Officers for 2020
Joe Hemming
President
Joe Hemming practiced law in the Detroit area for 35 years, specializing in family law and mediation/arbitration in the area…
Andy Richards
Vice President
Andy Richards, b. 1966, is a Program Manager for Duncan Aviation Inc. in Battle Creek Michigan. Andy has been with…
Tess Nelkie
Secretary
Tess Nelkie is a retired teacher/consultant for deaf and hard of hearing students in Iosco County. She and her husband,…
Bruce Pregler
Treasurer
Bruce Pregler, b. 1959, is a partner in the law firm of Facca, Richter & Pregler, P.C., where he specializes…
Directors for 2020
(Maximum of 25 Directors – Directors are elected for two-year terms)
John Dallas, b. 1943, retired from Ford Motor Company in 1999, after having served in a number of Product Development,…
Dr. Patrick Dwyer, b. 1943 in Chicago, has been treasurer of the Anglers since 1988 and is also a founding…
Josh Greenberg is a lifelong angler who loves trout rivers everywhere, but particularly the trout rivers of northern Michigan. He…
David is a resident of Bloomfield Hills. He is Managing Principal of Covington Partners Holdings, a private equity investment firm.…
Joyce Haxton lives on the banks of the Manistee River in Grayling, Michigan. She has been coming north since the…
Terry Lyons (b. 1948) began his career in fly fishing organizations in 1978. He began his service as the Conservation…
Jacque Rose is a retired paralegal residing in Whittemore, Michigan. She is a co-founder of the Friends of the AuGres…
John Russell, a native of Traverse City, first picked up a fly rod at the age of 12 with his…
Don Sawyer (b. 1936) was elected to the Anglers’ board of directors in 1998. He was introduced to fly fishing…
Jim Schramm, b. 1944, is a founding board member of the Anglers of the Au Sable, the president of the…
Jim Shiflett, b. 1954 . Jim recently retired from the Insurance and Risk Management industry. He has been an avid…
David received a BA in Elementary Education form MSU. He retired in 2010 from being a public school teacher for…
My initial duty as a new member of the Anglers’ Board is to introduce myself. It is, of course, an…
David is partner at Martin Waymire, one of the state’s most aggressive public relations firms. His expertise is public policy,…
Kim joined the Anglers board in 2019. Many of you know her as one of the capable assistants at Gates…
Howard (b. 1947) is a retired restaurant owner/operator from Saginaw, Michigan. He and his wife Carolyn are winter residents of…
Ashley Moerke is a professor at Lake Superior State University and serves as the director of the Center for Freshwater…
Lisa Wozniak's career spans over two decades of environmental and conservation advocacy. She is a nationally- recognized expert in non-profit…
How Officers and Directors are Elected
The Anglers of the Au Sable are governed by a board of directors. The by-laws require at least 12 board members, although that is only a minimum. Directors serve a two-year term. (Occasionally, if a director position is open, the board may appoint an interim director to serve until the next election.)
After director elections each fiscal year, the new assembly of directors elects four officers for the coming fiscal year—president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. Officers serve a one year term coinciding with the new fiscal year. By default the officers serve as members of the Executive Board. One or more additional persons, including an attorney, if available, are appointed by the board to the Executive Board. The purpose of the Executive Board to govern the business of the organization and approve decisions and spending in lieu of full board approval, which may not be possible in situations requiring immediate response.
About Us
The Anglers of the Au Sable are a 1000(+/-)-member strong, 501(c)(3) environmental conservation organization founded in Grayling, Michigan, on January 18, 1987. There is no paid staff. Our client is the Au Sable River and its natural and recreational environs, including the neighboring Manistee River. We communicate to our membership at an annual meeting held each September after the river clean up at which up to 12 directors are elected. Four officers are then nominated and elected by the directors for one-year terms. We also publish a quarterly newsletter, The Riverwatch, which is distributed to our membership, sister conservation organizations, and members of the media and government.
The Anglers of the Au Sable is much more than a fishing club. Our activities are driven by issues affecting the greater Au Sable ecosystem. To that end, we have and will continue to intervene in: fishing and recreational legislation; National Guard expansion and training activities at Camp Grayling; pollution and other environmental problems; stream improvement programs; fisheries and environmental research; educational programs; and sponsorship of affiliated conservation organizations that further the interests of the Au Sable.
The idea for establishing an organization like the Anglers of the Au Sable was borne out of the need to counter the efforts of individuals and organizations to rescind the 1986 Catch and Release fishing policy implemented by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Catch and Release Regulations, as they were adopted on the upper section of the Au Sable River’s main branch, popularly known as the “Holy Water,” specified that all trout, regardless of size, must be returned to the water unharmed.
Many traditionalists, accustomed to fishing the Au Sable’s main branch and taking home supper, flatly rejected this policy and sought legal action to reverse the policy. The effort was organized and serious and was met with disfavor by many who supported the practice of Catch and Release and applauded the DNR’s new policy for the Holy Water. Supporters of the new policy were spearheaded by Rusty Gates, a fishing lodge and tackle shop owner, whose business abuts the banks of the Au Sable’s main branch ten miles east of Grayling.
Rusty’s efforts to organize fishermen to oppose the efforts of the anti-Catch-and-Release faction were quite successful during the summer months of 1986. In September of that year, Rusty, along with a group of five other sympathizers, met and decided to found a group of fly fishers and conservationists that would promote and support the long term well-being of the Au Sable River watershed.
This decision materialized into a charter meeting of twenty members of the Anglers of the Au Sable on January 18, 1987, in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Interim officers and an interim board of directors were appointed. Rusty Gates, instrumental in beginning the organization, was elected president and served as such until he passed away in 2009. The organization soon after was incorporated and was granted non-profit status. After the initial membership recruitment drive from February to June of 1987, almost 800 people, from twenty one states and four countries, were members in good standing.
The organization published its first newsletter, News & Notes, in May of 1987 and went on to publish three additional issues under that name. In 1988, the Angler’s new and expanded quarterly publication,
The Riverwatch, was first published. It has been issued approximately four times per year since.
The Anglers Mission Statement is: To preserve, protect and enhance the Au Sable River System for future generations of fly fishers.
Presently, the Anglers of the Au Sable has over 1000 dues-paying members.
Help us, help you! The Anglers is an all volunteer organization. Your support and involvement can help protect this beloved watershed. Please visit the “Members” area of the website to join today.