IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS

Illinois State Board Meeting

January 9, 2010

Fourth Quarter Highlights

The Caller – Articles on Illinois are appearing in “The Caller” section of Turkey Call magazine. Marge Shubert is retiring. Patrick Morse is the new Field Editor. Submit articles to Patrick at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Tent for NWTF Events – Tent and storage crate stored with Paul Zeidler and available for use.

Seed Subsidy – Four seed mixes available to NWTF members for spring planting.

Operation Oak – Oak seedlings available to members extended until March 1^st.

Wheelin’ Sportsmen – Pheasant Hunt February 13^th in Pekin; golf outing June 11^th at Rolling Hills.

Team IL NWTF Decals – Decals were purchased by state chapter and will be given away at all local banquets.

Super Fund - $73,446.50 was approved for projects.

Awards Banquet – 510 in attendance for state awards banquet on January 9^th. A new record! Next year’s banquet

date set for January 8, 2011 at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield.

Board Seat/Officer Elections – Bill Bruhn, Gerald Lively, Steve McNeil and Greg Shaffer re-elected to the board. Josh Stone elected to the board. Don Perez to be appointed in March. Mike Lowder elected President, Ron House Vice President, Rhett Rossi Secretary and Steve McNeil Treasurer.

National Convention – February 18-21, 2010 in Nashville, TN.

Women in the Outdoors State Event – April 30 – May 2, 2010 at Camp Ondessonk in Ozark, IL.

Next Board Meeting – March 14, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. Lunch to be served at 12:00 p.m.

Approved Items

CPO Convention Expenses – Approved to fund CPO of the Year nominee from IL for National Convention expenses up to $800.

PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR CHAPTER MEMBERS!

MORE INFORMATION FOLLOWING IN ATTACHED BOARD MINUTES - PLEASE READ!

ILLINOIS STATE CHAPTER

NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION

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Fourth Quarter Minutes – January 9, 2010 MEMBERS PRESENT: Blake Pazero, Mike Lowder, Ron House, Bob Reich, Marge Shubert, Rhett Rossi, Greg Shaffer, Doug King, George Frashier, Gerald Lively, Todd Batten, Paul Zeidler, Tony Hadra, Steve McNeil, Bill Bruhn; Wheelin’ Sportsmen Coordinator: Patrick Morse; NWTF STAFF: Frank Nix, Chad Franklin, Jim Garver, Shawn McWilliams, Cindy Spillman, Kent Adams; National Board Member: Frank Coble; GUESTS: Glynn Shubert, Evan Heusinkveld, Josh Stone, Wayne – Northern Illinois Thunderin’ Toms

MEMBERS ABSENT: Gary Eichelberger (picking up Michael Waddell at airport), Don Perez, Mark Hadra NOTE: Board members are required to attend a minimum of 50% (2 of 4) of the meetings to retain a seat on the board. Blake asked for a motion to approve of the September 21, 2009 board minutes. 1^st – Rhett Rossi, 2^nd – Doug King. Passed Unanimously.

TREASURER’S REPORT: State Balance -- $21,815.41; 4th Qtr Expenditures - $16,459.42; 4th Qtr Deposits - $17,626.46; 2009 Expenditures - $49,413.02; 2009 Deposits - $64,870.58. A complete summary was handed out. Blake asked for a motion to approve treasurer’s report. 1^st – George Frashier; 2^nd – Gerald Lively. Passed Unanimously.

Guest Speaker: Evan Heusinkveld from the US Sportsmen Alliance discussed the new Sentry Program. It is a grassroots program to protect hunting rights. The plan is to implement training among conservation organization’s members. Training will be provided to interested members of the state board. A pdf file about the program was sent to all board members regarding the program. Additional information was provided, but due to the length, it has been edited for these minutes. Blake motioned that the state chapter be a part of the program. 2^nd – George Frashier. Passed Unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS:1) The Caller: Marge Shubert – Marge is retiring from the state board. A new field editor will be needed to take her place. Blake asked for any interest for this position. Todd Batten and Patrick Morse expressed interest. Patrick Morse was appointed as the new field editor. The Caller is included in each issue of Turkey Country magazine. There is no deadline for submittal of articles. Articles and photos can be sent by e-mail to Patrick at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

2) NWTF Nominations: George and Gerald have been working with IDNR CPO Tim Sickmeyer on selecting a candidate for CPO of the year. CPO Rich Logsdon was selected as the Illinois candidate. Roger Latham Award – Illinois has submitted a nominee but will not be reported till after the National Convention. Joe Kurz Award – Kent indicated a nominee has been submitted and will not be reported till after the convention. Expenses will be paid for the recipient of the CPO of the Year Award. A motion was made to limit expenses to $800. 1^st – Doug King. 2^nd – Paul Zeidler. Passed Unanimously.

