Spring 08 Campfire
The UBNJ is starting off 2008 with a lot of momentum, our
Council and our membership continue to grow, we are
dedicating more time and energy to the two main resources
we have for communicating with our membership, namely our
magazine and our website. As our new Executive Board, which
now includes the three Regional Vice Presidents, settles
into their respective roles, the organization has already
hosted or been party to several major events.
As a sponsor of the Garden State Deer Classic on January
13th at the Raritan show, the UBNJ was on hand to
congratulate all the bowhunters who had harvested trophy
class whitetails and entered them into the State book. This
year saw the most entries ever submitted in the history of
the Deer Classic and bowhunters played a major role in
filling the display panel with exceptional whitetail
mounts.
On February 6th our Northern Regional Vice President Pete
Graziano coordinated the 4th annual UBNJ Northern Region
Members Meeting. Held at Camp Ocawasin in West Milford, NJ,
this meeting was jam packed with information, excitement
and entertainment and was attended by over 80 members and
guests as well as Council members. There were reports on
UBNJ events, data from our Deer Management Program, an
overview of legislative activities by Brain Dolobacs, a
presentation for hunters helping the hungry by Jack
Chellew, our guest speaker, C.J. Winand, then gave an
absolutely dynamic talk that received nothing but rave
reviews. Pete also presented Larry Gould and Paul Catania
with plaques of appreciation in recognition for past hard
work and support of the UBNJ. Over fifty door prizes were
given out ranging from two bows to gift certificates and
hats and shirts.
On February 16th the UBNJ and TANJ hosted their 4th annual
Game Dinner at Angeloni’s Cedar Gardens in Hamilton
NJ. Well attended at near or just over 500 guests this was
another event for which I’ve heard nothing but
spectacular reviews. From the food which included venison,
pheasant, and wild pig, to the speaker Fred Eichler who
shared amusing stories from years at hunting camps that
most of the crowd could relate to, to the wide variety of
prizes to be won via the bucket raffles, the silent and
live auctions, and as door prizes, there was something for
everyone. We also had the privilege that evening of
honoring Jack Spoto for his years of dedication to
bowhunting here in NJ. It is safe to say that the UBNJ
would not be what it is today if it were not for
Jack’s leadership and character. With respect to all
that Jack has sacrificed over the years it was a fitting
honor for him to be inducted into the bowhunters hall of
fame. The Council also bestowed on him a personalized knife
commissioned by Irene Bowyers and a plaque recognizing his
service. Also recognized with plaques for their dedicated
service to the UBNJ were Matt Trembow for his years as
Jack’s VP as well as for his work launching and
managing the UBNJ’s deer management program and Bill
Rickvalsky for his years as Executive Secretary.
Brian Pichalski had attended the Northern Region meeting
and brought back a request from several members wanting to
know a little more about me. It has been several years
since my introductory bio ran in the magazine and I realize
we have had quite a few new members join since then so
I’ll take this opportunity to share a little about
myself.
I was born and raised in Gloucester County where I was
introduced to hunting at an early age. My father farmed and
hunted to help put food on our table, my older brothers Tom
and Ed would take me hunting often. Like most young hunters
I started with small game; rabbits, squirrels, quail, etc.
I think the squirrel hunting more than anything else
prepared me for my years of patiently waiting on stand for
deer later down the road. Deer hunting came as a natural
progression and I harvested my first whitetail deer in
October of 1988 when I arrowed a nice six point buck using
a Browning Nomad 2 Deluxe compound. After seven years of
trying I was finally able to connect and to this day that
hunt remains one of my most memorable.
Time went by and deer seasons became longer, I spent less
time chasing bunnies and squirrels and more time in pursuit
of deer. For the most part unless I was hunting with my
brothers the world of hunting was relatively small. The
more avid I became the more I knew I needed to be involved,
but knowing just where to start was somewhat daunting. I
often thought “what can I possibly do to stop these
anti’s from taking hunting away from me”. The
first right move I made was joining the NRA, then the NAHC.
It wasn’t until I met someone named JT that things
really changed quickly. I discovered there were lots of
places to hunt all you needed to do was a little research
and have the courage to knock on a door. Shortly after that
NJ-Hunter.com was born and I started attending trade shows
and Jamborees. Covering the NJ-Hunter booth at the
Sportsmen’s Center and Harry’s one year I met
some people from the UBNJ, little did I know that as I was
introduced to Phil Tucker, Matt Trembow, Jack Spoto, and
Eric Troast I was changing the course of my hunting
lifestyle dramatically.
Within the span 5 years I had joined the UBNJ, become a
Burlington County Rep, served as Advertising and Publicity
Chairman and Legislative Liaison, and then become
President. Within that time frame I realized just how much
our heritage is under attack from vile people who create
lies and vehemently distort the truth in order to try to
convince government officials and the general public that
hunters are nothing more than a bunch of blood thirsty
barbarians. It has been my experience that nothing could be
further from the truth, the hunters, fisherman, and
trappers I have met are more ardent conservationists than
any anti that has ever lived. Together we represent the
future of the outdoors, scientific wildlife management, and
true ecological balance.
My ability to serve the UBNJ Council and membership would
not be possible without the support of my wife, Barbara
Anne. Though not a hunter herself she supports hunting and
my drive to protect it to be able to pass it on to my son
Colin.
Colin has joined me out hunting several times as an
observer during both deer and turkey season and has become
hooked. I will be proud to see him be able to pursue the
same great heritage that was passed on to me and will do
everything in my power to defend and protect it.
At the time of writing this campfire there was another
issue that the leadership of the UBNJ was actively involved
in addressing. That would be the issue of crossbows; a web
survey the UBNJ did indicated that a majority of our
membership was not in favor of crossbows in the archery
seasons. We are actively campaigning, both the Division of
Fish & Wildlife and the Fish and Wildlife Council for
an acceptable resolution to the crossbow question. We will
keep you updated on how things are progressing.
For those of you, who turkey hunt good luck this coming
spring, send us the pictures of your gobbler harvests.
Joe Mills
President
United Bowhunters of New Jersey
