Board Member

Todd Ceisner has been associate publisher of In-Fisherman since January 2020. Prior to that, he spent 8 years as editor of BassFan.com, chronicling the tournament side of the sport on a daily basis. Before working in the fishing industry, he covered high school and college sports for daily newspapers in central New York and central Pennsylvania. A resident of western New York, he has easy access to some of the best freshwater fishing in North America, including Lake Erie and the Niagara River, where he caught his personal-best 6 1/2-pound smallmouth. When he’s not fishing, he’s driving his daughter to ice hockey practice or games or helping his son on his latest gaming computer build.

Daren Cole brings more than 27 years of boating and bass fishing experience to the executive board of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame.  As general manager and partner at Blue Heron Communications specializing in marketing services and media relations for a host of fishing and outdoor brands that include Ranger Boats, Benelli USA and Boone & Crockett Club, Daren builds strategic programs to grow awareness and engagement for the brands he represents. In addition to the BFHOF, Daren is active in several industry organizations helping to steer the sport alongside the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, Discover Boating®, NMMA® and Marine Marketers of America organizations. He lives in central Oklahoma.  He loves spending time with his three children and their activities, won’t pass up a chance to get on the water and recently has become somewhat of a fitness nut, avid trail runner and is semi-competitive in the obstacle course race craze. A board member since 2016.

Mark Copley is a 14-year veteran in the outdoor industry working in many different areas, including producing award winning tv shows, managing the marketing department of Strike King Lure Company, managing the Pro Staff for Rather Outdoors and now overseeing the Trade Show and Media Relations department for the company. Mark is a lifelong outdoorsman who was introduced to the outdoors by his father who was a die-hard bream fisherman. He is a passionate angler whose favorite species is anything saltwater but also enjoys chasing smallmouth as well. Mark has been married to his best friend for 24 years Julie with 3 sons who also love the outdoors. Micah 27, Wade 22, and Jacob 17.

Kathy Fennel has been a key figure on the tournament bass fishing scene since joining Operation Bass in 1982, steadily rising through the ranks to become one of the most influential people in the fishing industry. Her strength and experience were recognized by Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) in 1996 when she was promoted to operations manager. The following year she was appointed vice president of operations, and in 2004 she was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer. Fennel then became president of operations in 2010, a position she held until MLF acquired FLW in the fall of 2019.

As an executive vice president & general manager for MLF, Fennel oversees day-to-day operations for the world’s largest lineup of bass tournaments, making sure the organization continues to provide prestigious, well-organized events of which participants, fans, hosts and sponsors are proud to be a part of.

Fennel is a 2015 inductee into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame and a member of the USAngling board of directors and the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF) board of directors. She also serves on the Kentucky Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau board of directors and Kentucky Lake Economic Development board of directors as vice-chairman.

Fennel grew up fishing on Kentucky Lake and attended Murray State University. She enjoys spending time in the outdoors with her son Daniel, his wife Amanda, and her grandchildren, Jake and Jude.

Gene Gilliland, a widely respected bass biologist and conservation advocate spent 32 years as a bass research biologist and eventually Assistant Chief of Fisheries for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.  Now as B.A.S.S. National Conservation Director, he represents America’s bass anglers on national boards and councils involved in resource conservation.  In addition, he advises and mentors the 47 B.A.S.S. Nation state conservation directors and works to build solid relationships with state fishery management agencies.  Having authored “Keeping Bass Alive, a Guidebook for Tournament Anglers and Organizers,” he is also responsible for maintaining and improving fish care practices on each of the Bassmaster tournament circuits.

Craig Lamb’s career in the sportfishing industry spans four decades in tournament operations, digital and print editorial, marketing, communications and video production. At the age of 23, Craig began his career with Ranger Boats, being mentored by Forrest and Nina Wood. While his formal role was public relations, it was his mentors who shaped the future of his work ethic. In 1986, Craig began his lifetime career with B.A.S.S. as assistant tournament director to Dewey Kendrick. Craig edited “Keeping Bass Alive,” a first-of-its kind manual to reduce stress and mortality of tournament-caught bass, while implementing those practices at weigh-ins and that are now commonly used. He worked beside Kendrick on the first delayed mortality and tracking studies to further enhance bass survival. In his early years at B.A.S.S., Craig was mentored by Kendrick, Ray Scott, Helen Sevier, Bob Cobb and Dave Precht, who like Forrest and Nina, gave him career-changing opportunities to grow personally and professionally. Precht recognized Craig’s editorial dream and appointed him associate editor of Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. TIMES, all while Craig was in his 20s. Craig continued his role with B.A.S.S. as senior writer while at TNN: The Nashville Network, where he managed its fishing and hunting franchises. While at TNN, Craig collaborated with Cobb on elevating the program standards of “The Bassmasters,” with its weekly viewership reaching 1 million households. Craig returned to B.A.S.S., where he launched Bassmaster.com as first editor and innovated the first subscription and revenue website, B.A.S.S. Insider, while producing franchise programming for ESPN Outdoors. As B.A.S.S. Senior Editor, Craig oversees custom content for sponsors and produces tournament content. After four decades, Craig’s greatest career satisfaction is coming full circle as a mentor to young media professionals, just as he was mentored at their age by the icons of bass fishing. A passionate historian of bass fishing, he takes great pride in celebrating its past and preserving its future.