Oct 1st, 2011 – Ontario Steelheaders President’s Address I trust everyone had a great and relaxing summer, and you are now looking forward to the beginning of another exciting fall steelhead season. I know it’s the beginning of autumn, as I just got back from my annual duck, grouse and walleye trip with my son Kevin and two of his buddies; Cameron and Matt. More ducks than grouse this year… too many leaves on the trees still to see the grouse, but as we all know, we can’t control old Mother Nature. I’m either getting older, the young guys are getting faster, or the trails are getting longer because I was really tired at the end of each day. Good thing I brought my liquid medicine (Forty Creek) to help with the tired bones. Well, where do I start? There are many things to bring to your attention, as it’s been a very, very busy first year for all of us. Late spring, Rod Jones, Darryl Choronzey and I were invited by the good folks at the Owen Sound MNR office, to the opening of the new and improved Walkerton fishway. It was an informal get together to thank all those involved in the improvements to the existing fishway. We got to meet the MNR’s, Shawn Carey and Jody Scheifley; the people primarily responsible for getting this done. And of course, our own Darryl Choronzey, who had a very large part to play as well. Others in attendance were the contractors who did the work to the fishway, other MNR personnel taking pictures, and a few LHFC directors. It was a great day, and despite it being very cold, Jody did a great job on the BBQ, even in the gale force winds. I left that meeting with a positive sense, that everyone was ready and willing to work together to make a real difference on the Saugeen, and that the improvements to this fishway was just the beginning. As some of you may or may not know, Hammond Power Solutions donated $1500 to the Ontario Steelheaders to be used for future conservation projects. A huge thank you to Bill Hammond! We thought it would be a great idea to show our appreciation of their most generous donation by presenting them with a granite plaque. Stefanie Bradley, head of Human Resources at Hammond Power Solutions in Guelph, graciously accepted the plaque on their behalf in June. Their contribution, combined with advertising revenue, corporate donations, fundraising activities and our operations at Denny’s Park all contribute to our financial commitments in fisheries enhancement, and meeting our objectives. On Sept 25, 2011, the Ontario Steelheaders Board of Directors held a meeting to discuss current and future business. On that day, our Constitution was unanimously adopted for immediate implementation. The Ontario Steelheaders now has a very comprehensive set of guide lines to build on for the future of this great organization. I’d like to take a moment to thank my fellow Directors for all their efforts in this first year of office. Thanks to Carlo Baldassarra, Dave Munro, Don Power, Madeline Walker, Al Frenette and Harold Curtis. A big kudos must also go out to Darryl Choronzey, LHFC, the MNR, and the Ontario Steelheaders volunteers for the amazing amount of work that was accomplished this year. Our long list of outstanding achievements, is something that as a member of the Ontario Steelheaders, you should all be very proud of. It is also why now, more than ever, it’s important that you renew your membership and get involved. The goals and objectives of this organization will not only benefit you as a member but all future members and the general public who share this very precious resource with us. This is also a very important time for all of us to rally the spirit of cooperation. Teamwork will make us stronger and better prepared to meet the challenges ahead of us. We can do far more as a group than we can as individuals, so let’s stay focused on working together, and in harmony, towards our goals. If you have any questions, ideas or comments please feel free to get in touch with any of the Directors of the OS or myself, and we’ll be glad to discuss them with you, and if we can’t give you an answer right away we’ll make sure that as a group, we try to get you one. In closing, I’m very proud of our outstanding progress this year. You’ll see in the pages of this newsletter that there’s lots of great news and interesting stories to read about. Most of all, I’m looking forward to the projects that lie ahead of us and the fun we’ll have doing it together! Yours in Fishing! Karl Redin President Ontario Steelheaders