PRESIDENT PERRY,

            The evening of  March 1^st  brought sadness to our Muskie world.  We knew the time was coming, but that fact didn’t make it any easier to accept. At age 66, International President Perry Smith passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. 

            I came to know Perry at a meeting of the Wisconsin Chapters of Muskies Inc. in February of 2001.  He sat there quietly, listening, taking it all in.  But when he spoke, every one listened.

            A few short months later he became President of the International. Who was this guy?  This “guy” came to be the best thing to ever happen to Muskies Inc. International.  He possessed excellent administrative skills and a burning desire to right a badly listing ship. Committees were set up with “Chairs” that had to be responsible for their actions. All RVP’s had to sit on at least one committee. Being on the board now meant no goofin’ off.  He made sure of it. All email communication between and within the committees was copied to all the executive board and the President.  No back room deals were to go on.

At this point in time the International was always looking for help from the Chapters and doing very little for them. Financially it wasn’t in the best shape. His first priority was to get it financially independent of the chapters.  He set up the “Finance” committee, and charged them with presenting a balanced budget to the board each year (I got stuck on this committee).  Next was the fundraising committee, to raise the funds necessary to free us up from the Chapters.  Today I would say that goal has been reached.

Committees have been formed for Fisheries, Research, Youth, Awards, Gil Hamm and many others, each with responsibilities and goals.  This organization is well organized now because of his vision.

Perry carried out his job as president until the end.  We had in place a means for the presidency to be carried on if at some point Perry said enough is enough, I’m too sick. Not Perry. He made it to the Chicago Muskie show to kick off the membership drive that he set up. When it came time for the Milwaukee Show, he was there.  He had a chemo treatment the day before, and he still came.  Email correspondence continued from him to His committees until a few days before the end.  Unselfish is the best way to describe him, no, unselfish and caring.  He cared deeply for this organization.

In early August he invited me to fish with and stay with him for three days on his houseboat on Lake of the Woods.  The first evening we went out he said to me, where are your maps (I left them back in the truck)?  Now we have all been with some fisherman who just don’t want you to learn their secrets, right?  Not Perry.  He wanted every one to catch muskies. The spots he fished weren’t his, they didn’t belong to him, they were there for everyone. So unselfish he was. I caught a 43 incher and dumped a 25 pound class fish and there was no sense of jealousy or distain coming from his end of the boat. He was happy. That’s what Perry was all about, helping others.  He wrote an article in the Dec. 2002 issue of Muskies about a young man he took under his wing whom later became quite a fisherman.  Read it if you have the past issue.  Less than three weeks after I left he was diagnosed with cancer.

Perry’s tenure in Muskies Inc. was not that long. Less than ten years, but the mark he made on the organization will be forever seen.  He wasn’t afraid to jump in and get his feet wet.  Perry should be an inspiration to all of us in Muskies Inc.  As people first, and also as members of this organization.  There are so many of you that not only have talents on the water, but also talents off the water.  If some of you would share a tiny part of yourself with your chapter, think of what we could do. If you think you might want to share of yourself like Perry did, we on the Board would welcome your help. This is YOUR Muskies Inc.

 A BETTER MUSKIES INC.

Ron Heidenreich

Re:            Tribute to Perry Smith

I first met Perry at the Spring Board Meeting 2002 in Chippewa Falls, WI.  It was my first International meeting, attending as the new Assistant Treasurer working with Tom Robbins, then Treasurer.   Out of respect for Perry’s position as President of Muskies, Inc., I made the mistake of calling him Mr. Smith at that meeting.  He soon corrected me and told me its PERRY.  That was the beginning of a very good, but unfortunately short, relationship.

The whole International thing was new to me, but Perry made me feel comfortable right from the start.  Many joked about his “bony finger” routine, and I soon knew why.  Perry did not hold back anything.  He was a great leader that took charge and had no bones about tells us what his opinion was and the way we should be going.  Working with him was a pleasure and a gift.  Great leaders are not made they are born.  Muskies, Inc. was sure blessed with a good one. 

Perry was a great coach, too.  He was quick to notice someone’s strengths and weaknesses.  He was always recruiting people.  He sought out new volunteers in many ways…visiting chapters, late night meetings, and more.  Surrounding himself with the best he could find.

Behind Perry were a loving wife-Marilyn, daughter-Shelley, son-Rob, stepchild-Amanda and 2 grandchildren-Callahan and Luca.  They were all supportive of his efforts.  It was not hard to know where they stood in his life, because they were his first priority.  As we all knew, his second priority was Muskies, Inc. and the muskie fishery.

