SEPT 2016 Newsletter
Florida State Taxidermist s Association, Inc. FSTA Board: President: Trina Pritchard 352-567-1521 Vice President: Secretary/ Janis Floyd 863-697-0914 Treasurer: Charlotte Lord 352-542-7337 Board of Directors Donnie Gordon 850-322-3734 Brittany Buell 863-398-9929 Dale Buffenmyer 352-317-3831 Barney/Teresa Durham 386-328-7515 Ken Jones 813-312-6725 Jared Mallard 904-483-7568 Jesse Kelly 904-769-6699 To All My Fellow Taxidermist and Friends, Hello! I hope that everyone had a great summer,. The board has been working very hard on our next convention. The 2017 Convention will be held at the Ramada Inn and Conference center in Lakeland Florida 863-688-8080 on March 2,3,and 4 th 2017. please feel free to view the website for a full photo layout of the facility. I would like to thank all the new board members for their hard work and input over these months, our goal is to give our members the best convention possible. We are encouraging each and every one of you to contact a taxidermist in your area and share the information of this great organization with them to help us grow. We need everyone's help to rebuild our great association. If anyone has any questions or suggestions please don t hesitate to call anytime. The judges for this convention will be Rick Dunlap and Korey Alleman. To all members:we are in need of a new trailer to store all of our back boards and supplies. We are starting a trailer fund and are asking if any member can please donate to this need. If you are able to donate anything please contact me, any donation is appreciated. Thank you in advance. I am pleased to announce we will NOW be accepting credit cards at the convention if needed. If anyone has any suggestions or even have questions, please feel free to call me at 352-567-1521. Sincerely, Trina Pritchard FSTA President
You will be missed Bill On June 8 th 2016, at the age of 73, William Bill Comstock lost his battle with Lou Gering s disease (ALS) and passed away at his home in Inglis, Florida. His loving wife, Chris, and family members were present. Bill Comstock was born in New Jersey. At an early age while spending time on the North Shore, he developed a love for waterfowl hunting and taxidermy. In 1968, he moved to Florida and one of his first jobs was working the bird exhibits at Rainbow Springs, in Dunnellon. He later went on to work for Glen Lau Productions in filming commercials for 30 years. This included filming hunting products, fishing line, and other outdoor gear. Bird taxidermy was a part-time endeavor up till 15 years ago when he decided to go full time. Bill Comstock was an exceptional bird taxidermist. His love for birds and wildlife was shown in a multitude of medians. He was blessed with the ability and the eye for re-creating nature. His bird taxidermy, especially waterfowl, was his love and passion. An avid waterfowl hunter and true observer of how a duck walks, quacks and lives in the natural world. Over the past 35 years, Bill competed periodically in taxidermy competitions, however; his desire was always obtaining the better specimen and creating/enjoying the bird itself, not just winning an award. In his mind, the duck was the prize. Bill s ducks were simply specular. He was also an avid deer and turkey hunter. For you that knew him, he possessed the gifts of patience, peace and love. For years, mostly in the 1990 s, I would always try to make an annual outing with Bill on a deer or duck hunt. I met Bill through the FSTA in 1985 and if anyone should every wonder what the FSTA can do for them; well, making life-long friends and appreciating the art that we do is what an organization is all about. Bill Comstock was a good friend and he will be truly missed. Dale Buffenmyer
Charlotte C. Lord Treasurer of FSTA 3955 Southeast 55 A Highway Old Town, Florida 32680 Home: 352-542-7337 Cell: 352-578-5529 charlottechesleylord@gmail.com September 16, 2016 Dear Members: It s been a busy year for the first year as your Treasurer of FSTA and I ve worked hard with Trina and Janice to try to get our financial records up to date. I m a retired educator so I believe in hard work and doing things right! I am striving for 100% accurate records that are shared with you! Your president, Trina Pritchett spends a lot of time working for FSTA to put together a great convention, sharing taxidermy knowledge, and promoting the organization! Your secretary, Janice Floyd has filed all the tax information to get us up to date and that s no easy task! (And we all work for you, the FSTA, for you free! Your board members for FSTA volunteer also to make FSTA a great organization for you, the member! One major difference in your registration package this year is that the National Taxidermists Association Membership Application is missing. Let me explain their fiscal year is now October 31 to September 31 so it is different than ours. If you pay through us, (and that s just paperwork we send on to them and forward your entire dues to them for NTA), then when you pay at the convention, you are only getting 6 months of membership for your yearly dues. So, if you pay your dues directly to NTA and pay by October 31, you get your full year s membership! That makes much more sense for you, so we are no longer including that in our registration package. (Previously our association was 100% NTA and then NTA made changes!) As Mrs. Janice Floyd, your FSTA Secretary explained, it is very important that you pre-register by January 31, 2017 so that we may have your certificate, your packet, and everything organized for you when you arrive at the convention! She and I are working together to try to help this be a very smooth process for you! And, by pre-registering, you meet the deadline to vote by paying ahead at least 30 days before the convention, and you get your first competition mount entry free, and you will be entered into a drawing for an air compressor! Wow, you WIN by registering early! I look forward to seeing you in Lakeland on March 2, 3 and 4 at the convention! Call or e-mail if you need my help! Cordially,
