The Sportfishing Summit is the American Sportfishing Association’s (ASA) premier networking and business management event. This year’s Summit will focus on participation and advocacy, the domestic and international economic markets and the social technology that is impacting everyone’s business.

Registration materials for the 2010 Sportfishing Summit, being held October 26 – 28, 2010, at the Westin Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., are available on ASA’s website. The deadline for pre-registration and group housing rates is October 1, 2010. Discounted rooms at the Westin Beach Resort are filling quickly. Please make your reservations now.

On the ASA website you will find all the information you need for registration, housing and sponsorship opportunities for the 2010 Sportfishing Summit. You can also find information about recreational opportunities on the property and in the area.

ASA would like to thank those who have signed on as Sportfishing Summit Sponsors: Gold – Frabill, Inc., NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Silver – U.S. Forest Service; and Bronze – the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

For More Information

For information regarding sponsorship opportunities or ASA membership, please contact Membership Director Jill Calabria, 703-519-9691, x234. For questions about the program, contact Communications Director Mary Jane Williamson, x227. For more information about Summit registration, please contact ICAST Coordinator Melissa Woolley, x241.

2010 Sportfishing Summit Agenda-at-a-Glance

Current as of September 7, 2010

Registration and the Hospitality Suite will be open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, a breakfast buffet will be served between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Spouses and attendees’ guests are welcome to attend. Please see the Summit registration form for more details.

Monday, October 25

ASA’s Board of Directors will meet from 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, October 26

ASA Committee Meetings all day.

9:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. - Government Affairs, Membership, Communications and Finance

2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. - Government Affairs, Show, Data and Statistics, Consumer Shows and the FishAmerica Foundation

Guest speaker – Summit Networking Lunch

Our guest lunch speaker is Eric Schwaab, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service

Wednesday, October 27

We have a full day’s program planned beginning with opening remarks at 9:00 a.m.

We have invited the Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to be our keynote speaker. We expect the Secretary to address participation and access issues and the new America’s Great Outdoors initiative.

Morning sessions

The morning’s focus is on participation and advocacy; two key factors in helping to keep our nation’s waters and fisheries clean, abundant and open to recreational fishing. In July at ICAST, ASA launched KeepAmericaFishing™ as the voice of the American angler. A number of exciting efforts are taking place around this advocacy campaign as well as what’s happening to increase angler participation. You don’t want to miss this.

Afternoon sessions

Social Technology and Your Business

How do you reach your customer base through harnessing the power of new and widely used social networking technologies? We have a panel of industry and non-industry practitioners to address this often confusing topic.

Domestic and International Economic Policy

Our afternoon keynote speaker is Peter Morici, Ph.D., economist, author and professor at The Robert H. Smith School of Business, the University of Maryland. Dr. Morici is an expert on the global economy, state of the U.S. economy, economic policy and has a peerless track record as an economic forecaster.

Thursday, October 28

In the morning, the ASA Board of Directors will meet followed by the General Membership Meeting. The 2010 Sportfishing Summit concludes at 10:30 a.m.

We look forward to seeing you in Fort Lauderdale!