Without a doubt, the impact of the COVID pandemic has been far and wide. It has influenced shipping, grocery stores shelves, and much more. One unique organization that felt the wrath of the pandemic was the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF).

I am a volunteer with NWTF as a local chapter president and as a member of the NY State Board of Directors. Prior to 2020, the NWTF operated on a cyclical pattern of ordering millions of dollars of merchandise in the late fall and winter using lines of credit, then having fundraising events in late winter and spring that would pay off the debt of ordering the merchandise and raise money to support their mission of wild turkey conservation and hunting heritage preservation.

As 2020 started, everything seemed to be going as close to normal as could be. The NWTF held their National Leadership Meeting (which is held every 3 years) and the National Convention in Nashville, Tennessee in February. I flew down and attended both gatherings.

However, in the days leading up to going there was a growing amount of news programming talking about a new virus that had been documented in China and it was starting to spread to other regions of the world. On our flights back, I remember seeing people wearing disposable facemasks for the first time as well as people wiping down seats with disinfectant wipes.

Things changed rapidly after that. I helped the Southern Tier NWTF chapter with their banquet in Owego on a Saturday. As we were finishing up getting everything ready for the first attendees to arrive, we got news that Broome County was shutting down schools that Monday. We got lucky as many other chapters had to postpone or cancel their banquets.

As states began to shut down across the nation, a new problem started to show up for the NWTF. A lack of income to offset salaries and to pay back the debt from buying merchandise became troublesome to the organization. Unfortunately, the decision was made to lay off a good number of staff members so that the organization could stay afloat.

That included one staff member here in New York. Through some planning and fundraising efforts, the NWTF was able to get through 2020.

With their eyes opened to the problem, the NWTF decided to make changes that would prevent something like another pandemic-like event from burying the organization. A new buying system has been implemented that allows local chapters to buy directly from manufacturers without the NWTF acting as middleman.

Not only does this free up NWTF from massive lines of credit, but it also allows each chapter to pick exactly what they want to have at their fundraising event. This year is my first time using the new system and it is taking a little getting used to.

In addition to avoiding taking out loans for merchandise, NWTF has started a work group to help state chapters utilize their Superfund money more effectively.

The Superfund is a special fund of money that comes directly from fundraising events within a state. This money can only be spent on certain things such as habitat projects, outreach events (like youth hunts), and volunteer recruitment among others. Some states had large balances in their Superfund in 2020, which is viewed as a liability for accounting purposes because the NWTF owes that money to the state chapters as if it were paying back a loan. This large outstanding balance made it difficult for the NWTF to refinance their line of credit during the shutdown.

I was asked if I was interested in being part of that work group because I was the vice president of the state chapter and had been recommended by some of the northeast NWTF staff. I accepted the offer and am one of 8 members of the work group that covers the entire United States.

Around the same time that I accepted the offer to be part of the Superfund work group, I got a phone call from the state chapter president. He had become president only 6 months into one two-year term after the position was vacated. After finishing that term, he was elected as president for a two-year term in 2020. He was eligible to seek another term but asked me if I felt that I was ready to be the president. He was willing to do another term if needed but he felt that his almost 4 years was enough.

So, on April 5, I was elected as the president of the New York State Chapter of the NWTF. I am excited to be a leader of the organization as we move forward and hopefully put the pandemic in the rear-view.