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Eric West/Ewest posted a picture under Fishing 2009 of the first Pond Boss get together. With the 3rd PB National Convention coming up, this may be a good time to talk about that meeting and where Pond Boss has gone.

I had mentioned to Trent Lewis, the Pond Medic, that I thought it would be a good idea to meet some of the guys on the site for lunch or on a Saturday to put some names with faces. Then somebody around the D/FW area posted that they thought it would be a good idea. Trent responded that I wanted to do something like that. Contact Dave. Several guys posted that they thought it would be a good idea. Next thing I knew, Lusk was on the phone.

Lusk: Hey Dave. I hear that you want to arrange a Pond Boss get together.

Dave: Not really. That's Trent's idea. But I think it would be fun.

Lusk: When are you going to do it? Where are you going to do it?

Dave: Beats me. I hadn't thought about it. It's Trent's big idea but I guess I can figure it out.

Lusk: Let me check my schedule and we'll do it on a Saturday.

Dave: OK

About that time I got a deer in the headlights look. Heck, I attended a lot of meetings and conferences but didn't know where to start on organizing one. Maybe have a lunch. I posted on the site and got responses. Then Gary Condo/PondRookie Emailed and said that he had a lot of contacts at D/FW Airport and figured he could get us a room there and some sort of lunch catered but we would all have to go through airport security. No sweat and we were off and running with me having nothing to do but clerical work. At that time the PB website membership was pretty small so I started going through it looking for guys who were close. At that time, there weren't over about 300 web site members.

We had it with about a dozen attendees and I got to meet Mike Otto. What a sense of humor. Lusk did most of the talking in a question and answer setting.

The 2 biggest things I remember is Lusk dispelling the Evil Green Sunfish myth and Ewest providing University research saying that some bass never bit and their offspring seldom bite. It is all about genetics which can lead to a bass heavy pond.

As of this morning there are now 4,695 web site members and some are international. The third Annual Convention is scheduled with some of the biggest names in pond management speaking. Now, that is growth.

Things have come a long way from those days. To a large degree, the success of that first get together can be credited to Gary/Pond Rookie.

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For historical purposes PR and DD1 were the first Pond Boss guys I met . They set-up and handled the first PB regional meeting at the DFW Airport years ago and were nice enough to invite me by phone. Thanks guys. This pic is from the PB slide show but I don't think any DFW pics were posted here.





Last edited by ewest; 02/15/09 10:21 AM.

It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Ahhh...the memories. How the time has flown by, uh?

Dave, it didn't seem like such a big idea back then, did it?

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Yep, from a small meeting room at the airport to Big Cedar.

However, at that time, Lusk had a vision of someday doing a National meeting.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Atlanta meeting about 6 mths after the DFW meeting.

PB Ga group pic




Ga meeting roundtable discussion




Greg and DD1 go fishing





PB 1

Notice the growth in the crowd as Bruce tells about feeding BG



Trent Lewis at PB 1 after the idea of the DFW meeting


2 pics of Forum members at PB 1 some in 1 pic but not in the other.







PB 2 from Theo

Forum members (from left) Mongo, Theo, JHAP, Fatty McButterpants, George, Brettski, Ewest, Burgermeister, Bob Lusk, Princess Debbie, and Sunil.




Last edited by ewest; 02/15/09 10:15 AM.















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Good times. Good people right there....and brettski. ;\)



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The PB Regional in Atlanta was fun. Frank Pinkston and Phyllis Lea organized it and, with a better organizer at the helm, this one had almost 30 attendees. It was in the Club House of a beautiful HOA lake where Phyllis Lea lived that Greg Grimes http://www.lakework.com managed. A lot of it was Q&A from Lusk and Otto. Ted Lea http://www.cleanponds.com gave a great presentation about aeration and a drawing was held for an aeration system. Great buffet lunch was served. Greg brought his shock boat and demonstrated it.
Greg: Hey Dave; don't get out of the boat until we get to shore.
Dave: No sweat. I'm staying right here. Tell me when we get to shore.

At that time I believe Jersey was still trying to finagle his way through the GUV maze to start digging and impounding. Just ask him about perseverance. Bill Dugan boiled some goobers(peanuts) and tried to convince Otto that they were edible. Seems like they are a staple there. As I recall, Otto took them and somehow forgot and left them on the airport bus. What a shame.

Thanks to Frank and Phyllis, this really went well.

Oh yeah, when I checked into the airport at D/FW, I found that Dave Davidson was on the Terrorist List. That took awhile to resolve and I seem to recall that Lusk and Otto saw more humor in the deal than I did.

