BASS and Federation troubles

[Ranger Rick]

Anybody keeping up with what is going on between BASS and the Federation? Looks like the Federation is going to split with BASS and go to the FLW. Supposably two states have already pulled there support and 39 others are sending there dues to the federation instead of BASS. BASS has evicted the 7 National Directors and there positions and have revoked there memberships.

[Rippinlip]

Wow...sounds like I need to catch up on that.

Buck

[uk2thdoc]

Where can we get the details on this one???

Doc

[201pro]

I will give everyone an undate on this topic this weekend, after the State IBCF meeting in Indy. If anyone wants to go, it is at the State fairgrounds, in the Edy's Grand hall building Saturday @ 1 pm......

[Ranger Rick]

Doc I got most of the info at Http://www.bassfan.com You will have to go back thru the articles to find the info. There are several articles. This all started back in October.

Russ I am going to the meeting also would you like a ride?

[CincyBas]

I was going to go to the meeting but ended up having a meeting at Dale Hollow I have to attend.

Sounds like this is going to be a very interesting one in Indy. Our club will have a representative there.

[DaPhishGuy]

here's the article Ranger Rick was talking about.
http://www.bassfan.com/news_article.asp?id=1539

[uk2thdoc]

Wow, that Irwin Jacobs guy really blasts Ray Scott.

Doc

[TR 196 KY]

Here are a couple of articles that I find very good reading.

This is from the TBF.INC

An Open Letter To Bass FEDERATION MEMBERS
To all just to clear some things up.


The Division Reps\TBF,Inc “telling” the clubs to send their dues money into the states. Is a falsehood, it was not “our” original request it was BASS’s . At last years Presidents meeting with BASS at the Federation National Championship and Classic. BASS stood before the presidents group and THANKED those states that are collecting all the dues from their clubs and sending in one check and one roster to BASS. It makes their job easier to deal with, is a cost savings to BASS, and only one person in each state to deal with and they requested more states “look into it.” Several state across the nation has done this for years….and many more went home and voted in the policy…….in an EFFORT to support BASS’s wishes. As always these meeting are recorded (by TBF,Inc) and EVERY PRESIDENT is sent a copy of those voice recordings so there is no mistaking the wishes of BASS here.


Federation dues are supposed to be a payback to the member……you already pay BASS dues. It was the PRESIDENTS that voted in federation dues to start with in 1990, before that there were no federation (national) dues. It has been widely publicized where the money is supposed to go. And in the past, we have been given an accounting of those dollars….until recently. Of your 15 dollars federation dues, 6 dollars goes to the Divisional Tournament Payout, 6 dollars is supposed to go to insurance, and 3 dollars is supposed to go to the Federation National Championship, casting kids, etc. (SEE BASS’s own Dec 2003 issue of BASSTIMES article by Don Corkran that outlines this and agrees that BASS owes the states an accounting of that money.)


Here is an excerpt from that column. (please read the whole thing its available online on BASS website archives or by google. (type in “federation dues” to google and will come up in the list) , if you still don’t have your printed copy.


In 1990, the state Federation presidents agreed to institute a dues system, if we could show them where the dues were going, and if they believed that these were true benefits to the Federation. We did just that, and today we are much stronger than ever before. ….Don Corkran Dec 2003 BASSTIMES


At that time when we instituted them in 1990 the dues were 12 dollars. (6 to divisional, 6 to insurance).
In April of 1999, then federation Director Don Corkran, came to the Presidents and ASKED them to raise dues by 3 dollars. Up to $15.00. The request was made to help fund and “Make a bigger and better” the Federation National Championship. The Presidents took that back to their members, voted on it, constitution and bylaws were changed, and the current 15.00 dues was voted into place BY THE PRESIDENTS at the 1999 Bassmasters Classic BY the State Federation Presidents. The “new” 15.00 dues was to start in 2000 and did.


ESPN bought BASS…..and we still have the same Federation National Championship as we always have with a 50K payout total.


