The Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association closed out 2013 by electing a new board, and expanding staff resources.
During the annual NSIA board meeting in Chehalis, Washington, the board elected officers. Dan Parnel of Leisure Sales as President, B.G. Eilertson of Fisherman’s Marine and Outdoor as treasurer and secretary will stay in their positions and the board opted to add Trey Carskadon of BDC Advertising as NSIA vice president.
In addition, there were also changes to the board. The board elected Gabe Miller of Farwest Sports, Matt Schlecht of Bob’s Sporting Goods, Martha Peterson of Maurice Sporting Goods, and Zach Schoonover of Maxima to the board. NSIA leadership also thanked Bob Funk of Shimano Corporation and Jerome Sage of Maurice Sporting Goods, who retired from the board. “We are very excited about this leadership team which brings together the leaders of the sportfishing industry,” said NSIA Executive Director Liz Hamilton. “With the depth and breadth of experience we have on our board, I am very confident we are poised to take the NSIA to the next level.”
In the coming year, Hamilton said, the focus of the organization will be to continue to grow the sportfishing industry, including working with state and federal agencies on how to increase the number of fishing days throughout the year.
Hamilton also announced that Michele Bailey will be taking the new position of deputy director of the NSIA on January 1. Bailey has been with the NSIA as an executive assistant for over a year. Bailey has an extensive background in office management, customer service and event planning. She held management positions in the healthcare industry for more than six years, prior to coming to NSIA.
Patrick Johnson was also named as the new director of communication and membership. Johnson was hired in September as a communication associate and worked mostly on public lands issues in 2013 for the NSIA. Johnson’s previous role was director of communication and special projects for the Wilsonville Area Chamber of Commerce. Before that he was a newspaper reporter for approximately 15 years around Oregon.
For more information, contact Liz Hamilton, executive director of the NSIA at 503-631-8859 or e-mail at nsializ@aol.com.