| ORLANDO, FLA. - The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) on Saturday, January 13 announced the launch of the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) at its annual SHOT Show luncheon. 
| | TRCP representatives receive $1.2 million dollars in support from the USA Charter Unions at the SHOT Show in Orlando, Florida. |
"We found an organization that shares the values of American people," Tom Buffenberger, President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), said before he and the leaders of the seven other USA Charter Unions presented the TRCP with a check for $1.2 million as start-up funding for the USA. The USA is a TRCP program designed to address the hunting and fishing interests of its 20 affiliated union partners and their members that hunt, fish and recreate in the outdoors. For these 3.2 million sportsmen and women, hunting and fishing is not just what they do, it is a part of who they are. The goal of the USA is to extend union member benefits beyond the workplace and into the woods and onto the water to better fulfill on the union promise of "Work Union - Live Better." TRCP will engage USA members in the conservation initiatives it carries out with its partner conservation organizations. Consistent with the TRCP’s mission, USA will be completely non-political and will not engage in non-TRCP issues, such as second-amendment rights. "We support the second amendment and the efforts of other organizations who do as well, however, we are centered on our own mission to expand public access for hunting and fishing; conserve and enhance fish and wildlife habitat; and increase funding for fish and wildlife management," James Range, Chairman of the TRCP, said. By increasing access to quality hunting and fishing opportunities for the average American, the TRCP is increasing the number of people taking up these sports. These new hunters and anglers are vital to the backbone of the industry and are buying more equipment, becoming engaged in the issues affecting their sport and are, in fact, the new voice supporting conservation and second amendment advocacy in America. "It’s hard to get the conservation movement to go forward, and it only happens when we work together with our team members and associates," said Chris Merritt, General Manager of Beretta USA, at the USA launch at SHOT Show. "You guys (TRCP) have done that. The USA is the culmination of all that effort, and Beretta USA and Benelli are here to support that effort. The services you provide, the work you do, and the family atmosphere within the unions is great, and we want to be there to supply products and enable your members to have a great experience in the field." The unveiling of the USA attracted significant attention in both the outdoor and mainstream media. Articles appearing in the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and a number of other newspapers across the country have largely focused on its tremendous potential to align union sportsmen to the hunting, fishing and conservation issues designated by TRCP’s partner conservation organizations. "We always have and always will be willing to get our hands dirty in the name of conservation," said Brett Flaugher, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Winchester, at the USA launch at SHOT Show. "We look forward to a strong partnership with the TRCP and the USA." The USA also is being supported by an extensive national media marketing effort that includes regular inserts in 20 labor union trade journals totaling more than 5 million in circulation, ads in outdoor industry business magazines, a dedicated e-commerce website, continuity programs and national television series on the VERSUS network. "When I see this mission statement up here guaranteeing all of us a place to hunt and fish," said VERSUS President Gavin Harvey at the SHOT Show launch of USA "This is a mission that is vital, it is a moral imperative and it is something we at VERSUS completely embrace. We are humbled to be a part of this partnership because of the hard work the men and women at the TRCP are doing and the work that you folks (union members) do every day. What can we do to help? We can bring a lot of media to this, and a lot of passion to it, and we can bring this message to a platform (TV) that’s in nearly 72 million homes now. We can make connections with sportsmen, with this emerging new on-demand media, and broadband video and we can bring all the power of television and resources that we have to get this message out and to be a good media partner to you." The USA will produce a 10-page magazine insert featuring the products of USA outdoor and corporate sponsors. These inserts will be placed in participating USA union magazines and mailed to more than 5 million union households four times a year. The vast majority of these hunters and anglers don’t subscribe to outdoor magazines and are not affiliated with any hunting, fishing or conservation organization, which means the USA program offers an unprecedented opportunity to reach a significantly unaffiliated market of sportsmen and women. "The connection between the USA grassroots hunters and anglers and the TRCP can make the biggest difference on the critical access issue," according to Ted Rowe, TRCP board member and longtime gun industry leader. "The confluence of all these groups, tied together by the USA program will contribute a huge benefit to hunting and fishing in America." USA provides a colossal opportunity for outdoor retailers and marketers to put their products front and center before millions of union members who hunt, fish and shoot. It is the conduit by which the outdoor market can reach these dedicated sportsmen and women while at the same time allowing labor unions and the TRCP to deliver valuable non-workplace benefits to union partners. To learn more about the USA and how your company can become a corporate sponsor of the USA, please call Fred Myers at (615) 781-4999 or by e-mail at fmyers@trcp.org.
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