The Presidents and Division Reps have asked the current BASS leadership multiple times for an accounting of the dues money to no avail. Divisional Payouts do not match up at 6 dollars per member. The reality is that there has never been a time in federation history that all federations and clubs were updated by Dec. 31. Never. Federation numbers in early January are usually around 10K nationwide and build throughout the year up to 40-45K each year. Thats another part of the "rub" for many divisions. Since some divisionals are in Sept. its not as bad an effect on them. (still effects them though) But think about the West...their divisional is in MAY, so all the members who join after that in the West, that money never gets paid back to the Western Divisional. Same with the Central and Southern.
We are not accusing anybody of anything here, maybe there is good reason, but no accounting has been given, even though numerous requests have been made.

The Reps, and the Presidents, were blindsided by the increase in dues mandate presented by BASS on Nov. 1st. There had NEVER been any discussion of an increase. The Presidents across the nation OVERWELMINGLY instructed the Divisional Reps, (in writing in many cases) to oppose the increase at this time under these circumstances. BASS will not or cannot account for the current dues, so adding even more was not an option for most. Its not just 5 dollars it close to $250,000.00! and its not “Just” about the money. Many States and many more Clubs have the 15.00 dues outlined in their Constitution and Bylaws, which cannot just be changed. In fact by BASS’s own “new club packet” sample constitution and bylaws posted to their website. It outlines a $15 dollar dues and a method of amending those bylaws that could NOT be accomplished in the time they have allowed. We explained this in detail to Gary Jones on Nov. 2nd. He said he would “Circle Back to us on that by the end of the day” …He never did. A few days later we got an email notice canceling our meeting plans with BASS from Gary Jones. A meeting that BASS picked the dates for and planned and after had non-refundable air tickets had been bought by the Reps. The very next official communication received by BASS was an Open letter to the membership revoking the BASS membership of the Division Reps., several of them LIFE members of BASS.


What we, The Division Representatives asked for was simply this. Go ahead and collect the dues as outlined in most Constitution and Bylaws. ($15.00) Wait until January 7th, (only 7 days after the Dec 31st “deadline”) when we have all the Presidents together at the Federation National Championship, and lets let the PRESIDENTS decided there, a path forward on this. It would not be right or fair, and would only cause tension, for some states that do not have it in their bylaws to pay $20.00 as mandated by BASS, while the majority paid only $15.00 as per the bylaws that cannot be changed by Dec. 31st.


BASS took exception to this and removed the BASS memberships of the Division Reps. No discussion. They DID not and have NO authority to remove the Division Reps or officers of TBF,INC as they did not put them into place.
They were voted into office BY the Presidents and shareholders of The Bass Federation, Inc. Their positions are also defined by Constitution and Bylaws. Simply put, we do not work for BASS, we will and have tried to work with them, but we work for the Presidents and still do today.


As far as The Bass Federation, Inc. (TBF,INC)


The TBF, Inc. was formed to work for the federations. It was formed by the states and by the State Federation Presidents. Each State Federation owns one share of stock in the company and the State Federations own and control it. Simply put we work for you.


We are owned by those we serve, and we are dedicated to the sport of fishing.
The federation has a long history of working for everybody else. Supporting events, charities, youth and conservation. And there are some great people at BASS and other companies, but they work for BASS, (or pick a company). And while a state federation can speak for only their state, no one state could speak or work for the good of the whole federation. In today’s business climate, The Presidents felt, that we as a federation were doing our members an injustice if we did not work to provide them every available opportunity and protect the integrity of the federation as a business for the next 30+ years.
The first year was spent building, this year alone, TBF,Inc will be responsible for ;

The TBF provides to each state a Pennzoil – lube package & T-shirts, CASH youth funding opportunities through the Bass Hunt Game sales, CASH rebates to the state federations on purchases through the http://www.bassfederation.com online store, paid CASH advertising in states newsletters, paid CASH links on states websites and The Living The Dream program (full sponsorship for the Federation Champion to fish the BASS/ESPN Elite Series). AND most importantly TBF is an umbrella company whose single purpose is to work for you, the state federations. A company owned by, and accountable to, the state federations. The states have never had anybody working FOR them before.

