Federation Q&A
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
For some reason it appears that Federation members don't know or understand some basics about the Federation. To address that problem, and to educate non-Federation members, the five divisional reps (aka, the Fab 5) put the following Q&A together, and asked BassFan to run it.
What do the five divisional reps do?
We were elected by the state presidents to represent the entire Federation. "We" are Gary Bradford (California, Western Division rep); Chuck Rolfsmeyer (Wisconsin, Northern Division rep); Charlie Mitchell (Tennessee, Southern Division rep); Roger Fitchett (Virginia, Eastern Division rep); and Robert Cartlidge (Oklahoma, Central Division rep). Robert is the elected spokesman for the group.
What exactly is The Federation?
The "Federation" is a group of 50-plus states and international Federations independently incorporated as stand-alone businesses in the states or countries they do business in. These independent businesses have always joined together over the years to support the sport fishing industry through each state Federation's grassroots efforts, not only in fishing, but youth and conservation. Collectively that group is known as the "Federation."
Most state Federations have B.A.S.S. in their names. Does this mean B.A.S.S. owns the Federations?
No, although that is a common misconception. B.A.S.S. has never owned the Federations. They (we) are not owned by anyone other than the members in each state, and that's always the way it has been. There are no contracts, written agreements or licenses with B.A.S.S. or anyone else. Each state Federation is a stand-alone business that can operate just about any way it wants to.
Ray Scott set it up that way from the beginning. It's all told in Ray's book The Bass Boss, which tells how B.A.S.S. got started. We encourage you to buy a copy and read it. Ray didn't want B.A.S.S. to own the Federations. He wanted them independent. Anything else would never have worked because there is too much diversity from state to state, region to region and country to country. What works for California won't work for Maine.
To quote from The Bass Boss: "I don't want people to stay in my organization because they have to. I want them to follow me because they want to. If we lead right, they will follow."
If no one "owns" the Federation, where does each state get the money to do all the things they do to support this industry?
Each state has elected corporate officers: president, VP, secretary and treasurer. As is the case with any business, it is up to each state's management to operate the business in such a manner as the membership of that state deems fit to raise the needed funds. Some of it comes from dues money and state-run tournament trails. But as an independent business, the states are free to do business with or partner with anyone they wish, so much of it comes from sponsorships from a multitude of different companies inside and outside the industry.
Additionally, each Federation member pays $15 per year to belong to the Federation. That money is to be a 100 percent payback deal. It breaks down like this:
$6 per member goes to the five Federation Division Championship prize purses that each state sends their 12 person team to (with no entry fee);
$6 buys each state Federation and all of the 2,800 Federation clubs a $1 million liability policy as well as a $9,500 AD&D policy covering each member 365 days a year whether they're fishing or not;
$3 goes to the BASS Federation National Championship.
So Federation members are paying their own way, and fishing for their own money.
Finally, each Federation member receives a free yearly subscription to BASS Times from our partners at BASS.
Are the officers in each state Federation paid?
No. They are elected by their membership, do not receive any compensation and in fact spend much out of their own pockets to make their Federations run successfully.
It's terrible when someone comments that a state Federation's leadership is "doing it all wrong" or is "in it for themselves." Complaining is human nature, but you won't see many of those "who have all the answers" attending board meetings or stepping up to the plate in a volunteer roles. If they do, we applaud them. Every Federation is dying for help from anyone who will give it. These folks donate literally hundreds of hours of time, in-kind support and dollars to this industry every year and get nothing in return.
There isn't a paid Federation officer in any of the 50-plus Federations. They truly are the unsung heroes who have made the sport of bass fishing what it is today. Some of them have been serving their home states in one capacity or another for 20-25 years or more. Don Linder from Oklahoma, Ed Canon from North Carolina, Joe Citta from Nebraska and others come to mind. They must be doing something right for their states because they keep getting reelected.
Tell us about this United Bass Federation Inc., now simply The Bass Federation Inc., that we have been hearing about lately.
Just like the state presidents' job is to work for their states, it's The Bass Federation's job to work for the Federation as a whole and look to its interest and longevity. Nothing more. It in no way affects any internal state Federation structure or partnerships.
In its simplest terms, the state Federation presidents asked their elected division representatives to form a company structured such that each state Federation has a say in how it is run. They wanted a company that existed to work for the benefit of the whole Federation, with the ultimate benefit to the individual states. The presidents voted in a motion at the Classic to have The Bass Federation "act as the agent or organization that speaks on behalf of our Federations in its dealings with BASS\ESPN or any other companies in matters that are pertinent to the Federation as a whole."
Basically it's just good business. It's long-term planning and infrastructure work that is designed preserve the Federation for a long time to come, and add multiple new benefits and opportunities to the members. It is not intended to "replace" our partners at BASS or provide an avenue for the Federations to "leave" BASS, as rumored. For example, the Iowa BASS Federation is still just that, but it now has someone working for it instead of the other way around.
To put it plainly, The Bass Federation has no intent to sever any state's ties with BASS. If ever a time comes that The Bass Federation is no longer in a partnership with BASS, it will be because BASS no longer desires to work with The Bass Federation or because the state Federation presidents instruct us to do that for whatever reason.
