MBBA Vice President Candidacy - Patrick Paquette

[Jim1722]

My name is Patrick Paquette and I currently have the honor of serving as Vice President of our Massachusetts Beach Buggy Association. Over the past 20 years I have spent significant time driving the beaches of Marthas Vineyard, Cape Cod National Seashore, Sandy Neck and Cape Hatteras National Seashore and have visited many others. In 2009 & 2010 I served MBBA as a Director at Large, Sandy Neck Assistant Beach Rep, plus was a member of both the Spring Meet & Beach Access Committee's. Last year after many conversations and planning, I gave up some other commitments and joined the team put together by current MBBA President Scott Morris.

In my first year serving as MBBA VP I lead the new Political Action Committee to better coordinate various MBBA resources and improve communication specific to beach access issues. I believe a significant achievement has been my introducing conference calling to our committee structure. This tool has enabled more volunteers to participate in meetings right from home without burning gasoline or precious personal travel time.

I am also the point person on the transition to an updated and modern membership communication/email system. When the need arises to contact our members whether it is to write letters in support of beach access or to remind them of an upcoming MBBA event; our various committees will be able to do so with the press of a button on a computer. This will both save money on mailings and bring MBBA into the modern age of real time communications with our membership. Our project research is completed and we are currently in the middle stages of this project. I hope to complete this project if you allow me to serve a second term.

Also, over the past year I have coordinated increased MBBA participation in ongoing issues on Plum Island. Spurred on by the "CCP" rule making process; MBBA hosted a beach users meeting, began working behind the scenes to influence the NEPA process and with our new Beach Rep & BOD support have begun to participate in pre season decision making on key year to year staff judgments that effect our members access to the refuge. I am proud that the work of our team resulted in an increased number of permits being issued this past season.

I have over ten years of experience working within the government rule making system on fishing and beach access issues. My knowledge and relationships with state and federal offices as demonstrated by my appointment to the Cape Hatteras Negotiated Rule-making Committee ('05-'10) and the National Recreational Fisheries Summit in 2010 allows me to access the right people inside the government bureaucracy to make MBBA access efforts more likely to succeed. My experience with other fishing and access organizations up and down the coast including serving two elected positions with United Mobile Sportfishermen from '04 though '10 allow me to easily gain support of the larger overall recreational fishing and ORV community once again making MBBA efforts more likely to succeed.



In closing I believe I am the candidate who is best prepared to help lead the fight for our beach access and help advance the overall mission of MBBA. I feel as one member of the current Team of MBBA officers I have done a good job serving as MBBA Vice President over the past year, including being part of the awesome group that planned and put on the 2011 Spring Meet.



I humbly ask you to consider casting your vote on my behalf and allowing me to continue to serve as MBBA VP .

Patrick Paquette
MBBA #848

[guest]

I, I , I , Me , me , me, enough!

[sandgypsy2]

I believe that Patrick was stating his qualifications to be V.P., just like the other candidate did. Let's be nice folks!

[Jim1722]

Vice Presidents Report
Many years ago I decided to make serving the recreational fishing community a priority in my life. One of my personal goals in our community is to serve as VP and eventually run for president of this great organization. A year ago I waited to declare my intention to run for VP until friend and past officer Bill Correia completed his own decision on that position. I waited for Bill because he is a qualified candidate who in my opinion had done the service and earned the right to run for the position before myself. When I made my decision to run, that also meant turning down other opportunities because wherever I serve, I give that position the best I have to offer. Sometimes being of service means it is better to serve where your abilities are needed as opposed to what might serve your personal agenda. MBBA is currently in great shape with two qualified candidates wanting to serve one position. Unfortunately this is an extremely rare situation in our outdoor community. Well established organizations such as the Sportsmen's Council, MSBA and RFA New England all are starving for qualified persons to step up and be a pat of the solution. Eighteen months from now Rip Cunningham will complete eight years of service and rotate off the New England Fisheries Management Council. It is not clear who from our community is going to literally put their life on hold to serve in this nation level position. You just have to open the newspaper and read that fisheries management is at a state of crisis and our community will soon be in a very intense political battle to maintain our traditional vote and share of all federally managed species. In a community filed with holes that need to be filled there is plenty of room for all qualified persons to serve and I for one have no interest in participating in any situation that results in there being a winner and a loser amongst the very small pool of volunteers both qualified and dedicated enough to serve. Therefore I have decided to withdraw my name as a nominee for MBBA VP. I will continue to fight for access both as a member of MBBA, our access committee and as a nationally recognized leader of our community.


In loving service
Patrick Paquette
MBBA VP #848