Illinois State Chapter

National Wild Turkey Federation

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IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS

Illinois State Board Meeting

September 27, 2009

Third Quarter Highlights

Board Seat Appointment – William Bruhn, Sr. was appointed to fill the last remaining board seat. Wheelin’ Sportsmen Coordinator – Patrick Morse has been named the new Illinois Wheelin’ Sportsmen Coordinator. 4-H Shooting Sports – Illinois has joined in partnership with the National 4-H Shooting Sports program. The Caller – Look for Illinois news in an upcoming issue. Articles should be sent to Marge Shubert at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Illinois State Chapter Knives – Get your 2010 Illinois State Chapter knife at the state awards banquet on January 9, 2010. Conservation Congress – Plan on attending the event on October 24-25, 2009 at IDNR in Springfield. Contact Blake Pazero if interested. Land of Lincoln Scholarship – Deadline to submit applications to Dr. Reich is November 1, 2009. State Awards Banquet – January 9, 2010 at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. Guest speakers include NWTF spokesperson Michael Waddell and IDNR Director Marc Miller with entertainment by Paul Harris. Tickets are $25/ticket. Deadline to order is December 31, 2009. No tickets will be sold after that date. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and dinner will be at 6:30 p.m. Reserve your room at the Crowne Plaza by December 17, 2009 for special rate. State Board Seat Elections – Applications for a board seat due to Blake Pazero by December 1, 2009.

Super Fund Applications - Deadline to submit applications to Blake Pazero is December 1, 2009.

National Convention – February 18-21, 2010 in Nashville, TN. The registration form is now available on-line at http://turkey-shoppe.nwtf.org/convention2010.html. The quicker you register, the closer you sit to the stage. State Calling Contest – February 27, 2010 in Bloomington, IL. Next Meeting – January 9, 2010, 12:00 p.m., Crowne Plaza, Springfield (no lunch); Awards Banquet 5:00 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m.; Super Fund Meeting January 9, 2010, 9:00 a.m., Crowne Plaza Springfield.

Approved Items

Leg Bands/Banquet Chairmen Pins – Approved to fund the cost of both. Turkey Hunter’s Care – Will continue to offer $100 match for turkeys in support of the program. Team Illinois NWTF Stickers – Approved to purchase stickers for use at all 2010 local chapter NWTF banquets.

PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR CHAPTER MEMBERS!

MORE INFORMATION FOLLOWING IN ATTACHED BOARD MINUTES - PLEASE READ!

