Who is going to the Cleveland show Saturday?

[Kaboom1]

I just wondered who is going to the Cleveland show Saturday. If anyone will be there, maybe we can pick a time and place to meet. Here is the link to the show...

http://expo2007.ncff.net/

Hope to see some of you Saturday

Brad

[fishbum]

I am tying at that show. Stop by.

Fishbum

[Al Thomas]

I'll be there.

[MAC in NEOhio]

I'll be working at the registration desk 11:30-4. This is a fantastic show. Worth price of admission if all you do is watch some of the tyers. Chris Helm sat my son down at his bench 2 years ago and gave him a hands on 15 minute lesson in spinning deer hair.

[flyfishmichigan]

I'll be there tying at the Michigan Fly Fishing Club table.

Joe

[ohiotuber]

I will be there. If anyone wants to get together, either PM me with your cell #s & we can locate each other, or I will have Joe Valencic page for FAOLers.
See you folks tomorrow!
Mike

[EdD]

So, who made it to the show? Who wants to give us a review?

Ed

[Joe Valencic]

So, who made it to the show? Who wants to give us a review? Ed

Well, since the buck starts and stops right here with yours truly, I'll give you my perspective and hope that others join in. Thanks to Ohiotuber for coming and introducing me to a lot of FAOL'ers. With as many that showed up, we may have to investigate the possibility of having an Ohio Fishin. Let's get some beverages and discuss it in the near future.

Here's what I posted on another site this morning:

Thanks to all who came out and made the 5th Annual Northern Ohio Fly Tying Expo a huge success. I received a lot of feedback yeasterday, positive and negative, and some changes are already in the works for 2008. The primary concern was that a lot of folks could not find where the show was located on the campus. We share in the responsibility for that problem. The college did not have the "Special Event" signage in place for our show, but rather they had it in place for another event happening on campus at the same time, and by the time we knew it was a problem there was nothing we could do to fix it. Next year we'll have our own signage and a better map on the website. This was our first year for this venue, so we knew there would be some things to be learned. On the plus side, every complaint I received was from someone INSIDE the show, so it was good they finally found their way through the maze of buildings and parking lots.

The other issue was that when the River Gillie from Scotland went outside to do his spey casting demonstration, he told me to just have the people "walk out the doors and keep going straight ahead. They'll see me!" Well, it turned out that he made a slight detour of "100 yeards to the right, in front of the south parking lot, over the hill and below the tree line" where he found a spot to his liking. These were the directions I then gave people for the second outdoor demonstration. That was actually a little humorous.

The most encouraging comment I heard repeated was that the all of the educational seminars and demonstrations were top shelf. As I checked each classroom, they all appeared to be filled, and a couple we actually standing room only. All of the instructors are "home-grown" talent, so it goes to show just how much knowledge we have right here in our own backyard, and how eager people are to learn more about fly fishing and all that it has to offer. For those of you familiar with North Coast Fly Fishers, you know we pride ourselves in education, so we feel extremely good about organizing an event that so many people benefitted from. We already have some ideas for additional educational seminars for the 2008 show.

Thanks, again, to all who came out. Your admission dollars will make it possible to for North Coast Fly Fishers to continue to fulfill the mission of FFF: "Conservation, Education and Restoration." And a special thanks to all the FFF Clubs, Fly Tyers and volunteers who DONATED their time and talent to make this event a huge success. And to my wife Linda, thanks for sitting there all day selling 50/50 tickets. It's time we took a mini vacation away from this madness. Vegas, anyone?

Joe Valencic
Chairman, Expo 2007

[ohiotuber]

As Joe said, a number of FAOLers were present....
Of course, Joe Valencic, who ran the show, Me, Mike Murgida, Kaboom1 (Brad Sherrick), Fatbill (Bill Horner), fishbum (Jerry Drake, who was a guest tyer), Al Thomas, flyfishmichigan (Joe Sprys, & he runs the Expo coming up in March in the Detroit area), & Cornmuse (Joe Cornwall, Author of "Fly Fishing Warm Water Rivers). I did not hook up with Mac in NEOhio, but he was to be working there & LakeErieHighball (Sean Dial) was to be there, but was called into work & couldn't make it.
I also saw & visited with Jack Leech, owner of Wyandot Lodge, one of the places FAOLers stay & play during our Michigan Fish-In. I visited with a number of fly shop owners/staff I have come to know & some other friends who made it there. I did some FAOL "recruiting" (as always), so we'll see how many of those folks post...I HOPE all of them do.
As an additional note, I bought a signed copy of Joe Cornwall's book. Hope it's OK to let the cat out of the bag Joe...He will be opening his store in the Cincinnati area soon...it WILL do well, given Joe's knowledge, attitude & demeanor.
For me, I enjoy the educational stuff such as Mark Kasubick's Steelhead Seminar, but I most enjoy the comraderie at these shows, both getting together with old friends & making new ones. I still have shows in Michigan & Pa on my schedule, so I hope to see even more of you soon.
Mike
ps: EdD...you NEED to make it to Michigan in July!

[flyfishmichigan]

Thanks to Mike for shepherding people around and making FAOL introductions. I think he spent as much time tending to FAOL "business" as he did eyeing up purchases.

Hope to see you all in the Detroit area in March . .

Joe