Again, the purpose of the company is simply to lead the Federation as a whole and to focus the efforts and synergies of those individual state Federations to benefit their members directly, and to ensure that so the Federation is still going strong in another 35 years. The industry now offers multiple choices and avenues, and undoubtedly there will be even more as it continues to grow, which is what we are all working toward. To quote Abraham Lincoln as Ray Scott did in his latest Scott On-Line column on BassFan: "Stand together, not divided."
It just makes sense for the state Federations have their officers to work for that state and their interest, just as BASS has a Federation director to work for them and their interests. The Federation as a whole needed someone look after its interests, and the result was The United Bass Federation Inc. That name was recently changed by the presidents at a Bassmaster Classic meeting in New Orleans because of a request by BASS, which preferred the name The Bass Federation. Given our long history, and in an effort to work alongside our BASS partners, the presidents voted right there to unanimously to change our name as BASS had requested. So the company's new name is simply The Bass Federation Inc.
What's all the talk about the Federation "leaving" BASS?
The Federation has no desire to "leave" BASS. BASS has been our partners for more than 30 years, and as long as they will work with us we will work with them. The state Federations played a vital role in building BASS and the sport fishing industry. Think about where the sport would be today without the Federation, its the Federation members and local bass club guys and gals -- BassFans who buy the products and do all the youth and conservation work on the ground, including letter-writing campaigns for the Clean Water Act and lobbying Congress for Sport Fish Restoration Funds; cooperative projects with state governments; collegiate tournaments; helping with FLW and BASS tournaments; Children's Miracle Network and Paralyzed Veterans of America events; CastingKids; and others way too numerous to mention here. Think about the boat ramp facilities that the pro events use. Many of them were built with Sport Fish Restoration (Wallop-Breaux) money and Federation labor. We also do a lot of habitat work in lakes. And all of this benefits the general public.
We shouldn't forget that a large number of tour pros came up through the Federations. In fact, nine of the last 13 Classic champions started in the Federation ranks.
So everyone connected with this industry has seen some of the benefit of the grassroots organization we call the Federation, and we have seen benefit from them as well.
If no one has ever owned the Federation and BASS knows that, why all the problems now?
That's a tough one. Some of it is simply growing pains. The Federation has always been a grassroots support\growth group working not for anyone in particular but the sport or industry in general. BASS was really the only sport and industry for a long time, but the Federations don't really do youth fishing events or conservation work "for" BASS. They do it for the future of the sport. They do it because they care, which happens to be good for BASS and the rest of the industry.
As the sport has grown, so has the competition. Now competition is not a bad thing necessarily. It's doubtful that any angler out there could reasonably argue that the competition among tournament trails has not been good for the sport. There are more opportunities out there today than can be imagined. But too many of us have the attitude that you have to choose which is "good" and that makes the others "bad" by default. BASS or FLW? Pro-ams or team? Mercury or Yamaha? Why does any one of them have to be good or bad? Fish them all if time and money allow, but if not, that's okay too. Competition is good for the consumer. It drives innovation and leaves everyone wanting more, bigger and better.
When ESPN bought BASS, for whatever reason they didn't fully understand the Federation -- how it worked, or that they did not own it outright and could not "sell" it -- and that has caused some issues. BASS\ESPN floated some very unpopular ideas to the presidents, many of them widely reported and speculated on. Some called them "rumors," but the fact is that they were presented to the presidents as things that may happen. But to BASS's credit, at this year's Classic BASS indicated that they have now "heard us loud and clear." Only time will tell, but it is our greatest hope that this is a new direction as everyone has now seen the list of things that BASS has put in writing to the presidents and reps after the Classic.
Its a big first step forward for BASS. They promised that the five Federation Classic spots "will not be eliminated," but truthfully those five spots have not been a point of contention for some time now. It's just the thought of it that some states had trouble with -- in other words, the implication that if the Federation did not take whatever BASS offered, they would pull those spots. But the rank and file needed to hear that wasn't true from BASS, and they have heard it now.
Another positive step is that BASS said, "There will be no new mandates of any kind." Just 3 weeks ago, the Federation division reps asked BASS to put that statement in a joint press release sent to the presidents. But BASS refused. But after our Classic meeting they have stepped toward us and put it in writing as a promise for all to see.
The presidents also took a step toward BASS in return that they probably wouldn't have done not long ago in voting to give BASS the 6 months that BASS asked for to prove that they are willing to work "within the existing (Federation) framework," as Dean Kessel said in a letter to the presidents. The presidents also voted to change the name of the United Bass Federation to The Bass Federation at BASS's request.
With partners taking steps toward one another, all of a sudden we are working together toward a common goal. If we can get around this "ownership" issue (BASS does not own the Federation and can't control us -- in a positive way and continue forward, the sky is the limit for the Federation, for BASS and for the rest of the industry as well.
Do you know why Al Smith was let go by BASS?
We have had some great Federation national directors, Al Smith recently and Don Corkran before him (and now returning). Both were staunch advocates of and for the Federation, and both are men of character. These men both worked for and were employed by BASS, and "understood" the Federation. Al Smith worked hard to keep the Federation afloat and intact for the last 2-plus years. Unfortunately no one will ever know how much of his heart and soul he put into trying to balance the needs of BASS, his employer, and the needs of the Federation, where he came from. Al is a former president of the Maine Federation. Were it not for him, it's hard to say what the Federation would look like today.
