Tennessee Fur Harvester Association December 2013 Report

www.tfhaonline.net

 

President — John Daniel, 13740 Birchwood Pike, Birchwood, TN 37308; 423 595-0986;
johndanielgc@yahoo.com

Vice President — Clarence Dies, 34 Lock 5 Road, Lebanon, TN 37087; 615-924-3549

Treasurer/Membership Secretary — Laura Smith, 160 Autumn Lane, Wilder, TN 38589; 931-267-4779

State Organizer — Wendell Reeves, 14215 95 Hwy North, Greenback TN 37742

FTA Director — Bob Beckwith, 156 Brush Wood Dr., Sparta, TN 38583; 931-935-5602

Legislative Director — Doug McKenzie, P.O. Box 284, Madisonville, TN 37354

NTA Director — John Daniel, 13740 Birchwood Pike, Birchwood, TN 37308; 423-595-0986;
johndanielgc@yahoo.com

 

Membership Options:

• Individual membership including subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $25

• Junior membership with subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $12

• Lifetime membership with subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $250

• Senior lifetime membership (70 or older) with subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $100

 

Complete membership application on first page of association section and send dues to:

Laura Smith

160 Autumn Lane

Wilder, TN 38589

 

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Hello Association members and trappers,

This will be my final report in here for a while, and I sincerely appreciated the opportunity to serve as the TFHA President for the last 4 years and the Vice President before that. It has been an honor and an eye opener as well. We’ve had an interesting last several years with a couple bumps in the road but nothing we couldn’t iron out and I appreciate all the support and help. To all the officers, John, Wendell, Laura and Ashton, thank you; we all know how much effort it takes and you are greatly appreciated. To the Lady Fur Harvesters, Laura, DJ, Amanda, Mrs Alicia McMillian, Mrs Joyce Holland thank you so much for all the time and work you all have put in to taking care of the kitchen work and helping with any and every thing from kids activities, to secretarial work at the convention!

The Fall Convention at Fall Creek Falls was a great time! Thanks to all the cooks at the Crawfish Boil. To the guys that put together all the tables and set everything up, awesome job, thank you! The demos were excellent; Wendell, another job well done. You’ve had a lot on your plate and have done an outstanding job, you and your wife are in our prayers. To the demonstrators, Thank you for taking the time and traveling to help future generations learn about our great tradition. Matt Jones, thanks for the demo and the fish, tell Pam thanks for me! Now that most of the thank you’s are out of the way, and if I forgot some one while typing this out, I apologize. We sure have not forgotten all the work and effort.

After the election ballots were counted at Fall Creek Falls, John Daniel is the new President, Clarence Dies is the new Vice President. Wendell Reeves was voted as the State Organizer again, and all the other officers are the same. Everyone’s contact information should be listed above the monthly reports, and on the web site @ www.tfhaonline.net

TFHA has purchased a 20’ enclosed trailer to be used sort of like a TFHA on wheels. It should be ready and have interesting information to be seen at the Spring Meet. It will serve as a cargo trailer as well to carry TFHA material and booth setup equipment for conventions. Be sure to stop by the Spring Meet to check it out.

Congratulations to all the award winners at this years Convention:

Bill Rasor – Hall of Fame

Earl Crabtree – Director of the Year

Dj Lawyer- Lady Fur Harvester of the Year

Trapper of the Year – Derek Delaney

Jr Trappers of the Year – Brandon Richardson and Christopher Brady

TFHA will host two fur sales again for this season. The locations have been changed due to increase in fur brought to the sales and bigger buildings are needed to help give everyone more room.

Crossville Tn March 1st — Crossville sale will be held at the National Guard Armory. The address is 144 Sparta Hwy Crossville Tn, 38572 It is across the Hwy from Tractor Supply.

Morristown TN March 8th (Bulls Gap Sale) — We moved this sale to Morristown due to the lack of room needed for the increasing size of this sale. Morristown sale will be held at the National Guard Armory

All sales will begin around 9am (in the time zone they’re in)

Doors will open at 8am for buyers and sellers to get set up.

