Reelady

Okay...I'll admit, I've never created a resume of any type prior to my "Pro Staff" resume. I'm a very visual person, and couldn't stand the idea of submitting nothing more than a bunch of typed words to a prospective sponsor. It was important to me that my resume reflect not only my qualifications, but my personality as well. I've always been the kind to "do my own thing" and not do what everyone else was doing "just because"...I know it's "different"...but then again...so am I!! My resume can be viewed on my website http://www.reelady.com/page6.html

"Marsh"...Now I feel like I'm at home To answer your question... I graduated High School with a Cosmetologists License in 1983. I was lucky in the fact that my High School offered that training to a handful of young ladies (20) I furthered my career by obtaining my Managers license and also my Instructors License. I worked in a Salon full time for 5 years before having my first child, Nathan (who is now 18!!! Yikes!!!) I knew there was no way I could ever go back to work full time once I had Nathan, and stayed home with him for a couple of years. I had a past client who was a Dentist approach me with an offer to work for him 2 days a week at the Dental Department in a Nursing Home. I took him up on his offer and was trained in four handed dentistry. Well, I'm a real "Knowledge Hound", so I took my "new" career and attended classes to become a "certified dental assistant" and also received my "dental radiologists" license as well. This kept me happy for a while, but then I was told about a new license available in Ohio, which would basically make me a "Para-Dentist". It's called an E.F.D.A. (Expanded Function Dental Auxiliary). This certification enabled me to do "cosmetic" dentistry. Meaning, reconstructing tooth structure to bring it back to its original form, or to make cosmetic improvements. I applied at Case Western Reserve Dental School after studying my butt of for the admissions test. There were over 300 test submissions, and only 18 would be selected for the program. To make a long story short...I was accepted into this program and graduated top in my class I'd have to say that getting accepted into this program and graduating top in my class are probably two of my lifes greatest accomplishments. Ya know...I could write an autobiography based on all of the many twists and turns my life has taken both proffesionally and personally over the years, so I should do us all a favor and stop rambling....lol I certainly don't want to bore or depress this early in the morning!!! All I can say is that no matter what curveballs life has thrown at me, I continue to see the positive every step along the way. Yes, some may have caused me to grow up a bit before my time...But it is through lifes "trying" moments that you learn to sink or swim. I heard this somewhere, and thought it was pretty profound..."It is through lifes struggles that you grow in mind and spirit" In my personal situation...that would explain an awful lot Here is a picture of Me, Nathan, and my sister Michelle And here is a picture of Hanna (my 15 year old daughter) when she stopped to see me at the Ohio Outdoor News booth last weekend. We can be pretty goofy together :-)

I need a wife like that!!!!! (just kidding)

"Work hard???" Oh my you better believe it!!!! I have spent countless hours gathering information about the company's that I was interested in approaching. Half the battle is getting your information into the hands of the person making the decisions. Trust me, that is no easy task. I keep a VERY detailed list (in Microsoft Access) of all of my potential sponsors contact information. (How or where I met them, what type of contact (phone, email, in person), date and type (through email or hardcopy) of sponsorship request, (denial,acceptance, submit at later date for review for next year), sponsorship details, and just a "notes" area. Keeping this info straight is really important. I've received SO many denials, but that never discouraged me. I expected this because I was approaching a lot of non-industry related companys. This form of advertisement is very foreign to them, and therefore they are reluctant to dive into something like this. Can I blame them? Not really...As a business owner myself, I can completeley understand. At the same time, I'm not going to "Beg" them...that's not my style I know that I have a lot of value, and feel that eventually a potential sponsor will recognize this and approach me. Good thing for me, I'm probably the most optimistic person I know So yes, even with the record of 50 rejections for every 1 acceptance, I continue my sponsorship pursuit with my head held high. So what I'm trying to say here, is "Don't give up...Don't fear rejection...and keep focused on your goals...and most importantly....STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF"

What you have to remember, and FOCUS on is not "What can the sponsors do for ME?"... It's more like "What can I do for MY sponsors."

