President — Larry Torr, 75 Polly Ann MHC Gerrish Rd Dover, NH 03820 603-742-7554
Vice President — Dwight Pennell, P.O. Box 136, Center Tuftonboro, NH 03816; phone: 603-539-7954
Membership Director — Roger Burnham, 159 North Shore Rd., Hebron, NH 03241; phone: 603-744-3561; e-mail: nhtrapper@metrocast.net
Clerk – Bill Anderson, Box 114, South Springfield, NH 03284; phone: 603-763-5548
Treasurer — Mike Kazak, 72 Riverview Dr., Charlestown, NH 03603; phone: 603-826-3959
Education Director — Mike Morrison, 737 Old Homestead Highway, Swanzey, NH 03446; phone: 603-352-8468
NTA Director — Steve Bennett 16 Spruce Cove Rd Northwood, NH 03234 (603) 496-4353
Legislative Director — Scott Borthwick, P.O. Box 81, Canaan, NH 03741; phone: 603-523-9284
NH Fish & Game Liasion — Fred Shepard, P.O. Box 23, Deerfield, NH 03037; phone: 603-463-7473
REPORT
The NHTA directors met for monthly meetings April 5th and April 24th, 2011. The April 24th meeting was held at the conclusion of the annual Spring Meet and will take the place of the evening monthly meeting scheduled for the first Tuesday in May. Unfortunately we directors did not check ahead on our calendars this year and scheduled the spring meet on the same Sunday as Easter and didn’t notice until after the notices had been sent to members. Attendance was low. We appreciate those directors that volunteered and spent the day at the meet attending to the needs of the function.
At the April 5th meeting the association welcomed to new directors: Jim Petrin of Clarement and Brian Denutte of Belmont.
Directors Jack Yazinski and Gene Dabrowski reported a good turn out and an overall positive response from sportsmen that visited the NHTA booth they manned at the First Annual “Twin State Big Game and Outdoor Show” held at the Lebanon, NH high school April 2nd, 2011. They sold a few memberships and a few NHTA collectibles and furs. Thanks guys.
Gene has volunteered time and materials to construct a new portable all wood display booth that will serve our needs and look more presentable than the table we currently use. If you have any suggestions, materials or just want to get in his way, you can call Gene at 603-763-2687.
I apologize for the misprint in last issue’s news. The NH Fish and Game “Discover Wild NH” event is the 30th of April this year, not the 2nd. I hope you didn’t make the trip to Concord to find an empty parking lot. The NHTA booth was set up for this event again this year. Several directors volunteered to be on hand to greet the general public and answer questions. The weather was cooperative this year, which allowed for a large crowd. President Larry Torr negotiated a better location for our booth, which allowed for increased viewership.
NHTA vice president Dwight Pennell took the lead in organizing another weekend for volunteers to head back up to the Barry Conservation Camp in Berlin, NH, to continue renovating cabins to be used by young campers this coming summer. Due to the print dates on the summer issues of this publication, we were not able to select a weekend and include that date in a timely fashion to keep you all on board. The weekend of May 14th and 15th was the selected date. Details of the progress on the camps will be included in a later issue.
The conservation camp was closed last season due to declining conditions of the facility. Sportsmen’s groups have rallied behind an effort by NHF&G Commissioners to breathe life back into the summer camp to keep the tradition of offering children an opportunity to experience the real outdoors. The association is proud to be apart of this effort and has committed $2,500 in resources and ninety-plus volunteer hours to date.
The association voted to send donations to our affiliates that rely on support from sportsmen. A check for $1,000 was sent to FTA and checks for $500 were sent to NTA and The Sportsmen’s Alliance. The Vermont Trappers Association was sent a coon hat and fur earmuffs and the NH Wildlife Federation will be sent a coyote pelt and a coon hat for their respective auctions.
Fur Takers of America offered two $100 raffle tickets for a four-man off-road utility vehicle to the association. NHTA purchased a single $100 ticket and five directors present at the April 5th monthly meeting combined to purchase the second FTA raffle ticket.
Again this year NH trappers answered the call to donate furs to support the NHTA’s fur jacket project and other fund-raising efforts. The newly crowned Miss NH is presented each year with a fisher jacket. Other donated skins that are tanned at the expense of the association are offered to schools in an educational “fur kit” or used as donations to other sportsmen’s associations or sold at our NHTA table when we attend various trade or sporting shows.
NHTA President Larry Torr attended the Miss NH Pageant April 30th, 2011 and presented the newly crowned Miss NH, Miss Regan Hartley, with the fisher jacket.
The following individuals donated fisher skins this last trapping season: Ruben Parker, Robert Doe Jr., Paul DeBow, Craig Williams, Walt Perry, Dick Lafluer, Fred Shepard, Don LaFlam, Paul Phelps, John Gilmain, Dan Kokas, Jim Hawkins, Mike Kazak, Larry Torr, Scott Borthwick, Gene Dabrowski, Jack Yazinski, Art Whipple, Leonard Chirstie, Dan Dockham, Dwight Pennell, Bonnie Pennell and Roger Burnham. Furs other than fisher, ranging from mink to coyote, were donated by the following: Mike Westcott, Paul DeBow, Jeff Gray, Mike Mattson and Fred Shepard. A few skins were mislabeled. My apologies if you were not listed. Drop me a line if your name was not included. Thank you to all of you who donated.
Best to all.
— Paul DeBow, Grafton County Director
