From AFFTA:
Election season is upon us and, once again, we are extremely fortunate to have a tremendous slate of candidates for the AFFTA Board of Directors. There is one Manufacturer seat and two Media/Association/PR/Marketing/ Government/Education seats that need to be filled for 2020.
If you are an active AFFTA member, you will receive a ballot from us via Survey Monkey next week. Please take just five minutes to fill out the form and cast your vote. If you’re not sure about your membership, you can reach out to Matt Smythe at [email protected]to find out.
Voting will be open between 9/21 and 9/31 for eligible AFFTA members.
Read more about the candidates here:
CHRIS WOOD
Before coming to Trout Unlimited in September 2001, Chris Wood served as the senior policy and communications advisor to the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service where he helped protect 58 million acres of publicly owned land. Chris began his career as a temporary employee with the Forest Service in Idaho and also worked for the Fish and Wildlife program of the Bureau of Land Management.
DEXTER LEVANDOSKI
Fly fishing has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember and runs deep in my family. My great grandpa and grandpa were avid fisherman and my father was obsessive, constantly traveling the globe in search of fish with me in tow. Growing up in Denver, my family spent every weekend traveling the Rockies fishing and spent our summers in Livingston, MT.
During the winter we would travel to Mexico and some of my earliest memories are sitting on a panga in Punta Allen while my dad searched for tails. I attended college at the University of Montana where I graduated with a bachelor’s in communications and a minor in anthropology…. between chasing hatches and steelhead across the PNW.
TOM BIE
Tom is the editor and publisher of The Drake, a quarterly flyfishing magazine that he founded in Jackson, Wyoming, in 1998. He is a U.S. Army veteran, a graduate of Oregon State University, a former Wyoming guide, a strong rower, and a mediocre caster. He typically spends winters on the central Oregon Coast.
Tom has been in the flyfishing industry (and been an AFFTA member) for 22 years, moving The Drake from Jackson to Steamboat to Boulder to San Clemente to Fort Collins to Denver.
TAG KLEINER
Tag Kleiner is the Vice President of Marketing for Far Bank Enterprises, the holding company for Sage Fly Fishing, Redington, and RIO Products. Tag joined Far Bank in 2014, after almost 20 years at Smith Optics, the last decade as the Global Director of Marketing.
JARED ZISSU
Jared is the founder of Flylords, starting the company in his college dorm room in 2012. Jared has the vision to grow the sport of fly fishing through inspirational content and authentic storytelling. Over the past 5 years, he has traveled to some of the fishiest places on earth shooting photos for outdoor brands and for the Flylords Instagram feed.