Thank you Perry for the many years that you gave to all of us.  You have taught us well.  We will cross many challunges down the road that we will need to deal with, but your leadership will help guide us down the path toward a BETTER MUSKIES, INC.

Thank you,

Jim Beaty 

Re:      Tribute to Perry

            I am very saddened to hear the news of Perry’s passing.  He has left a void that much like Gil Hamm will be with us as long as there is a Muskies, Inc.  He was like a meteor that came from nowhere, exploded upon us and changed our world and then just as suddenly, he’s gone.  Three years of Perry Smith at our helm has passed way too quickly. 

            I met Perry at the fall, 2000 Board Meeting when he participated as RVP for First Wisconsin.  He impressed me and I clearly remember his excitement at attending his first board meeting and learning the ways and traditions of Muskies, Inc.  I approached him soon after and started working my charm to convince him to run in the fall At Large Director election.  I recall he had many questions and we visited for several weeks before he agreed to turn in his resume. He took the challenge very seriously and I knew he wouldn’t take his duties lightly.  He was elected and I looked forward to his input at the International level. I attended the January, 2001 Chicago Tri Esox Muskie Show and who should I meet there but Perry and Marilyn.  We visited for some time and then he invited me to join him and go to the All Canada Show which was going on at the same time a few miles away.  Am I ever glad I did!  There were so many camps represented and Perry had to know every single person there!  I was very impressed with the high esteem he was obviously held by so many of our Canadian friends.  I was busy at the time working to put together our first Annual Spring International Fundraiser and Perry must have persuaded at least a dozen owners to donate a stay at their camps.

            I came away from the two shows that weekend in Chicago convinced that it was my sacred mission to persuade Perry to run for International President at the spring, 2001 board meeting, as my second term was expiring.  I remember his concern over losing his precious fishing time up at Lake of the Woods where he owned a houseboat and had spent every summer for years.  We talked it over for several weeks and he figured out he could manage to communicate from Lake of the Woods by email and if necessary by phone. 

            He was elected at the board meeting that spring and Muskies, Inc. hasn’t been the same since!  We soon learned when to reach him at the lake and when to leave him alone and it worked just fine.  He did complain to me though that he caught “only” 60 muskies a year instead of his usual 100 thanks to me!

            As our International President Perry dedicated himself to working to make the International financially strong enough to cover expenses without having to ask the chapters for help.  He succeeded.  Under his direction the International has raised enough funds in the past 3 years to put us on the right road. He also restructured the International to streamline the communication between the committee chairmen and the executive committee.  He formed the first Corporate Partnership program in our history with our friends at Gander Mountain.  He personally negotiated a loan for the International to purchase a computer to make our website a more stable means of storing our huge data base of membership and fish list information and then he saw to it the loan was paid. He was elected unanimously to an unprecedented third term.  He established the popular annual commemorative lure program and developed our first ever beautiful Logo’d Muskies, Inc. fishing rods with Kevin from Fig Rig Rods.

            He was the first President to visit nearly every chapter and make every member feel like he cared about their concerns.  He visited me at my home when I was recovering from open heart surgery and he and Marilyn welcomed me to his home last fall when he was in the early battle with his cancer where he was proud to introduce me to his grandson.   He was consumed in his final months with leaving all of us equipped to carry on with the business and pleasure of our great organization.  We all received many emails from him that were sent in the middle of the night as he was suffering from the effects of his medical treatment.  I know all of us on the Executive Committee were amazed at the number of emails he sent out regarding a wide array of topics over the winter months, right up to 2 weeks ago.  He had many more accomplishments that are too numerous to mention.

            Perry ran Muskies, Inc. like all Presidents before him wanted to. We are blessed to have had him for this short time, to have had the benefit of his dedication and the honor of knowing him.                                                                                        

Paul Framsted

                            KEEPERS

I grew up in the forties with practical parents - a mother, God love her, who washed the aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She was the original recycle queen, before they had a name for it...

A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones.

Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away.

I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat; Mom in a housedress, lawn mower in one hand, dishtowel in the other.

It was the time for fixing things - a curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep.

It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy.

All that re-fixing, reheating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful.

Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.

But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any ‘more.'

Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away . . . never to return.

So ... while we have it... it's best we love it... and care for it... and fix it when it's broken . . . and heal it when it's sick.

This is true ... for marriage . . . and old cars. . . and children with bad report cards . . . and dogs with bad hips . . . and aging parents . . . and grandparents.

We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.

Some things we keep.

Like a best friend that moved away, or a classmate we grew up with.

There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special. . . and so, we keep them close!