December 19, 1965

Mr. Lou Cohen
Seafood Merchandiser
Food Fair Stores
7000 Northwest 32nd Avenue
Miami, Florida

Dear Lou:

Following through on our recent discussions, this is to officially advise you that the 1965 session of the Florida Legislature authorized a Marketing Division under the Florida Board of Conservation. Funds available for the Florida Board of Conservation to promote Florida seafoods amount to approximately $300,000 annually. Under this new program the Florida Board of Conservation presently is hiring two fishery marketing specialists and seven home economists.

In order to achieve maximum effectiveness in promoting Florida seafoods, our agency is working cooperatively with the Southeastern Fisheries Association and the United States Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. We speak therefore for all three agencies when we say that we intend to go “all out” in the promotion of the portable fish smokers which Jack Brawner and I discussed with you. In summary, we will do the following:

1. Develop video tapes and films for distribution to all television stations in Florida.

2. Arrange for personal appearances of home economists and Conservation agents on television throughout Florida and Georgia.

3. Arrange for food editors to do feature stories on these portable fish smokers. Most of the food editors of the major newspapers in Florida already have been contacted and have promised full front page coverage of the food selection, e.g., Virginia Heffington of the Miami Herald, Ruth Gray of the St. Petersburg Times, and Ann McDuffle of the Tampa Tribune.

Mr. Lou Cohen
2

December 10, 1965

4. Agricultural Extension Service has promised full support to this program. This involves about 120 Agricultural home demonstration agents.

5. The 100 Conservation agents of the Florida Board of Conservation will be required to log a minimum of two demonstrations per month to civic groups and on television.

6. The sports fishing editors of newspapers and television stations throughout the State will be contacted by representatives of the Florida Board of Conservation and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, and requested to lend their assistance in this special promotion. We would point out that there are 156,182 registered boat owners in Florida.

7. Point-of-purchase materials including posters, store banners, and recipes and instructions for smoking of fish will be furnished Food Fair Stores by the Florida Board of Conservation.

We, of course, are in no position to furnish you an exclusion on these portable fish smokers. We could point out that the firm that plans to produce these smokers can produce only 9,500 units during the first six weeks. Thereafter, however, this firm can only produce 5,000 per day.

If your organization agrees to handle these portable fish smokers, we would follow through and contact Anheuser-Busch and Kraft Foods and attempt to get these two organizations to participate in this special promotion.

We are most desirous of getting this special promotion underway next spring. In this regard we would appreciate your making an appointment for Jack Brawner and me to meet with you and other top officials of Food Fair to further pursue this matter. Probably the week of January 17 would be best for all concerned.

I am looking forward to hearing from you, and hopeful of working with you on this unique and promising proposition!

Sincerely,

Harmon Shields
Director of Marketing

HS:bb

Cc: Mr. Jack Brawner U.S. bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Mr. Bob Jones Southeastern Fisheries Association