Rocky Mountain Flycasters
Leadership Meeting Minutes
July 11, 2018

Meeting called to order by President Mickey McGuire at 7:06 pm.
In attendance: Coy Wylie, Phil Wright, Dave Piske, Paul Wehr, Wil Huett, Dennis Cook, Ryan Hogan, Ruthie Ketola (minutes).

Note: A quorum was present.

  1. Board Business

    1. President’s comments- Mickey welcomed the group.

    2. Review of Agenda- approved as is.

    3. Review of June’s Minutes- approved as is.

    4. Consent Agenda- approved.

    5. Pulled Consent items

      1. Youth Camp

        1. We need a project for youth camp- Dennis suggested contacting David Jessup with Sylvan Dale Ranch to discuss planting the banks along the river on the property. Mickey would prefer a project that would serve the public, but this may work due to the time constraint.

        2. 4 more volunteers are needed to assist with fly tying.

        3. Amy needs 2 more volunteers @ the ELC for the CSU day camp.

        4. See also the July Youth Report.

  2. New Business

    1. FY 19 Budget discussion- Ryan requested a trustee budget meeting before the 9/12/18 board meeting due to the short fiscal year. Ideally we would approve a 6 and 18 month budget.

      1. Action- each of the project/committee leaders will submit budget proposals prior to a leadership team meeting.

      2. We will review the budget proposal via email or meeting.

    2. Volunteer Opportunities communication- Mickey would like to consolidate an email blast with details for the complete list of projects this year for volunteer opportunities: Gateway trail work 7/14/18, Coral Creek, Rist Canyon Festival 9/8/18, Wild and Scenic Celebration at the Mishawaka 9/16/18. Other items will be included as they come up.

      1. Action- the volunteer needs will be defined and added to Volgistics.

      2. Action- we will educate the chapter on using VMS and reporting volunteer hours.

      3. Linda will meet with project leaders to train them with using Volgistics.

    3. Chapter Effectiveness Index- Mickey defined CEI and its components. Our chapter scored 94/100. We scored 96/100 in 2016. We discussed areas for improvement, including encouraging more membership participation in volunteering. Ryan suggested using “gamification”- giving rewards such as a pin for volunteer hours.

    4. CPW fly fishing class- Ruthie has been in communication with Howard Horton, Angler Outreach Coordinator, CPW, who offered to promote, teach, and supply equipment for an intro fly fishing class in NOCO this fall or next spring. He proposed aligning with our chapter and including a TU membership in the fee structure. 
      Action- Ruthie and Mickey will follow up with Howard to discuss how this might work, being considerate of our local fly shops.

    5. New intern- Wil introduce our new intern: Joe Pitti, Sophomore at CSU, and Masters student, Alex Townsend,Behnke fellow.
      Actions:

      1. Mickey- will talk with Wil about being our CSU liaison.

      2. Wil- will write a thank you letter to Will Lennon, last years intern.

      3. We will work to identify opportunities for our intern and assign mentors to make the experience more meaningful.

      4. Mickey suggested the intern help to preserve our Chapter’s historic documents. Folks thought that was not a great idea.

    6. Volunteer location sign- Paul. we discussed several options for appropriate free standing signage. Coy uses P.A. Signs in Fort Collins for his business and could likely get a non-profit discount there.
      Action: Paul will complete the signs they are currently building, and we will re-evaluate which is the most effective design.

  3. Old Business

    1. Strategic Plan (see attached draft#strategicplan) - Mickey- discussed the history of this draft and that this will be taken to completion this year by completing the Action Plan piece, and shared with the general membership.
      Action: Ruthie will send out a doodle poll to the trustees to meet and complete this project.

    2. Odell’s Q3 partner - Mickey

      1. Action: Poster- is in place, and we will all check that it is visible when we are at Odell’s.

      2. We will determine a conservation project for Odell employees to participate in.

    3. Chapter Meeting Reorganization- tabled due to time.

    4. VMS- Linda has this up to date with current projects, and is working with Mark Miller to post fishing trips. She is developing a form for project coordinators to use.

