Page 3 - Sep 2022 Market Edge Final_Neat

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT

BUTCH NEWELL

Hello FOWA Members,

This year’s conference was a rollercoaster of emotions. We kicked off the event on Wednesday night
with a visit from State Representative Ralph Massullo, MD and County Commisioner Holly Davis.

During the Professional Development Day on Thursday, we had speakers from Sea & Shoreline and
Save Crystal River describe their restoration efforts, which have been an enormous success. Also, we
heard from Nick Haddad with Return’ Em Right, who discussed the importance of descending devices
to help fish recover from barotrauma. Finally, Marly Fuller spoke about the Florida Wildlife Corridor and
the importance of making sure we allow for animals to be able to migrate safely across the state.
Excursions scheduled for Friday and Saturday were a lot of fun, and you will see several pages of
photos later in this edition. Although we did have some rain, it didn’t stop the members from getting out
and seeing the sights of Crystal River.

On Saturday night Casey Hartt came to discuss what Sebring is offering for next year. Although
it won’t be a traditional “conference,” they are looking for writers to attend the Caladium festival at
the end of July and encouraged members to contact her if interested. Cefus came in clutch with an
incredible presentation that had people rolling in the aisles. Thank You, Cefus!

So you may be asking, “what’s next?”
For starters, you will receive an email that will need a response in the coming weeks. We will vote on
where the remainder of FOWA’s funds will get distributed. During the general membership meeting,
several non-profit organization names were shared, and the membership suggested some new ones.
So please keep an eye out for that email.

I’m planning on one last edition of the Market Edge to go out in November, and I would like ALL OF
YOU to submit something. Maybe share stories from your experiences in the organization, photos, or
whatever you would like to have in the last edition of the Market Edge.

The FOWA Facebook page will be going away; however, the FOWA Facebook Group will stay active. I
encourage all of you who want to keep in contact with each other to join the group. Also, we will need
someone to take over as Admin for the group when I step away at the end of the year. If you would be
interested in taking on that responsibility, please drop me a note.

Kind regards,

Butch Newell
Executive Director
Florida Outdoor Writers Association