The Rogue Flyfishers club was conceived by Vern Hooker. Vern was grieved about some of the regulations on the upper Rogue which prompted him to attempt the organization. Bill Leever (Sr.) was in the office beside Vern’s. Vern invited him over for coffee and they discussed the possibility of the organizing of the club. Bill encouraged him to go ahead and promised to help in any way that he could. They ran a news release, and got some time on the local TV station looking for prospective members who were interested in promoting fly fishing and conservation. The club came into existence in February of 1971 with 35 charter members. The early meetings varied from establishment to establishment. The very first meeting was at the “Weasku Inn” on the Rogue River at Grants Pass. The second meeting at the Holiday Inn in Medford. Frank Moore was the speaker and the movie Pass Creek was the program. The first long term location was the “Dardenelles”. It is the restaurant that is located at the Gold Hill exit. This made it shorter for the Grants Pass folks to attend. We out grew the place and spent time at North’s and then on to Kim’s restaurant, where the meetings remained for many years. Meetings are currently held at the Centennial Golf Club.
CHARTER MEMBERS
A person is considered a charter member if they joined the club any time during the first year of the club’s existence.
| John B. Ballard Jim Bayliss Milton H. Brook Clint Brumitt Collier Buffington Jim Cartwright Jack Culver Donald Denman John Dies Ted Franks |
Ernest J. Gill C. Jack Hanel Dale Heath* Vern Hooker Col. Chas. G. Kirk Bill Leever Sr. William D. Meltzer Douglas A. Murch Don F. Myrick John C. Norris* |
Gerald Pringle Bob Ross Dick Ruff P.R. “Reed” Ryan Yale Sacks John R. Schwab E. R. Smith Fred W. Spooner Nelson L. Thomas Keith Ulam |
Irvine L. Urie W. L. VanScoy Larry M. Worden Richard A. Wray Carl Zeek |
* denotes current membership
PAST PRESIDENTS
| 1971 Vern Hooker 1972 Clint Brumitt 1973 Gene Howard 1974 Dale Heath 1975 Dick Wray 1976 Joe Palmer 1977-78 Dennis Dedrick 1979 Tom Simmons 1980-81 Bill Leever Jr. 1982-83-84 Bob Hunter 1985-86 Clayton Gillette 1987-88-89 Sam Stovall 1989-90 John MacDiarmid 1990-91-92 Steve Haskell |
1992-93 Sam Stovall 1993-94-95 Dan Boyd 1995-96 Bernie Moore 1996-97-98-99 Hank Rogers 1999-2000-01 Jack Patterson 2001-02-03 Bill Rittenhouse 2003-04-05-06 Mike Ireland 2006-07 Steve Wall 2007-08 Chick Parsons 2008-09-10 Lee Wedberg 2011-12 Kellie Christensen 2013-14 Mike Masters 2015 Kellie Christensen 2015-16 Adam Wright |
2016 Jack Patterson 2017-18 Dave Roberts 2019-20 Stephen Day 2020-22 Stephen Day 2022-24 David Haight 2024-26 John Pogue |
From January 1, 1989 forward, the terms of office for the president and all board members was changed. From that time forward, elected officials would serve from July 1 of the first year to June 30 of the next year.
HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS
| Galen De Shon Walter Haines Bob Hunter Bill Rittenhouse Otis Swisher John MacDiarmid Keith Hardcastle Dave Roberts |
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OUTSTANDING CLUB MEMBER OF THE YEAR
| 1978 Dave Maness 1979 Fred Spooner 1980 Tom Simmons 1981 Rick Fielder 1982 Ted Franks 1983 Walt Haines 1984 Tim Richards 1985 Rich Slusser 1986 Dick Hill 1987 John MacDiarmid 1988 Robert McCauley 1989 Eric Smith 1990 Dale Day 1991 Gary Warren 1992 Gerald James 1993 F.R.(Rusty) Randall 1994 Clayton Gillette/ Rick Warner |
1995 Dick Bonamarte Sam Stovall 1997 Larry Bressler 1998 Hank Rogers 1999 Hank Rogers 2000 Bill Rittenhouse 2001 Mike Ireland 2002 John MacDiarmid Fred Thieme 2003 Steve Haskell Gary Graham 2004 Dan Kellog Steve Godshall 2005 Tom Collett Lee Wedberg 2006 Otis Swisher 2007 Steve Ostrander 2008 Chick Parsons |
2009 John Ward 2010 Kellie Christensen 2011 Mike Masters 2012 Curt Schlosser 2013 John MacDiarmid Steve Ostrander 2014 Kellie Christensen 2015 Theresa Schumacher 2016 Dale Heath David Haight 2017 Steve Day Keith Hardcastle 2018 Jon Iverson Don Dabney 2019 Bill Childress 2022 Tim Bolling 2024 Susan Labista John Pogue |
Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the club was closed in 2020. No member of the year was selected for 2020 or 2021.
GOLDEN DEMON AWARD
The Golden Demon Award shall be given to a non-club member for accomplishments that are consistent with the goals and objectives of the Rogue Flyfishers. These goals and objectives can include, but are not limited to, such things as habitat conservation, preservation or improvement, fisheries education, support for water issues and other acts that in large or small ways promote, support, improve and/or encourage the sport of fly fishing.
The award is given:
- By the Board of Directors after careful consideration of the nominated individual’s contributions and accomplishments.
- To an individual who meets one or more of the criteria standards.
- In a timely manner such that the winners are presented to the club as they are identified and designated.
- Publicly at a regular club meeting, by the President, or by any other person selected by the Board.Procedures and Guidelines:
—An individual may be nominated by a member of the Board or by a member of the general membership.
— majority vote by the Board is needed to select a recipient.
—This award may be given at any time during the year when an individuals nominated and selected.
—This award may be given more than once a year.
—An individual may receive this award more than once.
—The award shall consist of a Golden Demon Steelhead Fly in a frame with a small inscription denoting the name of the award and the date. Written notice of the honor shall be published in the club newsletter, and if possible, in local newspapers. The name of the recipient shall be added to the club plaque, which shall be displayed at all general meetings.
Recipients
2000 Rose Marie Davis
2002 Governor John Kitzhaber
2003 E. Frank Schnitzer
2006 Janelle Dunlevy
2013 Dr. Alan Bates
DICK RUFF AWARD RECIPIENTS
The Dick Ruff Award is viewed as the highest honor the Rogue Flyfishers can bestow on a member. This award is given:
- To a member who through their time, effort and/or resources has helped promote the purposes of the club to the highest levels. Those purposes being: 1. Promoting the conservation, protection, and enhancement of our fish and wildlife resources and habitats; 2. Promoting conservation of recreational resources; 3. Facilitating and improving the knowledge of flyfishing.
- By the Board of Directors after careful consideration of a member(s) nominated by a member of the Board or by any member of the general club.
- On an irregular basis of time. It is not required to be given yearly. Ordinarily a member receiving this award will have been a member for a number of years and will have demonstrated a strong commitment over time.
- Publicly at a regular club meeting by the President or by any other person selected by the Board.
* The award shall consist of an individual plaque to the member, written notice of the award in the club newsletter, and if possible, notice of the recognition in the Mail Tribune. The name of the recipient shall be added to the Dick Ruff Award plaque and shall be displayed at all general meetings.
1976 Dick Ruff ( awarded posthumously )
1978 Jim Bayless
1981 Tom Simmons
1989 Robert Hunter
1991 Galon Deshon
1996 Steve Haskell
2000 Gerald James
2004 Bill Rittenhouse
2006 Peter Tronquet
2010 Bob Hunter
2014 Otis Swisher
2016 John Ward
2022 John MacDiarmid
2023 Steve Ostrander