Archery Trade Association

July 1, 2013 Carlienne Frisch

Photos submitted

Straight Arrow

Nonprofit archery association with $4 million budget has New Ulm headquarters and national reach.

For Jay McAninch, it’s not about bows and arrows. It’s family and teamwork. McAninch (pronounced MAC-an-inch), president/CEO of the Archery Trade Association for the last 12 years, manages an organization of about 600 manufacturer members, a few thousand retail members, an annual budget of more than $4 million, and an international headquarters in New Ulm.

Six of ATA’s 16 employees work in the New Ulm office, including a personal assistant with the improbable name of Kelly Kelly, who has kept McAninch organized more than 20 years, predating his ATA involvement. All other ATA employees work from a virtual home office, allowing them to adapt their work schedule to family needs and allowing McAninch to hire the best people for each job, wherever they live. McAninch himself lives with his wife Janet in Virginia, which offers the couple easy access to Washington, DC’s corridors of power.

“I created this work environment because if you value the time you have to spend with your family, you don’t spend it commuting,” McAninch said. “I’ve learned to warn people who work for me that I’m an acquired taste. I don’t believe I’m a comforting person, but I am concerned about their families, their jobs and their futures. Janet and I have more than a passing relationship with our staff, having dinner with them, meeting their kids, having them stay in our home. We’re soft touches for buying Girl Scout cookies.”

He continued, “We try to find the best people we can for each job and focus on results, not where they sit. Our director of government relations and outreach (a retired U.S. Interior Department leader) lives in Montana, and his staff members are in Minnesota and Maryland. Our web developer is in Oregon. I hired all of our employees and created strong teams. Teamwork is the glue that holds the staff together.”

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McAninch’s first five years (2000-05) with the organization were dedicated to taking ATA out of debt and rebuilding the annual trade show. With the ATA at a low point, the board agreed to start with a clean slate. Because several large member companies were located in Salt Lake City, headquarters were established there. As ATA operations segued to having staff throughout the country, the headquarters was moved to New Ulm, Minnesota, where the trade show coordinator now resides. She leads a team that includes staff in South Carolina, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

“I built a trade show management team and established processes that continue the show’s success,” McAninch said. “We never underestimate the human side of the trade show, which is the networking that goes on between buyers and sellers. The show is how the industry produces funding for our activities. The other half of the team is tasked with growing (the sports of) archery and bow hunting. I’ve been really lucky to have found people who are highly effective at what they do, very committed, and motivated.”

He continued, “Technology makes it possible for everybody in this small industry to know our staff. They know they can talk to Maria Lewis about a problem with their trade show booth. They know Becky Lux will help them with their registration or membership, that Amy Hatfield can teach them something about social media, that others can help them connect with their state agency to discuss bow hunting regulations or to find out about archery programs or about excise tax.”

McAninch’s belief in making connections is why his email address is available to all ATA members, along with contact information for all staff. There also are member visits—a highlight of McAninch’s responsibilities.

“Member visits are the part of my job I absolutely love,” McAninch said. “I travel a lot, and I go to a lot of trade shows, buying group shows, and archery tournaments. I spend a lot of time at shows walking around and talking to members, asking them ‘How is this show? How are things going? What’s going on in your neck of the woods?’ Seeing members in their own workspaces and getting to know their day-to-day experiences is important to understanding how our industry functions.”

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Listening to McAninch, it’s obvious he’s enthralled with his work. But why archery? And why New Ulm as headquarters?

He said, “Why archery? Simply because when I was 14, my best friend and I got a catalog and were enamored with the idea of buying bows and arrows. We went deer hunting, but there weren’t many deer around where I grew up in Red Oak, Iowa, so I was 16 when I shot my first one.”

The answer for his choice of New Ulm is simple. He lived there from 1989-1998, when he was a wildlife research biologist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. His love of outdoors is reflected in his education and employment resume. He has a BS degree in fisheries and wildlife biology from Iowa State, and an MS degree in zoology and wildlife management (with a minor in statistics) from The Ohio State University. He has pursued post-graduate studies in natural resource policy and is a Certified Wildlife Biologist by the Wildlife Society.

