As a child of the 80’s when capitalism was not a dirty word to nearly anyone, I freely confess I am a fan. The system works best, not flawlessly, but best, when the paying customer drives the bus. Customer demand is the strongest influencer on the marketplace and has been in America all along.
This goes for non-profit organizations as well. Whether a non-profit/charity, advocacy group or trade association like POMA, the customer is the one really in charge. And I like it that way. This organization seeks feedback and earnestly tries in response to address the feedback we receive. We know we are getting it right when new members sign up and existing ones renew. It is, just as in the for-profit world, a customer driven approach, as it should be.
This week POMA has announced the location of our 2025 Annual Meeting. The event will take place quite literally on the shore of Lake Erie at Maumee State Lodge near Toledo, Ohio. Destination Toledo, the local CVB is our proud sponsor and host. From the time I joined the POMA team and was made aware that I would play a large hand in the planning of the 2025 event, I wanted the event in this location.
It has everything outdoor media would want in a location. It’s picturesque. It has world class fishing along with great boating. It is right down the road from one of the most prominent shooting locations at Camp Perry. It is absolutely prime for waterfowling and birding. The location is perfect. And the dates are perfect as well, June 22-25, 2025, when Lake Erie has warmed up enough to be enjoyable on the water. This is also smack dab in the middle of peak walleye season, which is what the Western Basin of Lake Erie is known so well for.
The folks at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife have helped to make this event a reality. They made key introductions at Destination Toledo, Lake Erie Shores and Islands and Camp Perry. And they will also be hosting one of the meeting’s featured events.
Other than these facts, however, the rest of the script needs to be written. Sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities will soon be made available. The program and agenda will be created. And that is where you come in. We want to design a POMA Annual Meeting that has your fingerprints all over it. We want your ideas and your feedback. Tell us what would make POMA 2025 an event you can’t miss. And, if you attended POMA 2024 at the South Carolina Waterfowl Association headquarters in Pinewood, South Carolina, tell us what we got right and what we need to work on.
Knowing what is valuable to you makes POMA better able to serve your professional needs and to be a better trade association for the outdoor media industry. For those that attended POMA 2024, you will shortly receive a survey on the event that will be useful to us as we design the 2025 Annual Meeting in Ohio. It’s important to us to grow in our quality and quantity as an organization, and that means when it comes to the event at Maumee State Lodge, we want to stick the landing.
And we can’t do it without you. Attendees at the South Carolina meeting can guide us with their experience. For those who did not attend this year’s event, we need you too! We want to hear your ideas for agenda items, and program features. You can email those ideas to me directly at Rob@ProfessionalOutdoorMedia.org.
As our customer, you will ultimately shape the product that POMA offers. We’d rather know up front what you want than learn the hard way that we’re not providing all that you envision in this association. Your participation in the post-2024 event survey and your emails to me about the 2025 Annual Meeting will be of great assistance to you.
In the meantime, I hope to see some of you in Orlando in roughly two weeks as we hold our second POMA Meet-Up at ICAST. We’ve planned a great short program, thanks to our friends at the American Sportfishing Association, and you won’t want to miss this free event for all who are attending ICAST. Email me to let me know you will be there so we can plan. We will be hearing economic reports on recreational fishing and from the US Fish and Wildlife Service on important news about the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program.