American Sportfishing Association

Industry leaders bring experience and perspective to address issues that impact the recreational fishing industry and fisheries conservation

Alexandria, VA – June 23, 2023 – Four members of the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) were elected to fill two At-Large seats and two regional seats on the board of directors. Their three-year terms begin October 1, 2023. ASA is the national trade association that represents the sportfishing industry.

The association has six regions: West, South Central, Great Lakes, Southeast, Northeast and Northern Plains and Inter-mountain. Each member company or organization is assigned to the region where that member's principal business is located.

Elected to the At-Large board seats:

Diane Bristol - Vice President, Culture & Community, Simms Fishing Products

Matt Jensen – Vice President of Marketing, Rapala USA

Elected to the Regional board seats:

John Johnson – Executive Vice President – Sales and Chief Revenue Officer, Pitman Creek Wholesale, Southeast Region

Doug Lasko – President, Okuma Fishing Tackle, West Region

"I congratulate Diane Bristol and Matt Jensen on being re-elected to the board of directors and welcome John Johnson and Doug Lasko to their first terms on the board," said ASA President Glenn Hughes.

"These four industry veterans and longtime ASA members bring decades of experience to ASA's governing board," noted Hughes. "I look forward to working with them and thank the entire board for their time and service to the industry and to the greater recreational fishing community."

Diane Bristol is Vice President, Culture & Community, for Simms Fishing Products. Bristol has been with Simms for thirty years and, in her current position, works on employee development and community involvement. Bristol is the Chair of ASA's new Sustainability and Community Committee.

Matt Jensen is Vice President of Marketing for Rapala USA. Jensen has been with Rapala for 19 years and serves on ASA's Marketing Committee.

John Johnson is Executive Vice President – Sales and Chief Revenue Officer, Pitman Creek Wholesale. He has an extensive career in building and sustaining key customer partnerships, building successful strategies and mobilizing support of resources for their customers.

Doug Lasko is President of Okuma Fishing Tackle. Lasko started his career with Okuma in 1995 and has been in its leadership position since 2005. He is a long-time Government Affairs committee member and is Chair of the Saltwater West committee.

The current members of ASA's board of directors are:

Executive Committee: Phil Lillo, Don Coffey Company, Chair; Patrick Gill, TackleDirect, Vice Chair; Casey Shedd, AFTCO Manufacturing Co., Inc., Secretary; Dan McDonald, Yakima Bait Company, Treasurer; Dan Ferris, Midwest Outdoors, At-Large; and Jesse Simpkins, St. Croix Rod, Immediate Past Chairman.

Board members - Diane Bristol, Simms Fishing Products; Dave Bulthuis, Pure Fishing, Inc; Ken Eubanks, Rather Outdoors; Peter Foley, Boone Bait Company, Inc.; Carey Graves, Daiwa USA; Todd Hammill, Wired2Fish; Frank Hugelmeyer, National Marine Manufacturers Association; Kirk Immens, Sportco Marketing, Inc.; Matt Jensen, Rapala USA; Chris Megan, On The Water, LLC; Daniel Nussbaum, Z-Man Fishing Products; David Pfeiffer, Shimano North American Fishing, Inc.; Mike Powell, Mason Tackle; Bruce Stanton, PRADCO Fishing; and Mark Tisa, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.