First and foremost, thank you to Tom Thrall, Jim Beecher, and Kevin Maes for their excellent and generous service on SWTU’s Board.

All the current officers are eligible to continue to serve and have graciously agreed to do so. Whew! and thanks. Steve Musser, Henry Nehls Lowe and Topf Wells will be on the ballot.

John Freborg is also eligible for re-election and he, too, will be on the ballot with our most sincere thanks. Ben Mechelke will run for the Board to fill one of the three open seats. (See Ben’s bio below.)

We probably will not have nominees for the two remaining seats for the April meeting. That meeting is already a full one and this month is probably our busiest with the Fundraiser and several work days.

We’ll run the elections at the May meeting with a full slate of candidates. To that end, please contact Topf Wells or Don Golembiewski if you are interested in serving on the Board.

Thanks,

Topf Wells and Don Golembiewski

My name is Ben Mechelke and I joined the Southern WI TU chapter last fall after hearing about the great work the chapter does from a neighbor. I started trout fishing in the spring of 2023 and was blown away by scenic beauty of the cold water fisheries of southern WI. Chasing trout has quickly become a new passion of mine and connecting with like-minded individuals involved in the chapter and on the stream has brought me into a new community that I’m forever grateful for. I’m really looking forward to helping the chapter further by serving on the board and can’t wait to see the great work ahead of us this year.

A little more about myself, I grew up visiting my grandparents on Long Lake in northwestern Wisconsin near Spooner. I learned to love the outdoors from those experiences and have been fortunate to be able to explore many corners of the country. Besides fishing, I enjoy hiking, trap/skeet shooting, rock climbing, fly tying and learning about the natural environment. My career so far has been in the aerospace and automotive industries working as a mechanical design engineer. My Fiancé and I have been living on the far west side of Madison for a couple years now. In the warmer months, you can find me on Black Earth Creek in the evenings enjoying a BWO hatch. See you on the stream.