezvous. Mark your calendars now and we’ll see you then and there. Stay tuned for many more exciting details to follow.
Good Trapping!
— John Whitfield
SECRETARY’S REPORT
It’s hard to believe that this year is flying by so quickly. They warned me this would happen as I got older. It seems at this rate, it will be Christmas tomorrow. And we have so much to do this year. I hope the pace slows to a dull roar so we can get everything done.
As most of you know, we are passionate about getting our youth involved in trapping, hunting, fishing and the great outdoors. These young people are our future.
We have a member of the Florida Trappers Association who holds the honor of being our youngest member. Tyler Bo Kersey joined us in July of 2004 when he was 8 years old. He is a fourth-generation trapper and hunter. He has faithfully renewed his membership each year. I had the pleasure and honor of receiving a letter from Bo.
With his permission I am sharing it with our readers:
Dear Florida Trappers Association,
I just wanted to say that I was still out here. I didn’t have as good of a year this year, I still caught around 40 ’coons and about 100 possums. Man, them critters love sardines. I read the newsletter about the guy catching a dog three times. Kinda reminds me of me, I caught so many of my grandma’s cats, chickens and even my cousin’s dog. I also read the part about the armadillos and coyotes. They are real bad in my hunting club where I do all my trapping. I’m sorry I haven’t come to some of the Fall Rendezvous. I’ve either had family emergencies or been working with my dad. But I hope to make it this year. But I have been reading about what’s going on in the magazine every month. One more thing, I still have my Youngest Member Award on my wall. Well if there is anything I need to know or anything I can do help out, please write me back, e-mail me or call me. Thanks for your time.
Trapper
Tyler Kersey
Dear Tyler,
I can’t thank you enough for writing. I get a lot of letters each month, but yours is very special. It is wonderful to have such an enthusiastic young trapper in our membership. And, it is an honor. I certainly look forward to meeting you at the Rendezvous in September. Feel free to contact us anytime. We’d love to share your stories, ideas and pictures. Have a wonderful summer!
Best regards,
Carol
Folks…… this is our future. This is what we are all about: building our organization so that kids like Bo have the foundation to continue trapping and working towards being responsible stewards of our lands. Please encourage the kids around you to get involved. Take them on your trapline, take them hunting, take them fishing, teach them what you know, share your skills.
Because my column for the previous issue was inadvertently omitted, I am including what I had to share with you.
As I am reviewing our membership list, I see that several of our members have not yet renewed. Hopefully, this is merely an oversight and I’ll find renewals in my mailbox each day. Please take a moment to look at the front of this magazine and find your expiration date. If yours expires soon, please contact me or get that renewal coupon in the mail to me as soon as possible so that your subscription doesn’t lapse. For Lifetime members who get a subscription, that date will indicate when your subscription expires, not your membership. If you have any questions, please give me a call.
To those of you reading this who are not already members of our association, please locate the application in the front of this publication. Our membership details and costs are published at the top of this column. And if you have any questions, please contact us for more details.
As always, we have our membership incentive program in place. Sign up new members; get a gift card of your choice. Contact me for membership applications and details.
Don’t forget to display your Florida Trappers & Fur Hunters decal! Oh, you don’t have one yet? They are only $5. Send a check made out to Florida Trappers Association to me; I’ll return the decal in the mail!
Have you taken the time to check out our Web site? It’s still under development but there are many interesting features and news items, along with pictures. A new addition to the site is our Trapper’s Forum. This section will allow anyone to share ideas through posting them. Go to www.floridatrappers.org and click on Association Forum in the bottom left corner. You can then click on the topics posted to read what’s been shared. If you want to join in the discussions, you must first register.
Click on REGISTER in the top left corner. Choose a user name (you can use your own name or use a “handle”, ours is Beachbums) and give a valid e-mail address. Those two items are the only required fields for registering.
Check your e-mail for a confirmation from the site (check your spam folder as well). It took a day before we got ours. You will get a password that will let you log in. Once you log in, you can click on your user name which will bring up your profile. Click on EDIT and it will let you change your password to one you choose (and will likely remember). I have put this information on the Web site as well.
Hope to see you there!!!
— Carol Lokken
NTA DIRECTOR’S REPORT
The 2009 NTA Convention will be a landmark event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Trappers Association. The Ohio Trappers Association will be hosting the occasion, which will be held at the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, Ohio. Lima is conveniently located on Interstate I-75 with mileage to other principal cities as follows: Chicago, 265 miles; Cleveland, 180 miles; Detroit, 140 miles; and Indianapolis, 175 miles. Overnight accommodations are reasonable. Following are rates and phone numbers for some of mid-priced area motels: Motel 6, $37, 419-228-0456; Knights Inn, $45, 419-331-9215; Days Inn, $50, 419-227-6515’; and Travelodge, $57, 419-227-2221. I plan to be there representing our Florida Trappers Association.
Other Florida trappers also plan to be there including President John Whitfield, District Director Dave Enfinger and three of our USDA trappers: Ron Braxton, Mike Townson and Randy Engleman. If you’ve ever thought about attending one of the NTA national conventions, this is the one.
Hope to see you in Lima!
— George Dykhuizen
