AI generated image by Keith Szafranski
The NOWA conference in Coos Bay, OR, is in the history books. Everyone had a great time! Stay tuned to this page for photos, testimonials, and more from this year’s conference. Time to start thinking about returning to Washington next year.
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Members pay just $99 for conference programming, hotel, and sponsored meals. Can’t beat that! Mark your calendars for April 30, 2026 now.
NOTE: Guests (non-members) have to pay for their own hotel room unless staying with a NOWA member.
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2025 CONFERENCE TESTIMONIALS
Click here for a nice article about the 2025 conference by Tony Amato
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The Dalles Conference
Even though attendance was small, the 2025 conference in The Dalles was a big success. It started with a board of directors meeting in Executive Director Keith Szafranski’s suite on the afternoon of May 1. During the meeting, potential new board members and preliminary plans for the 2026 conference were discussed.
May 2nd saw attending members arriving with some spending the morning visiting local attractions. Five lucky members got to go on a salmon fishing excursion on Drano Lake about half hour from town. Only one fish was hooked (and lost), but everyone enjoyed the “special” fishing at Drano.
A few members took a special tour of The Neon Sign Museum downtown. That evening was the welcome dinner sponsored by The Dalles Chamber of Commerce followed by a few stories told by speaker Rick Steber.
Saturday, May 3rd was education day with members attending several classes to help them be better outdoor communicators and hopefully make more money. After class, a handful of attendees went pikeminnow fishing with John Kruse in rather trying circumstances. Again, no fish were harmed during this excursion, but we had a good time.
Saturday evening was the annual NOWA Awards Dinner, with the winners of this year’s EIC competition announced.
After breakfast on Sunday morning, the general membership meeting was held in John Kruse’s suite. New board members Richy Herrod, Lisa Maloney and Sharon Trammell were welcomed aboard with a few other business items discussed before we adjourned to the famous NOWA raffle, after which members departed for home.
All photos by Keith Szafranski
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CLARKSTON CONFERENCE RE-CAP 2024
by Keith Szafranski
You know the old adage “You should have been there.”? Well, you should have. NOWA’s mini conference in Clarkston, WA was a rousing success!
The event kicked off on Tuesday evening September 23 at the Best Western Plus. Michelle Peters from Visit Lewis Clark Valley provided attendees with some delicious pizza, wine, beer and soft drinks (as well as a salad for my wife, Mary) which was enjoyed by all. We had a chance to catch up with old friends and make a few new ones. We called it quits early so we could get some needed rest for the next day’s planned excursions.
Wednesday morning started off with a gorgeous sunrise and moderately cool temps. Alan Liere and John Kruse headed off early for their salmon fishing adventure on the Snake River with Reel Time Fishing. When I caught up with Alan that afternoon, I asked him how the fishing went. “Great” he replied, “I caught the largest salmon of my life (32” and 16+ pounds) and John did likewise (35” and 18 pounds).
My wife, Mary and I along with NOWA members Randy Bauman, Lenny Frasure, Brad Trumbo and supporting member Scott Croft from BoatUS took a 9 hour jet boat mail run tour up the Snake with Beamers Hell’s Canyon Tours. It was a good day to be on the water as the temperatures soared into the mid-90’s.
We saw many wonderful sights both natural and historic. Abundant wildlife was also viewed along the way. At the turn-around point 70 miles upstream, everyone went ashore for a sack picnic lunch at historic Kirkwood Ranch. The return trip saw many more scenic wonders and most of our members were both sad and happy to see it end (it was a long ride with lots of sitting).
On Wednesday evening, we all gathered in John Kruse’s Pampered Pet Palace for a farewell feed and our annual raffle. We also had what was to be a short business meeting but turned out to be an almost hour-long discussion about current NOWA affairs.
John’s room was filled with various raffle items for everyone to try their luck on. I am happy to report that everyone in attendance won something and that we raised $220 for the NOWA coffers. Thanks to everyone who donated items and participated.
Thursday was an optional day. John Kruse had secured a private tour of the Jack O’Connor Heritage Museum at 1:30 which my wife Mary and I wanted to take. That left the morning free for other things. We headed out to the Nez Perce National Historical Park just east of town and checked out the exhibits and watched a movie about the Nez Perce tribe in the newly remodeled visitor center. Then we got a campsite at Hells Gate State Park in Lewiston and went for an e-bike ride on one of the many trails in the area. If you are ever in the Clarkston/Lewiston area, I highly recommend visiting this park. You won’t be disappointed.
At 1:15 we headed to the Jack O’Connor center to rendezvous with John. We learned a lot about the iconic writer from all of the exhibits on display including many mounts from a lifetime of hunting. Lots of stories could be had in just this one location.
Thanks to Michelle Peters for volunteering to get the ball rolling on this first NOWA conference since 2019 and setting up two wonderful trips. Kudos also to John Kruse, Brad Trumbo and the rest of the gang that helped to make this a success.
Take a look at the photographs included in this article to see what you missed.
“You really should have been there!”
