Survival of the LHFC - any easy solution

[Michael Hahn]

Guys,

The annual LHFC General Meeting is this Thursday in Underwood at the Community Center at 7:30pm. The Club has been run extremely well for decades, with one reoccuring problem - volunteers. I joined 2 or 3 years ago after spending 20 + years crushing Salmon on Lake Huron. I honestly had no idea who the LHFC was. I my 2 years since, I have attended every event that I can - and I see the same faces at every event - men and women in their senior years who are just simply tired. I see men in their 70's climbing in and out of the Denny's fishway not because they want to anymore - but because they feel such a strong desire to have their efforts enjoyed by everyone else who does not contribute at all.
I do not stream fish, but I had the pleasure last fall and winter of watching 100's of anglers smashing Rainbow in the Saugeen everytime I drove by.
I am pleading to those of you who may have been standing in the water enjoying the fight, the thrill of landing, and the perfect taste of a Rainbow as table fare, to attend this meeting. We need help. We need to give the men and women who have given us the opportunity to land fish basically anytime we wet a line a rest. I had never volunteered for anything in my life prior to joining the LHFC. I work full time - and yes - I am tired when I get home at night. The Club is not asking anyone to spend 5 hours a week helping out. And this is not my intent as I type. My intention is to get a whole bunch of 20, 30, 40, and 50 year old people involved so that the LHFC is around forever, insuring that Generations of Kids can enjoy what I have had the pleasure of enjoying on Lake Huron.
Please come out to the meeting on Thursday. You may be tired after a long day of work, but trust me, it will be the quickest few hours you have spent in a while.......

[Kyle Watson]

Thank you very much for the information.
I would like to attend even though I am not a card carrying member yet. I'll come and get a membership for myself and my family while I'm there.

[JodyRank]

Well said and good on you for advocating for such a valuable resource that we all have taken advantage of.
Is there somewhere we can view all of the upcoming events/meetings in advance? I personally can't make this Thursday but it would be good to know sooner then a few days before the meetings when and where they're held.
Thanks again Michael.

[Nick Toth]

Originally posted by JodyRank
Well said and good on you for advocating for such a valuable resource that we all have taken advantage of.
Is there somewhere we can view all of the upcoming events/meetings in advance? I personally can't make this Thursday but it would be good to know sooner then a few days before the meetings when and where they're held.
Thanks again Michael.

Jody, you can enrol in the club online at

LHFC Site

You'll find a membership form there and you can pay via PayPal.

That way you'll get our monthly newsletter - we old f@rts often forget how to post it

Yes, it's hard to get enough bodies for the daily grunt work, but there are lots of one-off duties like fish fries, pig roasts, egg collection, clipping etc. that tend to be done on weekends.

[Michael Hahn]

www.lakehuronfishingclub.com or http://64.177.125.54/LHFC/index.html will get you to our site. Member or not, everyone is welcome to the meetings. I appreciate each of your responses - at least it helps everyone understand the efforts of so few are enjoyed by so many. Thanks a million guys for caring. I hope this thread continues right up to the meeting on Thursday and beyond.

[Mike Blumhagen]

Mike...it was a thread like this 2 years ago that got me involved...never a member before that, but showed up at the annual meeting and volunteered for the board and its been a great 2 years. One thing to keep in mind, a lot of work and communication can be done now via technology, so if you don't live in the area and feel you can't make it to every meeting, there is still a way to activily participate. I have been proud to serve on the board for 2 years now, and hope to for the years to come.

Cheers
Mike

[Michael Hahn]

Good point Mike. Emails and Conference Calls can replace meeting face to face very easily. I live in Heidelberg and you live in Goderich and we can communicate with little effort over the web or phone!

[Michael Hahn]

The other thing I might add here guys is that our voice is only as loud as our size as a Club. If we can continue to recruit new members, our voice will carry much more weight with the Government, namely the MNR.

[Michael Hahn]

Also speaking tonight at the meeting is Kevin Orr from the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO). Kevin will be speaking to clear up some confusion over the Deep Repository Plan that Bruce Power and OPG intend to implement. Should be very interesting. 7:30pm start time at the Underwood Community Center across the street from the Lake Huron Rod and Gun. (North side of the 6th concession, and on the same side as the Rod & Gun. It is the Brown Township Building)

[Michael Hahn]

U2U - Guys. This statement will surely expose my computer skills. i received 3 U2U messeges, and I have no idea how to reply to them. I also noticed the 2 messeges I sent to Richard Elliott have never been sent either. Sorry boys. I am a newbie!

Kevin L - Thank you very much
Sean V - No. I was raised on a farm outside of Drayton
Jody R - I live in Heidelberg. Work in Elmira. Call me at work anytime 519-744-6565

[robmainstone]

Originally posted by Michael Hahn
U2U - Guys. This statement will surely expose my computer skills. i received 3 U2U messeges, and I have no idea how to reply to them. I also noticed the 2 messeges I sent to Richard Elliott have never been sent either. Sorry boys. I am a newbie!

Kevin L - Thank you very much
Sean V - No. I was raised on a farm outside of Drayton
Jody R - I live in Heidelberg. Work in Elmira. Call me at work anytime 519-744-6565

Check off the "Select" box on the message you want to reply to.. then below select "reply" then submit changes button and that will pop up the dialogue screen where you just type under the previous conversation. Messages you send stay in your outbox.. they don't disappear like if you were using an email program.

[Michael Hahn]

Ahhh! Gotcha Rob. Thank you for the help. That Outbox things was messing me up! Thanks again.

[Richard Elliott Jr]

Still waiting for my messages Mike, were they important lol
Tight Lines Richard

[Michael Hahn]

Key dates for helping out the Club are as follows:

It is about a 2 to 3 hour commitment, starting at 9am.

- September 29th, 9am at the Kincardine Hatchery. Rental Dock removal

- October 20th, 9am at either the Kincardine Hatchery or the Entrance to MacGregor Point Provincial Park. Adopt a Highway clean up

I will be posting the adopt a highway clean up at the local high schools, but I do not anticipate a big draw from that. Please come out and clean up the LHFC's roads.

A special Thank you to the 3 people out of the 232 viewers that attended the meeting last night:

- Mitch, Matt, and Kyle - I hope you enjoyed the meeting, and Thank you for voluteering!