Growing up in a rural area, McAninch spent much of his childhood outdoors. He mowed lawns, cleaned hedgerows, cut brush, weeded soybeans, detasseled corn and baled hay. His first indoor job taught him management skills.

“My first regular paycheck was from a small department store, where I did cleaning and stocked inventory,” he said. “After a few months, I began managing the sporting goods section, doing all but the ordering, into which I had input. I managed the part-time employees who were occasionally assigned to me. I learned a lot about how much time and attention is needed, the dynamics of dealing with age and gender, an appreciation of cost of goods and labor, and how to have margins to be profitable—to pay the bills. I came away with a respect for small business owners, their responsibilities and challenges. While I worked at the store, I still did farm work, such as cleaning hog houses at night.”

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After completing his master’s degree in 1976, McAninch was hired as a wildlife ecologist at the Institute for Ecosystem Studies in New York, where he remained 12 years. He then took the DNR job that landed him in New Ulm, where he and Janet raised their family. He coached youth sports teams and served on the New Ulm school board and on church boards.

McAninch left New Ulm in 1998 to spend two years as president of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation in Washington, D.C. He said, “I wanted to impact public policy. I worked non-partisan with 60-plus senators and 380 members of the House of Representatives, and I met U.S. presidents. As part of that, I worked with the ATA, so when they came calling, I took the job. They approached me because I understood outdoor organizations and had experience on Capitol Hill.” He also has fund-raising credentials, having raised money to build an amphitheater as a Lions Club member in New York.

“Along with my background in outdoor issues, natural resources and agriculture, I have a really good handle on small business,” said McAninch. “I ask of every company in our industry: tell us what you’re thinking. Tell us what’s valuable and what’s not. Constructive criticism is what we live off of. The only thing that matters, as a trade association and as an industry, is how we respond.”

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McAninch usually works 60-70 hours a week. An early riser, he peruses news websites on his laptop before tackling the most challenging work on his plate. To accommodate employees, he schedules phone calls later in the morning. He spends a few hours with Janet, playing tennis or walking up to seven miles a day. Evenings often involve attending events. And he’s on call 24-7.

“I must be responsible when people have problems, such as a fire or when the IRS arrives. You can’t time when those things happen. Communication is a big part of my job.”

Janet (a retired registered oncology nurse) plays an unofficial but active part in McAninch’s mission. He said, “Janet has been with me every step of the way since I’ve been at ATA. She was instrumental in designing the healthcare plan we offer employees. She travels with me on this job, and we always factor in days to meet with our members. It’s funny how during each visit, we not only establish a relationship, but also find things we can help them with—providing information, connecting them with people who can help with product development, suggesting solutions to problems. Most importantly, we learn more about what they do. The more I learn about what people do and how they do it, the more I’m able to develop better ideas for the future. I spend a lot of my time looking three to five years down the road.”

McAninch also has established strong relationships with state agencies and archery organizations, leading to enormous strides in the development of effective, well-funded archery programs.

“The state agencies all know who we are,” he said. “USA Archery, the National Field Archery Association and many other organizations have worked with us so they have sustainability to keep programs going. Since the ‘70s, the archery industry has been paying the archery excise tax. Today that’s around $44 million. Those dollars are dedicated to state agencies and are intended to support archery and bow hunting. Successful state archery programs hinge on manpower and money. We can offer incentive grants for someone to be appointed to head a state archery program. Today, 47 states have an archery program coordinator, with 20 being full-time.”

McAninch considers Rcherz.com, an online platform, to be one of the ATA’s most important developments. He explained, “The ATA owns Rcherz, and we’re collaborating with outdoor-centric Web developers, writers, and designers to build a versatile tool for members to reach out to consumers and to gain visibility for their brands. It’s a year-round way for our industry to communicate with ourselves, with consumers, with state agencies, and with organizations that have archery and bow hunting interests. There’s a large archery contingent around the world. Archery is very big in Europe (with seven million target archers in France alone) and in Korea, Japan and China.

