How many of our resident Taxidermists are members of the NTA? Is the National Taxidermy Assoc the largest and most prevelant Taxidermy association? Is anyone NTA certified and/or Award of Excellence recipients? Is this a big deal in the world of taxidermy?

The NTA is a well recognized association that many taxidermists are members. They held their annual convention and competition in July. Of late there has been some infighting and that has steered away many of us until it is resolved. Ive never competed at the NATs but go to the Worlds.

Hugh

What is the "Worlds?" Who runs it? Website?

Bulldog,

The Worlds are the World Taxdermy Championships. They are held every two years in Springfield IL, but in 07 they will be in Reno. Breakthrough Magazine sponsors it. Go to Taxidermy.net and you can get all the info on it.

I am a member of the NTA and the Garden State Taxidermist Association. The only reason I am a member is because of the new information they post in there trade magazine. I have been in both of the organizations since they first started many, many, years ago. As with many groups of people, there are clicks and those who are in the proper circle. Enough said.

Rich

Rich.......

Hey Rich that's why I don't belong!!

I have been a member of the NTA for 15 or 16 years. I think it is important to unite under one flag as taxidermists so that our collective voice can be heard, and the NTA is the only national organization that is available that can accomplish this task. I have also served on the Board of Directors and as the VP of the New Mexico Taxidermist Association, so you could say I feel strongly about organizing our talents under one group. I was also a member of the IGT (International Guild of Taxidermists) at one time, but they were unorganized and very "self-agenda" motivated. I don't know if they still exist or not.

I received my NTA Certification back in 1993. It is not an easy thing to accomplish and I consider it one of the most satifying things I have done in my taxidermy career. The Award of Excellence is a monumentally difficult thing to acheive, and those few taxidermists who have earned it are highly regarded in our industry for the talent required to acheive such an award.

Congratulations, Bob, on your accomplishment of Certification. You are correct that the Award of Excellence is a tough one to get!

Years ago, when I owned my shop, I was one of seven Certified Taxidermists in the state of Texas.

Bulldog, to answer your question, yes, the certification and award of excellence are big things in the taxidermy industry. To attain them you must compete and place high enough in competitions to accrue a specified number of points to apply for the award.

While most taxidermists do not do competition work for their clients, I've found that those taxidermists who compete and are successfully winning awards usually have a higher standard of quality in their commercial mounts.

Oh no, I hope this doesn't open the door to a flame war!!

JDS

JDS,

Whether you get flamed or not, youre right. Those that compete get smarter and better each time they compete. The folks that don't, while still good or even great, miss out on great opportunities to get better.

Hugh

I was NTA certified back in the early 90's, but I'm not a member any more. The original purpose for the certification program was for the customer to have some way of distinguishing one taxidermist from another ie.. if you were certified by the NTA then you should have the ability to produce better work. BUT, they never promoted the program to the general public like they originally planned so the hunter's in general don't have a clue as to what a certified taxidermist is.

I'm a life member of the NTA and have been a certified taxidermists for years (can't count that high I guess). I sit on the board of directors.

Many taxidermists come up with various reasons for not being a member and they only have themselves to answer to for whatever reason their decisions are. The very weakest that I continually hear are (1) fighting among themselves, and (2) cliques. To both I say "HORSECRAP".

(1) You ever had a Boy Scout troop that didn't argue among themselves? Anytime a group of talented individuals congregate, there's going to be one spate or another going on sometime.

(2) Cliques are a complete copout. I'm a one man shop in a dinky state who never did anything but commercial work. I intermingle with the high and mighty just like I do with the rest of us bottom feeders. The only time "cliques" are formed are by those intimidated by the successes of others. And if breaking that perception is your goal, it's going to be damned impossible to do when you AREN'T a member, isn't it.

The certification program was never intended to be pushed by the NTA. (Being a "national" association, as in our case, certainly doesn't mean we have limitless funds. We live hand to mouth just like the people we represent.) The idea behind it was to offer a program to participating taxidermists where THEY could advertise their work to their customers with having met those standards. Once you're certified, an annual $20 fee allows you to use the NTA Certified Taxidermist logo on your business cards, price lists, advertising, etc. You get a small shingle to hang on a faux marble plaque in your shop telling your customers you're still certified by the NTA. Just like ribbons many shops display, it's an advertising gimmick that you can choose to use or not to. It's on you.

As for the World Show, it is an entirely private venue where all funds go back to a private corporation. Though Breakthrough Magazine does contribute heavily back to the industry, this show isn't for that purpose. The Nationals (The Annual NTA Show & Competition) is for members to compete, intermingle, meet the biggest and best suppliers, get free seminars by the industry's best, and the funds all feed back into the national organization.) The World Show will be in Reno this year in May or April and the Nationals will be in Louisville in July. Anyone can visit the competition area at the nationals for a small $6 entry fee.

Thanks guys for the info.