ESPN/B.A.S.S. Hear Federations' Concerns

On Monday at ESPN's offices in Bristol, Conn., ESPN Outdoors and B.A.S.S. officials met with representatives of the five B.A.S.S. Federation divisions. According to those who attended the all-day meeting, the result was good -- meaning ESPN appears to have largely alleviated the Federations' pre-meeting concerns.

Brief History

The 50,000-strong B.A.S.S. Federations -- which are not owned by B.A.S.S. -- are viewed as the extra-effort core of the 580,000-person B.A.S.S. membership. Under Ray Scott, Helen Sevier, Don Corkran and Al Smith (Federation directors), and Al Mills and Bruce Shupp (conservation directors), the Federations have been directly responsible for many of the youth, recruiting, environmental and political achievements of B.A.S.S.

In addition, Federation members -- one from each of the five divisions -- can qualify to fish the BASS Masters Classic through a series of local, regional and (one) national tournaments.

The first meeting the Federations had with the new B.A.S.S. was in December 2001. Five Federation representatives, again representing the divisions, went to B.A.S.S. headquarters in Montgomery, Ala., and according to several Federation presidents the meeting did not have a positive result.

The five reps sent a letter containing follow-up questions to B.A.S.S. and didn't receive a response. They then sent a second letter, which ultimately led to Monday's meeting.

In the interim, however, the rumor mill was at work. A few examples: ESPN wanted to get rid of the Federations; Ray Scott wanted to buy the Federations; the Federations would lose their spots in the BASS Masters Classic; and more.

And when B.A.S.S. announced its new management team in January, and Federation director Al Smith was put under new marketing director Diehl Unger with no explanation, the rumors really took off.

Though Federation officials tried not to let the gossip get to them, the stress level was increasing. They wanted answers.

The Meeting

On Monday (March 4) the Federations apparently got what they were looking for. Here's who attended the meeting:

Federations
- Roger Fitchett, president of the Virginia Federation, representing the Eastern Division
- Chuck Rolfsmeyer, president of the Wisconsin Federation, representing the Northern Division
- Robert Cartlidge, president of the Oklahoma Federation, representing the Central Division
- Charlie Mitchell, past president of the Tennessee Federation, representing the Southern Division
- Gary Bradford, president of the California Federation, representing the Western Division

ESPN Outdoors
- Michael Rooney, VP and general manager
- Gary Morgenstern, executive director and head of programming
- Nick Seifert, VP of sales
- Tina Thornton, coordinating producer
- Jim Downs, director of events
- Christine Godleski, director of operations

B.A.S.S.
- Dean Kessel, general manager
- Diehl Unger, marketing director
- Al Smith, Federation director
- Bruce Shupp, national conservation director

At the meeting, each one of the five Divisional reps made a presentation about one aspect of the Federation Program (history, youth, etc.), and then various Federation concerns were aired.

The Result

"I thought it was a great meeting," Roger Fitchett said. "The right people were there, and they listened to us. Most of them understood everything we were saying -- we didn't expect all of them to understand everything.

"The (five Divisional) reps talked after the meeting, and we all thought that it was a good meeting. We believed everything they said. They were pretty sincere, especially Michael Rooney," who the reps noted stayed in the meeting the entire time.

"We all left with a very good feeling," added Gary Bradford. "We're still keeping our eyes open, but these (ESPN) guys seem to be very sincere and genuine in their respect for the Federation."

B.A.S.S. agreed with the reps' feeling. "It was good to get a better understanding of the importance of the Federation Program," said Dean Kessel. "The meetings were extremely positive and very informational for both sides. We anticipate more positive dialog with the Federations in the future."

Tomorrow: The reps' feelings about some of the issues discussed.

- End of part 1 (of 2) -