Hi guys I see that there is a good amount of younger aspiring Pro's here on this forum, so I thought this info could really help you along your journey in finding sponsorships. Let me start off my by telling all of you that I am a 41 year old woman, from Ohio, who is living my dream by fishing Pro in the Women's Bassmaster Tour. Compared to many of the other women fishing the tour, I have "MINIMAL" tournament experience. You see, up North, our tournament opportunities are limited because of our shorter fishing season. I have had some success though (2 - 1st place, 3 - 2nd place, 3 - 3rd place). Of course, once I started my sponsorship pursuit, I realized that not one of them ever questioned my past tournament experience! Right from the start, I told everyone that I knew, that I was not willing to "Sell my Soul" for the sake of sponsorship. This was and is very important to me. You see, I've been fishing for almost 22 years, and I KNOW the products that I use and love. For me, it was just natural to pursue sponsorhip with these companys. Almost everyone I talked to knew of my game plan, and most everyone said, "Marsh...I think you are setting your goals way too high. You have almost no tournament experience! I mean, there are guys that have been fishing tournaments for years and pursuing sponsorships with these companys, and they are turned down time and time again!" Had I let what most people told me get into my head, I would be "sponsorless"! But, call me stubborn, call me determined, call me whatever else you can think of (but keep it nice...lol). I kept moving forward with my plan, regardless of peoples opinions. I knew in my heart that there was NO WAY that I could ever wear a sponsors patch, or promote a sponsors product if I did not feel that this product was the best. In fact, I would be doing a company an incredible disservice if that was the path that I had chosen. My opinion was that I knew what I used. I knew what I loved. I knew what I had confidence in. I was not willing to promote something just for the sake of "sponsorship". I was prepared to fish the Women's Bassmaster Tour with an empty shirt, rather than to accept sponsorship from a company just for the sake of sponsorship. At least I could rest easy knowing that I would NEVER be in a situation where I had to PRETEND that something was the best, even though in my heart, I knew darned well that that is not how I feel. I've heard time and time again that "The best sponsor is the sponsor who will give you the most". Well, I am here to tell you that that is NOT true! Your best sponsor will be of the products that you USE and LOVE. Because, when you speak about these products, you speak from your heart, and you speak from your own personal experience. Nothing phoney is going on here, and people sense that. I would absolutely HATE it if I felt that people were always questioning belief in a product, just because they may see their name on my shirt. Let me tell you....the ONLY names that are going on my shirt are the company's whose products I USE, LOVE, and have confidence in! I've turned down two nice Rod sponsorship offers, because they were not the rods that I use. I've turned down a hardbait sponsorship, because they are not the ones that I use. But you know what? That's okay with me...I can sleep well at night, knowing that I am not "living a lie". Anyone who has ever come in contact with me can see the passion in my eyes, when I speak about "ANY" of my sponsors. It's easy to sell and promote something when you believe in it! It would be totally hypocritical of me to ever accept a sponsorship from a company that I didnt believe was the best. My current sponsors are Shimano, Minn Kota, Humminbird, GAMMA Performance Line, Hamby's Protectors, Loc-R-Bar, and Cooks "Go To" Tackle System. G. Loomis?...well, it's just a matter of time Ranger boats has also offered me a sponsorship, but we are still working out the details. So...my point here (sorry, I am a "girl" and tend to be a bit "chatty"...lol) is to "Follow your heart" and pursue sponsorships with companys you have complete and total confidence in. If you start out by putting the names of those companys on your shirt, than there will be no "Sponsor Hopping". Hold out for the best. You will sleep well at night, and feel great about the names on your shirt. I also believe that being educated (or at least coming across as educated) is extremely important when seeking sponsorships. You need to show these companys that you have the necessary skills to work "comfortably" with the public. This means 1) Excellent Grammer 2) Excellent spelling 3) Excellent Public speaking skills 4) Excellent salesmanship skills 5)Drive and Ambition 6) Neat appearance 7) Sponsor Loyalty. Those things that I just mentioned are what the sponsors are looking for. Therefore, if you are concentrating ONLY on your "Tournament" performance, then you are doing yourself an incredible disservice. Remember, you are pursuing Pro fishing because fishing is most likely your biggest passion. Don't ever lose site of that. Follow your heart, do what you think is right, don't listen to the "nay" sayers around you, and pursue your dream.