I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as I boarded the flight to Orlando a couple weeks ago on my way to the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Championship. This was my first-ever Federation Nation event and as we presented gift bags to the anglers and presidents on Day 1, the first thing that struck me was the excitement and passion exuding from every individual. These guys love to fish! I love to fish too, but the reason I was there was to make sure everyone knew how to stay safe while doing it.

I have to commend the B.A.S.S. community on their commitment to safety. It was great to speak with so many people that were genuinely interested in how to care for and maintain their inflatable PFDs. In a session with the Federation president’s on Tuesday, Ray Scott delivered a short speech and then my colleagues - Brian Henley and Shane DeWitt – coordinated a re-arming race within the group. The teams had to inflate the PFD, deflate it, re-arm it by replacing the bobbin and cylinder, repack it all up, don it and then inflate it to make sure they had done it all properly. There was some frantic activity and tense moments, but after the dust had settled Chris Lappert of Ohio came out the winner of a competition version Deluxe Inflatable PFD (MD3087 BC) for his efforts on the fastest team.

Later in the day we did a pool demo and dared people to touch the bottom of the pool while wearing a hydrostatic inflatable PFD (MD3183). Not a single person was able to reach the bottom before the PFD inflated and pulled them up to the surface. We had quite a few volunteers (aided by the nice sunny weather) and Gene Gilliland of Oklahoma took it to the next level by jumping into the pool with not only a PFD on, but also all of his clothes! I passed him in the lobby later on in the day as he was making change for the dryer – he had managed to get himself dried off, but his clothes still needed some help!

I highly recommend re-arming races and pool demos to anyone looking to run events promoting lifejacket safety. The interactive nature of the demos helped many people understand (1) how these things actually work and (2) how easy they are to care and maintain for. Many people do not wear a PFD simply because they do not understand them; live demos such as these can help unravel some of the mystery.

Congratulations to Jeff Freeman of Max Meadows, VA on his Federation Nation victory and his berth into the 2008 Bassmasters Classic! The full story of the week’s events and final standings can be found by clicking here.