ILLINOIS STATE CHAPTER

NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION

Mike Lowder-Sec./Treas304 Whitefield Rd. Springfield, IL 62704-1275

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Third Quarter Minutes – September 27, 2009 MEMBERS PRESENT: Blake Pazero, Mike Lowder, Gary Eichelberger, Doug King, Greg Shaffer, George Frashier, Marge Shubert, Gerald Lively, Todd Batten, Paul Zeidler, Steve McNeil, Tony Hadra; NWTF STAFF: Chad Franklin, Shawn McWilliams, Kent Adams; GUESTS: Glynn Shubert, Bill Bruhn, Patrick Morse, Neil Waters, Dan Dawson MEMBERS ABSENT: Ron House, Bob Reich, Rhett Rossi, Don Perez, Mark Hadra SECRETARY’S REPORT: Blake asked for a motion to approve of the June 7, 2009 board minutes. 1^st – Greg Shaffer; 2^nd – Paul Zeidler. Passed unanimously. TREASURER’S REPORT: A handout was provided by Mike Lowder. State Balance (3rd Qtr.) – Total $20,648.37; Expenditures $5,122.77; Deposits $19,417.88. Blake asked for a motion to approve the treasurer’s report. 1^st - George Frashier; 2^nd – Doug King. Passed unanimously. A complete summary was handed out. OLD BUSINESS:1) The Caller: Marge Shubert – Chad Franklin provided two articles that should be in an upcoming issue. No deadline for submitting articles but keep them coming so Illinois gets its recognition. Articles can be sent to Marge at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 2) Illinois State Chapter Knives: Blake Pazero – Ordered and received 250 knives to be used for the Awards Banquet in January on the big spender raffle. Blake presented each board member and RD/RB present with a knife for their service to the Illinois State Wild Turkey Federation. 3) NWTF Nominations: Gerald Lively and George Frashier have been working with Tim Sickmeyer, IDNR CPO, on a candidate for CPO of the Year. They have a nomination and are looking at others to ensure the best candidate is selected. Deadline to submit to National is November 20^th. Chad Franklin has a nomination for the Roger Latham award and will discuss with the state board officers. Kent Adams reported on the Mosby award and indicated it is a lifetime achievement award and a candidate need not be selected every year. The Joe Kurz award for the unsung heroes of turkey restoration was discussed. A candidate was nominated by the board through a motion. 1^st – Marge Shubert. 2^nd - George Frashier. Passed unanimously. The board minutes will report the candidate as anonymous at this time due to obvious reasons. Kent Adams will put the nomination together after he receives letters of recommendation from Neil Waters, Blake Pazero and Jerry Garver. 4) Tent, Crate and Insurance Update: Doug King/Paul Zeidler – Doug has completed the crates and will give to Paul for storage of the tent. Guidelines were completed and given to Gary Eichelberger for inclusion on the state web page. 5) Web Page: Gary Eichelberger – A handout was provided that showed the number of hits per page on the state chapter website. Kent Adams had sent an e-mail with information on a state web site through the National. The cost is $400/year. We are currently paying $308/year. There was discussion in considering a change to the National web design. Everyone seemed satisfied with our current host and there was no interest to change. Please visit the webpage at www.illinoisnwtf.org for the minutes and other related material. 6) Shawnee Gobbler: An E-Blast with Awards Banquet ticket order information will go out in October to all Illinois NWTF Members that we have email for – this is your chance to order tickets early, don’t delay. Then in mid-November a hard copy mailer will be sent out with the Awards Banquet ticket information, guest speaker and entertainment. 7) Vacant Board Seat: Blake Pazero – The board received a letter of interest from William Bruhn, Sr. of Gillespie, IL. Also accompanied with the letter was a resume’ and five letters of recommendation. Bill was present at the meeting and addressed the board. Bill was appointed by the board to serve out the remaining term of Frank Coble which expires in January 2010 at which time he will have to run for re-election. The board welcomes Bill as the newest member to the board of directors. The board now has a full roster with 18 total members. NEW BUSINESS:1) State By-Laws: Mike Lowder presented the board with an updated copy of the state by-laws to be signed by the board officers. Blake and Mike signed the by-laws and Mike will send to Ron House for signature and then for forwarding to Chad Franklin. 2) Habitat Stamp Fund: Kent Adams – Next meeting has not been set but should be sometime this fall/winter at IDNR. Deadline for submitting applications was August 1^st. No applications were submitted this year. We still have last years approved projects to implement due to the fund sweeps that took place at IDNR earlier in the year. These projects include the seed subsidy program, Operation Oak and a plotmaster. 3) Women in the Outdoors Report: Chad Franklin – Chad reported that the program is doing great and the participation at events is up. Anyone interested in hosting a WitO event for next year should contact their Regional Director/Supervisor. 