Submitted by Travis on 6/29/99. ( )
Well I`m glad it`s over...geez---what a nerve racking experience. Well
we had our KS show this last weekend and I decided to put a few of my
mounts in the show...Thanks to Kieth Daniels and Yox pushing me to do
so. Not only did they say I should do it but they said I should put
them in the pro division...No that was scarey! Finally I said what the hey
and went for the pro division. I put my 2nd mammal(coyote shoulder mount)
in the gamehead division, and my largemouth bass in the pro division. It
was only the 11th fish I ever mounted so you can see why I was a little spooked
about putting it in the pro division...
anyhow---I`ve never been to a competition before so I didn`t know what
to expect or what the judges would expect. Saturday night finally got
here and we went to the awards banquet. It started at 8 o`clock..little
did I know we wouldn`t be able to get in the trophy room till 11:00...Man
what a killer wait that was...My biggest fear was of course getting
skunked, and even worst having to come back here to the site and tell
everybody...about 10:45 my wife walked up to the double doors and peeked
thru---she nodded at me to come over and look thru the crack...hey what do ya
know---a 3rd place ribbon was hanging on my coyotes!!! A world of
relief fell off my shoulders...I`ve always put to much emphasis on winning
instead of learning so at least I wasn`t going home empty handed...and I
must tell ya I was very happy to get a 3rd place from Jan Van Hoesen.
I couldn`t see if my bass had scored or not so the anticipation was still there.
I think I had about 60 hours in that bass and was really hoping to score with it...
Finally they opened the doors and I had another 3rd place ribbon! I was
grinning ear to ear. 3rd place isn`t much to many but for me I couldn`t have been
happier...
Now looking back at all the worries and headaches I see I wasted a lot
of energy on winning a ribbon. I spent time with Kenneth Bauman, Jim pitts,
and Mickey Bowman talking nothing but fish. I`m telling ya I learned
a bunch by spending some short conversations with these guys. They were
down to earth type of guys who were willing to lend a helping hand! My
advice to any begginer is to get involved with your states association
and go to some of the conventions. I can`t wait till the next one! Swallow
your pride and make yourself go with some of your mounts. There will
be somebody there who will help ya and give ya advice...worth every penny.
I want to thank everybody who helped me here at the site along with
WASCO for making the site available to us...Now I have to get into the
reds and blues....Thanks again guys and gals..
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This response submitted by Marc on 6/29/99. ( Fish2Paint@aol.com )
Congradulations Travis on your accomplishments at the show. Keep up the good work,and you will always be rewarded in one way or another. I venture to say that personal gratification and pride, is reward enough in itself. Good Luck at the world show.
This response submitted by Kenneth Bauman on 6/30/99. ( bauman@caddoelectric.net )
Congratulations Lonnie on a great looking fish. It looked 100 times better than my 11th fish. The big secrete to improving, is you state association. The Reeds, McFail's, Cunningham's, Penn's, Bowman's, Farr's, Rush's, Helm's, Spencer's, Janson's,,,,,,,,,(the list is endless) are all terrific people and are willing to help. That is what the Kansas Association of Taxidermists is all about. This should be what any association is about. The knowledge I have learned from the Oklahoma Taxidermists Association is priceless. Keep up the good work, hope to see you at the OKTA show, July 22 - 24. It will be an awesome event.
This response submitted by Travis on 6/30/99. ( )
I was a little shy on meeting a lot of people because this was the first convention
I ever been too, but I`m looking forward to meeting and visiting with
the KAT members in the future...Pat Reed really helped me alot too
thru the e-mail system and over the phone...going to a place where ya
don`t know anybody is a little humbling but time will take care of that...
I took several close up picts of peoples work both fish and deer for future
reference...Ken---If the funds will allow I`ll be in OK...I want to have one
of my open mouth yotes judged...Hopefully see ya there....and thanks guys
for the congrats...
This response submitted by Stuart Weniger on 6/30/99. ( sweniger@feist.com )
Lonnie:
Congratulations on your awards!!!
It's always good to see new taxidermists at the convention. I firmly
believe that the key to success is to surround yourself with
people who are better and more experienced. You cannot learn from
better taxidermists than Kenneth Bauman, Jim Pitts and Mickie Bowman.
They have all excelled in their respective classes. I personally have
benifitted from entering and attending any state, national, or
world show that I could attend. I know that there is not a
show that I did not learn someting which made me a better
taxidermist.
The KAT is always ready to help. If you contct anyone in the
association they are always willing to help. I would urge you to
continue to remain active and attend the meetings as well. Our next
meeting is August 29, 1999 at 10:00 am in Heston Ks. I hope to
see you there.
By the way, I thought the idea was excellent on your
coyotes. Keep up the good work, see you soon!
This response submitted by John C on 6/30/99. ( )
The knowledge gained from going to shows simply cannot be tabulated in any form. Many people out in taxidermy land say they donot need to go to shows, that is simply becuase they have stayed in thier little hole and not seen the light of day.
My friend you have, and are all the wiser for it.
Continued Good Luck John C
This response submitted by Cory on 6/30/99. ( )
Congragulations Travis! I was a little ify about going to a show but with your success as a "beginer" maybe I will think about it a little more.
This response submitted by Richard on 6/30/99. ( )
Travis
I've been following along with your progress through the forum and knew you would do good at the show . Glad you entered the Pro division ,also the mounts looked good on the web site .You now have the competition bug .
This response submitted by Bill on 6/30/99. ( yoxtax@aol.com )
Now you have had your ego rewarded and it feels great, doesnt it? Now take all of what you learned and apply it to your future commercial work and watch how you are rewarded again. I will ALWAYS maintain that competition IS a very useful and rewarding part of this art. I know some will argue this, but of course, within limits, anything in excess isnt as good...well, ALMOST anything...
This response submitted by Travis on 6/30/99. ( )
Stuart---I`ll try to make it up to Hesston in aug...as long as the fish
aren`t biting I`ll probably make it.he he..I`ve allready got ideas for the next
show with some bobcats and yotes. I`m starting my first deer head(doe) next
week so I`m back to square one...so get ready for the questions to start flying!
Cory---do it...You may feel alittle uncomfortable at first but it`ll pass...the worst
part for me was not knowing but maybe a few people who`d be there. Once I started
visiting with a few of the guys I felt right at home...next one will
even be better....can`t never have to many connections...good luck
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