John, it was indeed a pleasure and honor to meet a person with such passion and dedication to a great cause. I hope you took that little brochure I left with you when you departed. If you don’t have it, I can fax another one or email you another one.
I would like to tell you in an email why I did it.
I also had an opportunity meet and introduce my self to the Eel Man. I happen to recognize him from the web pictures a SB.com.
I told him I thought it was more then likely not a good idea to post his picture on the site. Some how I got the impression he didn’t care.
However he was allot more cordial in our brief conversation, then I thought he would have been to me.
He was almost kind.
It’s what we love best in him. He will always tell you what he thinks. I love you man!
I agree. It was a great time. It should be something that will last a long time. I believe it will be bigger and better each consecutive year they run it. The trophies were really great. Very befitting a great tournament that is, and will become.
I will ditto some changes that need to bee made. And some I will add. I hope there is some power here to see that these ideas get to them!
1. You will definitely need a bigger tent from here on out.
2. May be some more vendors to help pass the time.
3. Speakers in the rear.
4. Lower the volume on the band.
5. Put the prizes and winners up on the stage where they can be seen and fell like the winners they really are.
6. Seating and tables.
6. I would like to see a Men’s, Woman’s and Children division added, with the one over all largest fish coming from any of these divisions.
7. And finely, the season needs to be longer. It would be fare to the people up north in the spring and fair to the people in the south of the program in the fall. The Sothern folks have the fish by May first; however they don’t get to see any of the fall migration in the tournament... I feel the real monsters of the tournament will come in the spring and the fall. May first to the last day in October would do it.
For me, I would like to see it to the end of November!
If I left any thing out, please adlib. It would help if some one knows how we could get a list to them. I believe they care and would listen.
I think even they didn’t anticipate the turn out in the rain. I don’t know the final count of attendance; however one of the OTW reps told me they had approximately 2000 applications for the tournament.
That’s it. Later, L
P.S. Ditto, Kudos to the OTW / Harpoon staff for a good event.
