It is never easy trying to manage an organization of this size, with a strictly volunteer staff spread over the country, actually over two countries, so I want to say how grateful I am to the moderators and administrators who give of themselves daily to make Predator Masters the driving force it is today in the predator hunting sport. Without their dedication and hard work, volunteering their time and efforts I doubt we would be here.
We have managed to accomplish some good things through the past year. Besides the day to day running of this forum to keep it available for hunters to share their triumphs and their troubles, we had our annual hunt in Globe to provide a venue for members to shake hands and say hello to their fellow callers. This yearly hunt was one of the goals set by Will Craig.
It gives us a chance to meet people from the industry, experts with years experience and beginners who will come away from the hunt with a much better understanding of the nuts and bolts of calling.
This year we hope the hunt will be bigger and better than last year. It is never a competition; except for the egg shoot of course, but more a gathering for members at all stages of expertise in the sport.
We awarded two scholarships this year. I believe that is a first in this sport. We hope to expand that program this year. Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all who applied.
In the near future we hope to have a forum up and running devoted to fighting the antis on hunting issues. We are looking for a few good men to help with this huge task.
The Predator Expo is fast approaching this month. We will have a booth there and try to make our presence felt as the largest and most successful predator hunting organization on the planet. This is very exciting stuff for a sport that has really taken off in the last few years.
As in any organization we have to be willing to continually assess our direction and policies. Sometimes it is difficult to change the way we do things, but as the sport changes we must change to achieve our goals.
We have reached one of those times now.
In the past our staff has dealt with Predator Masters discussions and decisions in private. We have used the same process from the beginning and still use it today. An issue is brought up; it is discussed and then is voted on. A decision is only made by a consensus of opinion. There is no one person who decides what we do. We decide as a group.
In the past, when we have made tough decisions. One of the most difficult is suspending someone’s posting privileges. It is taken very seriously by our staff. Historically, we have kept the decision between PM and the person involved. Some times the people involved went to other boards and tried to cast PM in a bad light. Sometimes we took legal action, but most times we ignored the trashing, and didn’t respond.
This will no longer be the case.
Lately we have seen problems here with disputes between members as well as sponsors. It is at the point now where it is not only bad for the sport as it takes the focus away from hunting and puts it on personal issues between those involved, but bad for Predator Masters as well.
I say this because it sucks our volunteer resources from doing positive things with our organization to settling disputes that should be settled privately.
In the last few months there has been an escalation of disruption on our board and there have there been 2 websites set up lately with the intention of and actively soliciting actions to disrupt and slander Predator Masters and it's staff.
We have repeatedly tried to settle these matters as peacefully as possible, but without much success.
There are many different ideas, opinions and products along with techniques and equipment being used by our sport. Predator Masters welcomes and encourages opinions and debate on these things, in a reasonable manner. It helps the sport grow. The personal attacks on members or sponsors or moderators do not. Everyone is welcome to join Predator Masters at no cost. They should feel welcome to post their pictures and stories and opinions without fear of ridicule or insults. They should also not be subjected to assaults on their reputations.
The sponsors that support this board help pay the bills. No one of them has any control over the direction or policy of this board. They deserve the right to promote their products and services without harassment.
This kind of poor behavior is very bad for the sport and it discourages participation on this board.
We will now be taking a more proactive position on this matter.
In the last few weeks we have permanently suspended posting privileges of 4 members and cancelled two sponsorship contracts with a prorated refund.
We are also looking at legal recourse available to us.
We need to be very clear that our goals are to promote the sport of predator hunting and to provide a user, family, friendly place for hunters to exchange stories, tips and advice as well as promote the sport and fight for our right to hunt. If someone is here with an agenda different than that then they are likely on the wrong board.
I started off thanking the moderators for their volunteer efforts, and I’d like to end by thanking the members for their support and input into making Predator Masters a great place of which to be a part.
