Volunteers always have been the lifeblood of the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship—and FFCBC chairman Jim Cumming is hoping for a new transfusion to keep event, now in its 13th year, as strong as ever.
Cumming said there’s currently several director positions that urgently need to be filled, including treasurer, as well as directors of sponsorship, media relations, and Daytime Land.
“All those positions not only require a director but somebody to work as an assistant to the director to make things happens, to put together teams and the whole bit,” Cumming noted.
“Other directors need assistants and volunteers to help make their departments work better and share the work,” he added. “Every year we get a turnover, and we need people in place to learn the position and take over responsibility in doing things.”
Cumming stressed the FFCBC needs to see these positions filled sooner than later.
“Right now, we’re into really heavy planning, getting things organized, and making things happen,” he remarked, adding if the FFCBC doesn’t find volunteers to look after some of the aforementioned areas, the board will have to look at changing—or even trimming—activities from this year’s tournament.
“This past year, we had almost 500 volunteers in one way or another,” said Cumming. “We need volunteers who work on the docks, who clean tables, who do set up and tear down, who organize traffic, and who are spotters on the lake.
“But we also need volunteers who are ready to take a more active role by being a team leader or assistant director or director, who become much more involved in the operation of the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship.”
As far as the director vacancies go, Cumming shed some light on what some of the positions involve. He noted FFCBC organizers have to focus on three key components—the anglers, the audience, and the sponsors—with each director focusing on one or more elements of this equation.
The sponsorship director, obviously, deals with sponsors—a very important part of the FFCBC.
“Without the sponsors, an awful lot of what takes place at this community festival and fishing tournament just couldn’t happen,” stressed Cumming. “It’s the goal of that person to take care of those sponsors.
“Janet Plumridge did it last year and did a wonderful job, but she found it a little bit overwhelming for her first time, balancing it with her own work.
“It does take your time away,” he admitted.
On the other hand, Daytime Land deals with the audience—or specifically, children who come down to the site during the week of the FFCBC.
“Daytime Land was looked after by June Caul and Diane Maxey for two or three years, and they did a wonderful job,” Cumming said. “But there’s only so long people can do it.
“They both decided to leave the board this year, so we need a director to look after all those Daytime Land activities,” he noted.
Daytime Land includes everything from “Teen Battle of the Bands,” the Kid-Pro tournament, and paddleboat fishing to street hockey tournaments, arts and crafts, and inflatables.
Cumming made no bones about the fact being a director is a major time commitment.
For example, a Daytime Land director might spend three-four hours a week lining up activities until a month before the tourney, at which time they’ll probably be working each and every day until it’s over.
The sponsorship director likely will spend one day each week leading up to the tourney, making contact with sponsors.
Once it begins, however, they’ll meet with sponsors and make sure they get their sponsor packages and plaques and certificates to be sure they’re recognized.
This could mean being on-call from morning until night since sponsors may show up on site to be part of activities ranging from the boat launch to nighttime entertainment.
And it doesn’t stop there.
In addition to working on preparations for and during the bass tournament, directors also meet once the FFCBC is over to evaluate how it went, what worked, what didn’t, and what shape the budget is in for the following year.
However, as mentioned above, having assistant directors and the rest of a team assembled to support each director can help lessen the workload.
Anyone interested in being a volunteer is encouraged to contact Cumming via e-mail at jcumming@fortfrances.com, or by calling 274-5373 (days) or 274-3368 (evenings).
He also can be reached by mail at FFCBC, Box 531, Fort Frances, Ont., P9A 3M8 attn: Tournament chairman Jim Cumming.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
