Tennessee Fur Harvester Association February 2010 Report

Tennessee Fur Harvesters Association

President — James Lord, 19 Mallard Lane Lexington, TN 38351; phone: 731-614-2531 or 731-968-7581; e-mail: jlord2003@aol.com

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

Secretary — Lora Daniel, 13740 Birchwood Pike, Birchwood, TN, 37308; phone: 423-227-5704; e-mail: johndanielgc@yahoo.com

Membership Secretary/Treasurer — Nancy Rogers, 235 Burke Lane, Dayton, TN 37321; phone: 423-570-8467; e-mail: nrogers03@bellsouth.net

State Organizer — Paul Antczak, 843 West Millers Cove, Walland, TN 37886; phone: 865-724-4569;
e-mail: predatorsandprey@comcast.net

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

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

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

Membership Options:

• Individual membership including subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $22
• 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:

Nancy Rogers
235 Burke Lane
Dayton, TN 37321

www.tfha.net

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Hello trappers,

I hope all of you and yours had a great and safe holiday season.

Trapping season is keeping me busy and I hope your season is going well also. Our fur sales are just around the corner and I hope to see a lot of you there. Concerning your fur, if you are planning on bringing in green fur, which is very welcome. Please make sure it is presentable. Try to wash them if possible and comb out any burrs. This will help you get top dollar for your unfinished fur.

Also, don’t forget about our new award this year, the ROCKY TOP AWARD. This will be given out to the seller with the highest bid paid for each type of fur bearer. For more information on this award, you can go to our Web site at www.tfhaonline.net to see all the details, or you can ask us at the fur sale either one.

Crossville will be the first sale, which is Feb. 6, and Bulls Gap is the last one and the date on that one is Feb. 20. Tables can be reserved by contacting Lora Daniel two weeks prior to the sale, with the exception of the Bulls Gap sale. Feb. 7 is the call-in date for reserving a table due to most of us being at the Crossville sale on the 6th. For information on directions to the locations, feel free to contact one of the elected officials for any help.

We will have a table set aside for fur to be donated to go towards a fundraiser and for adding to the association’s tanned fur collection. So, if you can donate any finished fur, it would be greatly appreciated.

The trapping contest Paul is putting together seems to be coming along nicely. He has put a lot of time and effort into this, so if you can, please come and enjoy the festivities.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to be there, as I will be trapping out of state at the time. I know if I could, I would be there with bells on, LOL. It should be a great time to learn, hang out and trap with a lot of different people, some even from out of state are planning on attending. I am sure Paul will talk about this in his report also. There is a little more detailed description about this on the Web site also.

I hope you all have a tremendous trapping season, and hope to see you soon. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me anytime, 731-614-2531, or jlord2003@aol.com.

Thanks.

— James Lord

VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT

I hope this report finds everyone well and having a good new year. By the time you read this, the first of our two fur sales will only be weeks away. I hope everyone has been having a good season so far. With 2009 behind us, it’s time to start looking ahead to an exciting new year with T.F.H.A., there is already a lot of things on the agenda for 2010.

First are the fur sales, the new T.F.H.A. trapping contest, the Hiwassee training camp and our spring meet at Big Ridge state park just to mention few. If anyone has an event coming up in your community this year and would like to have a T.F.H.A. booth there, please let one of the officers know so they can help you line up literature, people to help man the booth, furs, traps, etc.

Anyone wishing to help or volunteer with any of T.F.H.A.’s activities is welcome. We want anyone who wants to be involved to do so. I would like to encourage everyone to bring a guest with them to our events in the upcoming year. T.F.H.A. is one of the best trapping associations in the country and we should be proud to share it with others.

I talked with Ms. Tommie a few days ago and she has been under the weather, I know that we have more of our older members that are having health problems. If anyone has any information on these folks, please give us an update. We owe a lot to these folks who helped found our great organization and should keep up with them and assist them any way we can. The Hiwassee trapper training camp has been scheduled for March 19-21. With all the traveling I will be doing with the NTA around that time, I’m going to be needing more help than ever so anyone wanting to help please let me know.

