This was a brand new show for us at Ogden Publications. My colleague Sheila and I went to the Expo with high hopes of introducing our magazines to companies who maybe hadn’t considered us yet. We weren’t disappointed. By the survey results we had, we let them know stats like how Mother Earth News is ranked #1 in canoes & kayaks owned and also in tents owned, along with other impressive comparisons. And how 74% of the Farm Collector readers own rifles, and 66.6% own fishing rods. And our GRIT editors have listened to our readers and provided them with interesting articles on knives, fishing, hunting … Now that’s some serious ammo to bring to a fishing/hunting/outdoor show! (Pun intended!)
The Expo was presented by Stihl and produced by the American Sportsfishing Assn. with a portion of the proceeds going to the “Keep America Fishing” initiative. www.KeepAmericaFishing.org.
We got to meet people from Daiwa, Shimano, Zebco/Quantum. Those are names I see on some of my fishing poles at home! These guys not only cater to the lake, pond and stream fisherman but also ocean fishing, which I’ve never had the pleasure of trying, …yet!
There were also several outfitters and guide services from all over the country, plus deer hunting equipment, bows, knives, guns and other outdoor gear.
Canoes & kayaks were another popular item and we even saw a boat that actually folds up to fit in your truck. It’s called Porta-Bote. You have to check this out, amazing! www.porta-bote.com.
Sheila and I had the pleasure of meeting Jody & Paige Mulder and Jordan with Buckmasters. You can go to www.buckmasters.com to see what’s new and also check out their upcoming show in Montgomery, Alabama on August 17-19.
Going to a show so far from Kansas, we had a lot of people in New York tell us we weren’t in Kansas anymore! But we never tired of hearing that New York accent remind us of that. New Yorkers are really friendly, don’t believe what you’ve heard!
To see more about the Expo, go to www.sportshows.com.
See you down the road!