By Jeff Hernandez, President of the Board and Tualatin Valley Chapter President
I still remember one of my first Steelheader meetings. It was with the TV Chapter and we had a local guide named Ed Fast come and share about bank fishing on the Sandy river. I still tie up a 6 foot mono bumper to my braided line when spinner fishing the way he suggested. This method has served me well. Over the years since then (2007 I believe), I have come to fall in love with this organization. It has become the backbone of my fishing education and fishing friend group. The volunteer events, Fish-A-Longs and causes we support have been an inspiration to me. That’s why I consider it an honor to serve with other like-minded fisherman as your new incoming president.
Over the last couple of years, I have seen the association go through some pretty major challenges. We lost our office manager and then ran out of funding for our executive director, so he resigned. We then lost our last office staff. Thanks to an all-volunteer group we were able to keep the association afloat and get ready for our next chapter. We have hired a part-time office manager Jack, who you met in our last issue, and he is off to a good start.
So, what does our “Next Chapter” look like? That’s the million-dollar question. One thing that I know is I love fishing. And I am passionate about promoting sportfishing in a way that leads to a sustainable future. I love the fact that we educate our members and the public in regard to fishing techniques as well as ethics. I love that we advocate for healthy returns of salmon and steelhead in our rivers and that our rooms are full of men and women who feel a duty and obligation to help preserve our natural resources for the next generation. This is an organization worth stepping up for.
So here is my ask. Let’s do it together. Let’s push ourselves beyond our comfort zone and get some things done. Trust me when I say I am pushed beyond my comfort zone. It’s time for the next generation to step up and carry the torch. Here are some things we can do as a group that would make a big difference:
1. Let’s get our membership back to 1,000 members. We are currently around 670 members. Please double check your membership and make sure you are current. Then let’s ask all our fishing buddies to sign up. It’s only $40 bucks a year and goes to a good cause.
2. I would love to see 20% of our membership sign up for a sustaining membership. Instead of paying $40 bucks a year, it would be giving $10, $15 or $20 bucks a month as a regular ongoing contribution if you are able. Here is a link in case you wanted to take that step: Become a Sustaining Member
3. 10-10-3. My pet project. I would love to see 10 people who are willing to donate $10K or more a year for the next three years. I already have one and need 9 more. This alone would pay for our executive director and some of our programs.
4. Hire a communications manager. We are doing so many great things and need to a better job of telling all of you as well as the public of the work we are doing. We are close to making this happen, so keep an eye out.
5. Continue to do great work around advocacy and impactful volunteer projects in both education and sustainability of healthy rivers.
Let’s get our hands dirty. Let’s get out there together and get some things done. And most importantly let’s have some fun and catch some fish along the way.
Thanks to everyone who recently stepped up to serve on our new board. You will meet them below and will see some familiar faces and maybe a few of us new ones. Together we will keep this thing going and make a difference in our community and in our fisheries.
We would also like to announce our new and returning board members:
