The 2008 LOWA Annual Conference was held in Morgan City, Louisiana. The Cajun Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau sure rolled out the red carpet for the LOWA Active and Supporting Members.
Unfortunately, Hurricane Gustave which occurred a few weeks before the October 16-18, 2009 conference, put a damper on our fishing. The guides who were to take our members fishing recommended that we cancel due to the conditions post-hurricane.
On Friday the conference attendees were treated to two great seminars. Lawrence Taylor, the PR Manager for PRADCO Outdoor Brands Hunting Division, which includes Knight Rifles, and Mike Mattley of Knight Rifles presented the Knight KP1 utility rifle in .45/70, .44 Mag. and .444 Marlin calibers. As an added bonus the members were able to shoot the KP1 at the Shooting Day on Saturday.
Our afternoon seminar focused on “How to Get Published” With some seasoned LOWA members and Coral Gates of Friesens Publishing in a round-table discussion, the members were able to freely ask questions about how to get their stories published, pictures printed and books published and marketed.
On Friday night, the Trade Show commenced. The Trade Show was sponsored by the Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitor’s Bureau of Lake Charles. Our Active Members enjoyed meeting and greeting our various Supporting Members who were in attendance at the Trade Show. The reps from Lake Charles were happy to get the lay of the land as our 2009 Conference will take place in Lake Charles.
On Saturday while the spouses toured Oaklawn Manor, the antebellum home of ex-Governor Mike Foster and his wife, the members travelled to the Southern Shooting Center and were treated to a hands-on demo of the Knight KP1. The LOWA Board managed to fit a meeting in between the competitive clay shooting, and a great jambalaya lunch.
Next it was back to the host hotel, Holiday Inn Morgan City, to attend the General Membership Meeting.
Finally, the pinnacle of the weekend, the Annual Conference Banquet. The banquet was enjoyed by all. It was also the first time that the presentation of LOWA’s Van Pelt Award was awarded at a LOWA Annual Conference Banquet.