Said McAninch, “The ATA establishes relationships with agencies and organizations, building infrastructure so that there are budgets and people in place to grow our sports. The staff works to ensure that the companies that make up this industry can make a profit today and can know that the archery industry will continue to thrive for years to come.”

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THE ESSENTIALS: Archery Trade Association

Founded: 1996
Address: P.O. Box 70
New Ulm, Minnesota
Phone: 866-266-2776
Web: archerytrade.org

Ata History

1953: The Archery Manufacturers and Dealers Association is formed to establish product standards and to promote bow hunting and target archery.
1965: It becomes the Archery Manufacturers Organization.
1990: AMO hires staff and opens an office in Gainesville, Fla.
1992: More than 70 manufacturers and distributors commit a percentage of their sales to fund promotional and informational efforts and to protect bow hunting.
1997: The first Archery Trade Show is held in Louisville, Ky.
2000: Jay McAninch is hired as president/CEO.
2002: The AMO renames itself ATA.

On Target

Childhood: Second child of four (oldest boy) in a small Iowa town.
Favorite school subjects: Math, history, political science from an historical perspective.
Least favorite: Art and music. “I did play piano for 9 or 10 years; I played technically, but did not feel the piece. I can hum the Star Spangled Banner and Jesus Love Me, but that’s all.”
Family: Wife Janet, whom he met in eighth grade and married when they were 20; son, Ben, an attorney in Mankato; daughter, Becky, a Kraft senior marketing director in Chicago, and three grandchildren.
Activities: “I love to read history and biographies and am a voracious reader of news and current events, but what I enjoy most is digging, planting and landscaping.”
Accomplishment of which most proud: a) Our two kids and the fact they have established great careers, found good spouses and are contributing to their communities, b) The people I’ve hired and work with because they care about their work and their families. The people we leave behind are more important than our accomplishments.”
Prized possessions: “Some of the books I have, and my grandmother’s lilac, bridal wreathe and mock orange.”
Most valued intangible: “The life I’ve been able to lead, the security of having the same partner most of my life, having work in environments true to myself, and being able to make contributions to improve the world.”

Presidential Perspectives

Jay McAninch has fond, yet incisive, memories of his meetings with four U.S. presidents. His first presidential handshake, with President George H.W. Bush, took place at an outdoor show. McAninch recalled the president as being “a consummate gentleman, quiet, with a gentle nature, very strong in making a connection.” In addition to being inquisitive about archery, the president connected with the person with whom he was shaking hands, locking eyes and covering the right hands with his left one.

McAninch met President Bill Clinton in the White House, which had a more casual atmosphere than it had had under other presidents. “Each president sets the tone,” McAninch said, “and President Clinton had an informal, casual, working White House atmosphere. He’s smooth, charming, a quick study, someone who quickly assesses the room and knows who the leaders are. He connected with the group’s purpose (rather than with the representative).”

McAninch spent the most time with President George W. Bush, having attended several White House meetings and a Christmas party. One of McAninch’s presidential keepsakes is a photo of President and Mrs. Bush with McAninch and his wife, Janet. Another is a stack of napkins that President Bush gave him, saying, “I’d give you some of the glasses, too, but the staff gets upset when I do that.”

“George W. Bush is much like his father,” McAninch said. “He’s very personable and made me feel that my time was as important as his time. Yet he was very formal. He felt the White House was the people’s house. He had a strong sense the Bushes were there to do the people’s work. I believe he’s a conscientious man who felt a burden.”

Having met President Barack Obama at a small group gathering, McAninch concluded, “President Obama is a consummate speaker, with a great command of language and the capacity to move people with his voice. However, he has not had as much experience as many previous presidents had when they took office.”