President’s Message, Let’s set the record straight

May 2007

After the past convention in Butte, I had an e-mail from a fellow who seemed miffed about a purported verbal exchange with other MBA members at the convention. After a couple of e-mails and a phone conversation with the guy, it was clear that for the most part the verbal exchanges he claimed were not really factual, but he had a grudge against the MBA based on hearsay and rumor. Why would I be concerned about hearsay and rumor? Because this fellow, if he will complain to me, is talking to others out there, and finds it easier to just gossip, gripe and complain, than to search out the truth.

What was the hearsay and rumor? Our old nemesis – traditional versus compound.

The rumor was the MBA kicked out a president because he shot a compound.

I am sick to death of hearing this. I asked some MBA board members who were there when this happened, so once and for all, I will try to give an account of where this might be coming from.

About fifteen years ago, the MBA board of directors removed the president and treasurer after it was discovered there was some financial mismanagement of the MBA bank accounts. The money dealings were not revealed to the board by the president who was covering the misuse of MBA money – not by the treasurer, but by the treasurer’s wife. This woman forged about three thousand dollars of checks on MBA bank accounts to cover a losing business venture. When discovered, the treasurer and president replaced the MBA shortfall from their pocket, but did not bring the occurrence to the board’s attention. The printer who published the MBA newsletter called another board member after a check for printing the newsletter issued on an MBA account bounced. The board then looked into what was going on. These events, along with other actions on that president’s part, were enough for the board to remove the president and treasurer. Now the MBA requires two signatures on all banking transactions for this reason.

So, how did the hearsay and rumors start? Evidently the ousted president, when asked about why he and the treasurer were no longer in the MBA, told everyone that the traditional guys in the MBA wanted to keep the MBA an all traditional group, and that compounds were not welcome in the MBA. It didn’t seem to make any difference they were not being truthful in their statements. The ousted president and treasurer were avid compound shooters, who according to some accounts looked on traditional shooters with disdain. Does it make any difference, the man who replaced the president shot a compound at the time? Maybe it should.

And there you have it, one of the roots of the compound versus traditional rumors. It is just that, a rumor; there is no fact upon which it is based.

According to biblical accounts Samson slew the Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. It is my opinion that one who gossips and passes on unfounded and untruthful rumors is using the same weapon, the jawbone of an ass.

So let’s wrap this up shall we?

There are those who prefer compounds and those who choose traditional gear, just like there are those who like standard transmissions and those who like automatics, those who like Ford and those who drive a Chevrolet, those who like to fly fish and those who prefer to troll. If it’s legal archery equipment in Montana, the MBA is all for it. Now let’s move on.

Gary Carvajal, MBA President
(Reprinted, in part, from the Summer 2007 Montana Bowhunter magazine.)

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