The upcoming trapping contest in February has a Jan. 15 deadline, but with over a thousand dollars in cash and prizes being given, I believe if I missed the deadline I’d contact Paul and see if maybe there’d still be room for one more. Well, I guess that’s about it for now. Hope to see you at the fur sales.

— John Daniel

SECRETARY’S REPORT

Hello Tennessee Trappers. I hope the season is going well for all of you. The fur sales are around the corner. Crossville fur sale will be held on Feb. 6, 2010. The call-in date will be Jan. 23, 2010, after 8 a.m. The next fur sale will be Bulls Gap Feb. 20, 2010. The call-in time is on Feb. 7, 2010. We will begin to sell fur at 9 a.m. T.F.H.A will be hosting a trapping contest.

If you have any questions, call Paul Antczak for more info at 865-724-4569. I hope everyone is receiving their T&PC. If there is a problem with getting the T&PC, please contact Nancy Rogers at 423-570-8467. Those of you that have had a change of address, please contact Nancy Rogers so we can change it on our membership list.

Remember our Hiwassee Trapper Training Camp is going to be in March 2010. I wish everyone happy trapping and may you catch plenty of fur.

— Lora Daniel

STATE ORGANIZER’S REPORT

Well it’s three days before I go to Illinois and long line. When you read this, I will be about 15 pounds lighter and a lot smarter as a trapper. Every year, I pick up on something that I over looked before.

We have so much going on this spring I don’t even know where to start. I guess I’ll go by dates.

Feb. 6 — Fur auction in Crossville, Tenn.

Feb. 12-14 — Trapping contest at A.E.D.C in Tullahoma, Tenn. The deadline for entry was on Jan. 15. If you missed this deadline, I’m sorry.
We had to put a deadline on it because of the marking out the 25,000 acres. We needed to know how many teams will be there. But don’t feel left out! We could use your help being a judge, skinning, flipping burgers or just your presence would be appreciated. Jerry Bowman is graciously letting us use his shop as the lodge. Thanks Jerry! (Have you noticed I have mentioned Jerry in all my reports so far?)

Feb. 20 — Fur Auction in Bulls Gap, Tenn.

March 20 — Trapper training camp at the Hiawassee refuge. Yes, another training camp is coming around the corner. This will be the fourth training camp at this location. It’s always a great time there and I’m still amazed by the turn out of these events. Contact John Daniels for more info.

April 9-11 — TFHA is teaming up with Georgia to host the NTA southeastern. If you have never been to a national event, you really should go for a day and soak it all up. From what John is telling me, it’s gonna be a hoot!

I hope all your chains are pulled tight!

— Paul Antczak

NTA DIRECTOR’S REPORT

I hope this report finds everyone with a full fur shed and easy lines to run. Last month, I reported that the judge in the Maine lynx case had handed down a favorable decision for trappers in Maine. Well, this month I have to report that this decision didn’t sit well with the anti’s and they have started the appeals process.

The NTA has announced that it will once again join in the fight to head off this attack. This is an ongoing labor around the country to protect the rights of trappers everywhere. There are still issues in Montana and Maryland and New Hampshire just to name a few. Remember it takes a lot of time and money to wage these battles the best way to fight them in our state is to help beat them in other states before they get here. So, if you haven’t renewed your NTA membership yet, be sure to do so soon. And if you’re not a member, I encourage you to join. If you are a member, thank you for your support, but be sure to recruit someone else.

The NTA southeastern is just around the corner now. Don’t forget to make plans to attend. And if you can, be sure volunteer to help out with the work. If you would like to help out with the work, but because of work issues, poor health etc. can’t, but would still like to contribute, maybe a donation to help pay for the rooms of the ones who will be working all three days would be a good way for you to contribute. Remember, we are hosting this convention with Ga. We want to make sure Tenn. is well represented. The NTA leadership conference will be held in conjunction with with the southeastern convention.

If you have any issues or suggestions you would like for me to present, please let me know. I would like to again suggest that you bring auction items to our events this coming year and ear mark them so that the proceeds from their sales be donated to states that are under attack from the anti’s. As always, I am here to represent you with the NTA so don’t hesitate to contact me. I will always present your concerns or ideas to the proper people. Hope to see you all at the fur sales.

Until next time, keep your boots dry.

— John Daniel

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