General Chapter Meeting Information

A featured part of almost every month's membership meeting is the guest speaker program.  The Board of Directors spends a lot of time planning and arranging for the featured speakers. We begin by designing a general theme for each month's program and then follow up by identifying and booking potential speakers. Some of our virtual meetings have been recorded and are available for viewing on YouTube by clicking on the Theme title.

Our Meetings are currently hybrid (in person and virtual).

Virtual Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87278370355?pwd=Vt7Ae7b8GJWJgiePylpyqiVFJHyq8a.1

2025 - 2026 Schedule
Theme
Speaker
Meeting Date
“Potomac Riverkeeper” Speaker: Brent Walls   February 18, 2026
“Fly Tying Extravaganza 2026” (IN PERSON ONLY) PPTU Members and Guests   January 21, 2026
“Sweetgrass Rods” Passcode: Ri^qb00u Speaker: Glenn Brackett   November 19, 2025
“Rising to the Occasion: Mastering Dry Flies and Emergers” Passcode: ci@6pd76 Speaker: Tim Cammisa   October 15, 2025
“Fishing Trips and Fish Stories” Passcode: qc?17w4R Speaker: PPTU Members   September 17, 2025
“Fly Fishing for Smallmouth” Speaker: William Heresniak   May 21, 2025
“2024 Trout Population Surveys for the Catoctin Streams” Passcode: jjU5?axt PDF Presentation Speaker: Michael Kashiwagi   April 16, 2025
“Maryland Fly Fishing Trail” Passcode: M9&mgH8u Speaker: Rich Batiuk   March 19, 2025
“Fishing The Gunpowder River” Speaker: Rich Dennison   February 19, 2025
“Fly Tying Extravaganza 2025” (IN PERSON ONLY) PPTU Members and Guests   January 15, 2025

Time: Meeting 7:00 - 9:00 PM, Third Wednesday except December, June, July and August

New Meeting Place (starting September 18, 2024):
Laurel VFD meeting hall
7588 Van Dusen Rd.
Laurel, MD 20707

“Potomac Riverkeeper"

Guest Speaker – Brent Walls

Feb 18th, 2026

We are pleased to welcome Upper Potomac Riverkeeper Brent Walls as our February speaker. Shortly after joining Potomac Riverkeeper, Inc. (PRK) in 2009, Brent became Upper Potomac Riverkeeper and is responsible for defending the public trust of the rivers and streams in the Upper Potomac by advocating for clean water and ensuring the virtues of the Clean Water Act are enforced.

Brent has been an advocate for clean water for well over a decade. With an Environmental Science background in freshwater ecology, Brent provided a valuable scientific perspective to PRK. His experience in water quality sampling has ensured defensible enforcement actions and has been a unique advising asset with local watershed groups. Brent’s love of maps and proficiency with Geographical Information Systems inspired the development of Water Trail maps in the Upper Potomac and has provided PRK with valuable interactive web maps and the creation of a mobile application to report water pollution.

– Scott Cernich