Looking to the Future: A Message from Our President
Gut-wrenching.
Heart breaking.
Just plain painful.
Those words just barely begin to describe what it’s been like here at TTHA headquarters the last couple of weeks.
The TTHA team normally spends the majority of our time from March to July working at a frenzied pace signing up exhibitors, planning our marketing strategies, and finalizing show details for our Hunters Extravaganzas. This team just about lives for these shows (which we affectionately refer to with the shortened name of “HX”.)
Not this year, obviously. Just as we were ready to ramp up, everything else was shutting down. Not just trade shows, but the entire economy was shuttered. In mid-March, we all assumed this would blow over in a couple of weeks – but weeks stretched into months as we watched the pandemic rise and then appear to begin to wane. In early June, though, after 2 ½ months of lockdown, Governor Abbott issued a declaration that seemingly opened the door again for us to move forward with HX. We hit it with a vengeance, intent on getting the Granddaddy of All Hunting Shows ready for you, the Trophy Hunter Nation.
The apparent decline of the virus, however, was short lived. By the end of June, our hopes for HX in 2020 were dashed again by limitations imposed by the venues and state and local officials due to rapidly deteriorating conditions caused by the virus. We spent several agonizing days analyzing our options, searching for any possible way we could do even one of the three shows. With all possible options exhausted, we finally made the call. For the first time in 44 years, the HX’s for 2020 were canceled.
This wasn’t bowing to political pressure, as a few folks have suggested. This decision was strictly a business decision – if there had been a way to make it work, we definitely would have proceeded.
All of this makes us look forward to 2021’s events even more. The dates and locations are locked and loaded:
- Houston – August 6-8, NRG Center
- Fort Worth – August 13-15, Fort Worth Convention Center
- San Antonio – August 20-22, Freeman Coliseum Expo Hall
I’m definitely looking forward to us all getting back together again!
In the meantime, I’d like to ask a couple of things of you: First – if you are not a member of TTHA, there’s no better time than now to join. If you are a member and your membership is about to expire, please go to www.ttha.com and renew. If you join or renew between now and October 31, 2020, you’ll automatically be entered into a drawing for a Kubota Sidekick UTV and an awesome Lone Star Beer themed hunting blind from Texas Wildlife Supply.
Second, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of small businesses here in Texas that support the hunting industry. Several of them will be featured in the November/December issue of the Journal. They need your support – please send some business their way!
Finally, I don’t think I’ve ever been looking forward to a hunting season as much as I am this one. I need to hit the deer stand and do some social distancing that’s a lot more fun! – Dave
– Dave Keith, President & CEO
