Caroline Thomas announces retirement

Mrs Caroline Thomas, General Manager of EFTTA has announced at the Annual General Assembly on Saturday 29 June that she will retire at the end of this year. EFTTA President Louis Tchertoff spoke glowingly of her to those present at the AGA. He said: "Mrs Thomas has been involved with EFTTA and EFTTEX since 1982 and has been the backbone of the organization since the start of the project. We are deeply thankful for her dedication and professionalism. She has played a strategic part in making EFTTEX the most important Fishing Tackle Trade Exhibition in the World. She will be succeeded by Ms Janet Doyle who has been the EFTTA Exhibition Manager and the Deputy General Manager for the last two years."

"The Board of EFTTA has confirmed its unanimous support for Ms Janet Doyle's nomination as General Manager as successor to Mrs Thomas. We wish to inform Ms Doyle that we are firmly behind her, available to her for support and advice, whenever needed, in the present and the future whether we are still board members or not."

Mrs Thomas responded with the following comment: "It is very satisfying to see what a successful and effective organisation EFTTA has become since it was first formed. I have thoroughly enjoyed the last twenty-one years and have made a lot of friends in the industry whom I will miss. However, I believe that EFTTA will benefit enormously from new blood and new ideas and I am looking forward to seeing even more progress being made under Janet's direction. She has an excellent team with whom EFTTA will go from strength to strength. There are exciting times ahead with opportunities to expand both the sport and the trade but these opportunities must be seized and developed and this needs the involvement of everyone in the trade."

She concluded: "If I have a last message for the industry it is this: sportfishing has a lot of competition and a growing number of enemies. However, the EFTTA and EAA (European Anglers Alliance) lobbyist, Jan Kappel, has made really good progress in Brussels and has created a real chance to move into a new era of success and prosperity for fishing and therefore also for the trade. But, this will only happen if everyone in the industry and angling makes an effort. I would ask everyone in the trade therefore to consider their future very seriously and, if they want it to be prosperous and successful, join EFTTA and fight for the survival of fishing as an important and worthwhile leisure activity."

Caroline received a beautiful silver bracelet and a trip to Vienna for her and her husband Jeff Thomas, "the silent hero of EFTTEX" as a thank you present from the board.

If you would like to contact Caroline Thomas her email address is: carolinethomas@eftta.com or at the following address:

EFTTA Secretariat, 3rd Floor,
71 St John Street, London EC1M 4NJ ,
Email: info@eftta.com, Web site: www.eftta.com
Tel: +.44.20.7253.0777 or Fax: +.44.20.7253.7779.