4) Regional Biologist’s Report: Kent Adams – Kent has been serving on two of three subcommittees that will make recommendations to the Natural Resources Advisory Board during the Conservation Congress meeting. Kent is serving on committees for Public Access for Outdoor Recreation and Youth Recruitment and Retention. The other committee is Conservation Funding. These committees are meeting around the state to hear public input and formulate their recommendations to the IDNR and General Assembly. Recommendations as a result of the meetings will be discussed and voted on at the Conservation Congress event to be held October 24-25^th at IDNR headquarters in Springfield. The IDNR Director has asked the NWTF members to attend the event. Legislators will be in attendance and sportsmen will have an opportunity to get their attention if we show up in big numbers. Anyone interested in attending the event should contact Blake Pazero. Travel accommodations may be arranged if there is enough interest. There is an on-line survey that outdoor recreation enthusiasts are encouraged to take in order to get your opinions on public access, youth recruitment and options for funding at http://dnr.state.il.us/nrab/cc.htm. 5) Regional Director’s Report: Chad/Shawn – Chad reported that the late summer banquets finished up strong. Chad also presented the board with a copy of the code of ethics for the state board to consider adopting. This will be put on the January agenda and will be reviewed and considered. A request for state board funding of the leg bands for banquets and banquet chairmen pins was made. Last year’s funding was $2258.10 for both. A motion was made to fund both. 1^st – Gary Eichelberger. 2^nd – George Frashier. Passed unanimously. 6) Turkey Hunters Care: The board discussed continuing the program. Discussion was to repeat the $100 match we did last year and must match supplier’s $100 worth of turkeys. The board agreed to continue the program. Chapters must send in a Super Fund request electronically to their RD/Supervisor or they may send receipts to the Secretary/Treasurer to request the match. A postcard was sent to all chapter presidents from the National asking for participation. More info about the program can be found at www.nwtf.org/thc. 7) National Convention: February 18-21, 2010 in Nashville, TN. Make your room reservations now. Registration is now available on-line at http://turkey-shoppe.nwtf.org/convention2010.html. Make your registrations quickly on-line in order to get a good seat for the events! 8) National Board Update/Team Illinois Stickers: Frank Coble – Frank was absent but obtained pricing for the Team Illinois NWTF Window stickers. The board will purchase 20,000 3”x5” stickers at a cost of nine cents apiece for a total $1800 to be given away to attendees of all 2010 local Illinois NWTF banquets. 9) 2010 Awards Banquet: Banquet date is January 9, 2010 at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. NWTF spokesperson and Bone Collector host Michael Waddell will be in attendance as a guest speaker along with comedian Paul Harris who will provide the evenings entertainment. Paul performed at the National Convention this past year in Nashville that some may have witnessed. Kent Adams has also secured IDNR Director Marc Miller as a guest speaker as well. There will be a social hour at 4pm to meet and greet Michael Waddell, doors open at 5pm, Waddell will speak at 6pm and dinner will be served at 6:30pm. Ticket price will once again be $25 for dinner and entertainment. There is a block of rooms reserved under the state chapter NWTF at a special convention rate with a deadline for room reservation on December 17^th; otherwise, the block of reserved rooms will be released and the convention rate will no longer be available. There will be a big spender raffle for the core package with each purchaser receiving a special Illinois NWTF 2010 knife. There will also be a silent auction and a raffle for a Browning shotgun. The popular hat auction will also take place for a special gun. Deadline to order a ticket is December 31, 2009. No tickets will be accepted after that date. Set-up will take place on Friday and anybody that is available is encouraged to help set-up. 10) State Board/Officers Election: There are six board seats that will expire after the January 2010 meeting. Those include Bill Bruhn, Gerald Lively, Steve McNeil, Don Perez, Greg Shaffer and Marge Shubert. Those wanting to run for re-election need only to contact Blake Pazero of their desire to run again by December 1^st. Anyone interested in running for a board seat should send a letter of interest with their years of membership to the NWTF, local chapter committee experience and at least three letters of recommendation from chapter officers and a Regional Director/Field Supervisor recommendation by December 1^st to state chapter president Blake Pazero. Also, the officer terms for Blake Pazero, Ron House and Mike Lowder will expire after the January 2010 meeting. Election for the offices of President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer will be held. Beginning with the March 2010 board meeting, the position of Secretary/Treasurer will be split up into two separate positions. Any officer not re-elected to an officer position will serve a one year term on the board before being required to run for re-election. 