Steve Basinger 2014 Resume

[Steve81]

About Me

My name is Steve Basinger. I'm 29 years old and married with one son that is only a couple of months old. I currently live in Surrey, ND.  Before joining the military, I grew up in Checotah, OK where I spent all of my free time learning the ins and outs of Lake Eufaula. I have been fishing since I was old enough to hold a fishing rod but I developed a passion for bass fishing when I was around 13 years old. I've been obsessed with it ever since and have always dreamed about fishing professionally.

I am currently a member of the following bass clubs/trails: Badlands Bass Bandits, Midwest Bass Trail, American Bass Anglers district 127, the South Dakota TBF, and the NoDak Anglers Association. I was the club president of the Badlands Bass Bandits for the 2013 season. I'm also a member and contributing writer of Ultimatebass.com, moderator for the North Dakota/South Dakota Bass Clubs section of bassboatcentral.com, and a member of FishingBuddy.com, a hunting and fishing forum dedicated to the Dakotas. Combined, those forums allow me to reach out to literally thousands of anglers that share my passion for the sport. As a contributing writer for Ultimate Bass, I write articles each month that provide tips and techniques to help improve a fellow angler's fishing. In each article, I always mention how my sponsor's product has helped to put more fish in my boat.

Employment

I'm currently serving as an Air Traffic Control Watch Supervisor in the Air Force at Minot AFB, ND. I have been in the AF for 10 years and fully plan to do this until I'm eligible to retire in another 10 years.  During my career, I have spent time in both Iraq and Korea before coming to this assignment.
I currently hold pro staff positions for both Denali Rods and Whiskey River Bait Company. I do everything in my power to spread the word to local tackle shops about each company's products plus I promote the products at each tournament or event that I attend by recommending them to other anglers. As a result, Whiskey River has become the number one soft plastic bait company used by the members of Badlands Bass Bandits. Plus, Denali Rods has started to make an impact among our club members as well.

What I can do to benefit your company

Because of my time of serving in the Air Force, I have had countless opportunities of speaking in public. In fact, in my earliest years in the AF, I was trained in Public Speaking by attending a course called Professional Military Education. Because of this training and the number of times with public speaking, I feel that I excel when talking to a crowd.

Living in North Dakota, the vast majority of anglers are walleye anglers. I understand that from a sponsor's perspective, this may be seen as a negative. I actually see it as a positive. Prior to 2006, there were no bass clubs in this state. There are now at least five and the bass angling population is continuing to grow. Each club is nearly entirely made up of members that have been walleye anglers for most of their lives. But after realizing the joy to be found in competitive bass fishing, they have taken to it wholeheartedly. Because they are new to the sport, they are eager to listen to any information that pertains to bass fishing, including what the latest hot products are.

As a member of your staff, I will promote your product at tournaments and local tackle shows. I will also highlight the effectiveness of your products in my monthly fishing articles, local newspaper articles that highlight our tournament results, and in videos that I create and upload to my YouTube channel.
I'm also very active in social media. I currently use my Facebook profile and my Twitter profile to promote my sponsors. Through Facebook, I always go to my sponsor's page and post pics/results of my tournaments/fishing outings and a detailed description of how their product helped with the day's catch.

Lastly, I'm sure this goes without saying but I will always use the utmost courtesy and professionalism representing your company. And I pride myself on knowing every aspect of the products of my sponsors.

Previous 2 season's top finishes

2013

3rd Place, Lake Oahe, SD
2nd Place, Pudwell Dam, SD
3rd Place, Lake Audubon, ND
8th Place, GDU Canal System, ND
7th Place, Nelson Lake, ND
6th Place, Lake Sakakawea Classic, ND
4th Place, GDU Canal System, ND

2012

Won Rookie of the Year for the Badlands Bass Bandits
6th Place, Lake Audubon, ND
6th Place, Lake Oahe, SD
5th Place, Pudwell Dam, SD
3rd Place, Sheep Creek Dam, ND

Thank you for taking the time to review my resume. I look forward to hearing from you.