From the desk of the secretary September 16, 2016 Dear Members: This is the first year I have had the opportunity to assist with the association. I have spoken to Trina Pritchard about membership renewals, and the importance of early registration. Prior to any event, there are many things that go on behind the scenes to create an organized, smooth running convention. One of those things is pre-registration. Pre-registration is the one thing all renewing members can do to make check in quick and easy. Member name tags, certificates and spreadsheets all have to be created for each convention. If you pre-register, your packet will be ready for pick up the moment you walk in the room. I can have them sorted alphabetically so a signature on my spreadsheet will verify your receipt of items and you re on your way. If you are bringing in mounts for the competition, pre-registration will also make that check-in much faster. If you re already on our spreadsheets, adding a mount on the fly will be a breeze. I will make additional lines available so any last minute additions can be handled quickly. In our efforts to encourage more members to pre-register by January 31sr, 2017, you will not only get your first competition mount entry free, but you will be entered into a drawing for an air compressor. The drawing will take place at the banquet. We are also asking that all registration forms be mailed with your dues and entry fees to Mrs. Charlotte Lord, 3955 SE 55A Hwy, Old Town, FL, 32680. She is the treasurer and will make the deposits and forward the membership applications to me via email. I look forward to seeing each of you at the upcoming convention. As always, if I can be of any assistance please call my cell (863) 697-0914. Please text or leave me a message. I have stopped trying to answer my phone when I m working. I have ruined over 30 phones since I started doing taxidermy from stuff on my fingertips. Warm regards, Janice Floyd Janice Floyd 3328 SW 16th St Okeechobee, FL 34974 (863) 697-0914
FLORIDA STATE TAXIDERMISTS ASSOCIATION, INC. Annual Convention and Competition March 2,3,4 th 2017 Ramada Inn Lakeland Florida 863-688-8080 Name: Spouses Name: Childrens Names: Phone Numbers: Please check here if you or your spouse will volunteer to help during the convention Registration Information Registration/Seminar Fee (Family Included): $45.00 (Pre-Register prior to January 31 st 2017 to receive your first mount entry free) Day of show Price:$65.00 Saturday Night Dinner, Award Banquet and Auction Number of Adults: (each) $30.00 Number of Children: (children 12 and under are free) Competition Entries Number of Mounts: Amateur (A) or Professional Division (P) (each)$15.00 Number of Mounts: Masters (M) Division (each)$20.00 Number of Mounts: Habitat (H) (each)$5.00 Number of Mounts: Commercial (C) (each)$10.00 Number of Mounts: Youth (Y) Division (each)$10.00 Number of Mounts: Challenge of the Arts (COA) (each)$15.00 Number of Mounts: Presidents Challenge (PC) (each) $10.00 TOTAL DUE: Please use the highlighted code above and indicate what you are bringing to competition, be sure to indicate whether it is a wall, table or floor mount. If your mount will take up more than a 2 X 2 space please let us know that as well: *I agree all mounts entered have been completed by me or my studio and failure to comply with FSTA competition rules will result in my disqualification for ribbon points.* Signature: Mail completed registration forms to: FSTA, Inc. Attn: Charlotte Lord 3955 SE 55 A highway Old Town Florida 32680 Date:
Florida State Taxidermists Association, Inc. Membership Application Preserve Your Profession! Share taxidermy with friends and family! Membership Status: Annual membership: $50.00 O New (Membership is from Convention to Convention) O Renewal For voting purposes dues need to be paid 30 days prior to the next convention. NAME DATE OF BIRTH ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP TELEPHONE (DAY) (EVENING) Email Address: My contribution to the Charlie Fleming Education Fund: $5 $10 $25 $50 other My contribution to the NTA Wildlife Conservation Fund to oppose anti hunters: $5 $10 $25 $50 other Please make check payable to your state association. Mail completed membership application to: Florida State Taxidermists Association, Inc. Charlotte Lord 3955 SE A Highway Old Town Florida 32680 352-578-5529
Thursday, March 2nd 1:00 pm To???? Setup Backboards (everyone's help is appreciated) 3:00 pm To???? Supplier Setup 4:00 pm To 7:00 pm Registration 6:00 pm To???? Seminar TFB Composites Casting and molding hand on seminar. Friday, March 3rd 8:00 am To 12:00 pm Registration - Mounts Accepted 9:00 am To 11:00 am Seminar Rick Dunlap- Deer and completion and eyes 10:00 am To 12:00 pm Supply Area Open 12:00 pm To 1:00 pm Lunch Hour 1:00 pm To 5:00 pm Registration - Mounts Accepted 1:00 pm To 5:00 pm Supply Area Open 1:00 pm To 3:00 pm Seminar Korey Alleman Duck mounting 3:30 pm To 5:30 pm Seminar- 2017 Schedule of Events 6:00 pm To???? Members meeting and social food supplied. Fri night class will be Doug Montgomery\ deer mounting Saturday, March 4th 7:30 am To 9:00 am Late Registration (No Mounts Accepted After 9am) 8:00 am To 11:00 am Seminar Phil Helms Bass Mounting replica / he will donate this fish for auction after. 9:00 am To 12:00 pm Supply Area Open (Supply Area Breakdown 12pm) 12:00 pm To 1:00 pm Lunch hour 1:30 pm To 4:00 pm Competition Area Open 4:00 pm To 5:00 pm Breakdown (everyone s help is greatly appreciated) 6:30 pm To???? Banquet and Auction and award ceremony Judges Rick Dunlap Rick /Korey Korey Alleman Whitetail, Game Heads Fish, Reptiles, Mammals Birds