ORCA Honorary Members

"The status of "Honorary Member" may be conferred upon any person deemed to have made a major contribution in the field of fishing reel collecting or the history pertaining thereto. A candidate need not be a current member of ORCA. Candidates for Honorary Membership status may be nominated by any member of ORCA in good standing (except that the candidate may not nominate himself) by sending the nomination to the President of ORCA at any time. The nomination shall then be presented to the Board of Directors who shall approve or reject the nomination by a simple majority vote. Honorary Members shall become members for life and be excused from any requirement to pay dues. All other rights and responsibilities of membership shall be the same as for regular active member status, including those set forth in Article XIII of this Constitution and Bylaws. "

ORCA Honorary Members Selected to Date are:

Jim Brown, Jim has written dozens of in-depth articles about reels for many prominent publications. In 1987 Jim published Fishing Reel Patents of the United States 1838-1940. In 1990 the American Museum of Fly Fishing published Jim’s A Treasury of Reels, an illustrated catalog of the Museum’s reel collection. Jim was born in 1949 and resides in Stamford, CT.

Edwin E. Corwin, Ed Corwin was a Charter Member of ORCA and has served as President, Vice-President, Editor, and on the Board of Directors. Ed wrote the ORCA Constitution & By-Laws. He contributed many articles to various publications. Ed was born in 1936 and resided in E. Palatka, FL until his death in 2006.

Harvey Garrison. Harvey Garrison was perhaps best known for his willing contributions as the ORCA Librarian for many years.  However, Harvey was also well known for his knowledge of Shakespeare reels and his willingness to share his information with all members.  Harvey was born in 1944 and lived in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida until his death in 2007.
.Harold "Doc" Herr. Doc served on the ORCA Board and contributed many articles to the Reel News. He was an authority on Hendryx and Winchester reels, and was more than willing to pass on his knowledge of a subject to anyone with a question. Doc was born in 1932 and passed away in January 2001 as a result of complications following cardiovascular surgery. Doc was truly a "Collector's collector."

Albert Munger, Al Munger began collecting reels when most people considered old reels junk. In 1980 he published the first book devoted entirely to collecting reels. This book focused attention on the history of reel makers. Al followed this up with two additional reel collecting books in 1982 and 1987. Al now spends his time fishing at his home in Fortescue, NJ

Michael E. Nogay, Mike Nogay is the founder of the Old Reel Collectors Association, and served as the original newsletter publisher, He incorporated the organization as a non-profit corporation in 1990. He served as Secretary-Treasurer until 1993. Mike has contributed many articles to various publications. Mike was born in 1958 and lives in Weirton, WV.

Steven K. Vernon, Steve has written extensively about old tackle and tackle makers, specializing in reels with patented, innovative features. He has had two very useful reference books published, Antique Fishing Reels and Fishing Reel Makers of Kentucky (with Frank Stewart). Steve still contributes regularly to The Reel News, and lives in Havertown, PA.

Phil White, Phil served as Editor of The Reel News from 1996 to 2005 and supervised its growth from a 16 page quarterly newsletter to a 36 page bi-monthly magazine. He developed the first ORCA web site in 1997 and maintained it until 2002. Along the way Phil has written numerous articles, four books, and several booklets on reels and reel collecting. Phil was born in 1932 and lives in Nampa, ID.

Ben Wright. Ben Wright is Mr. Spinning Reel. He has contributed a series of books, a large volume articles, and many hours to helping collectors understand and appreciate this segment of reel collecting. He has served as President and Vice-President of ORCA. Ben was born in 1945 and lives in LeRoy, New York.