President — Fred J. Becker, 8 Grove St., Clinton, CT 06413; 860-669-2847; FKMBecker@comcast.net
Vice President West — Jules Perreault, 1271 Durham Road, Wallingford, CT 06492; 203-284-8051; PerreaultJules@SBCGlobal.net
Vice President East — Mike Cote, 50 Hopevalley Road, Hebron, CT 06231; 860-228-2404; littlemike96@hotmail.com
Treasurer —Eric Schupp, 45 First Ave, Enfield, CT 06082; 860-796-8284; ESchupp17@gmail.com
Secretary — Tony Szrejna, 27 Hany Lane, Vernon, CT 06066; rszrejna@hotmail.com; 860-519-7677
NTA Director — Tony Szrejna, 27 Hany Lane, Vernon, CT 06066; rszrejna@hotmail.com; 860-519-7677
FTA Director — Herb Sobanski Jr., 194A Abbe Road, Enfield, CT 06082; 860-874-3172; trapper43@hotmail.com
Membership Options:
• 1-year membership including subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $30
• 2-year membership with subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $48
• 3-year membership with subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $64
• 15-years and under — $10
• Lifetime — $350
Complete membership application on first page of association section and send dues to:
Connecticut Trappers Association, Inc.
PO Box 485
Meriden, CT. 06451
PUBLIC RELATIONS REPORT
Hello, and happy new year to all my fellow CTA members. Sportsmen’s show season opens next month for seven days, (two long weekends). And, you guessed it, we need CTA members to man the booth.
The first show is “The Northeast Fishing and Hunting Show”, www.fishinghuntingshow.com, at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. The show opens Friday, Feb 14th and runs through Sunday, Feb. 16th. Show hours are Friday: 12 PM – 8 PM, Saturday: 10 AM – 7 PM and Sunday: 10 AM – 5 PM. The Second Show is, “The Springfield Sportsmen’s Show”, www.osegshows.com. Held at the Eastern States Exposition grounds in West Springfield. The show opens on Thursday, Feb. 20th and runs through Sunday, Feb. 23. Show hours are Thursday: 3 PM – 9 PM, Friday: 12 PM – 8 PM, Saturday: 9 AM – 7 PM, and Sunday: 10 AM – 5 PM.
Members who are willing to help man the booth can contact me at home: (860) 668-4477, cell phone: (860) 849-1496, or e-mail: Bob1andryzeck@cox.net to schedule your time in booth, get your name on the list for free admittance, (only if you are working the CTA booth), and advise you on parking options.
These are our only public show appearances each year and they are extremely important to our trapping heritage. Even though you could say we’re preaching to the choir at these shows, many in the choir are not trappers and are uninformed or misinformed about trapping furbearers. And, although we only speak to a small percentage of sportsmen at the shows, the truth about trapping gets spread throughout the sportsmen community by show attendees.
The seeds of our trapping heritage are planted in sportskids at the shows, who may hear a lot about hunting and have already been fishing, (probably with more success than me), but have never been exposed to furbearer trapping. Their curiosity is invigorating to an experienced trapper who now has the chance to fan the flame of the future of trapping. Starting with the why, what, who, where etc. of furbearer management and moving on to wherever questions and answers lead to is a very satisfying experience.
Then there are the veteran trappers who stop by the booth to check out our animal mounts, tanned pelts and traps on display. Check out the twinkle in their eyes as our booth triggers trapline memories. They are eager to talk of their trapping experiences and hear about yours.
You will be asked how to deal with furry pest problems. This will give you an opportunity to use your knowledge of furbearer habits to help someone solve an annoying/costly problem. And, possibly get permission to trap some new territory.
The rewards of working the CTA booth are many. The biggest is keeping our trapping heritage active and moving on the right track into the future. Past trappers did it for us. It’s our turn now. Hope to see you at one of the shows. On either side of the booth. Thanks for being a member of the CTA. — Bob Andryzeck
