There was a time, when I was a younger man, that I watched quite a bit of NASCAR with my buddies. We all had our favorite drivers. (I won’t divulge mine as it dates me quite a bit). I remember watching a driver having a good race come into the pit row for tires, gas and a few adjustments. As a fan, watching all those cars flying by on the track and knowing my driver was losing ground felt stressful to me.
These memories came back to me over the past two weeks as POMA has been slowed by some badly needed changes and repairs. Each one of these changes is vital to our ability to provide value to POMA members, while at the same time requiring some extra time and resources to get up to full potential.
We have completely overhauled our staff from our accounting (Courtney Swanson), management (me) and communications (Stephanie Spika Hickey) team members. Each one of us has a learning curve that slows down our normal processes. But we are also increasingly productive as we learn and are able to bring changes to the organization.
We’ve been smack dab in the middle of overhauling our website. This has required an ongoing crash course on operating it from a staff perspective, but more importantly, it has also impacted POMA members who may have experienced difficulty logging in and locating the information they needed.
And of course, we were unexpectedly forced to set up a new member database management system after experiencing significant issues with our previous system. Similar to the website overhaul, we’ve been in a “gray area” where we’re in between and yet still need to be able to function.
This past week, however, we went live with both our new website and our new member database management system. Each of you will need to log back in to reset your credentials the first time you try to visit the POMA website, but after that it should function well. While there are bound to be some bugs as with any new system, we feel good about where we’ve been, and greatly appreciate your patience. Each of these fixer upper issues represent progress for POMA, and more importantly POMA members.
Like the NASCAR example, we made a pit stop to get some badly needed repairs. But the rest of the NASCAR example is really the point of the story. The driver that fills up, gets fresh tires and a tight adjustment, quickly makes up ground and moves back to the front of the pack. That is the course we’re charting. And while we regret the hiccups along the way, we are anxious to take this renewed car back on the track to show changes for the better. Read on for more on that theme:
Meet Me in Dallas… and Elsewhere, Too!
POMA members come from all corners of the country and attend events in all corners of the country. Whether it be SHOT Show, NASGW, SCI or many others, there’s a good chance you will run into your POMA colleagues.
We want to bring extra value to your travel dollars. As part of this, we are kicking off a new pilot program, tentatively called a POMA Meet-Up. POMA members will be invited to a special get together at various shows and events for exclusive briefings, updates and news from key industry partners. Attendance will be free of charge to all POMA media members.
The pilot meet-up will be held in Dallas, Texas on May 19 during the National Rifle Association’s 2024 Annual Meeting. POMA members are invited to coffee and donuts at 8:30 a.m. in room C147 of the Kay Baily Hutchison Convention Center on the lower level to meet and hear updates from the NRA’s Managing Director of the Hunter’s Leadership Forum; its Communications Director and Editor of American Hunter, Karen Mehall Phillips; and Doug Hamlin, Executive Director of NRA Publications. I will also be there to meet POMA members. (Please note: You must be a NRA member to attend the NRA Annual Meeting.)
POMA members who want to attend should send an email to Rob@ProfessionalOutdoorMedia.org.
Our plan is to hold POMA Meet-Ups all over the country in conjunction with major meetings and events. We’ve had an initial discussion with the folks at the American Sportfishing Association in the hopes of identifying a good timeslot for a Meet-Up at ICAST in Orlando in July. From there, the possibilities are endless. POMA Board Members or staff will attend these events, but the focus will be on exclusive opportunities to meet and hear updates from the organizations and their supporting industries.
POMA Annual Meeting Registration Closes in One Week!
The planning is nearly done to have an incredible 2024 POMA Annual Meeting, May 6-8 in Pinewood, SC, at the South Carolina Waterfowl Association. There will be nearly 40 brands for you to interact: https://professionaloutdoormed...
The last ingredient is YOU!
But it doesn’t have to stay that way. Registration for the annual event remains open for one more week, closing on April 22.
There are a few remaining discount registrations still available. Interested people should email Admin@ProfessionalOutdoorMedia.org to request more information.
I hope to see and meet you all in South Carolina!