We have several new programs already on tap for next year. Each state chooses which program or none that it wants to participate in. Some are designed to fund Youth, some conservation, some the state itself.
Our position is simply this, what has always been the federations goal is to support this industry, its what we are founded on. We have always been a stand-alone entity, no one has ever owned us. We "play" with everybody. Some states are sponsored by one company the next state by their competitor. Our members DEMAND a choice.
Our members are supporting many organizations, WON BASS, Angler Choice, Skeeter Bass Fan Army; FLW and others. I am sure you have many of these members in your state federation. ITS ABOUT FISHING!
Many federations support these events when they come to town just like they support BASS, with anglers, drivers and volunteers. In fact many of the FLW championships are supported by state federations and their member volunteers. Why? because its good for the sport and its lucrative for the state. It does not mean we are "leaving BASS"

For us, The Federation has to come first. Then BASS, FLW, or whoever. Envision a world were our members had choice through their federation. Making the federation more prosperous and attractive to the members. Where youth programs were actually funded! Imagine that!

We absolutely want to keep our relationship with ESPN\BASS. But quite frankly they thought they BOUGHT the federation when they bought BASS and were quite surprised to find out that they did not and could not "sell" us to their sponsors and mandate what we could and could not do. In big business your on your way up…or out. We have had 4 BASS federation directors in 4 years and 2 BASS general managers.(plus 2 shakeups in ESPN Outdoors management) Each one come with his (or her) own set of idea’s and leadership. The federation MUST have stability, you simply cannot change direction of 45 thousand people regularly and expect them to be effective. That’s where TBF,Inc can help BASS and others, by stabilizing the federation and providing accountability to the states which own it. This is the only way to help BASS, ourselves and the industry.
.
We do not need to "form a separate nationwide Federation organization" because the federation has always been separate and always will, that in our opinion is part of the "rub." Can you imagine someone telling your club or federation you must do this or that?? You are a business incorporated within your state with your own board of directors and leadership that have bills to pay for your federations and programs to fund. The reality is that most people think BASS puts money into the state federations operations and that simply does not happen...not one dime. So the states MUST be free to operate as they see fit, with who they see fit.

Back To the current issue:
BASS has agreed many times, in writing, in print and face to face with the states, NO mandates to the federation. Yet here we are again with a 5 dollar dues increase mandated, no discussion. Even though is only 5 dollars, its really $250,000.00 dollars and it NOT abut the money. The problem arises in that many states and many clubs have bylaws that outline the dues, many have already collected them, as BASS REQUESTED the states last year to do. To collect ALL the dues in the state and send in one check in an effort to 'help" them manage the work load, the states agreed and many more started this year. Now this.

They cannot go back to their members who have already paid and the states cannot afford to pay it so they are backed into a corner.

Now nothing about this precludes us from long term continuing with BASS if they will have us. We have tried everything to communicate, many multiple meetings, with different people including the ESPN management, an outside Professional Consultant firm was hired, any president that wanted to come and all the reps went and meet with BASS\ESPN in this meeting in Atlanta. Unfortunately, in some at BASS's view the independent consultant (hired by BASS) tended to agree with the federation. Nothing substantial came from it.
Different ones have spent 4 years of trial and turmoil trying to work this out with BASS to no avail. We would say we have certainly tried. Yet we continue because we all have strong ties, and we suspect we will continue into the future keeping the door open for BASS if they will "play" with us but they have to play on terms that the federations feel like they can survive under. We know this all sounds like BASS is the BAD guys here but not necessarily so, it takes two and the federation must control its own destiny if it is to survive in today's business. We cannot say “BASS you cannot tell us what to do ...but will you handle our money for us and run our events for us? “


Regardless of what may happen in the future, you are assured that the federation will survive and prosper and so it’s will youth and conservation programs. The support this last week has been overwhelming and the federation has more opportunities ahead of it than ever before.

If you have any questions please fell free to contact any member of the Federation Presidents or Division Reps. and we will do our best to answer them. Links are provided at http://www.bassfederation.com

We will leave you with a quote form Ray Scott himself….

