Taxidermy.Net Forum - UTA Exposition and Competition

I've waited a little to post this, but do not let that little bit of time lessen the significance of the message. Those of you who have put a show together know it takes a lot of work by a lot of people. Those who work the hardest are often not seen or acknowledged. It is those who have the titles that get the credit, when really it is those that do the work who should shine in the sun. I want to acknowledge them here and praise them for all that they did. Without them the UTA Exposition would not have been what it was.

First, Every Board member in attendance, every instructor and every judge paid their own way to the show - there were no honorariums or stipends. In fact, when the UTA travels to shows those manning the booth pay their own way so we can to do our best to funnel what money we have into helping State organizations and provide for the best classes we can. With that said I acknowledge the following. If I miss someone, I sincerely apologize and hope the Board or others at the show will chime in and recognize them.

Brenda Duvall, her sister Bonnie and Gail Tout covered the front desk, registration, competition and all the administrative details. There are lots of questions to answer, directions to give and decisions to be made when all the people are clamoring to get their mounts in and register. They did a herculean job. In addition, Brenda, her daughter and her sister developed the awards, coordinated the competition room, designed the score sheets and ran back and forth to make sure all was well. They ordered the ribbons, coordinated the trophies and handled the awards ceremony - all without a hitch or mess up. In addition to these folks Dan Tout and Jim Kimball were also present helping out. A special thanks to Bonnie - she was the computer guru who originated and ran the power point presentation at the awards ceremony as well as helped copying all the pictures to disk so every competitor could have one of their mount. Amazing, and what a great smile and laugh.

Carol Clemmens came from Idaho to handle all the competition record keeping and making sure things went well in the competition room. This one task alone can make or break a competition. She developed the program, ran the computer, computed all the results and facilitated distribution of the ribbons all without error and with a smile.

Terry Bennet and Ralph Swang came from Idaho and Montana respectively with their backboards. The Idaho Taxidermy Association and the Montana Taxidermy Association loaned their back boards for the Expo. Each drove over 5 hours, set up and took down the back boards. A competition without backboards is not a competition. I can not thank them and their Associations enough. There were also many un-named individuals who helped setting them up and taking them down – my sincere thanks.

Then there was Royce Dake from Montana who took all the pictures, copied them and provided them to the instructors. He took pictures of the award ceremony and followed up with the winners. Doing this impacts on ones ability to enjoy the classes and spend time with ones colleagues – I thank him for his sacrifice. Also there was Frank Kotula, who traveled from PA to teach but who also volunteered to take pictures. Then Michael “P” Schlabach who came from Texas to be our MC at the ceremony and present a great class as well as organize and sell tickets to our raffle netting over $500 to the UTA.

Manny Chavez from New Mexico handled all the instructor coordination, developed the schedule, and made sure every class went as planned. He also was a judge and an instructor. That is a lot of detail and intense planning. I am sure that those who have had this task know that instructors have things come jump and schedule changes are inevitable – there was always a backup plan and we had no holes in the schedule.

Each of those named above had helpers. Unfortunately I do not know their names or I would mention them here.

Last, but not least is the support from the sponsors and vendors. No show could happen financially without them – We were blessed to have almost 30 different vendors filling over 60 booth spaces as well as local conservation organizations and outfitters. Their loyal support and willingness to help can not be appreciated enough. I also want to thank those who were not able to be present but who sent things for our silent auction and as handouts. Thank you.

When ever a competition ends, the mass exodus is amazingly fast with some forgetting to box things and clean up. Jim Kimball and others were everywhere helping, carrying and gathering all the UTA materials spread throughout the venue and helping the vendors. I am always surprised how many things change location.

It is also important to recognize some of the pioneers who were present - Harry Paulson, Buzzy Cook, Jean Roll, and Jan VanHoeson. The history and commitment these individuals have to the taxidermy industry is incredible. They will always support our industry and never forget that we are a family and need to stand together. Their presence was appreciated.

SO, on behalf of the UTA and myself personally, thank you for making this first UTA Exposition and Competition a success. If I forgot to mention anyone, please pipe in on this thread and make it known. The “boss” frequently gets the credit when it is really others who do the work. It is those who scurry around, picking up behind the “boss”, correcting his foibles and helping when the need arises who make a show a success and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

Our next Exposition show will be in Nebraska in May of 2014 – I hope you will plan to attend

Craig Lewis
Chairman of the Board
United Taxidermist Association