2025 Custom Rod Builders Guild Election

Award Nominations

Don Morton Outstanding Achievement Award

This award is the highest award for meritorious achievement for a single act over a specific period of time.

The award consists of an engraved plaque

Karen Ferguson

Karen Ferguson distinguished herself by expertly organizing and managing a spouse’s program for the Custom Rod Builders Guild, North Central Region, St Croix sponsored annual gatherings in Park Falls, Wisconsin from 2013 to 2025. The program provided alternative activities for accompanying spouses of Guild members who were engaged in rod building instruction.

Karen developed innovative activities for each of the  years that she voluntarily chaired the spouses program. Those activities included such things as making crochet items to take home, juicing or smoothie tasting activities, art fairs, nature excursions around Lake Smith, shopping in nearby towns, as well as assisting with check-in registrations, helping with raffle ticket sales, and setting up for meals and evening raffles at the Lake Smith Pavillion.

The spouses provided raffle items to generate financial assistance to the Chequamegon High School. The annual donations helped replenish sports and music program uniforms, upgrade computer and audio-visual equipment, and countless other needs that are underfunded in the school’s budget.

The addition of this unique program significantly enhanced the annual gatherings and made them more like a family event with something for everyone to enjoy.

Karen Ferguson’s exceptional dedication in managing the spouses program merits her deserved recognition by receiving the Don Morton Outstanding Achievement Award.

Roddy Award

This is the highest award for meritorious achievement and service over a long period of time.

The award consists of an engraved plaque.

Tom Sullivan

Tom Sullivan organized and managed the Custom Rod Builders Guild, North Central Region, St Croix sponsored annual gatherings in Park Falls, Wisconsin from 2019 to 2025.

When he volunteered to assumed the responsibilities of organizing the Park Falls event, he did not have any records of the prior events to guide him in the numerous management aspects of the Custom Rod Builders Guild’s premier activity. Partially using his own excellent intuition, and the advice gleaned from participants of prior gatherings, Tom successfully restored the management procedures and led his group of volunteers to ensure the gatherings continued to provide outstanding programs for the attending members. In fact, the program has grown in capabilities as well as quality of presentations. 

 

Tom was not deterred by the enormity of his responsibilities as the leader of the Guild’s premier event.  He voluntarily served with other Guild members in rod building programs for veterans, and those who were disadvantaged or disabled.  He was a volunteer supporter of the youth program and applied his rod building skills in helping youth build their first rod.

Tom became a Director on the Guild’s Board of Directors in 2023 and assumed the responsibilities of Event Coordination. 

 

Tom Sullivan’s extraordinary leadership, management, and organizational skills mark him as the superior example for others to strive to emulate.  Tom deserves to be recognized for his numerous achievements over an extensive period of time.  He should be awarded the Roddy Award for his leadership excellence.

 

Legacy Legend

with

Hall of Fame Induction

This award is for members who have demonstrated mastery of a skill, excellence in management, or outstanding service to serve as a standard  for others to emulate.

The award consists of a medal and a plaque.  

Bill Batson

Bill Batson is a stalwart champion in promoting rod building. Where there was a need, he unhesitantly stepped forward to provide support. And his support is never at a token level but a full-fledged commitment.

Bill frequently uses the term “family” in referring to what is important in his life. The term extends beyond his personal family but includes the employees of his company, the creators of his extensive collection of custom rods, his friends, and the community of rod builders. All are important to him, and his genuine care is evident by his unselfish devotion to assure their success.

Bill has donated his time and materials to organized rod builder events; regardless of their affiliation or sponsorship. His selfless contributions of top-of-the-line products is a signature statement in his strong belief in demanding high ethical standards in everything that he does.

Bill has been an ardent sponsor of the Guild’s youth program. His determination has been to make each youth feel like a winner and proud of their accomplishments. Every competitor in the annual youth rod competitions has received citations and prizes.

Bill has written over two dozen illustrated articles for the quarterly Rodcrafters Journal.

Bill has sponsored the Guild’s annual Florida Gulf Coast workshops. Not only has his company provided a high value raffle prize for each event but it conducts a second free raffle where over a dozen super quality rod blanks and components are given to the winning participants.

 

Bill teamed with Doc Ski to create a vast archive of weaves made by the world’s best weave designers. The archive that took several years to organize and build was made free to all rod builders. The archive also includes a free software program to use with the weave patterns.

Bill Batson is a strong, unwavering supporter of the Custom Rod Builders Guild in word and deed. He has earned the honor of being inducted into the Hall of Fame as a Legacy Legend.

Dan O'Kane

One man with a heart of gold, vision, and unfaltering determination continues to honor a dying child’s wish to brighten the days of suffering children  with a day of fishing. 

Dan O’Kane has done that and much more.  Starting with building a rod for the little girl who made daily visits to encourage and lift the spirits of other critically ill children in her hospital’s children’s cancer ward.  Her dying wish launched Dan on a mission that continues to grow in volunteers and charitable sponsorships.  He aptly named the day of fun on a lake “Josie’s Gift.”  Gaining recognition as a charitable non-profit organization, Dan and his Board of Directors have brought happiness to suffering children as well as all who volunteered to support them. 

Dan has provided feature articles for the Rodcrafters Journal, supported the youth program’s annual rod competition, and trained other Guild members in rod building techniques.  As a volunteer, he has helped other Guild members in providing rod building programs for veterans, disabled, and disadvantaged people.

Dan O’Kane is a role model for others to emulate.  He deserves to be recognized as a Legacy Legend for his distinguished service to others. 

Todd Dobberowsky

Among the world’s expert weavers, one name is always included in their list of the best: Todd Dobberowsky. His thread work looks like professional photography or artistic painting. Perfectly placed and tightly packed, his images pop with three-dimensional realism.

His hundreds of patterns include fresh and saltwater fish, cartoon characters, names, and logos. He adorned a rod with all seven of Snow White’s dwarfs which caught the eye of spokespeople who wanted it for display in their rod crafting shows and video blogs.

His creation of a wonderfully menacing Grinch was featured on the cover of a winter edition of the Rodcrafters Journal.

Todd donated a vast collection of his beautiful rod weaving patterns to the free Weave Archive that was developed by Doc Ski and promoted by Batson Enterprises.

Todd is on the Board of Directors of the Guild as the Director of Corporate Memberships.

Todd Dobberowsky deserves to be recognized as a Legacy Legend. His standard of excellence is, in fact, the epitome standard for weave mastery.

Survey

General Membership 

Corporate Membership

Youth Membership

Administration and Services

 

Financial

Events

Rodcrafters Journal

Thank you for participating in this year's ballot.   Results will be provided in an article in the next Journal.  

Your Board of Directors sincerely appreciate your entries on the survey and will fully consider them in their deliberations.