By Rob Sexton, POMA Executive Director
As POMA’s executive director, I write a column from time to time on upcoming news and events and the state of the organization. Today’s edition focuses on my trip to Las Vegas on behalf of our media members and corporate partners. Since joining POMA as executive director in October of 2023, our focus has been on SHOT Show 2025 as the true launch of the next generation of POMA.
We’ve spent the last year overhauling our website, membership processing database and membership categories, all of which included growing pains. In 2024, we relaunched the POMA Meet-Up series at the NRA Annual Meeting, ICAST and GOALS and learned some of the dos and don'ts for planning POMA get-togethers at big shows.
All of these were learning experiences for us leading up to SHOT Show 2025, where we planned our fourth Meet-Up, which was the one that would determine the future of the Meet-Up program. The event met and exceeded every expectation we had! We appreciate NSSF—The Firearm Industry Trade Association for providing space in a great location in Caesar's Forum. Special thank you to Melissa Schilling with NSSF for the room and for assisting with our arrangements.
We're grateful to the Boone & Crockett Club, which sponsored the Meet-Up. Jodi Stemler helped with the program, door prizes and speakers and was a joy to work with.
Our four speakers did a fantastic job and provided attendees with exclusive information. NSSF’s Chris Dolnack and Bill Dunn provided details on SHOT Show's planning, logistics and overwhelming size. Dolnack summed up the enormous size of the event by sharing that a visit to every booth would result in 15 miles of walking!
Boone & Crockett turned over their time at the podium to a pair of speakers representing the American Wildlife Conservation Partners (AWCP), beginning with outgoing chairman Taylor Schmidtz of the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, followed by Delta Waterfowl’s John Devney. The two shared details about “Wildlife for the 21st Century,” which is the latest edition of a consensus set of recommendations provided to incoming presidential administrations.
The event unfolded on schedule, which is key at the SHOT Show when people are stretched thin and bounce quickly from one booth or function to another. I’ve somewhat intentionally buried the lede, as the POMA Meet-Up at the SHOT Show, hosted by the Boone & Crockett Club, was attended by at least 65 people, based on the quick counting of several folks! We're so pleased with this number. The room was full and was attentive to the program.
The Meet-Up series provides ready-made content for POMA members who attend big shows like SHOT. The program offers refreshments and mingling/networking time, but ultimately, it’s anchored by the program and its utility to our members. POMA accomplished all of this in just one hour!
Thank you to all who attended. You can share any thoughts on the Meet-Up program with me at Rob@ProfessionalOutdoorMedia.org. For those who were at SHOT but unable to join us, you missed out! But I am confident we’ll return next year, and you'll have another opportunity. For those unable to make it to SHOT Show, the Meet-Up is just one more value-add to a great event, and I hope you can make the trip to SHOT in 2026 or one of our other upcoming Meet-Ups.
We weren’t content to fly all the way to fabulous Las Vegas for just a one-hour event. Accompanied by POMA 1st Vice President Britney Booth, we had meetings that packed our schedule all three days. During the meetings with current and potential corporate partners, we sought to best understand how POMA can show value to them, and we’re leaving Las Vegas with a pile of great ideas. Thank you to all who met with us, including 2nd Amendment Foundation, Federal Ammunition, FeraDyne, GunBroker.com, Kids & Clays, Leupold, NWTF, OTIS Technology, Realtree, Ruger, USCCA and Yamaha.
SHOT Show 2025 was a successful investment for POMA, and we hope for our members. But we won’t rest long on this one accomplishment. Registration for the 2025 POMA Annual Meeting, hosted by Destination Toledo at Maumee State Lodge, will be open soon. You won't want to miss the jam-packed program full of outdoor experiences, educational sessions, high-quality content and, of course, a chance to network and reconnect with friends.
Sponsorship opportunities remain open. Help us figure out how to make your attendance, participation and sponsorship work to your value for POMA 2025 on the shores of Lake Erie!