PONCA CITY, Okla. - The Bass Federation (TBF), a grassroots fishing, youth and conservation organization that got its start when the first federation club formed in 1968, has been named among the 2015 class of inductees enshrined into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame (The Hall).
In making the announcement this week, hall officials cited TBF for its history of supporting the overall growth of fishing through its affiliated state federations, and noted that the group's strength is in working with a multitude of organizations and partnerships to the benefit of the entire industry.
"This is a great honor for TBF and the tens of thousands of members who make up our organization," said TBF President and CEO Robert Cartlidge. "It is a testament to the decades of hard work and effort by all the staff, state and national officers, and every member past and present, as they are the ones on the front lines making a difference.
"We've always believed that our core founding principles of fishing, youth and conservation programs were our greatest assets, so this award by The Hall is a great acknowledgment of our membership's 45 plus years of effort supporting TBF's focus on ensuring the future health of sport fishing and the clean family values associated with the activity."
TBF is 100 percent owned by its affiliated state federations. Under the TBF umbrella resides such national programs as, The TBF No Entry Fee Division Championship Series, TBF Living The Dream Program, TBF Junior Anglers program, TBF Reel Kids Casting Competitions, Student Angler Federation (SAF) High School Fishing Program, Association of Collegiate Anglers (ACA) Federation, National Bass Anglers Association (NBAA), as well as the Future Fisherman Foundation (F3).
An angler weighs in at the recent TBF Eastern Division Championship, symbolizing the organization's interest in bass fishing that dates back to the formation of its first club in 1968. TBF, inducted this week into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame, has evolved over the years to become the largest grass-roots fishing, youth fishing and conservation organization in North America. (Click to download)
TBF is a proud "Partners In Fishing" with FLW. The relationship makes the TBF induction even more special knowing that there are also two new inductees from FLW going into The Hall with them, Kathy Fennel and Trish Blake.
Fennel is president of the operations division for FLW. She has been a key figure with the organization since 1982, when it operated as Operation Bass.
Blake is president of FLW's marketing division. She oversees the sponsorship, creative, interactive and communications departments, as well as the marketing and strategic plans for FLW.
"Sharing this distinction with our FLW partners makes this honor even more special. There's definitely a great deal of synergy in our shared visions for supporting the sport of fishing," Cartlidge added.
The Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame, located in Hayward, Wis., is the international headquarters for education, recognition and promotion of fresh water sportfishing. Each year The Hall recognizes individuals, groups and organizations for their impact benefiting fresh water angling. Individuals and organizations are honored for outstanding achievements in fishing accomplishments regarding career success and innovation in competition, invention, science, education, conservation, communications, technology or other areas related to fresh water sportfishing.
For more information on TBF, visit BassFederation.com. For more information on The Hall, visit Freshwater-fishing.org.
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