A down-turned economy and skyrocketing
travel costs didn’t deter traditional outdoor sports journalists
and industry professionals from attending the 3rd Annual POMA
Business Conference at Sioux Falls, S.D. Close to 200 people
made the journey and reaped tremendous benefit for their
businesses.
“Attendance
at this year’s event proves that POMA’s Business Conference is
more valuable now than ever before,” explained POMA Board
Chairman Judd Cooney. “Today, industry professionals must make
sure that every dollar spent provides the best possible bang for
the buck.
“With 65-plus
journalists, 90 industry representatives, a dozen college
students, 15 dynamic speakers and educators, and 30 guests
gathered and focused on business, the POMA conference is
arguably one of the best values available.”
Business
sessions were highlighted by renowned experts in journalism,
new-wave communications, photography, public relations, selling
traditional outdoor sports content to non-endemic markets,
utilizing interns and apprentices, the editorial opinion
tightrope, 1st and 2nd Amendments and
more.
View the conference slide show
POMA Outdoor Speakers Bureau and Stock Photo
Gallery
During
conference, POMA launched two services at conference that reach
well beyond the organization’s membership rolls. The unveiling
of the POMA Outdoor Speakers Bureau (POSB) Web site and the
revamped POMA Stock Photo Gallery generated a buzz in the
industry.
“POMA’s Outdoor Speakers Bureau allows
event planners to reach the most knowledgeable and entertaining
speakers in the outdoor industry,” said Laurie Lee Dovey, POMA’s
executive director. “POSB speakers cover a wide range of
subjects, which obviously include hunting and fishing, but also
journalism, photography, public relations and other
business-related subjects.” Parties interested in becoming POSB
speakers or who would like to find a speaker for an upcoming
event may do so at
www.outdoorspeakersbureau.com.
The updated
Stock Photo Gallery, which at present is available only to POMA
members will go public in September, offers a wide range of
capabilities that the previous individual member photo galleries
did not. Photo buyers may use detailed searches or a subject
category listing to find images that fulfill their needs. The
current database of 3,000 images, which are the result of a
two-year pilot program, will be augmented continuously in the
coming weeks, months and
years. Submissions are now being accepted from all POMA members.
View the conference slide show
Focus on Fishing Day
The Outdoor Campus in Sioux
Falls was the site of POMA's first Focus on Fishing (FOF) Day.
FOF is part of an overall outreach program that POMA has
initiated to reach out to and enhance participation by the
fishing side of the traditional outdoor sports industry.
"The pilot event was a huge
success," reported Mike Faw,
POMA treasurer. "Lots of members
and manufactures got together, mixed it up and caught a lot of
fish. T
his
was the perfect event to showcase fishing gear, gather story
material and network with movers and shakers in the industry."
U.S. Fly Fishing Team member,
Keli Van Cleave conducted a demonstration for attendees.
Representatives from the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks and
Sportsman's Warehouse also presented on boating safety and
fishing in South Dakota.
Charles Hawkins, a Montana
State University student
and intern with Simms Products, won the big fish competition.
View the conference slide show
Field Day
Under the big-top
tent and on the range at the Garretson Sportsmen's Club, POMA
members networked, tested equipment, learned about new products
and technologies and developed content for magazines,
broadcasts, Web sites and more.
Attendance was
over the top at 200-plus folks.
Above: John Jefferson and
Matt Lindler visit with
Tammy Surgi of Secure Firearms Products and her daughter.
View the conference slide show
POMA Pinnacle Awards Inaugural Honorees
Another
highlight of the conference was the announcement of POMA’s
inaugural Pinnacle Awards honorees. Tack Robinson, the director
of media relations of Mossy Oak, made the
presentation. Mossy Oak is the title partner of the POMA
Pinnacle Awards.
The Pinnacle
Awards annually honor POMA
communicators for exceptional
journalistic achievement in traditional outdoor sports-focused
writing, photography/illustration and broadcasting.
The 2008 honorees are:
POMA
Pinnacle Award for Newspaper Article — Harry Guyer,
Loysburg, Penna., for “Granny and the Grouse” published in
published in the Bedford (Penna.) Gazette.
POMA
Pinnacle Award for Broadcast — Steve Scott, Norman,
Okla., for “The Mountains of Namibia” from
Safari Hunters Journal aired on the Versus
Network.
POMA
Pinnacle Award for Magazine Article — Tes Jolly,
Tuskegee, Ala., for “Loverboy Lives” published in Turkey and Turkey
Hunting magazine.
POMA
Pinnacle Award for Photography/Illustration/Artwork —
Tim Flannigan, Bedford, Penna., for “Grouse Portrait”
published in The Sportsman Magazine (The Sportsman Channel).
View the conference slide show
POMA Partners
POMA's
executives and board also praised the generosity of the event's
partners, whose liberal support allows POMA to bring in
top-notch educational speakers and offer social and networking
opportunities in an environment focused on education and
business building.
