HORIZONS JULY/AUG 2017 | Page 10

SECTION ONE PHOTO COURTESY OF BRANDON BUTLER P R E S I D E N T S M E S S AG E | B R A N DO N B U T L E R “...I can hit a golf ball into Canada from the boat dock. If you don’t believe me, bring a driver and a $20 bill.“ Joe Henry, the Executive Director of Tourism for Lake of the Woods and chief architect of our upcoming annu- al conference, and I were discussing the details of my President’s Reception. I told him I wanted two things: an open bar and a lakeside walleye fish fry. He tried to negate my idea (not about the bar of course) by inform- ing me we’re having fried walleye the next night at the welcome reception. I told him that’s great news and if he really wants to make me happy, he’ll figure out how to serve fried walleye on Tuesday, too. The Annual AGLOW Conference is hands down one of my favorite weeks of the year. It’s part business, part outdoor adventure and part family reunion. You see old friends and make new ones, and certainly leave with numerous business leads that may pay divi- dends for years to come. You experience the culture of the place you’re visiting. Lake of the Woods is the Wall- eye Capital of the World. Hence the doubling down on fried walleye, which is not a regular staple of Missouri cuisine. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOE HENRY This is the event that ties all the reasons you Volume 01  No. 03  |  2017