HAPPY NEW YEAR Members and Corporate Sponsors!
I am looking forward to a very successful and prosperous 2013! We will start the New Year off with a party at the Club's 9th Annual Awards Banquet in April. Following that extraordinary event is the Bloody Thursday Breakfast and the 4th Edition of the Lone Star Shootout in July! The dates and locations of the events are listed below.
2013 Event Calendar
9th Annual Awards Banquet
Houston, Omni Hotel-Galleria
April 13, 2013
Bloody Thursday Breakfast
Port O'Connor
July 18, 2013
The Lone Star Shootout
Caracol Yacht Club, Port O'Connor
July 23 - 29, 2013
As always, we appreciate your participation in the Club. We cannot continue all of the good work we do without you. If you are interested in increasing your involvement in the Club, consider joining a Club committee! We have positions available on the following committees:
Awards Banquet, Corporate Sponsorship, Membership, Scholarships, Special Projects
After several years of being actively involved in the Club as a Director, Corporate Sponsor and Member, I am excited to take the next step and fill the role of President. I value your feedback of and participation in the Club. Please feel free to contact me if you have any comments or questions.
Sincerely,
Michael E. Thorn-Leeson
President
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2013 Membership Renewals
2013 Membership renewal packets have been mailed! If you did not receive your packet, please email the office at info@hbgfc.com or give us a call at 409.744.2307. We would like to thank our loyal Club members who have already renewed their 2013 memberships! Click Here for a membership form.
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News from The Billfish Foundation
In December, The Billfish Foundation submitted a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on behalf of its members opposing the potential issuance of Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs) for longline vessels in two closed areas in the Atlantic-the Charleston Bump and the Florida East Coast. The permits would be issued for projects to investigate "bycatch hotspots"- completely opposing the sole purpose for the conservation zones that were established in 2001. The issuance of these Exempted Fishing Permits could be detrimental to the conservation gains seen in both the recreational and commercial fisheries that have thrived over the past decade in these areas. While it was not included in the NMFS notice of action, TBF also opposed any potential issuance of EFPs in the Gulf of Mexico conservation zones around the DeSoto Canyons. To find out more, contact TBF's advocacy team at advocacy@billfish.org.
TBF released a short film called 'Moneyfi$h' to highlight the benefits generated by sportfishing. All of the footage was shot on GoPro cameras and filmed by TBF's team and TBF members. The video even made the GoPro video of the day! Click here to check it out.
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2012 Club Awards Program
Shake it up! It's not too late to turn in some points and get your name on the leader board and a potential trophy at the next Annual Awards Banquet! Click here for Club Awards Program information and verification forms.
Texas Division - Will Lett's Mojo is still the Top Boat with 8,200 points and Marty Griffith's Over-ride is in second place with 5,600 points. Tony Annan leads the Top Male Angler category with 1,600 points and Ron McDowell is in a close second place with 1,200 points. Anna Griffith still holds first place in the Top Female Angler category with an incredible 4,300 points!
International Division - In the International Division, J.W and Pat Bones' Mojo is still in first place with 35,300 points. Buddy Schultz' Gotcha is in second place with 32,800 points. Bob Henderson is still leading the Top Male Angler category with 11,900 points, with Buddy Schultz in second place with 8,500 points and Rob Cromie in third place with 7,500 points. Pat Bones is still leading the Top Female Angler category with an incredible 14,600 points!
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Sponsors of the Month
Owners of J.W. Hall Enterprises, Buddy and Kay Kantowski have been members of the Club since 2007. Buddy and Kay generously donated beautiful, unique sets of metal big game fish to the Club's 2011 and 2012 Awards Banquets which raised over $2,400! Ken Yarbrough, owner of Mechanical Contracting Services,  has generously donated hunting trips to the Club's Annual Banquet over the last two years. The hunting trips have raised over $2,500! Thank you Ken!  Harrah's Casino, a Club Corporate Sponsor since 2010, generously donates travel and accommodations to their beautiful hotel in New Orleans to the Awards Banquet. Thank you for your continued support!
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2013
HBGFC OFFICERS
Michael Thorn-Leeson, President
Marc Gentry, 1st Vice President
Kevin Deerman, 2nd Vice President
Randy Bright, Treasurer
Kevin Harper, Secretary
HBGFC DIRECTORS
Deano Merrigan
Fred Pyle
Kirk Elliott
Mike Hopkins
Richard B. Richardson
CONTACT THE CLUB
The Houston Big Game Fishing Club
7819 Broadway, Suite 100
Galveston, Texas 77554
T: 409-744-2307, F: 409-744-2313
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