To reserve a table at these sales contact Ashton Pittman @ 423-457-5655 2 weeks prior to sales. (Feb 15th for Crossville and Feb 22nd for Morristown)

Fur Requirements and tips:

All otter and bobcats must have the CITES tag on each pelt. Generally there are TWRA officers at the sale to tag pelts, but it is recommended that the pelts be tagged before you come to the auction. Saves time and in case an officer can’t make it, you will still be able to sale the pelts.

You may bring your fur in Green (skinned only), the round (whole animal), or put up (completely finished). Fur put up generally brings the best price, providing its put up correctly.

For those of you that bring in green fur, to capitalize on the best price, make sure the fur is thawed, dry (not soppy wet), clean (not muddy or bloody) and brushed (remove debris and burrs). Do not thaw your fur any sooner than the minimum time needed to thaw it. By that I mean, if the sale is on Saturday, don’t get your fur thawing a week ahead of time. Generally it takes about 24-48 hours to thaw most furs, depending on how you froze them, i.e. in a ball or laying flat, and the temperature at which you are thawing it.

For fur in the round, this will bring less money than anything. If at all possible do not bring your fur in this way. Taxidermy specimens excluded.

Fur that is put up gives the seller the best option for several reasons. Fur buyers can only handle so much green fur. They buy hundreds of pieces like this at the sales and meeting other trappers in various locations, and in order for this fur to not spoil due to freezing and thawing multiple times, it has to be put up right away. This is one of the main reasons green fur at sales bring less than put up. Put up fur also gives you the option of a no sale and taking it home (and if its green, you don’t want to have to take it back and re freeze it yourself), or sending it to a national auction house.

Now that trapping season is here, I hope everyone has a great season and stays safe out there. This should be a season for everyone to remember, but lets remember it for the good times.

See you guys down the line. — James Lord

 

VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Hello everyone, by the time you read this trapping season will have already begun or only be a few days away.

I’d like to start off by thanking those who helped me get elected. I look forward to serving as your TFHA President.

Our Fall Convention was a huge success. The extra day was well received and put to good use. We had a great demo lineup that was enjoyed by all. A special Thank You to those who gave their time to do demos. There was something for all ages and experience levels.

As usual the Lady Fur Harvester’s out did themselves once again. We had some new faces in the kitchen. A special thanks to them as well as to those steadfast ladies who have given so much through the years.

The Craw-fish Boil was a big success, capped off with great entertainment by Jesse Black… Thanks Jesse!

Thanks so much to all of those who helped organize demos, showed up early to help setup for the weekend, those that helped cook, setup vendors, and to those that stayed til the end for cleanup. Thank you to all the vendors who brought supplies for our trappers to buy. It takes a lot of help from a lot of people to make an event like this successful.

Next year’s Fall Convention will be October 9th through the 12th, so go ahead and mark your calendars.

We have set the dates for our fur sales. The first one will be March 1st in Crossville, TN. We have moved the location to the National Guard Armory due to the increased size of our sale. The Armory is just across the road from the fairgrounds where we have always held the sale.

Our second sale will be March 8th, in Morristown, TN at the National Guard Armory. Again, we have moved the sale from our traditional spot in Bulls Gap due to increased size as well.

We would like to thank the Cumberland County Fairgrounds as well as the Bulls Gap VFW for so graciously hosting our fur sales for so many years.

In the coming months we will be setting up committees, looking at districts, and updating our directors’ list. Anyone interested in becoming a director, please contact me by phone or send me an e-mail.

During the next few months we will be looking at new ideas to improve our organization and make it the best we can to serve the trappers of Tennessee.

I would like to end this report by Thanking James Lord for all of his dedication and effort that he has put into TFHA over the past six years, starting as Vice President and serving two terms as our President. He completes his terms, leaving our organization better than he accepted it.

My only wish is that I can do the same. It has been a true pleasure working with James. I look forward to working with him in whatever roles the future provides.

Til next time, keep your boots dry. — John

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