Letter From Chapter President

Happy New Year ......say hello to 2019, and thank you to everyone for being a part of the Great Smoky Mountain TU chapter! 2018 was another great year filled with events, days on the water and chapter meetings of fellowship and interesting speakers. Last year we also found our new home location at Dead End BBQ in Knoxville where we were made to feel welcome by their staff and enjoyed some of the best "Q" in town! We look forward to our continuing relationship with them and appreciate their ongoing support in 2019.

Get ready to rock on Thursday night January 24th, 2019 at Dead End BBQ, its time for the first event of the New Year! The "IRON MAY FLY CONTEST 2019" takes center stage, a night of rollicking fun, laughs, and great food as we gather for "Tying for a Cause". This makes our fourth year for this annual fundraiser where the goal is to raise funds to send a deserving boy or girl to Trout Camp in the Great Smoky Mountains each summer. Please come out and join us as we cheer the competitors on as they try to tie flies from the crazy mix of materials they are given from the grab bags. Their entry fees help fund the costs of sending a young angler to camp, with the chance to win new fly rods, reels, and great gear from our dedicated sponsors. Do not miss the blindfold round it is the highlight of the evening as we gather for the biggest event of winter!

Also here is a reminder that coming up in Atlanta Georgia is the "Atlanta Fly Fishing Show", the Southeast's largest show of its kind with over two floors of exhibits, seminars and the latest gear from all the major suppliers. I am honored to again be chosen to be the master of ceremony at the Southern Trout Magazine's "Legend of the Fly" Hall of Fame presentation at the show. We will be inducting six new members to the Hall of Fame for their contribution to our sport. I am proud to announce that Tennessee's own Eddie George, Joe Manley, and my friend Don Kirk have been selected and will be honored.

As always thanks to everyone who attends our meetings and events, it is your chapter and we invite everyone to get involved. Please bring family & friends, and remember you never have to be a Trout Unlimited member to attend a Great Smoky Mountain chapter activity, just a love of the outdoors and fellowship of those who feel the same.

Follow us on our GSM website and to stay current with chapter news and updates, please visit our GSM Facebook: http://m.facebook.com/GreatSmokyMountainTU/

John Reinhardt

President