Annual Guides Banquet

Argy and I attended the Maine Professional Guides Association Annual Banquet. It was a great time with a very good turnout. For me it has become an event that I do not want to miss because the room is filled with many friends and peers. It is good to see these folks, swap a few stories and hear about their plans for the coming year. Of course there are always folks there from the Departments of Fish and Wildlife and Conservation along with a few legislators and other dignitaries.   The speaker this year was Doug Painter from the National Shooting Sports Foundation who I had met years ago at a meeting. He described how things are changing and participation in hunting and fishing is dropping, primarily due to the lack of time that we are all feeling these days. He also mentioned a piece that I had heard that  golf was declining even more steeply for the same reasons. He then went on to tell us that hunting and fishing have the advantage because they can be done as a family.   Doug challenged all of us to “maintain the well” by insuring that the next generation is introduced to the outdoors and the things we all love. When he finished Jeff Bellmore stood up and described how they had three requests for scholarships to the Maine Conservation School for this summer but only enough money budgeted for two. He then asked for donations and it was gratifying to see the line of folks who came forward and made donations to send another kid to camp.   It was a great feeling to know that Maine Outdoors was already there with a policy that sends 10 percent of profits to conservation education.