2003 NANFA Convention photos by Steven Ellis

Arrival!

Convention hosts Bruce Stallsmith & First Lady Ruth						Directional signs courtesy of Casper Cox
		The Bevill Center where most convention guests stayed						A peek inside the Bevill Center
Prez's fish room, L-R - Prez, Bob Muller (MI), Lee Harper (PA), & Joe Scanlon (AL)								Casper Cox (TN) prepares the Moon Pie display
The convention logo poster				The design of this poster adorned the back of the convention t-shirts				This model of a tangerine darter was made by Leo Long.
			Thursday night meal

Friday Presentations

Wilson Hall where the talks were conducted			The hosts of the 2002 Michigan convention pass the torch to Prez. L-R -Prez, Bob Muller, & Leo Long
Ruth Fledermaus handled the registration table as Rob (the Texas Ranger) Denkhaus arrived					NANFA President Bruce Stallsmith officially opens the '03 convention.
		Joe Scanlon spoke about Fundulus bifax
J.R. Shute (TN) spoke to us about raising & releasing endangered fishes					Brady Porter (UGA) spoke about the Ulocentra subgenus of darters
		AL attorney Ned Mudd talked about environmental legal issues
Randy Haddock (AL) spoke about biodiversity of the Cahaba River					Scott Mettee (AL) spoke about tagging and monitoring fish
Prez introducing Brian Jones (AL) who talked about the operations of the Dauphin Island Estuarium					The Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Fritz Rohde (NC) shared a video of his work with NOAA submersibles off the NC coast.				Rick Phillips (TN) showed a video of Tennessee dace spawning.

Saturday on the Water

At Estill Fork on the Paint Rock River, Harvey Langabeer (GA)							Jan Hoover (MS)
		Anne Sinclair (CA)
L-R - Jeff Riebe (OH), Chip Rinehart (SC), Charles Ray (AL), & David Smith (AL)							No slackers in this group!
		L-R - Charles, David Ramsey (GA), & Chip							Steven Ellis (GA)
The all-Florida team, L-R - Charlie Nunziata, Brian Skidmore, & Doug Dame			The little country store at Estill Fork. The sign at the top says, "If we don't have it, you don't need it." Inside were two vending machines (soft drinks & snacks). Life is simple, huh?
One of the young 'uns that Jan Hoover brought to the convention, Clark Strange (MS), tumbles through a riffle.							Another of Jan's young charges, Tyler Strange (MS), works the dipnet.
		These two pix are the latest entries in my Hall of Shame. Even in a pristine setting like Paint Rock there is evidence of human thoughtlessness. This appears to be an engine part and discarded clothes dryer.
Our last stop at Paint Rock began at this spillway. It is popular with the locals for fishing, swimming, baptizing, etc.							Below the spillway is this area that is loaded with cool rocks suitable for aquaria.
		This tiny stripeneck turtle was one of 4 or 5 species we encountered.
What's in the net, guys?							L-R - David, Clark, Tyler, Chip (sans waders), & Charles
	Heather Smith (MS) was another guest of the Jan Hoover. Here, she's teamed up with Brian Skidmore.
The pool just below the spillway has always been a challenge to collectors because of its depth and the outcropping of rock. This bunch decided to try the two-seine approach. L-R - John Bongiovanni (TX), Jan, Rob Denkhaus (TX), & Heather.								It quickly got neck-deep on Jan's side.
Then came the longnose gar contest... David & Charles pulled out this first one on the opposite end of the spillway.			Seconds later, John & Jan pulled out another one!				A closer look

Saturday Night Activities

These four pix are from the Saturday night banquet.
Phil Nixon did a great job as our auctioneer.		At the end of it all, Rob Denkhaus collected all the winning bids.