2017 AFFTA Board of Directors Election Results

August 17, 2017 By: Erin Block

The American Fly Fishing Trade Association has announced the results of the 2017 election for board of directors. Members elected or re-elected to sit on the board include: Ben Kurtz, Michael White, Shawn Combs, Tom Melvin, and Tag Kleiner.

Read more in the press release below.

2017 AFFTA Board of Directors Election Results
Several Re-elected to the AFFTA Board

BOZEMAN, Mont. – The American Fly Fishing Trade Association (AFFTA) Board of Directors Election results were announced today.

AFFTA President Ben Bulis noted, “It’s great to see the involvement of the membership; we had the largest voter turnout in the history of AFFTA. Our membership continues to grow year after year — we had 12 strong candidates running for five board seats, and all of them should be congratulated for stepping up and running for the board.”

The following were elected (or re-elected) to the board:

  • Ben Kurtz: Fishpond, Denver, Colorado (re-elected)
  • Michael White: Blue Ribbon Sales, Bozeman, Montana (re-elected)
  • Shawn Combs: Orvis Rod & Tackle, Manchester, Vermont (re-elected)
  • Tom Melvin: Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures, Bozeman, Montana
  • Tag Kleiner: Far Bank Enterprises, Bainbridge Island, Washington

The Board welcomes the two new members, who bring a wealth of industry knowledge.

Tom Melvin is the Director of Sales for Bozeman, Montana-based Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures, a fly-fishing booking agency specializing in destination angling and travel. For the past seven years, in addition to overseeing sales and marketing programs at Yellow Dog, Tom has also developed and managed the company’s Alaska, Kamchatka and Iceland programs.

Tag Kleiner is the Vice President of Marketing for Far Bank (Sage, Redington, and RIO Products). He joined Far Bank in early 2014 and notes he’s “greatly enjoyed getting more entrenched in the fly-fishing community. I’ve been a part of the community for over two decades, though much more peripherally during the time I spent at Smith Optics.”

AFFTA Chairman Michael White commented, “The recent AFFTA Board of Directors election spurred the greatest member turnout to date. We thank those AFFTA members who cast their vote to make AFFTA stronger than ever. The results of the election assure that the mission of AFFTA to “promote the sustained growth of the flyfishing industry” will carry forward due to the volunteer work, commitment and applied energies of a dynamic board. We thank those who placed themselves as candidates in the election and welcome aboard our newly elected Board of Directors. Together, we will continue to work on behalf of our member base.

The new board members will begin serving their three-year terms at the October 15, 2017 AFFTA Board meeting in Bozeman.

AFFTA advocates for and promotes the sustained growth of the fly fishing industry. By igniting consumer demand for products and services, providing businesses the tools to be successful, and advocating for access, protection and restoration of fishing waters, we will continue to enhance the passion and profitability of the sport of fly fishing.