INSIGHT NEWSLETTER- APRIL 2009

ATA Announces New Board Executive Committee

The ATA Board of Directors has elected its three-person executive committee. Results were announced April 2. Officers were elected for 2009-2010 fiscal year.

Larry Griffith of Bohning Company was elected Board chair, while Greg Easton of Easton Technical Products and Michele Eichler of Muzzy Products Corp. were elected to vice chair positions.

Peter Crawford, president and general manager of Elite Outdoors LLC, served the past year as chair. Vice-chairs were Easton and Paul Vaicunas of Parker Compound Bows.

In addition to the newly elected officers, four directors were elected to the 16-member ATA Board during its annual winter elections. Pete Shepley, president and founder of Precision Shooting Equipment Inc., returns to the Board after stepping down in 2006 after over a decade of service. The election also returned Ben Summers of T.R.U. Ball Release Products.

Directors new to the Board include Mike Walston, chief operating officer of Lone Wolf Portable Treestands and Gregory Jenkins, president and owner of Apple Archery Products LLC.

Crawford, Richard Szekelyi, CEO and general manager of Horton Manufacturing Co. LLC; and Jeff Pease, national sales manager of Bear Archery; stepped down from the Board on March 31.

The terms for the four new Board directors begin April 1, 2009, and end March 31, 2012.

ATA Members, Michigan DNR Collaborate To Fine-Tune Bowhunter Survey

ATA uses informal meetings to rebuild historical partnerships between the industry and state wildlife agencies.

ATA representatives will meet April 8 with leaders from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to discuss improving their after-season surveys to capture how recently enacted rules affect bowhunters and deer hunting.

The meeting is part of the ATA's continued effort to strengthen relationships between state and federal wildlife agencies and the archery/bowhunting industry. Since 2007 the ATA has worked to revitalize the industry/agency partnership, a working relationship that pioneered the nation's conservation programs 75 years ago. Our nation's system of wildlife management is imbedded in federal-excise-tax (FET) funding paid by outdoors industries under the Pittman-Robertson, Dingell-Johnson and Wallop-Breaux acts.

"We'll go through last year's survey question by question with recent regulation changes in mind, including the legalization of crossbows for much of the archery season, and the ban on deer baiting in the Lower Peninsula," said Mitch King, the ATA's director of government affairs. "We want to help the DNR better understand the impact - positive or negative - on these regulation changes. This will be an informal meeting including about a dozen Michigan-based ATA members. It allows ATA members to ask questions and exchange information in a cooperative, non-confrontational way. We're meeting to strengthen a partnership, not to be an adversary."

ATA members who pay FET can benefit from an opportunity to meet agency staff, who put FET revenues to work. Meetings of this nature build an understanding of how those revenues benefit archery and bowhunting. ATA staff and members are working to create this same forum in other areas including Kentucky, Arizona and Colorado.

"This is all part of a process," King said. "We respect the fact that wildlife agencies ultimately answer to their residents, which is why they welcome the chance to meet ATA members from their state. In many cases, they've never met before. By meeting informally, we hope each group views the other as a cooperative ally."

CAP RECAP: ATA Boosts Archery in Alabama

The ATA recently donated $52,000 to the Community Archery Program (CAP) in Cullman, Ala. The Cullman CAP is a $285,000 collaborative effort between the ATA, the city of Cullman and the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (ADWFF). ATA's contribution includes equipment, as well as funding for an archery park and increased school involvement through NASP.

This latest funding effort boosts ATA's total NASP contributions to about $884,000 for initiatives in the United States, Canada and Australia since 2004. ATA has also contributed nearly $960,000 in CAP grants, equipment and direct aid to state and provincial wildlife agencies to grow archery and expand bowhunting in North America.

The Cullman Community Archery Park is the second of six Alabama archery facilities now completed or under way as part of CAP. Alabama's first such state-of-the-art archery park opened in 2008 in Athens, about 50 miles from Cullman. The ADWFF is also building archery parks in Dothan and Demopolis, and will soon break ground in Heflin. The state is also negotiating for an archery park in Huntsville.

The park features 36 targets, including an eight-target beginner's range from 5 to 20 yards; an eight-target general target range of 15 to 50 yards; a four-target bowhunting range of 10 to 40 yards with a 12-foot platform; and a 16-target walking course with shots out to 70 yards.

The ATA's CAP initiative has been embraced by leaders in state and local governments across the country. CAP serves several functions. It promotes NASP as a key introduction to archery, it makes the sport available in local community recreation programs and funds the shooting facilities all archers need to participate in shooting year-round. CAP also supports the vital role of local archery shops, clubs and organizations. In 2007 and 2008 alone, ATA provided more than $400,000 to develop CAPs in Alabama, Alaska, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey and Tennessee.

ATA Updates Membership Categories

To ensure ATA's diverse members receive maximum benefits for their annual dues, the ATA and its Board of Directors recently fine-tuned the association's membership categories.

All ATA members are now divided into two broad categories: retail membership and regular membership, and then placed into one of several subgroups.

Retailers are classified by five categories: pro-shop retailer, retailer, archery reseller, multiple-channel retailer and basic retailer. Regular members are classified by six categories: regular manufacturer, basic manufacturer, regular distributor, sales representative, supporting and media.

Retailers defined as "archery reseller" include Wal-Mart, Shopko, catalogs, Internet and mail-order exclusive companies. Multiple-channel retailers include Cabela's, Bass Pro Shops, Dick's Sporting Goods and Sportsman's Warehouse.

"As the ATA grew in recent years, we realized the old categories were too broad," said Laura Shields of the ATA. "For example, they didn't distinguish manufacturers from distributors, or pro shops from basic stores. By redefining each category and specifying its benefits, all ATA members will be better served. We want to ensure they receive benefits that correspond to their membership classification."

Each members' entitlements are spelled out in a chart detailing the benefits received by each category. Depending on their classification, ATA members can participate in several benefit and discount programs. Regular manufacturers and distributors can also be elected to the Board of Directors. Most members can serve on ATA committees and receive special discounts at the ATA Trade Show.

ATA members recently received their renewal notices, which included a new dues structure. Archery retailers and pro-shop retailers pay $120 annually, while archery resellers pay $1,200 and multiple-channel retailers pay up to $1,800. Regular manufacturers and distributors pay dues based on the amount of booth space they rent at the Trade Show, and non-exhibiting manufacturers pay $2,000. Sales rep companies pay $100 for each rep, and media pay $200.

ATA's membership has averaged about 1,650 in recent years after hitting a low of 505 in 2000 when it was known as the Archery Manufacturers and Merchants Organization, or AMO. ATA membership nearly doubled by 2003 to about 950 members, and then temporarily surpassed 1,700 in 2004 when retailers received free one-year memberships.

Did You Know?

Did you know US Team won 6 finals medals and 22 individual distance medals at the 2009 Mexican Grand Prix?

Both men's and women's recurve teams won GOLD in both team events defeating the Mexican National Team in close matches. Matt Zumbo won the GOLD in the junior men's recurve division. Jake Kaminski won the SILVER medal in the men's recurve division, and Kristin Braun won the BRONZE medal in the women's recurve division. The U.S. Team represented by the Resident Athlete Program, Matt Zumbo, and Cassandra Wolf also won 22 other medals awarded for top 3 placement at each distance and for overall placement.