Letter from GSM TU Chapter President

It is the first of March and we have seen rain in the extreme to temperatures in the mid- seventies the last couple of weeks. I have lived here at the foot of the Smokies for too long to declare "Spring has Sprung"! In the words of Alan Greenspan, I do not want to be guilty of "irrational exuberance" in the anticipation of spring's arrival. Do not get me wrong, I am all for it but it's like watching a monkey do mathematics I am pulling for him but I can predict with reasonable accuracy he will not get it right!

The good news is no matter what the weather our next chapter meeting on Thursday, March 15th, 2018 is going be a special "do not miss event"! We are proud to bring back Walter Babb, fly tying and bamboo rod builder extraordinaire for the first time in over two years as our guest presenter. Walter was recently inducted into the Southern Trout "Legends of the Fly" Hall of Fame at the Atlanta Fly Fishing Show. Get ready for an evening of not just fly tying but hearing Walter tell his stories of the Great Smoky Mountains as he ties his famous Smoky Mountain flies.

We successfully raised our money in January at the "IRON MAY FLY CONTEST 2018" to help sponsor a deserving boy or girl to Trout Camp in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. If you have a child ages 12-15 years old you would like to nominate please email me at: john711111@yahoo.com for review. Thanks to everyone who participated, helped and attended!

This past winter I was involved with a committee on the Tennessee State Council where we worked on a new marketing campaign for the Trout Unlimited Tennessee automobile license tag. As many of you know it is through the sale of the TU license tag that generates funds for our conservation grants that chapters use to fund their projects. Please consider at your next license tag purchase or renewal a TU automobile license tag, a tag that is not only great looking but helps drives our Tennessee Trout Unlimited conservation programs. Please help "Back the Tag"!

I look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday, March 15th 2018 at Calhoun's-Bearden for our monthly Great Smoky Mountain TU chapter meeting. Remember as always, you never have to be a TU member to attend, bring a friend or family for a great evening of fun, food and fellowship as we welcome Walter Babb and his fly tying presentation.

John Reinhardt

President