[Hot4huntin]

Joey~I am sorry to hear about your grandfather! Prayers sent for your family from the Kana's!

Devin and Kevin, thanks for the kinds words and I am glad to see you posting on LSBA's website.

It is a fine line which we walk between our individuality and our representation of an organization, especially when the cause of the organization helps define who we are as an individual. I constantly find myself in that position.

TBH and Michael have been big supporters of LSBA over the past year and without them our membership numbers would not have risen to the current 1,088. LSBA owes Michael and many other TBHers, their friends and/or family and big thank you. I hope that the LSBA/TBH relationship can continue in the future. We must not forget that even though we disagree on some issues, we still are all bowhunters with the same common goal--to continue the heritage of bowhunting. We may have different ideas on how to reach that goal, but LSBA needs to listen to the majority.

Facts should be presented and an individual can take whatever action they believe is appropriate for their position on a particular issue. LSBA must follow the majority of the members' wishes and act accordingly. I must commend Devin for his support of the LSBA even though there are differences of opinion on some issues. Many people pick up their toys and run when there is a disagreement, but he has remained a supporter of the LSBA. Thanks, Devin!

I cannot control the things of the past in the LSBA, but I am always willing to listen, so the same mistakes are not made in the future. The future is looking much brighter for the LSBA and it is unfortunate that we have had some major hurdles occur this year that many times does divide an organization. I encourage all members to get involved and voice your opinions with respect to others. This is a very passionate subject and tempers tend to flare and words and feelings can be misconstrued on a forum.

The LSBA has reached so many kids this past year and introduced them to archery. To me, that is the most important part of the LSBA, to get bows in the hands of our future. Joey has be instrumental in building bows for kids and providing them free of charge. This says a lot about his passion for bowhunting and the future of our sport.

Because people that I respect have had different opinions than I do on certain subjects, I have found myself reading and researching to gain more knowledge in these areas, which will hopefully make me a better bowhunter and a more knowledgeable representative of our sport. One of the articles that I found from NRA Free Hunters entitled "The Humane Society of the U.S. and the Fund For Animals Merged, an They're...Burning Bows at Both Ends" contained a paragraph that has stayed with me since I've read it.

Bowhunters are capable of determining their own destiny if they continue to stay organized and work with political and trade association allies. Along the way, it will remain imperative that they demand and abide by the dictates of good science, good ethics and self-policing.