PONCA CITY, Okla. (March 28, 2006) - The Bass Federation Inc. (TBF) announced Tuesday that the Indiana Bass Federation's general membership voted overwhelmingly to join TBF in its new partnership with FLW Outdoors. At 3,000 members, the Indiana Federation is the nation's largest state federation.
The vote, which took place Saturday, was 83 percent in favor of making the move.
"The leadership and clubs of the Indiana Bass Federation are very excited about the opportunities moving forward with TBF and all our new partners," said Doug Bradley, president of the Indiana Bass Federation. "Its gives us a chance to build a better foundation for youth and conservation in our state as well as the nation, it provides more fishing opportunities than we ever had, and we are happy that we now have the chance to control our own destiny and programming so that we can do what is in the best interest of the membership and our state fisheries."
In late January, Alabama, which is the nation's second largest state federation, and North Carolina, which has a sizable membership base of 1,500 anglers in 121 clubs, also confirmed their commitment to the new TBF, FLW Outdoors program. In fact, nearly 100 percent of the North Carolina membership has already enrolled.
"What we are seeing is that now that we are with TBF, members who had previously dropped out are coming back," said Phillip Sain, president of the North Carolina Federation. "They are excited. The membership was ready for a change. The North Carolina Bass Federation was ready for a change, and both are ecstatic about the possibilities and especially all the new sponsors being brought to the table that share our values and love for this country, like the National Guard."
"The relationship between FLW Outdoors and The Bass Federation is truly a partnership," said David Simmons, FLW Outdoors/TBF programs manager. "We are very pleased and working hard everyday to advance our combined vision for the great sport of bass fishing. The affiliation of Indiana, North Carolina and all the other states involved in this partnership is huge and remains a key to our shared success."
On a national scale TBF President Robert Cartlidge says he is very pleased with the progress that has been made in a relatively short period of time. "Frankly, it's been like taking a drink of water from a fire hose," he said. "Rosters and new members have been pouring in. The state federations and their members are very supportive, and we now have partners like FLW Outdoors who are willing to use their considerable influence to help us. We have partners who share the same basic views we were founded on, namely youth, conservation and fishing. The state federations know that with TBF they have a say in how everything is done, and that we work to support them and the work that they do for the sport.
"The federations, their clubs and their membership are our sole focus," Cartlidge explained. "We do not have to worry about pro tours, TV ratings and such. We can apply 100 percent of our energy and resources to the federations. It is our sole focus and reason for being."
To put things into perspective, the old federation program took more than 30 years to build and in just over 10 weeks TBF has already assembled 43 state federations, including the nation's 10 largest federations, and membership is rapidly approaching 20,000.
"Those are hard, verifiable numbers," Cartlidge said. "We also have 10 to 12 states that won't have their rosters in until April or early May, at which time we will be well beyond 20,000 members."
According to Cartlidge, the vast majority of state federations affiliating with TBF and FLW Outdoors are led by the same leadership that has been in place for a number of years and who have the full support of their membership. This leadership provides a rich history and vast experience for TBF, while new federations coming on line provide TBF with a fresh outlook and new ideas to add balance so that the organization can effectively move forward without forgetting its roots or its mission.
"Collectively, the state federation presidents, youth directors and conservation directors, along with the rest of the states' leadership and membership are the ones doing the meaningful work," Cartlidge said. "They have successfully directed the federation for more than 30 years. I have complete confidence in their abilities to direct it successfully for another 30. Now couple that with the support of some of the biggest names in business, and fishing, like Wal-Mart, Chevy, Yamaha, Ranger Boats, Evinrude and the National Guard that FLW Outdoors is bringing to the program, and the industry media powerhouse of FLW Outdoors Magazine to highlight the work that the federations are doing, and you can begin to see how big a deal this really is for the sport of fishing."