The sponsors were: Alpen Optics, Archery Trade Association,
Brownells, Coleman, DPMS/Panther Arms Federal Premium, Hunt
Comfort, Garretson Sportsmen’s Club, Liberty Press, Mossy Oak,
MyOutdoorTV, National Shooting Sports Foundation, National Rifle
Association, National Wild Turkey Federation, Otis Technology, Realtree, SHE Safari, Sioux Falls Convention and Visitors
Bureau, South Dakota Tourism, The Sportsman Channel, U.S.
Sportsmen's Alliance and XON-TV.
View the conference slide show
Auctions Help Secure the Future
The
generosity of a wide range of POMA members and friends, who
donated fishing trips, business equipment, safaris and other
hunts, advertising packages and much more helped to fill the
POMA coffers and ensure POMA’s financial stability. The
conference auctions and raffles generated over $31,000 for the
organization.
“These are
our biggest fundraisers of the year,” explained POMA Treasurer
Michael D. Faw. “We can’t thank the contributors enough for
their kindness and dedication to POMA.”
View the conference slide show
Emerald
Cornerstone Award Presented and Renamed
Betty Lou Fegely
of Walnutport, Penna. received the Professional Outdoor Media
Association (POMA) Emerald Cornerstone Award for extraordinary
volunteer service. In addition, the prestigious award was
renamed the Betty Lou Fegely Emerald Cornerstone Award. Read
more.
Fegely was honored during an emotional presentation by POMA
Chairman Judd Cooney during POMA's Third Annual Business
Conference earlier this month. Fegely is a founding board member
of POMA and served as the organization's first chairman and
president.
"Without Betty Lou Fegely, POMA would not exist," Cooney said
with tears in his eyes. He added that the board of directors
voted unanimously to change the name of the award to the Betty
Lou Fegely Emerald Cornerstone Award.
"This is a tremendous honor," Fegely said. "However, building
this organization took the work of many and our industry should
be proud and thankful for the thousands of hours of volunteer
work that brought POMA into being and has ensured her strength.
Today, the outdoor industry has a professional organization
focused wholly on the traditional outdoor sports, the
journalists who tell the story and the Corporate Partners who
keep the industry going."
The Betty Lou Fegely Emerald Cornerstone Award is not presented
on a regular basis. It's presented only to members who harbor a
passion and dedication to the organization that result in
selfless service to POMA that is truly extraordinary.
View the conference slide show
Where's
Larry? At the POMA Conference
Media members who attended
the 2008 SHOT Show are probably familiar with Brownells' popular
"Where's Larry" press relations campaign. Media members who
found Larry at the show were presented with a $25 casino chip
and a Brownells' press kit. A full-size cut out of Larry was
also strategically positioned in the SHOT press room.
Unfortunately for Larry, SHOT
clean up crews put Larry in the trash. Fortunately for Larry,
good-hearted Vickie Gardner of Alpen Optics rescued Larry and
took him back to California with her.
She also brought Larry to the
Conference where he participated in every event. At right, Larry
welcomes everyone to Focus on Fishing Day on behalf of Brownells
-- AND ALPEN!
View the conference slide show
Connecting to the Future
POMA hosted
numerous college students at conference who participated in all
events and who were able to network with veteran POMA members
who mentored them and gave them tips on breaking into the
outdoor industry.
Christopher Denny, Kevin Denny and Charles Hawkins with
POMA ED Laurie Lee Dovey during Field day. Sioux Falls
was the second visit to conference for Kevin and Chris. |
Stephanie
Mallory co-chair of
POMA<35 with Dakota Case, POMA's youngest individual
member.
 |
"This year,
several students attended conference for the second (their first
was Minneapolis North last year)," explained Laurie Lee Dovey,
POMA executive director. In addition, we had numerous students
from South Dakota schools join us."
Although having
students attend conference is great, seeing them get involved in
the traditional outdoor sports industry or become enlightened
about the traditional outdoor sports is POMA's goal.
And, POMA
is making a difference in these young people's lives.
Charles Hawkins,
of Bozeman, Montana, is now interning for Simms; Kevin Denny has
found his calling in graphic design and illustration and has some
opportunities to do some work with POMA and POMA members; Dakota
Case, who already is a published writer, made connections that
are invaluable to his future journalistic career; Michael Stefl,
who before conference was interested in a sports writing career,
shot at Field Day and realized that the "outdoor beat" is often
part of a newspaper sports writer's responsibility.
Here's to our
future!
|
Dakota
Case (front right) lives his dream by lunching with
(clockwise from left) Jim Zumbo, Larry Weishuhn, Bill
Miller, Judd Cooney, fellow student Mike Stefl and Rick
Story during Focus on Fishing Day. |
Crappie
and Colaianni go well together -- as they should. Ryan
(Colaianni) works for the American Sportfishing
Association.
 |
Linda
Powell of Remington watches Reed Burres skillfully shoot
Remington's new R-15 rifle. |
Student
member and POMA<35 co-chair Patrick Krumenacker learns
about new Alpen Optics from Vickie Gardner. |
