Two competent guides are blazing new trail for SAM

Out and About: Last February, the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine realized the trail of unrest and dissention left by its directors was leading sportsmen into a swamp of dissatisfaction. After regrouping and reorganizing, SAM began blazing a new trail that would increase membership and lead to the organization’s intended purpose of representing and protecting the interests, rights, and privileges of Maine sportsmen at the grassroots level as well as in the legislative process.

I’m happy to say that two important strides have been taken in that direction: (1) George Smith of Mount Vernon, acting director of SAM since February, accepted the position of executive director at a recent meeting of the organization’s board of directors. (2) At the same meeting, Robert “Buzz” Barry of Coopers Mills accepted the position of assistant executive director.

Both men are as familiar to Maine sportsmen as leather-top boots. Aside from being a regular columnist and feature writer for the Maine Sportsman during the past 15 years, Smith also writes a political column for the Kennebec Journal and publishes a sportsmen’s survey questionnaire titled, “Sportsmen’s Soundings.”

A self-employed fund-raising and political consultant since 1982, Smith put his experience and expertise to work last November in managing the successful referendum campaign for the constitutional amendment protecting the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s funds. In 1983, he conducted a SAM membership drive as part of the campaign to defend Maine’s moose hunt. As a result, SAM’s membership increased to 15,500.

In addition to managing SAM’s office and all the organization’s projects and programs, the new executive director will concentrate on membership and fund raising, legislative lobbying, and publication of “SAM NEWS,” the alliance’s newsletter. “My goal is to make SAM NEWS so valuable to our members that it alone will justify the annual dues,” said Smith. Obviously, the man’s not false casting. In the past five months, the newsletter has doublfalse casting. In the past five months, the newsletter has doubled in size.

Among new initiatives introduced by Smith is the development of a SAM comprehensive plan to improve fishing opportunities and fishery resources. The plan will be presented to the Legislature next January. Currently, and most important, Smith is setting his sights on an annual fund raising and membership drive and has, with the support of SAM’s directors, established a goal of 8,000 members by July 1, 1994. Since February, SAM has gained 1,500 new members, bringing the organization’s total to 6,000.

That’s encouraging, but, ideally, every one of Maine’s 380,000 sportsmen should be a member of SAM. Alluding to that and his intention to make SAM a powerful voice representing sportsmen statewide, Smith said, “I’m just one guy and it’s going to take every SAM member, working with me, to reach our ambitious goals.” Amen.

Buzz Barry currently serves as a regional safety officer for the DIFW, working with department Safety Officer Gary Anderson. In that capacity, Barry’s responsibilities include providing hunter safety, boating, ATV, snowmobile, and trapping classes in counties within his jurisdiction. He will continue the federally funded position until SAM is able to employ him on a full-time basis, perhaps by fall.

During the past two winters, Barry has researched hunting accidents that occurred in Maine during the past 50 years. In accordance with that, he recently wrote an article about hunting accidents for the National Hunters Education Association newspaper. The article will appear in the fall edition of the Maine Fish and Wildlife magazine, which, incidentally, will include a story about SAM.

Without question, Barry’s expertise will be invaluable to SAM in promoting hunting ethics, landowner-sportsman relations, and educating the public to the fact that hunting is one of the safest outdoors recreations. In addition to being an avid sportsman, Barry also is president of the Cecilia Club, an Augusta-based organization promoting interest in music, and is a member of the Maine Outdoors Recreation for Everyone committee, which makes the outdoors available to people with disabilities.

In recommending Barry for the position of SAM assistant executive director, Gary Anderson wrote, “Buzz is a skilled and articulate speaker of great power and persuasion. He is an excellent writer…. He epitomizes that person who we all wish we were; careful of the environment, niggardly in the use of its resources, and a great teacher and sharer of the ideals that have been described over the years as good sportsmanship.”

You could say SAM’s new trail is being blazed by a couple of competent guides; what they need now are Maine sportsmen to follow their tracks. In that regard, I direct your attention to another of SAM’s new initiatives – holding monthly directors meetings at different locations throughout the state.

This month’s meeting will be held Wednesday, 7 p.m., at the Eddington Salmon Club located at the intersection of Routes 9 and 178 in Eddington. The agenda will include reports on new laws enacted by the 116th Legislature, the status of a new DIFW commissioner, and a new fishing initiative sponsored by SAM. An open forum will allow those in attendance to ask questions and voice opinions – and to join SAM. For $20 you can’t afford not to, all you can lose are your rights and privileges as a Maine sportsman.