Florida Trappers & Fur Hunters Association September 2009 Report

President — John Whitfield, PO 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
Web Site: www.FloridaTrappers.org

Membership Options
• Family membership, including subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $25
• Associate membership (without magazine) — $15
• Lifetime membership (without magazine) — $100
• Lifetime membership with two year subscription — $125

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 — 30-Year Celebration

We are tremendously excited about our upcoming, terrific 30-Year Celebration, planned for this year’s Fall Rendezvous — to be held on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 25 and 26, 2009 just west of Tallahassee, FL. Please mark your calendars now and plan on coming to join in with us for several days of celebration, fun, trapper education and activities. There will be something for the whole family, especially for our young, next generation of trappers and outdoorsmen.

The Rendezvous will be held at Dave Enfinger’s farm, near Chipley, FL. Dave’s address is: 2381 Bonnett Pond Rd., Chipley, FL 32428, and his phone number is (850) 638-7669. Directions from I-10 and Highway #77, west of Tallahassee, are posted on our web site: www.FloridaTrappers.org.

Agenda and Schedule of Events

Friday: Although our main events will be held all day Saturday, all attendees are welcomed to come in on Friday, for camp set up and we’ll kick it all off with our Youth Oriented demos first, starting at 4 p.m., with a fantastic beginning trapper demo, conducted by George and Terry. This will be followed by a demo on “Snare Building and Adjustment” by Ronnie and Mike, with a special emphasis for young trappers. This will be followed, at 6 p.m., by a wiener roast and bonfire and our annual membership meeting. So, come a day early, if you can, bring your children, camp out and enjoy the Youth presentations and the wiener roast and bonfire.

Slamma Jamma Saturday

Starting early, at 6 a.m., Saturday morning, donuts and coffee will be available to everyone. Then, we will have a full morning of trapping demos, running from 8 a.m. until noon (see Web site for details of demos).

At noon, we’ll provide a free lunch for all attendees and their families.

At about 1 p.m., we will all enjoy our now famous Auction, with Dave moderating and selling all kinds of trapper gear and equipment, supplies, books, tapes, CD’s, hunting and fishing gear, knives, lures, scents, stretchers, traps, snares and a large selection of outdoor-related items — all auctioned off at really great prices.

Then, from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m., we will have more demos, games and family activities and a skeet shoot.
At 5 p.m., we’ll have a Chili Cook Off, judging the best Chili, and everyone will enjoy a big chili supper.

Finally, at 6:30 p.m., we’ll listen to a live band and fire up a huge bonfire — where no doubt, many “tall tales” will be told. It will be an evening to remember, for sure.

Sunday morning, we’ll break camp and all head home, with a host of new friends and all fired up for a great fall and winter trapping season.

Please remember to bring as many auction items as you can, as this is our primary fundraising event of the year. If it has anything to do with the woods, waters or outdoors, bring it. Thanks in advance for rounding up anything you can bring.

Camping and Accommodations

If you can only come for one day, please arrive as early as you can on Saturday and enjoy as many activities as you can. If you can come earlier, you can camp for free at Dave’s farm on Friday night prior to the outing, as well as on Saturday night following. Note that there are NO hookups, no power and no showers available. There will, of course, be restroom facilities and running water available.

Also, for the campers, there is a gorgeous Campground, with all facilities-power, showers, etc. just a few miles away. Falling Waters State Park (with Florida’s tallest waterfall-73 feet) is located at 1130 State Park Rd., Chipley, FL 32428, 850-638-6130.

And, finally, there are three hotels available at the I-10, Highway # 77, Chipley exit (Exit # 120). There is a Days Inn, Holiday Inn and Comfort Inn, all just a short drive from Dave’s farm.

Raffle, Prizes and Give-A-Ways

In addition to all the raffle items (including the great Dunn Small Skinner Knife), we will be giving away many door prizes, gifts and some of our Florida Trapper logo merchandise. Patches, mugs, emblems, decals, Litho imprinted rabbit skins, hats and t-shirts will be available as several Vendors will be exhibiting their stuff. Everyone will go home with something!

Registration

Please let us know that you are coming. You can contact me, Carol, any of our officers and or directors, and all will be glad to help you get registered. We just need to know how many are in your group and your arrival and departure schedule — for meals. Thanks. Florida Trappers will provide the meals and each attendee will handle their own camping/hotel arrangements. (Carol will maintain a list of who is coming).

OK, please make your plans on attending, let one of us know that you are coming and let’s all have a grand time of it, with an old fashioned Trappers Rendezvous and celebrate our thirty years in Florida. Visit us at the Web site for continuous updates.

Good trapping, and I’ll see you there.

— John Whitfield

NTA DIRECTOR’S REPORT

A high priority of NTA is education. There is a great need to educate those who are interested in furbearers, whether they desire to participate in harvests or not. There is certainly a need for information to guide a novice trapper who might not access to a mentor with experience.

High on the list of educational tools provided by the NTA is its TRAPPING HANDBOOK. This 240-page manual is top-of-the-line literature and anyone interested in trapping should have a copy of it. But, in addition to this fine publication, NTA provides a host of other education-related materials including coloring books for the younger generation.

The awarding of scholarships at both the under-graduate and graduate college level is still another example of NTA support for trapper education. The contenders for this year’s awards include a slate of young men and women who are not only tops in their class academically, but who also have a firm understanding of the importance of managing our wildlife resources.

Your support of the National Trappers Association goes a long way in helping to assure that we continue to educate the public in general, and our youth in particular about the vital role that trapping plays in our wildlife heritage.

— George Dykhuizen

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