Smokey Bear Association Officers
President: Veronica Waterman
Vice President: Victoria Rico
Secretary/Treasurer: Joel Guldin
Director: Rhonda Bell
Director: Brian Keller
Past President: Jack Winchell
Newsletter Editor: Joel Guldin
Regional Coordinators
Smokey Patrol
Smokey Patrol Committee members
Maureen Brooks
Karen Bergethon
Sue Meredith
Fred Turck
Past Board Members
SBA Presidents
Jim Van Meter 1995 (Chairman)
Bill Shultz 2000
Robert Rouse 2002, 2004
Jan Fite 2006, 2008
Fred Turck 2010
Jack Winchell 2012, 2014
Craig Williams 2016, 2018
Jack Winchell 2020
Veronica Waterman 2022
SBA board members
1995 Ast. Chairman Jack Clark, Treas. Richard Just, Sec. Roberta Bowen, Richard Yokley, Linda Mullins, Ken Laaker
2000 VP Allan Gandt, Treas. Jodi Rule-Rouse, Joel Guldin, Rick Gibson
2002 VP Jim Shaffer, Treas. Jodi Rule-Rouse, Joel Guldin
2004 VP Joel Fairhurst, Treas. Jodi Rule-Rouse, Jim Shaffer
2006 VP Nancy Embich, Treas. Jodi Rule-Rouse, Ron Schaufler, Jim Shaffer
2008 VP Karen Bergethon, Treas. Debbie Walters, Nancy Embich, Jim Shaffer
2010 VP Janice Writebol, Treas. Jackie Schmidt, Don Hansen, Craig Williams
2012 VP Janice Writebol, Treas. Jackie Schmidt, Don Hansen, Craig Williams
2014 VP Craig Williams, Treas. Jackie Schmidt, Joel Guldin, Robert Rouse
2016 VP Chris Brophy, Treas. Rik Bergethon, Linda Bafford
2018 VP Chris Brophy, Treas. Rik Bergethon, Linda Bafford, Jim Brain
2020 VP Victoria Rico, Sec. Don Hansen, Treas. Joel Guldin, Dawn Fazio, Caroyn Ramos/Daphne Kunukcu
2022 VP Victoria Rico, Sec./Treas. Joel Guldin, Rhonda Bell, Brian Keller
Editors
Roberta Bowen 1996
Warren Sjoquist 1998
Rick Gibson 2000
Joel Fairhurst 2002
Warren Sjoquist 2005
Frank Winer 2006
Fred Turck 2015
Joel Guldin 2018
SBA Honors
SBA Convention Hall of Fame Almost-Perfect Attendance
These members have attended almost every convention from 1997 to 2022.
Robert & Jodi Rule-Rouse (missed PA)
Les Pinkerton (missed PA)
Adam & Carolyn Ramos (missed GA & PA)
Frank & Deanne Winer (missed Las Vegas & PA)
Virginia Horton (missed OH & PA)
Smokey Bear Award SBA Members
Rudy Wendelin: Silver 1968, Gold 1972
Jim Van Meter: Bronze 1987
Maureen Brooks: Bronze 1990, Silver 1998, Bronze 2010
Bruce Turbeville: Bronze 1990, Silver 1998
Richard Just: Bronze 1991
Alfred E. and Sylvia Grimes: Silver 1994, Gold 1997
Ann & David Lang: Silver 1997
Karen Bergethon: Silver 2000
Fred Turck: Silver 2003, Bronze 2004, Gold 2010, Gold 2018
Sandra Groth: Silver 2008
Ray Kresek: Silver 2011
Mike Davis: Silver 2014
Thomas Black: Bronze 2020
Among the members are:
One member is the son of Ray Bell.
Three members are relatives of Homer Pickens.
Three members wrote books about Smokey Bear.
Seven members own companies that produce or distribute licensed Smokey Bear products.
One member was the USFS National Smokey Bear Program Manager 1976-1982
One member is the owner and director of the Fire Lookout Museum (full of Smokey Bear rare items and displays)
One member is a Smokey Bear artist
One member worked with the Rudy Wenedlin family in setting up a Wenedlin Art Work Display, Rudy Wendelin and the Creation of an Icon at The Chrysler Museum of Art in Virginia
One member was part of the Smokey Bear 50th birthday celebration at the White House in Washington DC.
Two members were instrumental in setting up the Smokey Bear programs in Virginia, and California. Both have garnered national honors for the work.
Two members own Woodland Enterprises/Smokey Bear Gifts. One of the largest on-line retailer of Smokey Bear products. Their catalog is considered the bible of Smokey Bear items.
Three members had close ties with Smokey’s caretaker and artist Rudy Wenedlin.
Six or more of the top Smokey Bear collectors in the world are SBA members.
The Smokey Bear Museum in Capitan, NM is a member
The Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan, NM is a member
Friends of the Smokey Bear Balloon Inc., a non-profit corporation dedicated to assisting federal, state, and local agencies to educate preventing human-caused wildfires are members.
The Smokey Bear Association has become the nationally recognized source for answers to questions ranging from manufacturing date, origin, value, and authenticity of Smokey Bear. When the Ad Council, USFS, The National Association of State Foresters were building their web page smokeybear.com/vault they relied heavily on the SBA for photos, descriptions and information about Smokey Bear memorabilia and collectibles.