Greetings Fellow Archers
By the time you get this newsletter bow season will be well under way for the Northeast region.  I hope everyone is enjoying their time a field and doing so safely.  I received a call from a good friend yesterday in Minnesota who told me of a mutual acquaintance who fell out of a tree stand just last week breaking his neck.  At this point, he's paralyzed from the neck down, and it's too early to tell if he'll ever be able to reverse that problem.  It brings the issue of safety to the forefront when you actually hear of someone you know crippled for life because of a careless accident!  Keep safety foremost in your mind this hunting season.

THE 1999 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP was an outstanding success.  The balance of this newsletter will be dedicated to portions of that success with space requirements forcing some items into the next issue.  First of all, a
special thanks is certainly in order for everyone who made the shoot a success.  Bruce Miller, who hosted the tournament at his farm in Middleburgh, did an outstanding job in all respects.  Also, much of the work
in preparation for the shoot as well as revising courses during the event itself was performed by our NETAA New York State rep, Pete Lucas.  Pete has been a tremendous asset to the organization all year and followed up
admirably at the Championship by being absolutely indispensable to the success of the weekend.  As the organization grows, it will be important that we have more help in order to make our events successful.  It is simply
impossible for me to do everything alone and having people like Pete step forward to help is certainly taking things in the right direction.

I also want to thank everyone who participated at this year's event.  Attendance was up over 50 percent from last year, which shows that the organization is going in the right direction.  We still have a long way to go if we want to bring the promotion of tournament archery to the level of our original goals here in the Northeast, but you have to crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run, so we are going in the right direction. 

We got a lot of good comments from everyone in attendance about the facility, the layout of the courses, and the overall running of the event.  The location is very central to the Northeast region, and Bruce has expressed an interest in having the event again next year.  With adequate room to run all of the various events simultaneously, and his ongoing willingness to satisfy all our needs, I have committed to have the World Championship in Middleburgh again next year.  The one change for next year would be the date.  The dates will be August 18, 19, and 20.  The reason for the change is that the ASA has changed the date of their world championship next year putting it on the same weekend that we had this year.  In order to avoid a conflict, we will take the date next year that they are leaving vacant.  This should eliminate any conflicts with major shoots and our Championship next year. 

GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP
One of the many exciting things that happened at this year's World Championship was the first NETAA Grand Championship award.  The grand champion was determined from all of the people who participated in the money division in both the 540 and 3D rounds.  The idea behind the Grand Championship is to promote the participation of more top shooters at the NETAA World Championship and do it in one single class/division so that we can garner additional promotional value in the media by having one "overall winner."  One of the problems promoting archery both in the media and to potential corporate sponsorship is the fact that with 18 to 22 classes, there are simply too many winners to hold anyone's interests.  The Grand Championship award at the NETAA World Championship each year is designed to eliminate that problem. 

To kick off the first annual Grand Championship we were fortunate to get the sponsorship support of Northern Building Systems.  Northern donated $1,000 to be the guaranteed cash award for the Grand Championship.  In addition to the $1,000 prize there was a special trophy presented and a NETAA Championship Jacket has been ordered for the winner.  We are proud to announce that Jeff Jenkins was the overall winner and holds the distinction of being the 1999 NETAA Grand Champion.  Congratulations Jeff, you did a great job! 

While there will be a few small changes to the way the Grand Champion is determined next year (to be announced in a subsequent issue of the newsletter).  We will certainly have the event again.  We are actively soliciting corporate sponsorship at this point and will try to increase the amount of the guaranteed prize from $1,000 to $2,500.  It should also be noted that the grand prizewinner will also receive the prize money he/she earns in both the 3D and 540 money division championships.  It's quite realistic that the Grand Champion next year will walk away with $4,000 to $6,000 for their efforts!  That ought to make it "almost" worth participating.  If we can get adequate sponsorship support to meet the $2,500 goal, and then continue to find more sponsorship interest, we would like to have both a men's and ladies Grand Champion next year.  If any of our members (especially the top lady shooters) know a company that might be interested in sponsoring the guaranteed cash award for the Ladies Grand Championship, please bring this to our attention so that we can contact them with all of the details.  The only thing keeping us from awarding a Ladies Grand Championship Award at the NETAA Championship is the necessity of a corporate sponsor to put up the guaranteed prize money.