From Ray Scotts book…The BASS Boss, Page 174
"We saw each federation as an intermediary between the local chapters and B.A.S.S. headquarters," Says Dave Newton. Ed. (BASS original employee) "We envisioned a state convention every year, with all the federations sending their officers to attend a national convention, maybe in conjunction with the Classic"
There was great temptation to put bass chapters under the direct control of B.A.S.S. headquarters. However, Ray was adamant that each federation be autonomous. "I warned Ray that I could see the potential for rebellion because he can be didactic, overbearing at times," Dave Says. "Ray you could say, ‘Here’s the plan,’ and the assemblage could stand up to him and say, ‘No Ray, we’re going to do this instead.’ My question to Ray was, ‘Aren’t you afraid you’re setting the stage for the federations to take control away from you?’ And Ray Said, ‘I don’t want people to stay in my organization because they have to. I want them to follow me because they want to.’ If we lead right they will follow." So it was full speed ahead and Damn the threat of rebellion."


In Unity,

The Federation Division Representatives and Officer of The Bass Federation, Inc

This is from Bassfan staff.

(Editor's note: Harold Sharp was the first tournament director Ray Scott hired. Sharp left BASS long ago, but as BassFans know, he still feels passionately about the sport and the company he worked for – and often has strong, entertaining opinions about both.)

This is the time of year to make a list of things you need and things you don't need, so here's a list of things we need and don't need in the sport of professional fishing.

We don't need Irwin Jacobs taking shots at Ray Scott on BassFan, or Ray Scott firing back if he decides to. The only winner in this battle will be BassFan with a quadruple jump in hits on its site.

Ray Scott is clearly the person responsible for the sport of professional fishing. He's the one who started it, and all the rest followed, including Irwin Jacobs, who's responsible for bringing the corporate world and its money into this sport.

That's made it possible for thousands to make a living in this sport, but without Ray Scott's dream and leadership, none of it would exist today. So we don't need these two powerful leaders in a public battle.

We need people like Ray Scott, Forrest Wood, Johnnie Morris and Bob Cobb – who were the pioneers of professional fishing – to sit down with people like Irwin Jacobs and Earl Bentz – the driving force behind its future – to look at where we're heading. If they do that, they'll see walleye and redfish coming on strong, followed by crappie, bream and carp events to follow.

They would see the women's circuits demanding attention and a bright future for the sale of fishing products. They would also see television and Internet media trying to gain control and reshape professional fishing into their version of how it should be viewed and played out.

We don't need television or Internet media in control of professional fishing – they won't protect the environment that's needed for it to survive, they won't fight the industry polluters or the herbicide peddlers or politicians that will destroy the habitat needed for fishing to survive.

We need the BASS Federation to fight these battles.

That's what Ray Scott and I wrote in the plans we discussed on a cold January day in 1968 in a motel room in Chattanooga, Tenn. – the day we organized the Chattanooga Bass Club and the Bass Anglers Sportsman's Society (B.A.S.S.).

We didn't need ESPN giving the BASS Federation the ultimatum to "shape up or ship out." The Federation didn't have the time to comply with it, or change their bylaws to allow it, before the deadline set by ESPN for Dec. 31 – a clear indication that ESPN had found a way to unload things that didn't fit into Jerry's plan to dominate this sport.

If you can't dance or sing on cue, ESPN doesn't need you.

But it happened and the Federation will disappear just like the words Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, and the periods that made B.A.S.S. mean something besides a fish, and the dedicated employees and anglers that displayed the patch with pride.

But the Federation will reorganize and continue fighting the battles to save this sport just like Ray and Momma BASS taught them to do years ago.

We don't need shots at Ray Scott claiming he did it all for money.

The wording on my "Charter Member Certificate" to the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society signed by Ray Scott, president, on March 1, 1968, reads: "Harold Sharp became a charter member of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society and is hereby commissioned to promote and elevate our bass-fishing sport to a place of national prominence; to demand enactment of adequate protective legislation for our waters and the enforcement of existing laws; to encourage interest in bass fishing among our youth, that our purpose may be carried forth."

Nowhere in that can you find the word "television" or "dot-com" or boats, lures, rods, reels, motors, dancing, screaming, cussing, cheating, changing rules or money. That all came later – some good, some bad – but it all happened because Ray Scott wasn't afraid to follow his dream or speak up for what he thought was best for this sport. He's still doing it and us old geezers are proud of him.

This is not the time for a fight between leaders in this sport.

We need them working together to shape its future after ESPN bails out to reshape NASCAR.


BassFan Opinions aren't necessarily the opinions of BassFan.com or its staff.