www.arkansastrappers.org
President — Aaron Hitchcock, 9331 Sister Lane, Mulberry, AR 72947; 479-997-5361;
AHITCH81@YAHOO.COM
Vice President — Danny Ross, 401 Japonica Lane, Hot Springs, AR 71901; 501-844-5091,
drossscoutmaster@aol.com
Secretary/Treasurer — Karen Fuller, 7611 White Oak Road, Mulberry, AR 72947; 479-221-4416,
karentee3@hotmail.com
NTA Director — Mike Fischer, 13823 Masoner Road, Lonsdale, AR 72087; 501-939-2325
Editor — Gary Helms, 1092 Vanderbilt Rd., Texarkana, AR 71854; 870-772-3834; TrapperGWH@aol.com
Membership Options:
• Individual membership including subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $22
• Family membership with subscription — $27
Complete membership application on first page of association section and send dues to:
ATA, Secretary/Treasurer
Karen Fuller, 7611 White Oak Road
Mulberry, AR 72947; 479-221-4416
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Hello Trappers,
Well I hope everyone that attended the ATA convention at Petite Jean State Park, had a good time and enjoyed themselves. It was estimated there were about 175 people present this year, a pretty good turnout.
Elections were held this year, and the President, and Editor are the same, but the Vice President is Danny Ross from district 4, his phone # 501-844-5091. The new Secretary/Treasure is Karon Fuller from District 1, her phone is 479-221-4416
The Trapper of the Year went to Heath Shaw.
Mr. and Mrs.Trapper went to Bobby & Michelle Blair.
The ATA convention, to me is like a family reunion. Like any reunion you don’t know who will be there from year to year. It’s with a heavy heart that I let you know that we lost Vettie Waller two weeks after the convention in Sept.
Vettie was a longtime member of the ATA, and a friend to many, always with a smile, he will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
As I am writing, this the weather is starting in change, just in time for bow season. Gun deer season is just around the corner. So that means that trapping season is almost here. Hooray. If you start trapping the first day remember to wear your orange during gun deer season if required.
Till next time
Hoping Your Traps are Full. — Aaron Hitchcock
EDITOR’S REPORT
The weather across the State of Arkansas gave us a huge break for our State convention. The cooler temperatures were a welcomed blessing for the trappers this year. Although I didn’t make it up to the mountain this year, pictures and reports from fellow members show that a good time was had by all, and the vendors looked busy, also.
Officer elections were held this year, and it seems we have a new vice-president and secretary/treasurer. Danny Ross is our new vice-president, and he’s from the Hot Springs area. Danny is a scoutmaster, and has brought his troop to our workshop and to the NTA Southeast Regional convention we hosted in Russellville in 2012. I was one of the coordinators for that convention, and Danny and the scout troop were a huge help that entire weekend. I’m pleased to see him accept this new position in the association. Karen Fuller is our new secretary/treasurer. She’s from Mulberry, and lives pretty close to our president, from what I understand. I don’t believe I’ve met Karen before, but I admire her already for accepting her new position and look forward to meeting her in Arkadelphia. Getting everything switched over from one secretary to the next takes some time. Please be patient while this transition takes place. I want to thank Charlie Bass and Gary Gray for their time served as officers, and expect to see them at upcoming ATA events.
Mr. and Mrs. Trapper of the Year went to Bob and Michelle Blair, and Heath Shaw received Trapper of the Year. Mike Fischer was the 2014 ATA Appreciation Award winner. Congratulations to all of them for everything they do to make our association a better one!
I think I might have missed maybe two of these conventions in the last twenty years, so I didn’t have to be there to know that a lot of work goes into pulling it off and making it a successful convention. I still want to give a BIG THANK YOU! to everyone who worked hard to make it a great convention this year. I, for one, am looking forward to next year’s convention!
The next thing coming up is the fur sale on February 21st, 2015 at Russellville. Doug Henderson @ 501-288-0915 is the fur sale coordinator. I’ll have further info listed here later. First we have to make it through trapping season! I hope everyone enjoys their time out on the line this year, and achieves all of their goals! Please try to stay safe. I want to see ALL of you at the fur sale!
This month’s tip is introduce someone new to trapping. Invite a coworker to ride along and check traps with you, or a neighbor, or the neighbor’s kid. Just expose someone to trapping that’s never experienced it before. You may or may not make a trapper out of them, but letting them see first hand that we’re not animal hating monsters using cruel devices to trap with may make them an ally at some point down the road. You can never have too many allies! Until next time! — Gary Helms