THE NEXT GENERAL MEETING: THURSDAY JANUARY 9TH, 7:30 PM, AT THE CLUB HOUSE, LINCOLN PARK ROAD, IN DERBY TOWNSHIP. 

January General Meeting 

The January General Meeting  will be our Annual General Meeting and election of our Board of Directors for 2003. If you would like to sit on the Board of Directors and can not attend the meeting, send a note indicating your willingness to let your name stand for election. Plan to attend this important meeting and exercise your right to elect next years Directors.

We regret to advise our members of the passing of two more of our fellow sportsmen, Ab Boley and Norm Schatz.

DATES AND OTHER THINGS TO REMEMBER!
 

Some members have expressed an interest in challenging the Boating Exam and obtaining a Pleasure Craft Operator Card.  If there is enough interest, we will try to offer this opportunity again in the winter assuming that Fred Geberdt, Mark Porter and Richard Manley are still willing to provide the necessary assistance and the challenge is still available through the O F A H.

It is our understanding that operators of motorized vessels less than 13 feet are now required to have a valid operators cards.  Further, by 2009, all operators of motorized vessels will have to meet this requirement.

Last year, the charge was $35 for members and $45 for nonmembers.  We will review this and inform you in the next newsletter, if, in fact a challenge is needed and the chosen date.  If you are interested in being involved, please call me at 372-0410 or e-mail me at jford@bmts.com 

Alternatively you can contact Fred at  376-2369.  We must have prepayment before we can order the books and exams.

Introductory Birding Course Offered

David Fidler, a renowned birding expert and member of the S S A, has graciously agreed to do an introductory birding course for up to 12 S S A members. 

The course will consist of classroom work on Friday evening  May 30 at the clubhouse for 2 or 3 hours followed by an early morning and afternoon session  on Saturday  May 31st various conservation authority properties in the area.  The emphasis will be on local area nesting songbirds. 

The cost will be $25.00 per person. 

If you are interested, please call John Ford at 372-0410.  The spots will be filled on a first come/ first served basis.

Youth Activities Program

In the new year, we hope to get the junior program up and running again in full swing!! The new air rifle program is almost ready and will start in January. There will be a junior meeting for all junior members and their families on January 5 at 1:30 in the main clubhouse to coordinate dates and activities for 2003. The winter campout this year will be February 1 and 2 at the club 

I was lucky enough to be invited by Rob Pye, the provincial co-ordinator for the Get Outdoors youth program, to speak at the Vision 2002 National Fishing Marketing Symposium. The Vision 2002 conference was a nationwide effort to promote fishing and fishing awareness in Canada. Representatives from every province were there, as well as reps from tourism, fishing, media and boating industries. While there, we undertook specific task groups to pinpoint the target audiences of the campaign, what it's main focuses would be, and what would be required to implement the plan. The target markets were thought to be adults who had once fished and stopped fishing, and youth. The main focuses we decided on were attracting youth involvement in the sport, fishing education programs, and national guidelines that would be available. To start mobilizing the plan, we elected a group of individuals who would get support within their organizations and discuss what it would take in funding and efforts to co-ordinate a national fishing marketing plan. The group consisted of one rep from each of these sectors: Government, the fishing industry, the boating industry, media, tourism, and non-government organizations. The Sydenham Sportsmen's Association falls under the category of a non-government organization, and our rep was Mike Reader, the president of the OFAH. The conference was very productive, and I had a great time there.

If anyone has any questions about the junior program, or the conference, please e-mail me at frost_wings@hotmail.com, or give me a call at 363-9845.

Laura Stephenson
YAP Co-Chair

Fisheries Advisory Committee

The losses in our salmon eggs have amounted to a little over 10% thanks to the due diligence of our hatchery workers. Other clubs collections did not fair as well.

Speaking of workers, Coy Currie could use the help of a few more helpers for a couple of hours the odd day so if you have the time and want to get out of the house please give him a call at 376-2942.

As part of doing our bit to help the community Coy has had a young fellow and his councilor from Career Horizons Consultants Inc. helping to work at the hatchery .I think these kind of efforts are a win win situation for everyone.

The M.N.R. hatchery at Normandale shipped us 100,000 Brown eggs which we received December lOth. Many of our salmon eggs are ready to go to swim up. John Bittorf will be fin clipping some 10,000 salmon and any excess fish will be stocked into Harrison Park.

Mike Prevost
Co-chair F .A.C.

Forest and Wildlife Advisory Committee

The Forest and Wildlife Advisory Committee wishes each and every member a healthy and happy New Year.

Blake Smith, Co-chairperson
Forest and Wildlife Advisory Committee