CHAMPIONSHIP JACKETS/SHIRTS
Everyone who placed first, second, or third in either the 540 or the 3D rounds at the Championship should receive a letter/order form by the time they get this newsletter.  The order form can be used to order either a championship jacket or golf shirt signifying their place in the Championship.  These garments are optional additional benefits of your participation in the Championship.  These are not in place of trophies, as the trophies were already awarded.  Anyone who placed first, second, or third in any of the events can order a Championship Jacket (or golf shirt) that will be embroidered to signify their place and whether or not it was in 540 or 3D events. You can order both if would like, or any combination that you might want.  The cost of the garments is on the order form and includes the embroidery and shipping.  The orders will be processed as they come in so that no orders will be held waiting for other orders to come in.  We have a commitment from the embroiderer that the orders will be processed expeditiously and sent by priority mail (return receipt requested) so that they can be tracked.  The Championship Jackets will be black, just like the one I wore at the Championship.  The golf shirts will also be black.  The NETAA six-color logo will be embroidered in as will the designation of the placing in the Championship.  These jackets and shirts have been a big hit among many of our members over the last few years, and it's a tradition that we want to continue.  Anyone who wants these garments and doesn't receive an order form should contact Christine at the NETAA office during the day for an order form.  These jackets and shirts present an ideal opportunity for you to let everyone know about your accomplishment at the NETAA World Championship while helping us promote the NETAA Tournament Tour by the additional visibility at other shoots and events.

TOURNAMENT COMMITTEES
One of the many things accomplished at the annual membership meeting (held in conjunction with the World Championship) was the formation of two tournament committees.  George Ferrell is the Chairman of the new 3D tournament committee and Tom Toomey is chairman of the 540 committee.

AIM FOR COLLEGE PROGRAM
This year we brought back the Aim For
College Tuition Voucher Certificate Program as part of the awards presented to the young archers at the Championship.  The college tuition voucher certificates are presented in addition to the respective trophies and are
presented in both the 3D and 540 championships. This year we awarded $1,750 in scholarship tuition certificates to young archers.  This was made possible by the generosity of numerous people.

While I will probably omit a few (not by intent), I will try to thank everyone again who helped at this time.  The largest single contributor was Robelle Industries in Stoughton, Massachusetts.  Jay Hanflig, of Robelle Industries, donated $1,000 to the Aim For College Fund specifically for these certificates.  Jay is not an archer and Robelle Industries does not sell archery equipment!  Robelle Industries is a manufacturer and distributor of swimming pool supplies and chemicals.  They are one of the largest distributors of swimming pool products in the country.  Jay is a person who helps numerous organizations with various worthwhile programs especially those involving youngsters.  He gave us a try this year and hopefully will be happy with the results.  I hope that all of our members show their appreciation (especially the winners of the certificates).  A little note to Jay (Robelle Industries, 84 Tosca Drive, Stoughton, MA 02072) telling him that we, as archers, appreciate his support of our youth program would be a great way to show that appreciation and encourage his continued involvement in the future. I'm especially hopeful that all of the youngsters who earned certificates will take a minute and drop Jay a
personal note. 