    5. New conservation committee update– Phil summarized the temperature logger project, and encouraged volunteers for RMNP and Longdraw projects.
      Action:

      1. The committee needs to select a point person to communicate more effectively with the leadership team, and Volgistics.

      2. Phil will review some needed equipment for the team, such as GPS units, and submit a purchasing request.

    6. Veterans Program update– Dave Morse-tabled.

  4. Future Business

    1. August leadership meeting 8/8/18- Mickey
      David Nickum will teach a TU 101 class, as well as discuss the Halligan, Seiman and Glade reservoir projects.

    2. Rist Canyon Festival- request for volunteers is on Volgistics.

    3. Wild and Scenic Celebration at the Mish- Sept 16.

    4. NOCO expo- Coy will make that a focus, and meet with the team.

Submitted by Ruthie Ketola, Secretary

Rocky Mountain Flycasters Strategic Plan – 2018

VISION:

As a chapter of Trout Unlimited, a national conservation organization, Rocky Mountain Flycasters will use all accessible resources to help ensure that robust populations of wild and native cold-water fish thrive within the Cache La Poudre and Big Thompson River watersheds. 

MISSION: 

To conserve, protect, sustain and restore Northern Colorado’s cold-water fisheries and their watersheds for current and future generations. 

VALUES:

  • We value work that protects habitat on a watershed basis.

  • We value healthy wild and native trout populations.

  • We value operational decisions based on sound science.

  • We value the use of advocacy to promote conservation.

  • We value being a grassroots, all volunteer organization. 

  • We value collaboration with like-minded organizations and those of diverse interests. 

  • We value fiscal responsibility and ethical practices. 

  • We value responsible sport fishing. 

STRATEGIES:

  • Conserve:

  • We embrace a conservation agenda aligned with the nationwide pillars of the Trout Unlimited conservation agenda: Protect, Reconnect and Restore.

  • Protect and improve water quality and instream flows through advocacy, education and on-the-ground efforts. 

  • Protect high quality habitat necessary for healthy native and wild cold water fish

  • Reconnect and Restore fragmented fish populations and isolated riparian habitats.

  • Collaborate constructively with other conservation organizations, state and federal agencies, private land owners and other interested parties to preserve and improve our local watersheds that support cold water fish. 

  • Utilize local knowledge and the Trout Unlimited Conservation Success Index to identify threats and develop, prioritize and initiate conservation and advocacy efforts. 

  • Support beneficial advocacy with the all legislative and regulatory bodies and agencies.

Sustain:

Critical to sustaining the success of our mission and vision is the education and inspiration of future generations of conservation stewards. 

  • Membership and Volunteer Strategies:

    • Increase diversity in our membership and leadership team.

    • Build volunteer capacity to support the chapter programs.

    • Increase member participation and fundraising.

    • Invest in youth programs to inspire their desire to preserve cold water fisheries, motivate them for future engagement in our chapter and instill a love of fishing. 

    • Promote organizational unity through projects, educational opportunities and chapter events. 

    • Sustain the volunteer member network through representative government by providing support, learning opportunities and development. 

    • Pursue partnerships with conservation-minded organizations to leverage completion of common goals.

  • Communications and Marketing Strategies:

    • Foster broader public awareness of our conservation, funding, community and member engagement opportunities. 

    • Employ consistent and coordinated communication to our membership in order to achieve chapter goals. 

    • Coordinate with other like-minded conservation groups and government agencies to enhance and mutually improve our external communications.

    • Utilize up-to-date technology across multiple platforms for communication and to engage and attract members.

  • Funding Strategies:

    • Identify and articulate critical needs for funding that support our mission and strategies. 

    • Develop a sustainable funding plan for obtaining unrestricted, temporarily restricted and permanently restricted monies to support our strategies.

    • Utilize social media to enhance fund-raising.

    • Develop an ongoing program to encourage legacy giving, endowments and will provisions.