3) Tent Crates/Insurance Update: Paul Zeidler/Doug King – Doug has built the storage box for the tent. Paul will store the tent and has the forms for checking it out for events. The NWTF insurance policy will cover its use during events.

4) Web Page/Shawnee-E-Gobbler: Gary Eichelberger – No report due to Gary picking up Michael Waddell at the airport. NOTE: These board minutes are published on the web at www.illinoisnwtf.org. Please pass this along to your committee/members.

NEW BUSINESS:1) Seed Subsidy Update: Kent Adams – Four seed mixes will be available – Chufa, Strut & Rut Perennial Concentrate, Upland Game Bird Mix and a Northeast/Midwest Strut & Rut Mix. The seed will be subsidized with ¼ of the cost coming from the Super Fund, ¼ of the cost from the Habitat Stamp Fund and the member responsible for ½ the cost. Two bags of the Upland Mix and Perennial Mix will be available to each regular member and three bags for sponsor members at ½ the cost. One bag of the Midwest Mix per regular member and three bags to sponsor members will be offered. One bag of Chufa per regular member and up to two bags of chufa per sponsor member is available. First come, first served.

2) Habitat Stamp Fund Report: Kent Adams – Three projects were leftover from last year due to the fund being swept. The money was not available till July. No new grants were requested due to these outstanding requests.

3) Regional Biologist Report: Kent Adams – An e-mail blast went out to all members regarding Operation Oak. Free oak seedlings will be available to members at select locations. Up to six species of oaks will be available. A limit of 100/species is in effect. Request for seedlings has been extended until March 1^st. More of Kent’s biologist report is available on the state chapter website under Biologist Report at www.illinoisnwtf.org.

4) Regional Director’s Report: Frank/Chad/Jim/Shawn/Cindy – All outreach events (JAKES, WitO, Wheelin’ Sportsmen) will be ticketed and must go through your RD. A form will need to be completed in order to be covered by insurance 30 days prior to any event. The price for all JAKES memberships have increased to $10. The State WitO event will be held April 30 – May 2 at Camp Ondessonk in Ozark, IL. For more information, contact Cindy Spillman at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

5) Wheelin’ Sportsmen Report: Patrick Morse – Patrick obtained a current list of members from National. Currently there are 175 members in IL. Members are heavily concentrated around Normal, Mt. Vernon and Effingham. A letter of introduction was sent to all members and he compiled an e-mail list. Patrick hosted an injured military member on a deer hunt on November 21^st in Carlinville. First full event will be held on February 13^th at Lick Creek Game Preserve in Pekin. He is working with Larry Childress, President of the local NWTF chapter in Pekin and will be providing volunteer support and four members. Plans for a golf tournament on June 11^th at Rolling Hills Golf Course. The cost will be $26/person. A total of 144 golfers will be accepted. Looking at local and corporate sponsors and help from local NWTF chapters. Patrick is working with Kent Adams and Shawn McWilliams for a spring turkey hunt in the Shawnee, NW IL, Macoupin and Knox Counties. Patrick also inquired about a booth space at the Deer and Turkey Classic in Bloomington the end of February. The NWTF has a booth space at the Classic manned by the Mackinaw Valley Gobblers and will share space with Patrick.

6) National Convention: Blake – February 18^th – 21^st in Nashville, TN. Illinois will have a good showing and all should attend to see if Illinois is the #1 state chapter in the nation for the 9^th year in a row.

7) National Board Update/Team IL Decals: Frank Coble – Frank provided a report on voting and election of national board members by the membership. Also, discussed a new computer program called Project Tom. NWTF has opened a retail store in Edgefield with NWTF merchandise being available. The Team IL NWTF window decals have been received and distributed to the RDs for all local banquets in 2010.

