April President's Message

The 15th annual Sowbug Roundup has come and gone. By all accounts it was the most successful ever! The most negative comment that I heard was of the order "I hate change! But I will get over it." For several years there was agitation from attendees for us to move to the fairgrounds. The church had a lot going for it. The conventional wisdom was that attendees liked the "intimate ambiance" of the church. As it turns out everyone preferred the roominess of the fairgrounds and the innovative layout of the tyers' tables. And they liked the parking. There was plenty of parking close to the entrances. On Saturday morning Joe Hanson was worried at 7:00 am because no one beside he and I were in the building. We suddenly realized that with all of the convenient parking tyers didn't need to hurry in to grab one of the few close in parking spots
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There were some hitches in the process. We made assumptions about vendor location that caused some difficulties. We had to bail out the floor by the big outside garage door because of flooding after the big rain. We will know better next year.

The Sowbug would be impossible without volunteers. There are the volunteers that become the "Sowbug Committee"; they do the planning that makes it possible for things to happen. Then there are the volunteers that actually make it happen. They do the setup and tear down, staff the front door to sell tickets, staff the table to sell raffle tickets, take the money from the auction winners and staff the raffles and silent auctions. These are the volunteers who stand ready to move a table, grab a mop, or put toilet paper in a restroom. I won't try to list all of their names; but you will be able to recognize them at meetings. They are the folks who will be wearing the sporty, one of a kind, 15th Annual Sowbug Roundup hats at our meetings! They earned their hats! And I really appreciate their help!

Another group whom I need to thank is the Corps of Engineers. Often when the Corps is mentioned, it is with murmurings or louder curses. The Corps was very supportive of Sowbug and did their best, in spite of the rain, to given us fishable water each day. Tracy Fancher, the Operations Manager, called me Friday afternoon to make sure that I knew what was going to happen with water flows over the weekend. I really appreciate the assistance that the Corps of Engineers gave us to make Sowbug a success.

The Sowbug Roundup uses lots of tables. That was an advantage of the church where there were plenty. As it happens the fairgrounds also has lots of tables, but not enough for the Sowbug. So we had to borrow some from the Southern Council of the FFF. These are the folks that put on the Conclave in October. We couldn’t have managed Sowbug without the SOC's tables. There is a bit of "quid pro quo" here: We, NAFF, have agreed to do setup for Conclave. But that is OK. We have always helped with Conclave; and Conclave’s well worth supporting! I really appreciate being able to use the SOC tables!

Joe Hanson took over the chairmanship of the Sowbug when the Sowbug committee was in complete disarray after the sudden meltdown and resignation of three important members. Under Joe's leadership, the committee has grown and prospered. We had two very successful Sowbugs as a result of Joe's leadership. Joe has resigned his position as the Chairman of the Sowbug Roundup. We hate to see him go and will miss him in that position. But, because of Joe's leadership the Sowbug will not self-destruct as he leaves; the organization will continue to function and move forward as we look for a new leader. That (not even counting two great Sowbugs) is a great legacy! I am really grateful that Joe stepped forward when asked!

We are looking for someone to become the new Chairman of the Sowbug Committee. Joe organized things so the job is more a case of keeping a hand on the throttle than cracking the whip! But we do need someone to take responsibility to make sure that planning moves forward for the next Sowbug. And then be the person to take the heat during the show. Contact me if you are interested.

Mike T.
michaeltipton@centurytel.net