While it is true we are a hunting organization, one only has to look through the threads on any day and find that we are also a family, who has disagreements, but who also can show solidarity when helping or supporting a fellow member when they need it. Everyday I read a post that makes proud to be a part of Predator Masters.
Thank you all for your support."
We have managed to accomplish some good things through the past year. Besides the day to day running of this forum to keep it available for hunters to share their triumphs and their troubles, we had our annual hunt in Globe to provide a venue for members to shake hands and say hello to their fellow callers. This yearly hunt was one of the goals set by Will Craig.
It gives us a chance to meet people from the industry, experts with years experience and beginners who will come away from the hunt with a much better understanding of the nuts and bolts of calling.
This year we hope the hunt will be bigger and better than last year. It is never a competition; except for the egg shoot of course, but more a gathering for members at all stages of expertise in the sport.
We awarded two scholarships this year. I believe that is a first in this sport. We hope to expand that program this year. Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all who applied.
In the near future we hope to have a forum up and running devoted to fighting the antis on hunting issues. We are looking for a few good men to help with this huge task.
The Predator Expo is fast approaching this month. We will have a booth there and try to make our presence felt as the largest and most successful predator hunting organization on the planet. This is very exciting stuff for a sport that has really taken off in the last few years.
As in any organization we have to be willing to continually assess our direction and policies. Sometimes it is difficult to change the way we do things, but as the sport changes we must change to achieve our goals.
We have reached one of those times now.
In the past our staff has dealt with Predator Masters discussions and decisions in private. We have used the same process from the beginning and still use it today. An issue is brought up; it is discussed and then is voted on. A decision is only made by a consensus of opinion. There is no one person who decides what we do. We decide as a group.
In the past, when we have made tough decisions. One of the most difficult is suspending someone’s posting privileges. It is taken very seriously by our staff. Historically, we have kept the decision between PM and the person
This will no longer be the case.
Lately we have seen problems here with disputes between members as well as sponsors. It is at the point now where it is not only bad for the sport as it takes the focus away from hunting and puts it on personal issues between those involved, but bad for Predator Masters as well.
I say this because it sucks our volunteer resources from doing positive things with our organization to settling disputes that should be settled privately.
In the last few months there has been an escalation of disruption on our board and there have there been 2 websites set up lately with the intention of and actively soliciting actions to disrupt and slander Predator Masters and it's staff.
We have repeatedly tried to settle these matters as peacefully as possible, but without much success.
There are many different ideas, opinions and products along with techniques and equipment being used by our sport. Predator Masters welcomes and encourages opinions and debate on these things, in a reasonable manner. It helps the sport grow. The personal attacks on members or sponsors or moderators do not. Everyone is welcome to join Predator Masters at no cost. They should feel welcome to post their pictures and stories and opinions without fear of ridicule or insults. They should also not be subjected to assaults on their reputations.
The sponsors that support this board help pay the bills. No one of them has any control over the direction or policy of this board. They deserve the right to promote their products and services without harassment.
This kind of poor behavior is very bad for the sport and it discourages participation on this board.
We will now be taking a more proactive position on this matter.
In the last few weeks we have permanently suspended posting privileges of 4 members and cancelled two sponsorship contracts with a prorated refund.
We are also looking at legal recourse available to us.
We need to be very clear that our goals are to promote the sport of predator hunting and to provide a user, family, friendly place for hunters to exchange stories, tips and advice as well as promote the sport and fight for our right to hunt. If someone is here with an agenda different than that then they are likely on the wrong board.
I started off thanking the moderators for their volunteer efforts, and I’d like to end by thanking the members for their support and input into making Predator Masters a great place of which to be a part.
While it is true we are a hunting organization, one only has to look through the threads on any day and find that we are also a family, who has disagreements, but who also can show solidarity when helping or supporting a fellow member when they need it. Everyday I read a post that makes proud to be a part of Predator Masters.
Thank you all for your support."