11) Wheelin’ Sportsmen Coordinator: Patrick Morse – Patrick addressed the board about boosting interest in the state’s Wheelin’ Sportsmen program. Patrick recently moved to Illinois from Virginia where he was involved in that state’s program. Patrick has already begun making contacts in Macoupin and Knox counties with landowners to host deer and turkey hunting events for physically-challenged individuals. Patrick would like to make contact with local chapters in these areas who would be willing to help host the events. Patrick would also like to get a press release out to all chapter leaders in order to introduce them to the Wheelin’ Sporstmen program and solicit volunteers for hosting events. He is working toward making contacts with VA hospitals and rehab centers throughout Illinois in order to reach potential participants at the events. Patrick was offered the position of Wheelin’ Sportsmen Coordinator for Illinois which he accepted. The board welcomes Patrick to our ranks and asks that local chapters assist Patrick in gaining interest in the Wheelin’ Sportsmen program. Patrick can be reached at 618/558-2389 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 12) 4-H Shooting Sports: Dan Dawson – Dan was present at the meeting to address the board regarding Illinois joining the national shooting sports program. The National 4-H Shooting Sports, in existence since the mid-70s, is looking to train 20 adult instructors for each discipline (archery, muzzleloading, pistol, rifle, shotgun and hunting). The goal is to have a shooting sport event in each Illinois county. The Illinois Shooting Sports is looking for assistance in funding costs for adult volunteers to attend training, equipment/cargo trailer purchases and promotional materials. In return the donors will be given advertisement in news releases, adding logo to website and cargo trailer. Blake Pazero informed Dan of the Super Fund process and instructions on completing funding request. Funding for 4-H Shooting Sports previous was taking out of the Super Fund automatically for the past 10 years. Now, funding must be requested through the “green sheet” process. 13) Other New Business: a) Neil Waters addressed the board and provided a letter of thanks for our donation of knives to the IDNR Safety Education Section Volunteer Instructor Appreciation dinner on August 29, 2009. Additionally, the Midwest Gobblers will be celebrating their 25^th anniversary in 2010. Neil indicated they were the first chapter charted in Illinois although they did not host the first banquet which was conducted by the Kaskaskia Longbeards. Midwest Gobblers which began in August 1985 still has two founding members still serving on the committee in Blaine Pazero and Dave Harper. b) Gary Eichelberger indicated the Illinois State calling contest will be held during the Illinois Deer & Turkey Classic in Bloomington on February 27, 2010. Judges and scorers may be needed and anyone interested should contact Gary. c) Bill Bruhn suggested the board consider giving a lapel pin to winners of the Marvin Henderson award along with the customary plaque. This will be considered at the next board meeting. d) Super Fund Applications: Deadline to submit an application is December 1, 2009. Blake needs this time to do the paperwork and mail to all Super Fund committee members so don’t be late. Super Fund meeting will be Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. prior to the board meeting. e) Land of Lincoln Scholarships: Dr. Reich was absent but asked that we push for college students to submit their applications. It is also time for the 5 Star Scholarship and applicants should be reminded to include a photograph and be completely filled out. In the past, we have received a number of applications without a photo and, therefore, cannot be included on the national banner. Applications for the Land of Lincoln scholarship are due to Dr. Reich by November 1^st. Deadline for local chapters to submit their 5 Star Scholarship winners is January 1^stin order to be considered for the state and national scholarship. 14) Next Meeting: Saturday, January 9, 2010, 12:00 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza, Springfield, Illinois. Lunch will not be provided. Super Fund meeting January 9, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at approximately 3:18 p.m. 1^st - George Frashier; 2^nd – Paul Zeidler. Passed unanimously. REMINDERS:Share these minutes with your chapter committee. These minutes will be published on the State Chapter’s website. The address is www.illinoisnwtf.org if you would like to visit the website. Please provide your e-mail address to Mike Lowder if you would like to receive these minutes via e-mail. Please contact Mike Lowder at 217/546-5207 for all changes in address, telephone #, e-mail address, chapter president, etc. Next meeting will be at 12:00 pm on Saturday, January 9, 2010 at Crowne Plaza in Springfield, IL. Lunch will not be provided. DIRECTIONS:· Exit off of Interstate 55 at the Stevenson Drive Exit #94.· Turn west (right) onto Stevenson Drive. · Turn north (right) at the first light (second if you were traveling north on I-55) on Dirksen Parkway. · The Crowne Plaza Hotel is located on the east side of the road.

3000 South Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, IL 62703Phone: 217/529-7777

Sept 2009 third quarter minutes