TBF-FLW %s 2/7/2006
A recent FLW Outdoors press release contained language that appears to have confused a few Federation (TBF) members. Here is the quote: "At the heart of FLW Outdoors' partnership with The Bass Federation is an agreement to pay the Federation as much as $1 million annually if all existing Federation members join FLW Outdoors. The $1 million cash payment will be prorated based on the number of Federation members joining. For example, if 90 percent of existing Federation members joins FLW Outdoors, the annual cash payment will be $900,000."

Some Federation members thought that only 80% of Federation members would have to join FLW for TBF to get the full $1 million per year. But TBF president Robert Cartlidge said that was never the case. The prorated $1 million arrangement "was exactly what Irwin (Jacobs) told the presidents in Florida - in writing," he said, though he noted that the presidents asked for some wiggle room there.

That proration arrangement was also what was issued in an FLW news release announcing the TBF-FLW partnership (click here to read the details).

But TBF did include this line in a post-Florida meeting note to members explaining the benefits of the FLW proposal: "At least 80% of the TBF state Federations, clubs and members will join the FLW/TBF relationship and become FLW Outdoors members" (click here to see that document).

Cartlidge said that Jacobs actually brought up that 80% figure. "(Jacobs) said, 'If you can't get 80% (of members) to come (to FLW), you need to rethink what you're doing because I don't want to divide the Federation in half.'"