The Bully Pulpit

By 

Terry Sullivan

President, Harrods Creek Field & Stream Club

As one of the oldest and most influential clubs in the state, the Harrod’s Creek Field and Stream Club, Inc. takes its role as a leader in conservation seriously.  That’s why we’re enthusiastically supporting Bob Fraley for President of the League of Kentucky Sportsmen, Alex Lea as the League’s NRA Representative and Vikki Rawe as the NWF Representative.

It’s been a long time since a sitting League president has faced a challenger.  Such a challenge only comes about when there is significant dissatisfaction among the members with the direction in which the League is going.  For the following reasons, we like the direction that Fraley will take the League:

Ø      Bob will make sure the League works in the interest of the sportsmen and women from Pikeville to Paducah.  The League needs to be on top of these issues and to work in concert with the other conservation groups in the state to further the interests of hunters, anglers and conservationists.  Our interests are not just local and small.  They cover the entire state.

Ø      Bob will work to improve the relationship between the League and the KDFWR and the Commission.  It has been an embarrassment to every sportsman and woman in the state to watch the League antagonize and unfairly criticize the Department and the Commission.  They are our partners in conservation and should not be whipped like a rented mule.  Mending these fences is his immediate priority.  

Ø      Bob will work diligently to get the League license plate sold.  The commitment to this license plate has tied up about a third of the League’s money and it’s high time to free these funds up to enable the League to do its real job, conservation of the Kentucky’s fish, wildlife, soil and water resources.  Bob will not commit any significant amount of the League’s money to anything (as was done here) without the advice and consent of the membership.

Ø      Bob will begin the process to make the League a partner with the Kentucky Wildlife Conservation Partners to further the interest of conservation in Kentucky.  While the League is the largest single conservation organization in the state, it is not so large or so all-knowing that it can do the same job alone as it can do together with our partners in the field of conservation.  Bob will strive to work with the KWCP to lend our voice so that it become an even stronger voice in Kentucky‘s conservation.   

Ø      Bob will launch and then implement a strategic planning effort to get the LKS back on track.  The current leadership has lost its focus and its way, and is even doing damage to our efforts and reputation.

Ø      Bob will seek out the people who will return The Kentucky Sportsman and our website to their former high quality.  They will once again be up-to-date and informative.  In an age where information is critical, Bob is committed to seeing that our two main communication vehicles, the website and the newspaper carry up to date and complete League information.  Never again, will a small club like the Harrod’s Creek Field and Stream Club be the only place where clubs across the state can see the resolutions to be considered at the convention before the convention.  That sort of information belongs on the League website and in The Kentucky Sportsman before the convention.  It shouldn’t be left to a small, civic minded club to donate the bandwidth to do the job the League should have done.

The League made a major step forward in 2002 when we were chosen to be the NRA’s state organization.  The NRA has been a valued partner of the League for many, many years.  The NRA Representative must be up to the task of maintaining our end of this partnership.  We believe that Alex Lea is the man for this job.  Alex has outlined his platform in the following manner:

Ø      Alex will immediately contact our NRA representative to develop a dialogue that will lead us to partnership projects.  For the last two years, we’ve done little to work cooperatively with the NRA.  His first priority is to begin immediately to rekindle a good relationship with our local NRA Staff Representative.

Ø      The League is the State Organization for most NRA activities, but the Kentucky Rifle and Pistol Association is still the group that represents the competitive marksmanship events.  Alex will contact Chuck Messina and Bill Ball of the Kentucky Rifle and Pistol Association at once to develop a working relationship with our partners in the competitive shooting sports.

Ø      Alex will attend the 2007 NRA convention.  He will seek out the planners for the 2008 convention in Louisville and offer his services to help our State host its first NRA convention with the style and hospitality that befits both the League and the Commonwealth.  The incumbent NRA representative has done nothing towards this goal.

Ø      Alex will report regularly and faithfully to the League board and membership all NRA activities and programs and take his direction from you as how you want our partnership with the NRA to go to the next level.

Ø      Alex will seek out every opportunity to partner with the NRA for the benefit of the League.

The League’s oldest conservation partner is the National Wildlife Federation.  Founded in the same year as the League and just two years before our club, the NWF has worked for conservation causes on a national and global scale.  These causes have not always been those that the League endorses.  The NWF has to a great degree returned to its roots by reinvigorating its relationship with the first conservationists, hunters and anglers.  We have the best field representative the NWF has in Brian Preston.   From our end, we have been fortunate to have good representation with the NWF, in the form of both Linda Saunders and our present NWF rep, Bob Smith.  Bob has been a good mentor to both Linda and Vikki Rawe.  We believe that Vikki Rawe is the person to maintain and nurture this relationship as NWF rep for the following reasons:

Ø      As the NWF Representative, Vikki will work closely with our NWF field representative in order to make sure that Kentucky’s conservation issues are clear to the NWF. 

Ø      As the NWF Representative, Vikki will work to further the NWF’s goals and objectives so long as they don’t conflict with the stated principles of the League.

Ø      As the NWF Representative, Vikki will work with the Kentucky Wildlife Conservation Partners to protect and enhance the fish, wildlife, water, air and soil resources of Kentucky, so long as their initiatives do not conflict with the stated principles of the League.

Ø      As the NWF representative, Vikki will attend the annual NWF meetings and be an active, vocal representative for Kentucky’s conservation issues.

Ø      Vikki will report regularly and faithfully to the League board and membership all NWF activities and programs and will take her direction from you as to how you want our partnership with the NWF to go to the next level.

Each of these candidates has set forth a platform as a pledge by which they will conduct themselves. The incumbent President and NRA Representative have no such platform.  They have given the voter no such pledge.  The only thing on which the worthiness of their candidacy can be judged is past performance.  In our opinion, with the exception of the NWF rep, it could have been a great deal better.  Their stubbornness, lack of leadership and failure to work toward the future does not, in our opinion, merit a vote of confidence.