8) Super Fund Update: A total of 10 projects were submitted for consideration. A total of $73,446.50 was approved out of the 10 for all or partial approval. $7500 each for IFOR and ISRA was committed once again and funding was to be split between the January and June meetings. $6800 was approved for the 4H Shooting Sports Program. $25,000 was approved for funding of the IL Regional Biologist position in the 2^nd year of a three year commitment. $10,000 for a building at the World Shooting Sports Complex in Sparta was approved and funding will be split between the January and June meetings. Equipment requests requiring matching funds should be defined as habitat-type purchases.

9) 2010 Awards Banquet: Tickets were sold to 530 people. Our largest total to date. Meals were served to ~510 people. Michael Waddell was the keynote speaker with IDNR Director Marc Miller speaking and entertainment by Paul Harris. Assignments were given to the board members for working the various raffles. The 2011 banquet contract has been signed and will be January 8, 2011 at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. Plans are already being made for guest speakers.

10) Other Business: Mike Lowder discussed seating for the 2011 banquet in order to eliminate problems we have had in the past with late requests and people not finding a seat with their chapters. We will go to a format similar to the National Convention where tables will be numbered and seating will be on a first-come basis based on receipt of their ticket order. Chapters wanting to sit together will be encouraged to send in their request together.

11) Board Seat Appointment/Elections: Blake Pazero – Six board seats were up for election in 2010. Those included the seats held by Bill Bruhn, Gerald Lively, Steve McNeil, Don Perez, Greg Shaffer and Marge Shubert. Bill, Gerald, Steve and Greg all indicated their desire to run for re-election. Marge indicated she was retiring from the board and would not seek another term. Don originally indicated he would not run for another term. However, after the meeting and prior to these minutes being published, Don spoke to Mike Lowder and indicated his desire to retain a position on the board. Don will be appointed back on the board at the March meeting. Blake also received a letter of support for Josh Stone from the Little Wabash Longbeards in running for a board seat. There were enough seats open for those interested; therefore, Blake appointed those interested to a board seat. All incumbents will receive a three-year term and Josh will receive a one-year term per board rules for new members. Mark Hadra’s seat which expires in 2011 will be open due to him not making the required minimum number of meetings for the year. Officer elections were also conducted for the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. The position of Secretary/Treasurer was split into two positions. Mike Lowder was nominated for President by Bob Reich and seconded by Ron House. Ron House was nominated for Vice President by Bob Reich and seconded by Todd Batten. Rhett Rossi was nominated for Secretary by Doug King and seconded by George Frashier. Steve McNeil was nominated for Treasurer by Doug King and seconded by Rhett Rossi. No other nominations were received for any of the positions and nominations were closed. All were voted to their selected positions unanimously. Officers will serve a two-year term beginning with the March meeting. Blake Pazero, who will be stepping down as President due to the by-law term limitations, will fill a three-year board term. Congratulations to those appointed to the board and selected as officers. A special thanks goes out to Marge Shubert for her years of service to the board, serving as Field Editor and all that she brought to the state chapter in making Illinois NWTF a success!

12) Next Meeting: Sunday, March 14, 2010, 1:00 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza, Springfield, Illinois. Lunch will be served at 12:00 p.m. in the Rosewood Dining Room. A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at approximately 1:30 p.m. 1^st – George Frashier; 2^nd - Gerald Lively. Passed Unanimously.

NOTE: These are my last minutes I will be composing as Secretary/Treasurer. I want to thank all of the board members past and present, NWTF staff and IL members for your support the past 14 years.

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. The State Chapter purchased the 1976 & 1977 NWTF Wild Turkey Stamps. These are not available in the stamp Frame Print any longer. Please contact Mike Lowder at 217/546-5207 if interested. Please contact Mike Lowder at 217/546-5207 for all changes in address, telephone #, chapter president, etc.

Next meeting will be at 1:00 pm on Sunday, March 14, 2010 in the Governor Meeting Room on the 3^rd floor at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield, IL. Lunch will be served at noon in the Rosewood Dining Room on the 2^nd floor.

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.