The following is a list of the certificates that were issued at the Championship:

Kristina Kronauer, 3-D, Pee Wee ... $100
Kristina Kronauer, 540, Pee Wee ... $100
Jason Newman, 540, YOLY ...   $100
Laura Blersch, 540, Y-FFS ... $150
Laura Blersch, 3-D, Y-FFS ... $150
Luci Marino, 540, Cub ... $150
Terry Vance, 3-D, YA-MFS ... $150
Ross Flannery, 3-D Cub ... $140
Josh Ferrell, 3-D Y-MFS ... $200
Jesse LeMere, 540 Y-MFS ... $200
Jimmy Young, 3-D Cub ... $210
Jordan Valentine, 3-D Y-MFS ... $100

CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP
As mentioned above, we had two very important sponsors that made the Championship more successful this year.  One was Northern Building Systems and the other was Robelle Industries.  It is significant to note that neither of these companies has any involvement with archery; however, they were willing to support the NETAA Program.  In order to continue to build the program and participation, we need more sponsorship.  In order to get more corporate sponsorship (from outside the archery industry especially), I need the help of our membership.  We, of
course, need more members, and I'm hopeful that all of our members are doing the best they can to get other archers to sign up.  However, there are two other things that every member can do to help with this important project
(the acquisition of corporate sponsorship).  First, we need (as an organization) to show our appreciation to the sponsors we already have. Robelle Industries' address is above. 

Northern Building Systems can be contacted as follows:  Bob Fisette, Northern Building Systems, 199 W. Hartford Avenue, Uxbridge, MA. 01569, phone 1-888-562-9990.  With Robelle, the best way to show our appreciation is to drop Jay Hanflig a note.

Certainly we don't expect everyone to go to the store manager when they buy their next box of chlorine and tell them that we selected Robelle Industries products because of their support of archery (although that wouldn't hurt!). 

With Northern Building Systems, it's a little bit different. If any of our members knows someone who is thinking about putting up a building or an addition, it would be a great idea to call Bob Fisette on his toll free line
and give him the lead.  No one actually has to buy a building from him, just ask for a quote.  They sell buildings throughout the 11 State Northeast region and have a complete dealer network.  Northern Buildings will funnel
any lead that comes in to the appropriate dealer that can best service the potential customer.  Whether it's a friend, relative, employer, or a neighbor that might need a building, it will help them to get an additional
price, and it will show the overall support of the archery community to our sponsors if we keep Northern Buildings in mind.  If they were to get four or five leads in the next six or eight months, it would be well worth their effort to continue supporting our organization. 

The next thing that all members can do is keep in mind the need for additional sponsors.  Everyone has a job. If you are working for a company that's large enough to have a program where they sponsor sporting events or donate money to worthwhile causes, find out who's in charge of those programs.  You might even mention the potential promotional value of sponsoring the NETAA Tournament Tour or, sponsoring the Aim For College
Youth Program.  Whether the sponsorship money comes in for the Tournament
Tour (to be given out to the participants in the Championship as guaranteed prize money in either team events, grand championships, etc. etc. etc.), or whether it's used to increase the amount of college tuition vouchers given
to the young archers, the more money we can distribute at the World Championship, the more excitement will be generated for the Championship.

This excitement will generate additional participation that, in turn, will make the Championship a better event.  The combination of larger cash purses, and increased participation, will make the NETAA World Championship more "news worthy" helping us to get TV, radio, and newspaper coverage of the event.  The more media coverage we get, the easier it will be to get
corporate sponsorship and the cycle will continue.  In addition to Northern Buildings and Robelle, this year's NETAA Tour was given a shot in the arm by Pete Rickert Game Calls who put up $500 in guaranteed prize money for our first ever team events (more on that in the next issue). Muzzy Products
also donated $100 for the Aim For College Program to help in that respect.

Numerous other small donations of equipment came in from manufacturers, pro shops, and individuals which were used as raffle items throughout the season to raise more money for the Aim For College Program.   Last, but not least, Dave Blersch donated a brand new Huscavana trimmer which was silent auctioned at the World Championship raising another $150 for the tuition program.  This is the kind of support we are going to need, and I can't get all of the sponsorship support we could use all by myself.  Any and all help
that we can get from the membership would be sincerely appreciated.  If you have any ideas, don't hesitate to contact me.  I can send outline letters, form letters, or make direct contact with anybody who might be receptive to the idea of helping out.  All I need is contact names, telephone numbers, and addresses.

Good shooting, Roy Goodwin