Last edited by Dave Davidson1; 02/16/09 05:59 AM.

It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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 Originally Posted By: FattyMcButterpants
Good times. Good people right there....and brettski. ;\)


Definately good times. Interesting though upon looking at that photo how many people are absent. At this year's conference we should endevor to announce several "forum photo ops" to ensure that we get everyone it. IIRC that photo was rather spontaenous. We need to make sure that we get more of the entire group this year.


JHAP
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"My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."
...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)
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 Originally Posted By: FattyMcButterpants
Good times. Good people right there....and brettski. ;\)

they made me stand in the back row; nobody liked my clear shorts

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As I recall the pictures of the biggest group was those stepped up when Lusk asked for each Forum member to come forward.

Bing


"I love living. I have some problems with my life, but living is the best thing they've come up with so far." � Neil Simon,
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Good stuff, you all. The Pond Boss history is becoming more fascinating all the time. We are building something significant and you are a key part of it. Whether you are long time members, newbies or lurkers, you all are key components in the Pond Boss family.
I'll always remember when Pond Boss was conceived, way back in 1991, in a fast food restaurant in Lewisville, Texas. I'll remember what it took to produce the first issue, helping Mark McDonald get his first subscribers and first story lines to actually seeing the first 12 page issue in print.
Then, buying into the business in 1995. Boy, did we have a vision. First thing we did was start a "Pond Boss World Tour." We did 5 seminars in 5 different cities in Texas. It was a raging act of mediocrity. But, those first few get togethers told us we had a realistic dream. From that point until we had our first "formal" meeting at DFW, Pond Boss grew at the rate of, as McDonald called it, "a runaway glacier."
Mark was always looking for story ideas and I thought it was a good idea to meet the subscribers. So, the next phase of Pond Boss was a "true" Pond Boss World Tour. McDonald and I traveled from Texas to Louisiana to Mississippi to Alabama, barely into Georgia. We met up with Dr. Jim Geisler, of Monroe, Louisiana, then to meet Dr. Marty Brunson for an afternoon. We spent time with Norman Latona and spent the night with Johnny Tanner of Carrollton, Georgia, where his bride fed us a fantastic chicken pie and we learned about cathead biscuits. We interviewed several more Pond Boss subscribers that trip and came away with a more enlightened view of how people in the southeast think about life and their ponds.
About a year later, I took off on by myself, into south Louisiana. Went to Cajun country and learned about excavated ponds and roux. As I recall, I made four stops in three days and then headed to Ray Scott's place, where I spent two days. That was in 2000, when we had the first forum software and we were gaining momentum. Too bad, we lost that original forum information. But, thankfully, most people followed us into the new format and we kept growing.
As the forum grew, interest grew. People wanted to meet. We started having a few informal meetings. I've lost track of the timing of some of them. During the late 90's up until about 2005, I did lots of free seminars for Purina dealers all over Texas, Oklahoma and several other southern states. Then, Pond Bossers wanted to get together. I think it was 2004, maybe '05, when Bing hosted a backyard seminar. Connie cooked a fabulous meal and we talked everything pond. Met Dave Sefton that night. Pond Boss Forum had taken a life of its own.
The meeting in Texas, then the one in Georgia. Another informal get together at Bruce Condello's farm in Nebraska. Dave Willis came...so did Norm Kopecky, NEDOC and Shorty. I think we had 8 people there.
Then conference numero uno...then the second.
I'm so dadgum excited, I can't stand it. You rabid, passionate pondmeisters are absolutely the best.


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He can teach to catch fish...
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Hey, I have never heard this story, Otto left my peanuts on a bus!!!!!!!

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Yep - they ate a few on the bus to the airport and left the rest on the bus. What a waste. \:\(
















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Hey Grandpa, you haven't been around in awhile. I'm sure it was a mistake on the goobers.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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You were with them Dave, weren't you suppose to be watch out for Otto.

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I guess you havent seen Dave watch out for anyone lately.Its kinda like "Hold my beer and watch this." \:o \:D \:D


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Some days you get the dog,and some days he gets you.Every dog has his day,and sometimes he has two!

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Bill, you just gotta understand what happens when Mike eats certain stuff. I was sitting next to him on the plane ride home.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Now I understand

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Don't forget that at the DFW meeting, Lusk left his wallet at home. He was mooching off Otto and had a hard time with DFW security. I wonder if Otto still falls for this.

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\:D \:D \:D


JHAP
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...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)

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